Beginner's Guide - Basics and Features - Call of the Wild: The Angler Guide - IGN (2024)

Call of the Wild: The Angler is an open-world fishing game from Expansive Worlds. You take on the role of a beginner angler, exploring the vast and varied environment as you complete tutorials to improve your skills. Whether fishing solo or with friends, you'll complete a multitude of challenges to help you on your way to becoming a master angler. If you're just starting your journey, then this guide covers all the basics and features that you'll want to get to grips with early on.

Click the links below to jump to specific sections:

• Creating Your Angler
• Fishing Basics
• The Shopkeeper and Warden
• Completing Missions
• Exploring
  • Fast Travel

Creating Your Angler

Before you even begin to start fishing, you'll need to create your angler. Though the customization options are fairly basic on this initial creation page, you'll be able to purchase more apparel and tweak your character throughout the game. Complete missions and explore to receive XP and coins that you can use to buy new accessories and clothing.

Getting Started with Fishing

Unsurprisingly, fishing is what you're going to spend most of your time doing in Call of the Wild: The Angler. And thankfully, as soon as the game begins you'll have to complete a few tutorials so you can understand the basics. The first tutorial mission will cover topics from casting to pumping and catching your first fish but here are the basics you'll need every time:

• You can equip your rod by pressing 1 (and access a quick menu once it's equipped).
• Press the left button on your mouse, push the mouse forward and let go of the left mouse button as you do, to cast your rod.
• Wait for the Strike! notification to appear on your screen with a yellow banner
• Press the right mouse button and hook your fish
• Press the left mouse button when you have your fish to reel it in
• Hold Shift to reel it in faster.

Meet the Shopkeeper and the Warden

Golden Ridge Reserve has four outposts where you can collect Photo, Map and Fishing Challenges. The main outpost is Diamond's Peak, where you'll be able to spend your credits at the shop and speak to the Warden to take on favors. Sophia is the Shopkeeper of Taylor's Tackles and your first port of call for tutorials and gear. As you earn more credits, you can purchase more and better gear to be able to catch record-breaking fish.

Clayton Johnson, The Warden, will ask for you to complete favors that include reporting on invasive plants, diseased and infested trees and tourist attractions. Most of these you'll notice as you explore the area, as they'll sparkle brightly. Approach them if you see something sparkling, then report them to the Warden for extra XP and credits.

Complete Tutorials, Favors and Challenges

To be able to purchase more equipment, vehicles or apparel for customization, you need to earn credits. You can do this by completing tutorials, favors for the Warden as explained above and specific Challenges set by Sophia the Shopkeeper.

There are two noticeboards in outposts, where you can accept tutorials and take on challenges. If you interact with the tutorial board, you can accept missions that focus on driving vehicles and boats, or specific fishing guides. You can only take on one of these tutorials at a time.

An additional noticeboard in each outpost has three challenge types for you to take on: these are Photo, Map and Fishing Challenges. There are 36 of these challenges in total and they're a great way to earn XP and coins.

Exploring

Golden Ridge Reserve has beautiful scenery, but that's not the only benefit to exploring it as much as you possibly can. The more you explore, the easier it becomes to move around the game and the more information you'll unlock about where you can look for specific fish.

When you first start the game, your map will look pretty blank but if you make sure you find Outposts, you can survey the area and unlock some undiscovered icons. There are also bodies of water for you to discover, and when you do, you'll see a fish icon appear. This will tell you what exact fish you can expect to find in each of the waterbodies.

When you're exploring you'll also come across collectibles including notes, lost items, coins and figurines. These are highlighted in red and you can view them in your handbook at any time.

Fast Travelling

One of the biggest benefits of exploring is you'll also unlock a load of fast travel points, which will make light work of getting around the map. Fast travel points include Outposts and Trailheads. From each of these points, you can call for a vehicle or boat so you can explore more of the surrounding area. Most of these will unlock as soon as you're near them and are immediately available as fast travel points.