Goldfish Scooping


Goldfish Scooping is a mini-game that is featured as part of the Sunbreeze Festival. It is a special type of fishing game which lasts for the full duration of the festival. The objective is to accumulate goldfish points by catching, and trading captured goldfish to quest NPCs.

Locations[edit]

There are four locations throughout Vana'diel where you can participate in the event. At each location is an NPC who sells event-related items and hands out rewards. Each NPC is sitting near the edge of a small body of water, in which the goldfish may be caught.

Location Event NPC Body of Water
West Ronfaure (G-10) Saradorial Knightswell
South Gustaberg (E-8) Fish Eyes The Fumaroles
East Sarutabaruta (H-8) Kesha Shopehllok Nompipi River
Rabao (F-7) Mei Rabao Spring

Equipment[edit]

When you arrive, you'll need to buy the proper scooping gear from the event NPC: a Goldfish Bowl and several Super Scoops.

  • The Goldfish Bowl is obtained for free by choosing the "I'd like a bowl" option.
  • Super Scoops can be purchased for 100 gil each by choosing the "I want to buy a scoop" option, or in exchange for points obtained from trading fish (see below).

Equip the Goldfish Bowl in your Range slot, and a stack of Super Scoops in your Ammo slot.

Additionally, the festival occasionally offers various yukata that improve your goldfish-scooping abilities. These improve the type of goldfish you encounter:

And these allow two goldfish to be caught:

These items may be available as event rewards, or purchasable from select Moogles selling event equipment. If you were lucky enough to obtain one as an event reward, then bring it with you, and equip it before you begin.

Scooping[edit]

Once you're properly equipped, it's time to get your feet wet. Walk out into one of the shallow bodies of water, and use the /fish command (or Fish menu command) to begin a goldfish-scooping cutscene.

After several seconds, a message will appear, of the form, "A goldfish approaches!" Once this message appears, you will have a limited time to press the confirm button, or Enter on your keyboard, and scoop up a goldfish.

If you wait a while, you'll get a second message, "Hurry, before the goldfish sees you!". Waiting too long after this second message will allow the goldfish to escape, ending your attempt.

If you succeed, you'll receive one of the five types of goldfish as a reward:.

Goldfish Caught Sighting Message Goldfish Points Optimal Catch
Tiny Goldfish A tiny goldfish approaches! 1 1-2 second after first message
Black Bubble-Eye A plump, black goldfish approaches! 2 2-3 seconds after first message
Lionhead A fat, juicy goldfish approaches! 10 1-2 seconds after "Hurry!" message
Pearlscale A fat, juicy goldfish approaches! 30 2-3 seconds after "Hurry!" message
Calico Comet A fat, juicy goldfish approaches! 30 2-3 seconds after "Hurry!" message

It's possible to catch more than one of the Tiny Goldfish or Black Bubble-Eye in one fishing attempt if you are equipped with the Otokoeshi Yukata or Ominaeshi Yukata.

There are four possible results for each iteration of the goldfish-scooping cutscene:

  • Success: "Player caught a goldfish!"
Occurs at random when you try to scoop a fish. A goldfish of the appropriate type is added to your inventory.
  • Failure: "The goldfish slipped off your scoop."
Occurs at random when you try to scoop a fish. You don't lose anything, but you don't pick up a fish, either. This outcome seems more likely if you don't wait long enough before trying to scoop.
  • Failure: "You lost your catch."
Occurs at random when you try to scoop a fish.
  • Failure: "The paper on your super scoop ripped."
Occurs at random when you try to scoop a fish. In addition to missing out on the goldfish, you also lose one of the Super Scoops. This outcome seems more likely if you wait too long before trying to scoop.

You might also receive the message "There are no goldfish to be found..." a few seconds after using the /fish command. This may occur after several scooping attempts, similar to fishing fatigue.

Your success rate for scooping goldfish will vary. Equipping a goldfish-scooping yukata seems to widen the interval during which your attempt will be successful, but there is some disagreement about how important the timing of your scooping attempt really is. For those of low motivation, waiting 1-2 seconds works as a general rule, especially if you have one of the yukatas on, and involves less concentration.

Rewards[edit]

Once you have accumulated some goldfish, you can trade them to one of the event NPCs. The NPC will then tell you how many points you have gained from your catches. It's this good fortune you will trade back to the NPC in exchange for the event rewards.

Talk to the NPC and select the topic "I'm ready for my prize." You can then select any of the event rewards for which you have sufficient points:

Description Reward Event Points
Super Scoop Super Scoop 5
Bag of fireworks Random assortment of fireworks 15
Large Fans Summer Fans or Festive Fans 25
Colored drop Any colored drop, such as a Red Drop 30
Mystery box 12 Spirit Masques 50
A stellar surprise Puny Planet Kit 60
Other mystery box Goldfish Set 65
Yet another mystery box 70
This article uses material from the "Goldfish_Scooping" article on FFXIclopedia and is licensed under the CC-BY-SA License.