The Halibut Harpoon is not one of those Fisch items you can simply walk up to an NPC and buy. Getting it is tied to a pretty long quest chain, and if you’re starting it for the first time, the number of required pufferfish and mutations can look absolutely ridiculous.
I went through both parts of the quest so you don’t have to keep stopping every few minutes to figure out what Dr. Monty wants next. The important thing to know is that this is a multi-stage quest, and you’ll need to collect a large number of specific pufferfish mutations using particular rods, baits, weather conditions, or other methods.
Part 1 starts fairly simply, but things get much more demanding once Dr. Monty gives you the mutation requirements. Then, after waiting 5 hours, Part 2 begins and basically asks you to do the whole thing again with another batch of mutations.
So, let’s go through the entire process step by step.
Where to Start the Halibut Harpoon Quest
First, you need to find Dr. Monty.
From the main quest area, head straight south until you reach the large dome structure. Once you’re at the dome, look for the NPC outside.
You don’t actually need to enter through the obvious front entrance.
Instead, go behind the NPC and look for the window. Go through that window and you’ll enter the room where Dr. Monty is located.
Once you’re inside, interact with Dr. Monty.
This starts the Halibut Harpoon quest.
Dr. Monty’s First Quest Dialogue
When you first talk to Dr. Monty, you’ll have to select his dialogue options in the correct order.
The exact dialogue choices are shown in the video, but the important part is simply to follow the choices in order rather than randomly clicking through his conversation.
After completing the first dialogue section, talk to Dr. Monty again.
That’s when he gives you the first actual fishing task.
Part 1 – Catch and Return the Required Pufferfish
For the next stage, Dr. Monty wants you to catch and return several types of pufferfish.
This is where the quest starts becoming a little grindy.
You’re not just looking for ordinary pufferfish. You need specific mutations, and some of them require particular rods or setups to obtain consistently.
There are a couple of things that make this considerably easier.
For the pufferfish themselves, Seaweed bait is recommended. You should also equip your Mutated Sharky companion because it can improve your chances of getting mutations.
You can also use a Sundial while working on the pufferfish. It doesn’t guarantee a respawn every time, but sometimes changing the day/night cycle will cause the pufferfish to respawn.
Another useful strategy is fishing on top of roaming fish. Roaming pufferfish can be especially useful when you’re trying to speed up the process, and you can also use harpoons on roaming fish.
For some rods with extremely small progress bars, you may also want to use the Herculean enchant to make the catches easier to handle.
Part 1 Mutation Requirements
This is the part where you really want a checklist open somewhere, because there are a lot of different mutations.
The following are the recommended rods or methods for the first batch:
| Required Mutation | Recommended Rod / Method |
|---|---|
| Wrath | Rod of Zenith |
| Rotting | Split Branch Twig |
| Exploding | Boom Ball |
| Lost | Lost |
| Celestial | Celestial |
| Sanguine | Sanguine Spire Rod |
| Sanguine alternative | Sacrificial enchant |
| Crystallizing | Crystallize |
| Heavenly | Heavens |
| Sunken | Sunken |
| Greedy | Rod of the Eternal King |
| Bellona’s Fury | Bellona’s War Axe |
| Master | Ruinous Oath |
| Sandy | Sand Castle Crasher |
| Rainbow | Rainbow Cluster |
| Honey | Sweet Stinger Rod |
| Solar Blaze | Wicked Fang Rod |
| Siren’s Spite | Evil Pitchfork |
| Hex | No Life |
| Toxic | Toxin’s Fire |
| Brine Puffer | Brine Infused Rod |
| Mythical | Mythical |
| Withered | Decayed |
| Atlantean | Trident |
| Lunar | Moonlit |
| Lucid | Lucid |
One important thing here: some of these mutations may have multiple possible methods or rods. The list above is the recommended setup from the guide rather than a claim that every mutation is exclusively obtainable through one specific rod.
You Need Perfect Catches
There’s an important detail that can easily be missed.
For this stage, you aren’t simply required to catch the pufferfish.
You need the required mutations and the catches need to be Perfect Catches.
That makes the quest considerably more difficult than simply farming normal pufferfish until the mutations appear.
If you’re struggling with a rod because its control bar is extremely small, consider using the Herculean enchant where appropriate.
It’s much better to make the catching portion easier before spending ages waiting for the correct mutation.
Best Pufferfish Farming Tips
The pufferfish portion is where most of your time is likely to disappear, so here’s how I’d approach it.
Use Seaweed bait.
This is the recommended bait for pufferfish and should be your default setup while farming them.
Equip Mutated Sharky.
The companion gives you a better chance of getting mutations, which is exactly what you need for this quest.
Use Sundials.
Sundials can sometimes refresh the pufferfish. It isn’t guaranteed, so don’t panic if nothing respawns immediately. If necessary, run through another day/night cycle and try again.
Watch for roaming pufferfish.
Roaming fish can be a useful way to speed things up. You can fish on top of roaming pufferfish, and harpoons can also be used on them.
Don’t forget Perfect Catch.
Getting the mutation isn’t enough for this part. Make sure you’re actually completing the catch properly.
Once you’ve collected everything Dr. Monty requested, take the fish back to him.
Part 1 – The Five-Hour Wait
After you return all of the required pufferfish to Dr. Monty, he gives you another part of the quest.
Unfortunately, this isn’t another immediate fishing task.
You have to wait 5 hours before you can continue.
Yes, five actual hours.
Once that timer has passed, return to Dr. Monty and talk to him again. This begins Part 2 of the Halibut Harpoon quest.
And this is where things get considerably worse.
Part 2 – More Pufferfish, More Mutations
After waiting the five hours, go back to Dr. Monty.
He’ll give you another collection task, and if you were hoping the first batch of pufferfish was the end of the grind, I have some bad news.
You need to catch another set of mutated pufferfish.
This time, however, the mutations are different and several of them are much more specialized.
Here’s the full Part 2 list.
Fabulous Pufferfish – 10 Required
You need 10 Fabulous pufferfish.
The recommended setup is the Fabulous Rod.
If you’re specifically farming this mutation, stick with the rod associated with it rather than randomly swapping between your strongest rods.
Tryhard Pufferfish – 10 Required
Next, you need 10 Tryhard pufferfish.
Use the Tryhard Rod for these.
There’s also an important note regarding the catch requirement. The guide mentions that the Tryhard requirement may have been changed so that you don’t necessarily need a Perfect Catch anymore.
If you’re following the quest after an update, check how the requirement behaves in your current version before assuming every Tryhard catch has to be perfect.
Forest Spirit – 5 Required
For this one, you need 5 Forest Spirit pufferfish.
The recommended rod is the Spirit of the Forest Rod.
This is another case where using the rod associated with the mutation can save you a lot of unnecessary trial and error.
Verdant – 10 Required
You need 10 Verdant pufferfish.
Use the Verdant Oath Rod.
This one is straightforward once you have access to the correct rod.
Mossy – 5 Required
For Mossy, you need 5 pufferfish.
The recommended choice is the Elder Moss Ripper Rod.
Ignous – 10 Required
You need 10 Ignous pufferfish.
Use the Ignous Rod.
This is another mutation where having the appropriate rod ready beforehand can make the farming process much less frustrating.
Serene – 10 Required
You need 10 Serene pufferfish.
The recommended option in the guide is the Dusquire Rod.
However, if you already own a stronger or suitable limited rod such as Polaris, that can also be considered. Other alternatives mentioned include Estraas and Lullabi.
The important idea is that you don’t necessarily have to follow one rod choice if you already have another rod that provides the same or better mutation potential.
Obsidian – 10 Required
For Obsidian, you need 10 pufferfish.
The recommended setup uses Obsidian Bone Bait.
This one is more about having the right bait available, so make sure you’ve stocked up before beginning a serious farming session.
Nuclear – 10 Required
You need 10 Nuclear pufferfish.
For these, you need to fish during a Nuke.
This means you can’t simply sit at the fishing spot and expect the mutation to appear whenever you want. You’ll need to take advantage of the Nuclear event when it occurs.
Shady – 10 Required
You need 10 Shady pufferfish.
Use the Shady Rod for this mutation.
Spirit – 10 Required
Next up is 10 Spirit pufferfish.
The guide recommends the Tranquility Rod because it has a higher chance of getting Spirit.
You can also use other Spirit-related options, including:
- Spirit Rod
- Spirit Breaker
- Spirit Binder
So don’t worry if you don’t specifically have the Tranquility Rod.
Blue Moon – 5 Required
For Blue Moon, you need 5.
The important part is that you need to fish during a Blue Moon.
This is another requirement where timing matters more than simply having the correct rod.
Putrid – 2 Required
You only need 2 Putrid pufferfish.
For this mutation, use the Putrid enchant.
Thankfully, the required number is much lower than some of the 10-catch requirements.
Blessed – 10 Required
You need 10 Blessed pufferfish.
The original guide simply recommends using the appropriate rod for the mutation, so make sure you have a setup capable of producing Blessed before starting this section.
Shiny King Blessing – 2 Required
This one requires only 2 Shiny King Blessing pufferfish.
The recommended rod is the Poseidon Rod.
Since you only need two, this should hopefully be less painful than the mutations requiring ten catches.
Gibbius – 10 Required
You need 10 Gibbius pufferfish.
For these, fish at the small pool at Roslet, specifically around the location where the alien UFO crashed.
This location matters, so don’t waste time trying to farm this mutation from a random fishing spot.
Shiny Harmonized – 10 Required
You need 10 Shiny Harmonized pufferfish.
The recommended setup uses Pinions Arya with Blessed and Glitter added to it.
This is one of those setups you’ll want to prepare before you start farming, because otherwise you’ll probably end up making several trips back and forth.
Puritas – 5 Required
For Puritas, you need 5.
The source transcript’s rod recommendation is incomplete here, so rather than inventing a rod name, the safest approach is to use the appropriate Puritas-producing setup you have available.
If you’re working from an updated version of the game, verify the current method before committing resources.
Tin Royal – 10 Required
For Tin Royal, the recommended setup is the Rod of the Eternal King.
You’ll need 10 of these pufferfish.
Photicle – 5 Required
You need 5 Photicle pufferfish.
This mutation comes from a more recent update and the guide recommends the Tarot Trapper setup.
Because this is tied to newer content, make sure you’re using the current version of the relevant rod and mutation system.
Oscar – 5 Required
For Oscar, you need 5.
Use the Great Rod of Oscar.
Gravitas – 10 Required
You need 10 Gravitas pufferfish.
The recommended rod is the Olympian Godbreaker.
Bioluminescent – 10 Required
You need 10 Bioluminescent pufferfish.
The recommended setup is:
- Luminous Rod
- Bio-Infused Coral Bait
Make sure you have both parts of the setup ready before starting this grind.
Distraught – 10 Required
Next is 10 Distraught pufferfish.
Use the Dreambreaker for this mutation.
Hades Curse – 5 Required
Finally, you need 5 Hades Curse pufferfish.
The recommended rod is the Hades Soul Scythe.
Once you’ve collected these, you’ll have made it through the second giant list of mutation requirements.
And honestly, by this point, you’ll probably understand why this quest is such a grind.
Part 2 Pufferfish Farming Tips
The same general strategy from Part 1 still applies here.
Use Seaweed Bait
Keep Seaweed bait equipped when you’re farming pufferfish.
There’s no reason to make the process harder by using an unrelated bait when Seaweed is the recommended option for this quest.
Equip Mutated Sharky
If you have Mutated Sharky, equip it.
You’re trying to get specific mutations over and over again, so anything that improves your mutation chances can make a noticeable difference over a long farming session.
Use Sundials Carefully
Sundials can sometimes cause pufferfish to respawn.
The important word is sometimes.
If you activate one and don’t immediately see the fish you need, don’t assume you’ve done something wrong. The respawn isn’t guaranteed every time.
If necessary, continue through another day/night cycle and try again.
Fish on Roaming Pufferfish
This is one of the more useful strategies for the quest.
When a roaming pufferfish appears, you can fish on top of it rather than relying exclusively on the normal fishing locations.
This can give you another opportunity to work toward the required mutations.
You can also use harpoons on roaming pufferfish.
If you’re seriously trying to finish the Halibut Harpoon quest quickly, don’t ignore roaming fish.
Use Herculean When Needed
Some of the rods you’ll be using have very small control bars.
If you’re constantly losing fish because the bar is difficult to manage, consider using Herculean where it makes sense for your setup.
It won’t magically give you the mutation you need, but there’s no point getting the right mutation only to lose the fish during the catch.