Brighter Shores can often be a bit obtuse with its mechanics, even more so than RuneScape, which is the game that inspired this new early access experience. Unlike the game that heavily influenced it, there are ways to train skills completely AFK, however, doing so requires you to jump through a few hoops first. Here is a quick guide on how to do some AFK fishing!
AFK Fishing Guide
First up, you will need to train Fishing to level 20. There is no way around this, as that is the level at which you can unlock the very first “AFK” node of this skill. If you are still very early into the game, here is a very brief rundown of the journey to make it to level 20:
Level 0 – Buy a Fishing Spear from Melv’s Fishing Supplies (check the map image below) and start catching flounders in the East Beach area.
Level 2 – Catch eels at the Eel Street Bridge just south of the Town Square.
Level 4 – Head to the southeast of the previous location to reach Wilhope Crossing, where you can catch some pufferfish.
Level 6 – Go back to East Beach to catch olive flounders.
Level 8 – Go back to Eel Street Bridge to catch gray eels.
Level 10 – Go back to Wilhope Crossing to catch lonely pufferfish.
Level 12 – Return to the East Beach for stone flounders until you reach level 16.
Level 16 – Catch rocky eels back at Eel Street Bridge.
Level 18 – Finally, start catching lemon pufferfish at Wilhope Crossing until you reach level 20.
There are other methods you can try, but this is the most straightforward path you can take that follows the skill’s linear progression. Basically, the fish you can catch will upgrade as you reach certain levels, though you can always go back by right clicking them and selecting “past action”.
NOTE: If you get a knowledge level, do not spend it yet! You will need one for the next part, and if you waste it, you will need to grind some more until you get another point.
The AFK Method
Now that you have hit level 20, you must first buy a fishing rod. Return to Melv’s Fishing Supplies to get one. This will cost you 72 silver, which should be chump change by now if you have been selling your fish.
Also, you will need to buy bait and crates from the fishing supplies store. In the case of Dabs, you must buy buckets of sea slugs at a cost of 3 silver each. Supposedly, each bucket of bait is equal to one crate worth of fish, so purchase an equal number of both before you go AFKing.
That is not all, though. If you click on the professions menu and then navigate to “View Rewards” beside the knowledge exp bar, you will see the Fisherman/Fisherwoman option under Hopeport.
This initial option requires level 20 fishing and oneknowledge point that is passively gained by grinding any skill in the game. Once you have met both of these requirements, you can advance this skill and unlock the first AFK method.
With the knowledge perk unlocked and all of the necessary fishing supplies and tools on hand, all that is left to do is to run over to the Vacant Pier, which is at the eastern part of the Waterfront.
There, you will find Dab nodes on the water. Once you interact with it, you will see the “Passive Activity” notification under the screen, which indicates that this will continue even while you are logged out.
The important thing to note here is that passiveactivities like this one, for any skill, will offer muchlower EXP rates. This is the trade-off for not needing to actively play the game, and it is mainly only recommended if you are going offline.
That is pretty much everything you need to know in order to start AFK training your fishing skills in Brighter Shores. There are higher-level versions of this later down the line, but the logic stays the same, so just save up knowledge points and keep training your fishing!
Franco is a writer and avid gamer who spends a lot of his free time looking for the next obscure indie roguelike to add to his collection. If he’s not busy working or writing on his personal blog, there’s also a non-zero chance that you stumble into him in pretty much any multiplayer game that has SEA or OCE servers. He’s pretty good at anything unless it’s a fighting game, in which case you’d probably body him.