With more than 12,000 achievement points it's easy to get called an achievement addict. I prefer "achievement hunter," but that's beside the point. This week's World Drop is the first of two fishing stories behind the Salty title and the Master Angler of Azeroth achievement.
A few days ago I finally finished a fishing achievement I had been ignoring for ages. Oceanographer asks you to catch a long list of fish across Azeroth and Northrend, and the catch (pun intended) is that Winter Squid only bites in winter. Who knew? With spring only days away, it was time to go fishing.
An hour later the achievement was mine and I was ten points closer to the 13,000 club. There's no reward for joining it, just knowing you're one of roughly fifty characters on the realm with that many points. Call me crazy. Please don't call me insane, though, I haven't earned that achievement yet and I doubt I ever will.
Getting Oceanographer reminded me of the day I earned one of the hardest achievements in the game. It was a Sunday, because that's the only day the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza runs.
Back in the summer of 2008, before achievements even existed, I joined the weekly fishing contest hoping to win the famous Arcanite Fishing Rod. Every Sunday dozens of anglers lined the Stranglethorn coast, fishing up Tastyfish and racing to Booty Bay once they had enough to turn in.
/oldmanvoice
"Back in my day there were no flying mounts to zip you from pool to pool. You rode your ground mount and you liked it. Hearthstones? One-hour cooldown, kid. Use it too early and you were stuck. No recall scrolls, no guild summons. Shamans had it easy, sure, but not me."
/endoldmanvoice
That week I made two mistakes: I forgot to set my hearthstone to Booty Bay, and I had already used it about twenty minutes before the contest started. By then I had entered about a dozen contests over three straight months and had never come close.
The contest kicked off on the hour, and as my first Tastyfish came in I realized luck was on my side. Nobody was stealing my pools, and I had the northern islands all to myself. Those islands were usually crowded with level 19 twinks and their escorts, chasing the prize to gear up their low-level PvP characters. Not that day.
Normally I worked my way up and down the coast, but the islands kept paying off. Pools kept spawning one after another and my Tastyfish luck was ridiculous, with barely an Oily Blackmouth or any other junk fish in sight.
Zone chat was buzzing with people posting their counts: 20... 24... 23 Tastyfish from the louder competitors.
I had 35 when I saw those numbers, and the excitement started to build.
36... 37... 38. Then it dawned on me: I had no way to teleport to Booty Bay. I had to get moving and catch the last couple of fish on the way to the finish.
It felt like forever. The numbers in zone chat crept closer. Halfway to the Bay I stopped at a pool for #39, and a bit further south I had #40.
Then someone in zone chat announced 38. We were fifteen minutes in, and the dreaded zone-wide winner announcement usually came within moments. I was sprinting for Booty Bay, wishing for a Carrot on a Stick or anything that would get me there faster.
That last minute dragged on. I reached Booty Bay convinced I'd lose and that someone would pop out of the inn after a hearthstone and steal the win.
Still no announcement... had I missed it? Was there still a chance?!
I found the NPC, clicked, turned in... and that was it. Against all odds I had WON the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. Oh, and I left out one small detail about that win.
Until Wrath of the Lich King, I played on dial-up.
Next time: the long hunt for "The One That Didn't Get Away" and finally earning the Salty title.
World Drop posts covered all kinds of WoW topics, from lore to achievements and everything in between. .