Fishing

This is the article page for the Fishing miscellaneous quest of the game Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (FFXII, FF12, FF XII Zodiac Age). Item locations, tasks that need doing, and other important aspects of the side mission are available here.

What Ruksel Does with his Downtime

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This quest is somehow connected with the Lost Cactoid sidequest in that it involves Ruksel getting free of the burden of looking for the Mother Cactoid's son, Dran. Once you're done with that mission, you'll be seeing Ruksel looking out to the horizon. With Tchigiri now the new pilot of the Nebra River Ferry, what is the old man going to do with all of this free time?

Well, Ruksel has always been a man of the river. He'll confess this by sharing his love of fishing.

How to Unlock the Quest

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To help Ruksel with his fishing, you'll obviously need a fishing rod. This fishing rod can be obtained in Balfonheim Port, near a 'Fishing Enthusiast.' Initially, he'll reject your request, and apologize since he can't help you with your fishing problem. But who says that you, as Vaan, needs to respect this? You're a thief. Do your 'thief' thing.

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Walk just a short distance away after he rejects your advances towards his fishing rod. You'll eventually see the same rod propped against the wall. Walk towards it to open the option of taking it, and you'll be rewarded with the Muramata, a 'legendary' fishing rod.

Ruksel's Fishing Bonanza

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Once Ruksel has the fishing rod, however, he won't technically fish all by himself; he'll let you take part by 'assisting' him in reeling in the catch from the Nebra. There are different areas in the Nebra River where you and Ruksel can catch fish, provided you unlock each tier with your fishing skills, as can be seen here:

Sidequest of a Sidequest: The Matamune

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The Matamune is a powerful fishing rod that you receive after deciphering messages from different-colored bottles. Once these are found and the messages within them deciphered, the player will find themselves in the Barheim Passage, specifically the Zeviah Span. Gilgamesh will appear and present the player with the rod, mistaking it for the powerful sword that he has been tracking down.

Tracking down the Matamune, however, involves a rather lengthy quest that also requires a bit of sleuthing from your part. Here's a table to help you figure things out:

All in all, you'll be receiving different items, along with the Matamune--which goes to Ruksel, after all. The Matamune will be needed to capture the King of the Nebra, which will give up the Lu Shang Badge after nine times. The Lu Shand Badge is needed as a trade item to unlock the Wyrmhero Blade.

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