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How to Play

Cycle 2 is running: Season 1 is free fishing, and the Marketplace, upgrades, and Fish Battle return later in the cycle.

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What is Degen Fishing?

Degen Fishing is a seasonal fishing and collection game that runs in 90-day cycles. Cycle 2 began September 18, 2026, and Season 1 is the free fishing season: no purchase gate, just cast and collect. Each part of the loop opens in its own season of the cycle.

Catch

Season 1

Upgrade

Season 2

Evolve

Season 2

Trade

Season 2

Battle

Season 3

Every season keeps its own leaderboard and reward pool, and each new cycle restarts the season race from zero.

Collection tiers

Fish Rarities

Fish rarities are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic. Higher rarity fish are more valuable and harder to obtain.

Common

Uncommon

Rare

Epic

Legendary

Mythic

Season 2 activity

Upgrade System

Upgrade means making the same fish stronger. Example: Cosmic Tuna + 3 matching Cosmic Tuna copies = Cosmic Tuna ⭐

What changes when I upgrade?
  • Increases Power
  • Increases Luck
  • Rarity does not change
What stays the same?
  • Card name does not change
  • Upgrade and Evolution are separate systems
How many cards does each star need?
  • Every new Star consumes one fish and 3 exact matching copies
Upgrade is closed during Season 1 and returns in Season 2 of every cycle, with the same rules.

Season 2 activity

Evolution System

Evolution turns 10 eligible 0-Star fish from one rarity into a higher rarity. The fish names may be different, but their rarity must match.

EvolutionConsumesCost
Common -> Uncommon10 Common20 DEGEN
Uncommon -> Rare10 Uncommon50 DEGEN
Rare -> Epic10 Rare150 DEGEN
Epic -> Legendary10 Epic500 DEGEN
Legendary -> Mythic10 Legendary2000 DEGEN

Quick Convert

Quick Convert uses the same 10-card recipes and costs. It automatically uses the largest complete batch, shows what will be consumed and left over, and asks once before one combined DEGEN payment.

Example: 177 Rare → 17 Epic, 170 Rare consumed, 7 Rare remaining, 2,550 DEGEN total.

Starred fish cannot be evolved.
Consumed fish are permanently removed.
Evolution is closed during Season 1 and returns in Season 2 of every cycle, with the same rules.

Permanent collection

Secret Legendary Fish Stay Forever

Secret Evolution fish cannot be caught while fishing. They can only be obtained through Evolution.

Epic

Evolution Exclusive

Farcaster Puffer

Phantom Angler

Legendary

Evolution Exclusive

Genesis Leviathan

Mythic

Evolution Exclusive

Abyssal Sovereign

Secret Legendary fish are permanent

Secret Legendary fish — Genesis Leviathan — are never converted or burned into $CAST at any point in any cycle.

They always stay in your collection, at every star level, including through the end of a season and the start of a new cycle.

This permanence covers the Legendary tier of Secret Evolution fish. Secret Epic evolution fish keep their existing settlement treatment at the end of a season.

Fish stats

Power & Luck

Every fish has Power and Luck. Higher Power improves battle performance. Higher Luck improves fishing outcomes.

Fishing fuel

Energy System

Energy regenerates over time and caps at the maximum for your rod. In Cycle 2 · Season 2, the server restores exactly 1 Energy every 3 hours using UTC time. Delayed visits receive every complete interval that fits under the cap.

Season 2 fishing requires a linked Base wallet holding at least 15,000,000 CAST. Exactly 15M qualifies, the balance is checked by the server, and no CAST is transferred or deducted.

Free Rod

5 maximum energy

Epic Rod

7 maximum energy

Legendary Rod

10 maximum energy

The rod you hold sets the cap: Free Rod 5, Epic Rod 7, Legendary Rod 10. Every player starts each cycle back on the Free Rod — see Rod Prices and the Cycle Reset.

In Season 3 of every cycle, daily rod allowances replace hourly regeneration: Free Rod gets 0, Epic Rod gets 5, and Legendary Rod gets 10 Energy each UTC day.

5 Energy = 2 USDC

10 Energy = 3.50 USDC

Season 3 fishing and energy purchases require a verified linked-wallet balance of at least 20,000,000 CAST and an Epic or Legendary Rod. The server restores hourly regeneration, free fishing entry and the original 0.5 / 0.8 USDC pack prices when the next cycle starts.

Rod perks

Fishing Rod Benefits

These are the exact rod perk lists, and they are the same in every cycle. What changes is the price you pay and the fact that every rod resets at a cycle boundary.

Free Rod

  • 5 Maximum Energy
  • Standard catch rates

Epic Rod

  • +2 Maximum Energy
  • +20% Rare Chance
  • +10% Epic Chance

Legendary Rod

  • +5 Maximum Energy
  • +60% Rare Chance
  • +30% Epic Chance
  • +15% Legendary Chance
  • +5% Mythic Chance
  • 0% Common Chance
Prices, the per-cycle rod reset, and the returning-player discounts are in Rod Prices and the Cycle Reset.

Buy a rod each cycle

Rod Prices and the Cycle Reset

Nobody carries a rod into a new cycle. At a cycle boundary every player is reset to the Free Rod — including players who owned an Epic or Legendary Rod in the previous cycle. They fish the new cycle with the Free Rod (5 maximum energy, standard catch rates) and buy a rod again.

RodStandard priceReturning-player price
Epic Rod2,500 DEGEN1,250 DEGEN
Legendary Rod7,500 DEGEN3,750 DEGEN

Returning-player half price. A player who actually bought an Epic or Legendary Rod in the previous cycle pays half price for the rod they buy in the new cycle: Epic 1,250 DEGEN, Legendary 3,750 DEGEN. The server checks that from real purchase history — it is not a button in the app, not transferable, and not claimable by hand.

Epic owner upgrade. Still owning the Epic Rod takes 2,500 DEGEN off the Legendary Rod, so the Legendary upgrade is 5,000 DEGEN.

Best discount applies. Only the best discount that applies is used, so a returning player never pays more than the cheaper of the two prices.

Full prices. Epic Rod 2,500 DEGEN, Legendary Rod 7,500 DEGEN, for everyone else.

Season rank

Leaderboards

Each cycle and season has its own leaderboard, while Career remains separate. Cycle 2 · Season 2 starts from its own eligible activity and never uses Career Score for ranking. Its final top 25 share the owner-approved 252,000,000 CAST ladder. Claims remain off until the existing reward service is fully configured and funded, and a season reward also requires a verified share cast first.

Final rankings and winner prizes from completed seasons stay available from the season selector, and the current season board starts empty when nobody has earned an eligible score.

Score rewards

How To Earn Score

Catch Rewards

Fish rarityScore
Common+1
Uncommon+2
Rare+3
Epic+4
Legendary+6
Mythic+10

Upgrade Rewards

Result rarityScore
Epic+80
Legendary+200
Mythic+1000

Evolution Rewards

Result rarityScore
Uncommon+20
Rare+80
Epic+240
Legendary+600
Mythic+1600
Fishing catch points are live now in Season 1. Upgrade, Evolution, and Marketplace purchase points belong to those activities, so they apply once those sections return in Season 2 — marketplace purchase points show with each eligible fish.

Lifetime totals stay

Season Score Resets Every Cycle

When a new cycle starts, the season score of every player begins again at zero, and the Season 1 leaderboard of the new cycle starts empty.

Season score: resets to 0

Every cycle every player starts the season race from zero.

Lifetime score: never resets

Your lifetime total keeps every point you have ever earned.

Previously completed seasons are untouched: their winners, saved leaderboards, and records stay exactly as they were and stay readable from the leaderboard season selector.

90-day cycle

Season Duration

Cycle partLength
Cycle90 days, made of three seasons
Season 140 days · free fishing
Season 220 days · Marketplace, Upgrade, Evolution
Season 330 days · Fish Battle
Cycle 2Began September 18, 2026

Game phases

Season Cycle

Season 1

40 days

Fishing only

Season 2

20 days

Marketplace, Upgrade, Evolution

Season 3

30 days

Fish Battle

Season 1 is 40 days, Season 2 is 20 days, and Season 3 is 30 days, for a 90-day cycle. After Season 3 a new cycle begins and the next Season 1 starts.

Closed in Season 1

What Returns in Which Season

Season 1 is fishing only. During Season 1 the Marketplace and Fish Battle sections are closed and hidden from the app, and Upgrade and Evolution are closed with them. They come back inside the same cycle.

Season 1

Fishing only

Marketplace, Fish Battle, Upgrade, and Evolution are closed

Season 2

Marketplace returns

Upgrade and Evolution return too

Season 3

Fish Battle returns

Battles open with their existing rules

Marketplace returns in Season 2 and Fish Battle returns in Season 3 of every cycle, with their existing rules and their saved history intact. Upgrade and Evolution return in Season 2 as well.

What remains

End of Cycle Reset

At the end of Season 3, Collection converts into Score, every rod resets to the Free Rod, and Progression resets for the new cycle.

Preserved permanently: all Mythic fish, starred or unstarred, all starred Legendary fish, and Secret Legendary evolution fish at every star level. All other fish are removed after conversion.

Claim gate

Share Before You Claim a Season Reward

Fishing season rewards can only be claimed after the player publishes a Farcaster cast of their result. The claim button stays disabled until that cast is verified, and the server refuses an unverified claim too — hiding or bypassing the button does not unlock anything.

Step 1: cast your result

Publish a Farcaster cast of your season result so it can be verified.

Step 2: claim opens

The claim button activates only after the cast is verified and the reward pool is funded.

  • Cycle 1 · Season 2 reward: requires the verified share cast before a claim can be accepted.
  • Cycle 1 · Season 3 reward: same rule, and it is still claimable from the saved Season 3 view on the leaderboard.
  • The gate is enforced on the server, so it cannot be skipped from the app.

Permanent prize

Why Keep Mythics?

Mythic fish are permanent collectibles.

Mythics survive cycle resets and remain available in future cycles.

Secret Legendary evolution fish such as Genesis Leviathan are permanent at every star level too.

Fresh start

New Cycle

  • Season scores reset to zero at the start of the cycle; lifetime scores never reset
  • The new Season 1 leaderboard starts empty
  • Every rod resets to the Free Rod, and a rod must be bought again
  • Progression resets and a new cycle begins
  • Permanent collectibles (Mythic fish and Secret Legendary fish) stay in the collection

Season 3 activity

Fish Battle

Deck rules
  • Exactly 4 fish
  • Maximum 1 Mythic
  • Maximum 1 Legendary
  • Remaining fish must be Epic or lower
Match flow
  • Matchmaking: Random
  • Battle order: Based on player selection
Battle results
  • Winners gain points
  • Losing fish survive
  • Losing fish receive temporary penalties
  • Fish are never permanently destroyed
Fish Battle is closed during Season 1 and returns in Season 3 of every cycle with the same rules and its saved history intact.

Beginner plan

Winning Strategy

  • Build stronger fish
  • Upgrade strategically
  • Manage your collection carefully
  • Prepare during Seasons 1 and 2 for Season 3 battles

A strong cycle starts before battles open.

Keep the fish that fit your future deck, spend upgrades with intent, and enter Season 3 ready.