How to Fish Upgrades Guide | Smart Purchase Priorities

Purchase priority reference

Spend on the blocker in front of you

This table makes known starting prices and route roles scannable. A missing price is marked in its own cell, not expanded into a generic warning section.

Purchase	Price	First available	Effect or damage	Upgrade or best use	Evidence
RadarNavigation utility	$10	Lighthouse, after Boat Keys	Provides the next-route navigation cue	Buy once the Spider Crab hand-in grants travel access.	Community cross-check
Shotgun bullet pathWeapon damage upgrade	$20 → $30 → $40 for the first documented steps	After buying the Shotgun	Separate bullet-damage progression; exact current gains need live check	Add one step when the active fight is taking too long.	Community cross-check
Weapon attachmentsSeparate equipment system	Unknown — check the compatible live-shop item	Compatible weapon and current shop stock	Iron Sight and its expensive attachments removed in Patch 1.0.11	Plan separately from bullets; use a full set for Fully Equipped only when compatible.	Official + community
DynamiteCollection utility	$25	Forest	Collects fish from water; own blasts can kill the player	Bulk food or collection tasks, not a default boss damage upgrade.	Official patch
Boat engineTravel upgrade	Unknown — current shop check required	After the next route is confirmed	Travel convenience; exact speed change needs live check	Buy after combat, bait and the hand-in already allow departure.	Needs live check

Use the live shop whenever a row says Needs live check; the page gives the decision order even when a current numeric value is not published.

An evidence label applies to the row’s stated facts, not to an unsupported universal tier list.

Budget Planner & Priority Calculator

Estimate Gold & Upgrade Priorities

Select items to compute the total gold budget required for your next voyage. Unverified prices are never invented and remain explicitly labeled.

Total Gold Needed

$160

2 items selected

Quick Presets:

Radar

$10

Provides navigation cues for the next island route on your radar screen.

NavigationLighthouse (after Boat Keys)

Crab Fishing Rod

$10

Required to catch the early crab pool and trigger the Spider Crab encounter.

FishingLighthouse starter shop

Shotgun

$150

Primary high-impact firearm for clearing creature waves and mid-game bosses.

CombatIsland weapon shop

Shotgun Bullet Tier 1

$20

First documented bullet damage upgrade step.

UpgradeAfter owning Shotgun

Shotgun Bullet Tier 2

$30

Second documented bullet damage upgrade step.

UpgradeAfter Tier 1 Bullet

Shotgun Bullet Tier 3

$40

Third documented bullet damage upgrade step.

UpgradeAfter Tier 2 Bullet

Dynamite

$25

Explosive utility for mass water fish harvesting. Player self-damage applies in Patch 1.0.11+.

UtilityForest shop

Boat Engine

TBD

Increases boat movement speed between islands. Numerical tier prices pending live check.

NavigationConfirmed travel route open

Weapon Attachments

TBD

Iron Sight removed in Patch 1.0.11; specific attachment costs depend on weapon compatibility.

UpgradeCompatible weapon owned

01Start with the blocker you can name

Use the active quest to decide where money goes next. Buy the Radar after Boat Keys if the blocker is navigation, improve a weapon if the boss is taking too long and consider an engine only after the route is actually open. This separates a useful purchase from a reflex purchase. It also leaves currency for the bait, food or hand-in that may be the real reason progress is stalled.

The table makes the first known prices and evidence status visible before the detailed guidance. Community cross-check labels identify dated route reports, Official patch labels identify a Steam-announcement change and Needs live check points directly to the in-game screen. Unknown values are kept in the relevant price or effect cell. That lets a player act on the confirmed part of the row without confusing it for a complete catalogue.

02Buy the Radar after the Lighthouse hand-in

The documented $10 Radar belongs immediately after the Spider Crab hand-in and Boat Keys, because it gives the next-route navigation cue. It does not replace the hand-in itself or create a destination before the quest has advanced. If the next island is missing, revisit the current objective before buying a weapon or engine. That check is cheaper and more useful than trying to outspend a progression gate.

Once the route is available, use the Radar to make travel a specific problem rather than a vague worry. The Map guide owns the visual island sequence, while this page owns the purchase choice that follows. Keep those questions separate: first confirm the task, then follow the cue, then decide whether a travel purchase is worth its current shop price. This prevents overlap with a coordinate or route guide.

03Add early bullet upgrades only when combat is the blocker

The documented Shotgun route begins at $150, with the first listed bullet upgrades costing $20, $30 and $40. That is enough information to plan the opening combat spend without pretending that every later tier belongs in a universal shopping order. Buy the next affordable step when your current weapon is clearly failing the active encounter. Then test the fight before spending on another gun, engine or attachment.

Bullet upgrades and attachments answer different questions. A bullet step improves the weapon’s damage path, while an attachment is a separate compatible item with its own shop availability. Do not count an attachment purchase as proof that the gun’s bullet plan is finished. The same distinction keeps an achievement loadout from becoming an accidental boss recommendation.

04Read attachment changes at the row, not in a disclaimer

Patch 1.0.11 removed Iron Sight as a purchasable item together with its expensive attachments. It also stopped a Suppressor from being downgraded to a Compensator. Those are concrete shop rules, so they appear in the attachments row rather than being buried in a general warning. Check the current compatible item screen for any price the official note does not publish.

Treat Fully Equipped as a collection objective that needs compatible attachments on one weapon, not as a requirement for every story fight. Pick the attachment that serves the handling issue you are actually experiencing, if the current shop offers it. A player with no aim or range problem should not delay a route-critical purchase merely to fill slots. This keeps the page practical without inventing compatibility or price data.

05Spend on utility and engines after the route is ready

Dynamite is a $25 collection utility for gathering fish from water, not a normal replacement for a combat weapon. Patch 1.0.11 makes its safety limit explicit: a player can die to their own explosion even when friendly fire is disabled. Use it with space and a water-collection goal, then return to the weapon that fits the active fight. That makes the purchase useful without turning it into a blanket best-buy claim.

Engine names, prices and speed values are not yet supported by a stable current-build record, so the boat row shows Unknown only for those fields. Its decision remains clear: first complete the hand-in, confirm the new destination and protect the resources needed for the next boss. Buy travel convenience when that leg is the friction point. If the live price differs, the map and quest plan still tell you whether an engine solves the actual problem.

Next verified routes

Continue with the exact next question

Compare the weapon shop rowsSee the dated price snapshot, first shop and practical role for each base weapon.Time a boat purchaseKeep travel spending tied to the completed hand-in and next confirmed island leg.Check the active combat gateUse the Giant Piranha checklist before deciding that more damage is required.

Evidence boundary

What this guide can confirm

Community route records cross-check the $10 Radar, $25 Dynamite, $150 Shotgun and the first $20/$30/$40 Shotgun bullet steps published in August 2026.
Official Patch 1.0.11 is the source for attachment-store changes and the rule that own explosives can kill the player despite friendly-fire settings.
Unknown engine and attachment-price values stay in individual table cells; the page does not use them as a reason to omit purchase guidance.

Sources

Sources for this guide

How to Fish on Steam
Primary source for the released gear, quest and island-progression loop.
Island and boss progression walkthrough — All Things How, August 22, 2026
Community route report for Boat Keys, Radar timing and matching purchases to the active progression gate.
Upgrades and weapons purchase guide — All Things How, August 22, 2026
Community cross-check for the $10 Radar, $25 Dynamite and $150 Shotgun purchase context.
Shotgun build and bullet-cost guide — NerdsChalk, August 24, 2026
Community route record for the first documented Shotgun bullet costs and the separation of bullets from attachments.
Official Steam announcement — Patch 1.0.11
Primary source for Iron Sight removal, attachment downgrade changes and the self-explosive safety rule.