Dave’s Rod is not a normal unlock. This isn’t a “go here, do three steps, done” type of thing. It’s one of those quests that exists mostly as a community challenge, where one person suffering makes it easier for everyone else later. That’s also why so many players don’t even realize it exists.
If you’re going for this, understand one thing early: the hardest part is not skill, it’s patience and luck.
Step 1: Finding Dave (Ark Location)
Your first destination is The Ark.
How to Reach the Ark
- Start at the Statue of Sovereignty
- Move to the right side
- Pass Castaway Cliffs
- You’ll see the Ark structure nearby
Once you’re there, your goal is to climb to the very top.
Getting to the Top
You have two options:
- Manual climbing using wall grips and jumps (slow, frustrating, but possible)
- Velocity Coil, which makes this dramatically easier and faster
At the top, you’ll find a new NPC named Dave.
Step 2: Dave’s First Request – The Boulder
When you talk to Dave, he barely speaks normally. He just wants one thing.
A boulder.
This starts a quest that simply says something like:
Show a boulder to Dave
This is where most players hit a wall, because the boulder is not a normal item.
Step 3: How to Get the Boulder (Divine Secret)
The boulder is a Divine Secret item.
That means:
- It has a 1 in 1,000,000 chance
- When someone catches it, every server is notified
- It is one of the rarest things in Fisch
Where to Fish for the Boulder
You must fish inside Keeper’s Altar.
How to Reach Keeper’s Altar
- Return to the Statue of Sovereignty
- Climb the ladder nearby
- Enter the tunnel leading to Sovereignty Mines
- Talk to Cole
Cole gives you two options:
- Pay a small fee each time to use the elevator
- Pay 100,000 coins once for permanent access
If you plan on being here more than once, permanent access is worth it.
Once inside Keeper’s Altar, fish there. That’s it. No tricks.
Just understand that:
- You could fish for hours and get nothing
- Some players will never personally catch it
- Test servers confirmed the 1 in 1 million rate
When the boulder is finally caught, it appears as a massive rock item, and the global message confirms it.
Step 4: Returning the Boulder to Dave
Once you have the boulder:
- Use your Velocity Coil again
- Return to the top of the Ark
- Talk to Dave while holding the boulder
Dave approves of the rock.
Important detail:
- You keep the boulder
- It is NOT consumed
But the quest is nowhere near done.
Step 5: Dave’s Second Request – 250 Rocks
After approving the boulder, Dave asks for something much worse.
250 rocks.
These are not boulders. Just regular Rock (Trash) items.
About Rocks
- Classified as trash
- Preferred bait: Magnet
- Tedious to farm without help
Best Places to Farm Rocks
You technically can get rocks anywhere trash appears, but some spots are better.
Common options:
- Sunstone (near sundials) – easy access, decent trash rate
- Mine Shaft – accessible through Sunstone
- Cultist Layer Sanctum – highest rock chance according to Fishipedia
The Cultist Sanctum is statistically the best, but also overkill for some players.
Important thing to know:
- The game does not clearly track progress
- You just need to hand Dave 250 total rocks
- You can trade for them or get help from other players
Warning
Unlike the boulder:
- The 250 rocks ARE consumed
- If a friend helps you, they permanently lose those rocks
Once you give Dave all 250 rocks, he accepts them and moves on.
Still no rod yet.
Step 6: Final Request
Dave then asks for one final thing.
A special rock.
The game does not clearly explain what makes it special, and this part feels confusing on purpose. In practice, if you already have additional rocks in your inventory, talking to Dave again completes the quest.
Once this dialogue finishes, the quest ends immediately.
Step 7: Dave’s Rod Unlocked
You now receive Dave’s Rod.
And yes, it’s absurd.
Dave’s Rod Stats (Simplified)
- Lure speed: effectively infinite
- Resilience: absurdly high
- Max KG: unlimited
- Control: extremely high
- Progress speed: negative, meaning it auto-completes
In actual gameplay terms:
- You barely interact
- It catches rocks constantly
- It requires almost no effort
How Dave’s Rod Actually Works (Community Effect)
This is the interesting part.
When anyone with Dave’s Rod catches a rock, everyone in the server also gets a rock.
That means:
- One player suffering unlocks progress for others
- Entire servers benefit from one Dave Rod owner
- It’s designed to spread through the community
This is why people say only one person technically needs to catch the boulder for many others to benefit later.
Dave’s Rod is not about efficiency or power progression. It’s a community-driven secret quest built around rarity, patience, and shared progress.