I hadn't played in a while and on this game have found fishing much more difficult. Last time I played, by the time I had the iridium rod and level ten fishing, a few things were challenging (super cucumbers, blowfish, legendaries) but this time around those are nearly impossible to catch and I'm left wondering is it me? Has my neurologic disease progressed and this is a symptom, or has it gotten far more difficult for others as well?
Fishing has always been one of the more difficult things in the game. The only things harder are the arcade games. It hasn't been made harder but there is a noticable difference between controller fishing and keyboard fishing with the updates to gamepad controls.
I think it may be you memory. By the time you finish a game fishing seems a breeze. Walk away for a while and then come back and it's amazing how ones timing is off. It seems like you have to learn to fish all over again.
Sorry to hear you're dealing with neuro stuff. That's tough. I play with congnitive issues, and I'm familiar with that sense of "it shouldn't be this hard, something must be wrong." Does it help to hear that the experience of fishing at levels 0-4 is objectively different from the higher levels? There's a learning curve, sure - but the size of your fishing bar increases with each level, making it easier to keep the fish within the target range. It also feels to me like the physics change a bit, so the muscle memory/timing you developed at levels 7-10 don't serve you well when starting a new save. So combat is probably a better indicator of any changes in fine motor & response time.
I find that SDV fishing isn't one of those things you can leave alone for a good while, then come back to and expect to pick up again immediately. If you want to tailor the challenge, consider Teh's Fishing Overhaul: http://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/866/? Best of luck, regardless.
No it's the game alright. My wife happened to see me playing and said, "expletive deleted, what is wrong with that fish!?" It's been since the last update that fixed the issue with Clint's quests for ore that made you get all new ore but now you can take it out of a chest My guess is it's unique to certain set ups and isn't showing up in most people's configurations The fish literally went from the bottom of the screen to the top, back to the bottom then top again in under two seconds and that's using an iridium rod fishing level 10 and using whatever tackle is is that slows the escaping and later with the one that makes the bar bigger. It seems to be in this game the summer and winter legendaries, Lingcod, Puffers and Purple cucumbers, maybe a few others that I haven't managed to catch and can't guess what they were
I have not seen a noticeable difference however I agree that if you take much time off the game it really messes with your fishing timing.
In the options, add an auto-fish option? I'm fine with the mini-game, but I bought this a while back for my Mom, and she can't catch anything unless it's not moving, lol Having the option to toggle it in the Options, basing catches off the Fishing Rod & Skill level maybe? Last time I visited she wanted my help catching a bunch, so she could finally finish her Community Center.
Some of the fish just are absurd honestly. Some of them jump around not only faster than I can process sometimes, but in a way that even when I'm on top of it clicking just the right amount is near impossible. ((Fast bouncing to the top/bottom like how do y'all even avoid hitting the top/bottom when it keeps rushing between the two?))
A good strategy for fish that jump very frequently is to not even bother much with the extremities. You'll lose a little bit of the bar when they're at the ends, but it'll be easier to catch them toward the middle and make up the difference. Also it took me a very long time to realize that you don't have to tap to keep the bar at the top. Just hold down the button. The bottom is a little trickier. You have to slow your descent like you're a space shuttle with thrusters, lol. It's really about never letting the bar move faster than you can control it, because things will definitely spiral. And when it comes to legendaries, they all have a movement pattern that can be learned. Oh, and not using tackle that actually makes it harder to get certain fish (like the Barbed Hook, in my opinion).
I love how challenging fishing is in SDV, but I don't think anyone can deny that it is difficult. I know I still can't catch every fish that bites my line and I've caught thousands of them. I recommend practicing of course but as a rule of thumb; that advice by itself is subpar. My advice to anyone having trouble is that season and location matters based on what your skill is. Spring fish are easier than later season fish with Winter being more difficult. For location; River fish are easier than lake fish are easier than ocean fish. A good strategy is always make sure you skill up three times a season starting with Spring and you won't fall behind in skill versus fishing conditions.
In the very early game, leveling up fishing dovetails nicely with getting some starting-out cash. I usually have fishing to level 5 within a week or two. Just stand on the pier, fish until my backpack is full, sell to Willy, and repeat. I like to forage for energy items and then fish in the afternoons until I can afford the first backpack upgrade. Not terribly exciting, but those parsnips will come up soon and the dirt will be waiting for more seeds. Trying to get those later season fish with no fishing skill would be frustrating.
