If you are in this page, it means that you are now in Island 3 of How to Fish game, launched on August 20 by Dazed Games as one of the trending titles nowadays. Pufferfish is the first real wall of the game and you should know how to beat it.
At first, the difficulty of How to Fish Pufferfish Boss Fight was really hard for me. Players were reporting the exact same problem in the game’s Steam discussions within days of launch. Fortunately, the developers have already pushed at least one balance patch nerfing the fight.
If you need a complete Pufferfish boss fight guide, please help yourself!
Table of Contents
How to Trigger the Pufferfish Fight
You can’t just sail around Island 3 waiting for the Pufferfish to show up. You need a Carrot in your inventory to trigger the fight. If you don’t have one yet, finish the Tourist’s quest requirement first.
Two things worth knowing before you use it:
- The Carrot isn’t unlimited. If you use it and lose, you don’t get a free second attempt. You’ll need to go earn another one. Don’t spend it the moment you get it. Finish your food and weapon prep first.
- Go in prepared, not just armed. Bring healing food and a weapon you already know how to control.
How to Fish: Pufferfish Boss Fight Guide: Complete Strategy
The most important tip that I can give you is not to fight Pufferfish in the open.
The Pufferfish tends to charge straight at you, so trees and other solid terrain force it to reroute. Keep moving in a loop around that cover and fire when it’s repositioning. Then, move again before it closes the gap.
Pufferfish Attack Patterns
Knowing what’s coming matters as much as knowing where to stand.
- The charge. The Pufferfish’s main attack is a straight-line rush at your position. This is what trees and terrain are for.
- Inflate and poison. The Pufferfish will periodically inflate and release a poison effect. Don’t stand still to keep shooting through this. Back off and wait for it to deflate before you re-engage.
- It gets bigger as the fight goes on. The Pufferfish’s body grows over the course of the encounter. That’s not just cosmetic. A bigger body means terrain that barely slows it down early on can block its path more effectively later, so don’t assume your first-phase route still works near the end.
Best Weapons Against the Pufferfish
The short answer is Dynamite. You can impose a large amount of damage to the Pufferfish by using explosives.
There is an issue I myself have not faced but some player note that they have serious recoil issues trying to melt the boss with SMG-class weapons. However, I used an SMG and dynamite for killing the Pufferfish and the recoil was no problem for me.
Co-op Tips for the Pufferfish Fight
In co-op, the setup that seems to work best is having one player handle the kiting route around cover while the rest post up at separate angles and fire in, rather than everyone clustering behind the same tree.
Move Fast and Evade the Attacks
The Pufferfish moves really fast and you should move fast too. Try to evade the attacks first and then shoot it. It is a good strategy to follow toward the end of the boss fight.
Why Does the Pufferfish One-Shot Me?
If you’re getting dropped in a single hit even with a decent weapon, you’re describing the same thing players were reporting in different discussions.
You’re taking the hit in the open, not after a break
The charge is the dangerous part. If you’re standing in open ground when it commits toward you, you’re eating the full attack instead of the reduced or redirected version you get once a tree or terrain interrupts its path. “I got one-shot” and “I fought it on open ground” tend to be the same report.
You’re chasing lost ground instead of resetting
If your positioning already broke down, pushing for one more shot instead of disengaging is often what turns a bad moment into a dead run. The fight seems to punish greed harder than it punishes caution.
You triggered it before the balance patch settled
The devs nerfed the Pufferfish in an early patch after a wave of bug reports. If you fought it before that patch landed, the version you remember was tougher than the one you’re facing now. So don’t go in bracing for pre-patch difficulty.
What to Do After Defeating the Pufferfish Boss
Don’t turn in whatever meat drops from the kill. The quest specifically wants a distinct trophy item, generally described as a fin or tail piece, not the ordinary fish chunks you’d normally sell.
Hand that specific item back to the Tourist to close out the quest and unlock the route to Island 4. Easy!
