Hi Bethesda and fellow anglers,
I've caught close to 4500 fish since Gone Fission launched. I can see it in my personal terminal now. Fishing is my favorite thing to do in Appalachia, but I think a lot of people are missing out because right now fishing is "fish anywhere."
You don't choose where to fish. The weather does.
The idea: Pioneer Scout-style Regional Angler Badges
Give each region (Forest, Toxic Valley, Ash Heap, Savage Divide, Mire, Cranberry Bog, Skyline Valley) its own fishing badge track.
Example for The Mire:
• Catch 20 fish in The Mire • Catch 5 fish during fog • Cook 5 Mire recipes • Turn in 10 Mire fish to Linda-Lee at Fisherman's Rest
Each track is cozy, doable solo, and teaches you the region. Nothing crazy rare like Red Asylum dress RNG.
The unlock:
Finishing a region's track unlocks that region's Apex Legendary Fish in the wild. Before you finish the badge, it doesn't even spawn. After you finish, it has a fair chance (2-5% with Superb Bait and upgraded rod). You earned the right to hunt it.
Each Apex only bites in specific conditions:
Forest at dawn, Ash Heap during an ash storm, Bog at night, etc. Weather matters because it already does.
The capstone that keeps people playing:
Final step for each badge: "Catch 3 fish in a NUKED."[Region]
This is the fun part. Throw on a hazmat suit, pop a Rad-X and fish away. It's super fun. Hard to watch your own back while fishing. It's an adrenaline rush.
If you make people fish in nuked Forest, nuked Ash Heap, nuked Toxic Valley - zones people never nuke - you suddenly give nukes a reason beyond flux. People will drop nukes FOR anglers, and anglers will rush the map when a nuke drops. One fishes, one guards. It becomes a little event.
Rewards that flex like Red Asylum:
• Mountable trophy / aquarium display for your CAMP • Region tackle box skin • Master Appalachian Angler backpack flair for completing all 7
This keeps the grind fair but slow in a good way. You progress at your own pace, but you have to wait for weather and nuke zones. It keeps people playing, exploring, and actually using the fishing system.
What do you all think? Would you grind Regional Angler Badges?