Fisher: Stats mean absolutely nothing

[Zfz]

I've been wondering about perception. If perception has no cap, theoretically someone with very high perception should be able to go fish for very low level fish and HQ most of the catches, right?

Or perhaps what really happens with Perception is that there's diminishing returns on its effect, and every point adds less chance to HQ until after a certain number it makes practically no difference to the HQ probability.

[StouterTaru]

I would guess it works the same way as miner and botanist with the high level nodes. The 2 star nodes you start at around 81% chance with minimum gathering. Add on about 60 gathering above minimum and you're up to 86-87%.

Fishing is clearly different numbers, but I'd bet it works in a very similar way. Taking a tiny sample size of ten fish isn't going to give you an accurate reading.

[LineageRazor]

I would guess it works the same way as miner and botanist with the high level nodes. The 2 star nodes you start at around 81% chance with minimum gathering. Add on about 60 gathering above minimum and you're up to 86-87%.

Fishing is clearly different numbers, but I'd bet it works in a very similar way. Taking a tiny sample size of ten fish isn't going to give you an accurate reading.

Well, the difference is, the precentages you're looking at have to do with GATHERING, not PERCEPTION. (If you ARE talking about Perception, I'd love for you to tell me where these 81% HQ rate nodes can be found! ) I find it really odd that folks think that Perception has no cap for fishers. While it's certainly difficult to figure out what that cap IS, it's pretty obvious that we're not catching all HQ fish at low levels. There has to be some kind of cap on what Perception can do for you.

I'd guess that, much like gathering nodes, fish in general have an HQ cap at 15%, and once you reach that, additional Perception does no good for those fish. And, much like higher level gathering nodes, it's quite likely that there isn't enough gear in the game to reach the 15% mark for the highest tier fish.

[Malakai]

The only thing bot/min probably have in common is stated as above. That there is a 15% cap on HQ rate if you have max perception in that fishing hold for the fish. Hence why you can spend 3 hours fishing at a low lvl spot and rarely get any HQ's to mooch with if you are in high lvl fully melded gear and have the same chance compared to someone else in low lvl non-melded gear. Also it's probably correct what most people say like with Titanic Sawfish that the HQ rate drops even more on certain moochable fish you need when the window of another fish that needs it is up.
I wouldn't compare BOT/MIN to FSH tho mainly due to certain GP abilities. FSH doesn't even use GP let alone have abilities to help it's gathering out. There is no Toil of the Waters which let's FSH see all catchable fish and if they do/don't meet the gathering requirements. Or Rod Mastery which allows gathering increase of 5%-50% on fish. Or Bait Master which increases HQ by 10%-30%. Or Greater Haul which nets 2-3 fish in a single gathering attempt instead of just one. Or Steel Wire which after 4 100% gathers allows for the next fish to be 100% caught and 100% HQ. The thing with FSH is during that window period you are left at the mercy of RNG regardless of stats. Where as with BOT/MIN you are guaranteed one 100% gather in that window frame.

[Whatever]

I def agree on alot of points. Its almost like fishing wasn't taken seriously or they put it on the backburner.. waiting to be finished. Wish I would have known about the stats thing sooner so I wouldn't have spent millions tweaking out those last melds. Hopefully SE will give FSH their due someday.

[Shadygrove]

The way I believe perception works in fishing.

Each fish has a perception floor and cap. Below the floor and you can't catch a HQ. Above the cap, no mater how much you have, there is no increase in the HQ rate.

[ServerCollaps]

So with the 408 gather level is just needed. Does that mean further points are not necessary as they do no good? Hope not cause of all the extra time, melds, and gil spent to tweak out stats.. even more so if its all just for tiny gains...

basically 403 is all you need, since thats the minimum which is required for nepto which is the "hardest" of all fish in terms of gathering required

everything above 403 is useless and makes no difference

[Squand]

basically 403 is all you need

That isn't the conclusion I've come to.

Here is my supposition to how it works.

There is a loot table of fish with various catch rates. When you cast your line it rolls to see which one you're going after. There is some counter that is kept so you don't get the same fish over and over. And so you can clear out the fish in that area. If you fish long enough in one spot, the fish leave the area.

There is a minimum requirement for Gathering, and a min requirement for HQ. If you meet the Gathering req you have a 70% chance to hook. Every 3 points of gathering gives you 1% higher chance to hook. If you meet the HQ rate you get 1% HQ and every 10 points of peception over that gives you 1 point of hq rate up until you hit 15%.

If you hook the fish, the fish will roll against it's slippery rating to see if it can get away.

Ultimately we will never look under the hood, and we will never know for sure.

[Shadygrove]

So with the 408 gather level is just needed. Does that mean further points are not necessary as they do no good? Hope not cause of all the extra time, melds, and gil spent to tweak out stats.. even more so if its all just for tiny gains...

As of today nothing past that really counts. There is 2.55 and 3.0 though.

But which fish takes 408? I can't remember a post in Cat that said 404 insufficient, and I have rikaichan so I know the Japanese character.

[LineageRazor]

There is a loot table of fish with various catch rates. When you cast your line it rolls to see which one you're going after. There is some counter that is kept so you don't get the same fish over and over. And so you can clear out the fish in that area. If you fish long enough in one spot, the fish leave the area.

Go to a fishing hole. Catch ONE fish. Now, leave, go play Triple Triad for an hour, or something. Now, go back to that same spot, and try to fish again. You can't: you get the "fish are wary" message. This message is not triggered by quantity of fish caught. It is calculated by your position, and the duration of time since you started fishing (even if you only caught one fish). It has nothing to do with exhausting the supply of fish in the area.

There is a minimum requirement for Gathering, and a min requirement for HQ. If you meet the Gathering req you have a 70% chance to hook. Every 3 points of gathering gives you 1% higher chance to hook.

I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by this... A 70% chance to hook what? The rarer fish? What if you don't WANT the rarer fish, what if you're, say, trying to catch sharks for Alchemy. Does higher gathering skill, then, penalize your ability to catch marketable fish by increasing your chances of catching a higher level fish which may be of no use at all? As near as I can tell, the only factor that affects the odds of hooking a given fish are the type of bait used.