Between demon-slaying sessions and dungeon runs, Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred expansion now gives you a reason to slow down, cast a line, and reel in some surprisingly valuable loot. Fishing was introduced with the Lord of Hatred expansion, and it's more than just a novelty; it's a full system with its own quests, collection log, achievements, and gear rewards, including uniques.
Here's everything you need to know about fishing in D4 LoH: what is the point of fishing, how to fish, what rewards and drops to get from fishing, drop rate of legendary and unique items from fishing, and what are the best fishing spots and strategies.
Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred Fishing Guide (Rewards, Spots, Unique Strategy)
Introduced alongside Season 13 and the Lord of Hatred expansion, fishing is Diablo 4's first non-combat activity. The feature lets you cast your rod into bodies of water, and even lava, across Sanctuary and the new Skovos region. It functions as a light skill-based minigame with its own loot table, a dedicated fish collection, and a progression path tied to achievements and titles. It's simple to pick up, but the reward system has enough depth to keep you coming back between Helltides and World Boss spawns.
What's the Purpose of Fishing in Diablo 4?
Fishing serves multiple roles in the game. At its core, it's a relaxing side activity — a way to decompress after intense grinding sessions without leaving the game entirely. But it also ties directly into progression and rewards in several ways.
A Secondary Loot System
Fish and other items you pull from the water can be traded with Fisher NPCs for gold, gems, and materials used in the Horadric Cube. High-tier fishing spots even have a chance to drop Legendary and Unique items directly.
Collection and Achievements
Fishing has its own dedicated collection log. Every new species of fish you catch gets recorded, and completing parts of the collection earns you titles and achievement rewards. This gives the system long-term replay value even after you've geared up your character.
Cosmetic Rewards
Trading legendary fish to the right NPCs can grant fishing rod skins and aquatic-themed armor sets. For players who care about transmogs and fashion, this is a legitimate source of exclusive looks you won't find anywhere else.
Where & How to Fish in Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred?
Getting your line in the water is straightforward, but there are a few things worth knowing about locations and controls.
You Can Fish Anywhere There's Water (or Lava)
Any body of water across Sanctuary and Skovos is a valid fishing spot. Rivers, lakes, shallow streams, coastal areas, and even pools of lava all work. You don't need to find a designated fishing zone — if you see water, you can cast.
How to Cast Your Line
Open your action wheel (the same interface where your emotes are located). On PC, the default hotkey is E. From the wheel, select "Cast Fishing Line" and your character will throw out the line automatically. You don't even need to face the water directly, though positioning yourself where you can see the water surface makes timing easier.
How to Reel In a Catch
Once your line is in the water, wait for one of two signals: a splashing sound effect, or a blue fish icon that appears above your character's head. When either happens, press any skill hotkey to reel in. If you time it precisely, you may receive a bonus item alongside your catch. The loot drops at your character's feet, and you pick it up like any other item.
Keybinding Tip
If you don't want to open the action wheel every time, you can set a dedicated keybind for fishing in the game's options menu. Some players bind it to a convenient key like G for quick access.
How to Start the Fishing Quest & Catch Treasures?
Fishing isn't available from the very start of the game. You need to reach a specific point in the Lord of Hatred campaign to get access.
The Introductory Quest
The fishing quest triggers automatically near the end of the first stage of the Lord of Hatred campaign. Some players have reported seeing it pop up around level 13, though it may appear earlier depending on how quickly you progress through the story. Keep an eye on your priority quest list once you arrive in Skovos.
Meeting the NPC: Shi Yu Gang
The quest directs you to an NPC named Shi Yu Gang located on a dock in Skovos. Interact with him, follow his brief instructions, and he'll reward you with a fishing rod. The game also provides a short tutorial overlay explaining the mechanics.
Completing the First Quest
After receiving the rod, you need to catch a fish and add it to your collection. This is where many players get stuck. Here's what to do:
Go to any nearby body of water (there's one right next to the NPC). Cast your line using the action wheel. Reel in a fish when prompted. Then open your inventory, navigate to the Consumables tab, and right-click (or press the corresponding button on console) the fish to add it to your collection. On Xbox, for example, the "Add to Collection" prompt appears when you select the fish, and you press A to confirm.
Follow-Up Quests
After the introductory quest, Shi Yu Gang offers a second quest called "Favor for a Favor," which asks you to catch a few more fish. Completing this gives additional rewards. He then provides a longer quest called "The One That Got Away," which sends you to multiple regions across the map. This chain appears to be the main fishing questline in the expansion.
Viewing Your Collection
To check your progress, open the menu and go to Collection > Challenges > Fishing. This screen shows every fish species you've caught and tracks your progress toward achievement milestones.
How to Get Specialized Bait & Rod?
Not all catches are created equal, and the type of bait you use directly affects what you pull from the water.
Buying Bait from Fisher NPCs
Specialized bait is available for purchase from Fisher NPCs scattered across the world. This bait increases your chances of hooking specific rarities of fish, meaning you can target higher-value catches instead of relying purely on luck.
Why It Matters
Using the right bait at the right fishing spot can dramatically improve your returns. If you're chasing a particular rare fish for your collection or trying to farm materials for the Horadric Cube, investing in specialized bait is well worth the gold.
Diablo 4 Fishing Rewards & Unique Drop Rate
Now for the part most players care about — what can you actually get, and how often do the good drops show up?
What You Can Get from Fishing
The fishing loot table includes a wide range of items beyond just fish. Here's what players have reported pulling from the water:
Common and rare fish - Used for collection entries, NPC trades, and achievement tracking.
Gold and gems - A straightforward currency reward that appears frequently.
Crafting materials - Including exclusive materials that feed into the Horadric Cube, which cannot be obtained through other means.
Legendary items - These can drop from high-tier fishing spots.
Unique items - Also available from high-tier spots, though at a lower rate than Legendaries.
Cosmetic rewards - Fishing rod skins and aquatic-themed armor sets are obtainable by trading legendary fish to specific NPCs.
Miscellaneous junk - As with any fishing system, you'll occasionally reel in random debris. Consider it part of the charm.
What Are the Drop Rates for Legendary and Unique Items?
Blizzard has not published official drop rate percentages for fishing loot. However, based on early player reports, here's a general sense of what to expect:
Common fish and basic materials make up the vast majority of catches. Legendary items appear to have a low but noticeable drop rate at high-tier fishing spots, particularly lava fishing locations. Unique items are rarer still — some players have reported catching Unique-rarity fish and gear, but it takes sustained effort. One player reported getting both a Unique and a Legendary after just a few casts on Hard difficulty, so the difficulty setting and spot tier likely factor into loot quality.
The drop rates appear to follow the same general philosophy as the rest of Diablo 4's loot system: better spots and higher difficulty yield better odds, but nothing is guaranteed.
What Can the Fish Be Used For?
Fish serve three primary purposes once they're in your inventory.
Adding to your collection - Right-click (or use the corresponding button on console) on a fish you haven't caught before, and it gets logged in your collection. Duplicate fish won't go into the collection but remain in your consumable tab.
Trading with Fisher NPCs - You can sell fish to vendor NPCs for gold, gems, and exclusive crafting materials. Legendary fish can be exchanged for cosmetic rewards like rod skins and armor transmogs.
Horadric Cube materials - Certain fish and fishing-exclusive materials are used in Horadric Cube recipes, giving fishing a direct link to the crafting and power progression systems.
Diablo 4 Best Fishing Spots & Strategy
Knowing where and how to fish efficiently can save you a lot of time and maximize your rewards.
How to Find Good Fishing Spots
Any body of water works, but not all spots are equal. Higher-tier fishing spots tend to yield better loot and rarer fish species. Here are some indicators to look for:
Visual cues in the environment - Areas with more prominent water features, unique visual effects, or NPCs nearby often signal higher-quality spots.
Lava pools - These are among the highest-tier fishing locations in the game. Lava fishing spots have a confirmed chance to drop Legendary and Unique items, making them a priority for loot-focused anglers.
Region variety - Different regions contain different fish species. If you're trying to complete your collection, you'll need to cast your line across multiple zones in both Sanctuary and Skovos.
What Are the Best Fishing Spots?
Based on early community feedback, the following locations stand out as top choices:
Lava fishing spots - These are the premier locations for high-value drops. The chance for Legendary and Unique items makes them the go-to for players farming gear through fishing.
Skovos coastal areas - As the new region introduced with Lord of Hatred, Skovos contains a variety of water types and unique fish species not found elsewhere.
Spots near quest NPCs - The water right next to Shi Yu Gang in Skovos is a convenient early-game fishing spot. It works perfectly for completing introductory quests and still provides decent catches.
Areas with visible water surfaces - Several players have noted that fishing at spots where you can clearly see the water splashing makes it much easier to time your reel-in, effectively improving your success rate.
How to Set Up the Unique Fishing Strategy?
A few practical tips can help you get the most out of every fishing session.
Fish during downtime. The best time to fish is when you're waiting for timed events — Helltide spawns, World Boss countdowns, or Whisper resets. Instead of standing idle, cast a line and potentially grab some free loot.
Use specialized bait. Buy bait from Fisher NPCs that targets the rarity or species you're after. This is especially valuable at high-tier spots where the baseline drop rates for rare items are already better.
Position yourself to see the water. While you can technically fish without facing the water, being able to see the splash animation gives you a visual cue alongside the audio one. This makes it easier to time a perfect catch and earn bonus items.
Play on higher difficulty settings. Early reports suggest that difficulty affects fishing loot quality, similar to how it works for combat drops. If your character can handle it, fishing on Hard or above may improve your chances of pulling Legendaries and Uniques.
Rotate between regions. Don't camp one spot forever. Moving between different zones helps fill out your fish collection, earn more achievements, and access a wider variety of loot tables.
Check your consumables tab regularly. Fish pile up quickly. Make sure you're adding new species to your collection and selling or trading duplicates to Fisher NPCs before your inventory gets cluttered.
Fishing in Diablo 4 might seem like an odd fit for a demon-slaying action RPG, but Blizzard has tied it into the game's progression systems in meaningful ways. Between the Horadric Cube materials, cosmetic rewards, achievement titles, and the slim chance of reeling in a Legendary or Unique, there's a genuine reason to pick up the rod, even if it's just for five minutes between Helltides. Cast often, use good bait, and don't sleep on the lava spots.