Hotfix 1.5.6 is live and addresses multiple issues discovered after Patch 1.5.5 release last week. Read the patch notes below for more information.
Gameplay
We've fixed a crash that occurred for some players returning to Golden Ridge Reserve, Norway, or Spain after leaving and saving the game in a boat before Patch 1.5.5.
We've resolved an issue that previously caused the first 25% of the Accessible Cast feature's power bar to be unusable, leading to delayed or failed casts.
Graphics
The issue of pixelated reflections on water when using Ultra graphical settings, caused by an SSR problem, has now been resolved.
We’ve fixed an issue with broken extended/painted shadows sometimes seen on the ground.
Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback for 1.5.5 and enabled us to get this hotfix out as soon as we could! Happy fishing :)
Patch 1.5.5 is Live!
Welcome to Patch 1.5.5!
We have exciting updates waiting for you in this one. A new vehicle camera perspective, undiscovered fish species in Norway, and fresh customization options with new hairstyles and facial hair. Plus, we've tightened up gameplay with key bug fixes. More details below!
Highlights
Hit the roads and waterbodies with a new perspective
The third person camera option has been added for all vehicle types. Whether you're navigating the land in a 4x4 or traversing waters by boat, you can now enjoy a new camera point from above and behind the vehicle.
Dev Team’s Notes:We had already added a selection of extra static cameras to vehicles, but we saw that some players were still suffering from motion sickness over the rugged terrain. Hopefully, the all new 3rd person camera will offer a smoother ride as you explore the various reserves.
New fish species discovered in Trollsporet Nature Reserve
Four new fishes have arrived in Norway - Alpine Bullhead, European Bullhead, Common Dace and Ruffe.
Dev Team’s Notes:With bottom fishing added as a new fishing technique recently, we wanted to offer more bottom lurking fish in Norway, so there's more to catch while down in the depths. We’ve also recognized that most of the fish in Norway were larger species, so we've added some smaller fish to balance it out as seen in other reserves.
Unleash your style with new facial and hair styles
We've expanded character customization with four versatile hairstyles and two additional facial hair options, allowing even more ways to personalize your angler. In addition, we've made our original hairstyles compatible with all body types and enhanced the look of the classic mustache.
Dev Team’s Notes:The options for hair and facial hair styles have been somewhat restricted, with only a single hairstyle available for each body type, excluding the bald option. However, the new additions are accessible for both body types and can be modified using the complete range of color swatches.
Features and QoL Improvements
Gameplay
We've improved the casting mechanics to make them more accurate and reliable. Now, you'll find it much easier to cast your line exactly where you want in the water, no matter the angle or distance. Dev Team’s Notes:Casting is a fundamental part of the experience in the Angler. We noticed that manual casting sometimes seemed too simplistic and, unfortunately, led to many unsuccessful casts. To make it more gratifying, we've updated how the game understands your actions and added horizontal control during the casting movement. This should result in a much more satisfying casting experience for all players.
We're constantly tuning and tweaking fish spawn rates for well-balanced populations across all reserves. We've used your feedback and live data to introduce subtle adjustments, aiming to make your fishing adventures even more fun! Dev Team’s Notes:As we add new fishing techniques and species, our aim remains to keep the game enjoyable for all players. This is an ongoing process, so expect more adjustment with each update. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping these changes - please keep it coming!
Vehicles you spawn will now stay in place. Whether you wander far on foot, fast travel, or leave the reserve - your vehicle will still be there when you return (unless you've spawned a new one of the same type). This change should greatly simplify your travels, especially when returning to reserves in remote locations. Dev Team’s Notes: This is just the beginning of several planned improvements to make vehicles more convenient to use. We hope you'll consider this first step as a nice quality of life change.
Visual
Cloud atmospherics have been updated to be more dynamic. You'll now witness a wider range of formations and more noticeable changes as time passes. Dev Team’s Notes:It might have no impact on the gameplay, but we hope you’ll enjoy the enhanced visual display of the clouds.
UI
We've given a fresh look to the main menu and reserve selection pages. Dev Team’s Notes: As the game has evolved significantly since its release, we've refreshed the pictures and graphics you see right when you start playing. We hope you'll agree that everything looks even better now!
Button prompts are now clickable using the mouse on PC. Previously a keyboard was required to navigate much of the UI, and now it is possible to only use the mouse. Dev Team’s Notes: We value creating a game that everyone can enjoy with ease. Acknowledging your feedback about wanting more mouse-based navigation, we've transformed the button prompts into clickable items for easier menu maneuvering.
Patch Notes
Gameplay
Alongside the third-person camera, we've introduced a new stationary camera at the front of the Ultra Cruiser Jon Boat for a better view.
To make your travels easier, we've placed a new vehicle spawner near the main cave entrance in Spain as there wasn't one close by previously.
We've patched up a gap in the Golden Ridge Reserve map where players could accidentally fall through - oops!
We’ve fixed an issue with some fish getting spooked by the player when they were stood in a Jon Boat.
If you're a passenger on a boat, you won't get caught in an endless respawn cycle when the boat's owner fast travels to another location anymore.
An issue, where some photo challenges were not progressing, has been addressed. In particular, the Ruby River Range Photo Challenge 1.
Graphics
We’ve fixed many minor graphical clipping issues with various water bodies.
UI
We've fixed an issue where the "Take Photo" map markers were showing "Error/Unknown". They now display correct labels.
The thumbnail for the Ultra Cruiser [ADD LIVERY NAME] has been updated to make the appearance of the vehicle.
The soft lock experienced when moving items from the last row of the storage when using a controller has been fixed.
Players can now click mouse button to Release Fish (rather than hold ENTER) to progress beyond the reward screen.
Vehicle spawn location icons are now constantly visible on the map instead of only appearing when player is in proximity.
In addition, we’ve also introduced multiple minor bug fixes and quality of life changes to give you the best possible gaming experience. We hope you’ll enjoy what patch 1.5.5 has to offer!
And if you’re looking into expanding your fishing adventures - you can now grab the Norway reserve 60% off on Steam until February 12!
And if you're looking into expanding your collection, you can get most of the available DLCs 20% off!
This special sale ends on February 5th so don't wait around or the offers will be gone faster than meatballs in a certain Swedish furniture store.
Happy fishing!
Fish in style with the Gear and Style Bundle!
Take your style and gear to the next level. This pack contains the Rushy Gear Pack, Fiskespro Gear Pack, and Winter Blast Style Pack - all in one discounted bundle!
Winter Blast Style Pack includes: • 1 complete outfit with 2 color variations: Effervescence Top, Bottoms, and Hat, Inneressence Top, Bottoms, and Hat (items can be used separately) • 3 Voyage Bluerat liveries: Trailblazer, Ripped Apart, Mind Melter • 3 Lionheart 500 liveries: Meltwater, Hothead, Hotstepper • 2 emotes: Samba sin Amigo, Packing Heat
Merry Fishmas! | Winter Seasonal Event
Join the festivities between today, December 13th, and January 3rd, 11:59 PM GMT / 6:59 PM EDT on Golden Ridge Reserve. There are plenty of ornaments and cheer to be found around the place.
FROM TACKY SWEATERS TO FESTIVE WELLIES – WE HAVE YOU COVERED
Keep your eyes peeled for more than just decorations (and fish). We have a bunch of exclusive holiday-themed cosmetics available during the event. These can be purchased with in-game currency from the Seasonal tab in the Local Souvenirs section of Sophia’s shop. And of course, all unlocked items will be available to you after the event ends so you can spread the joy all year round.
WRAPPING IT UP
Celebrate the Winter Event during our last Tackle Box live stream of 2023. Join us today, December 13th from 6 PM CET / 1 PM EDT on both Twitch and YouTube for a closer look at the event and recently released Ultra Cruiser Boat Pack and Winter Vehicle Cosmetics Pack.
Worry not! JaxyBeard will be back next year with even more streaming shenanigans.
And finally, big thanks to all of you, our fantastic community! Your amazing support in 2023 meant the world to us. We’ve appreciated every piece of feedback, trophy photo, and complaint about the Gold Green Sunfish that you shared ;)
Here’s to reeling in even more fun together in 2024!
Free & Premium DLC | The Ultra Cruiser Boat Pack is out now!
ULTRA CRUISER BOAT PACK DLC
Navigate tight waterways easily with the practical new Ultra Cruiser, a flat-bottomed Jon Boat that’s small in size and constructed of sturdy middle-grade aluminum.
Jazz up the winter season with a frosty new collection of five liveries each for the Lionheart 500 and Voyage Bluerat, available for free for all players.
Embrace the winter with these DLC released last week.
FISKESPRO GEAR PACK
Make a statement with the Fiskespro Gear Pack! This pack contains the stained-glass Vredesbringaren Rod, the lavish Härskaren Reel, and three spinner lures.
Admired for its traditional wooden fishing gear, Rushy has become the go-to brand for many anglers. This pack contains an exotic Rod and a quirky yet classic Reel, available in three color variations each, as well as three frog lures.
It's a small hotfix today, Anglers! Let's get right into it.
We've fixed an issue with the scrollbar in the Storage menu. You can now fully access your storage again.
The Daily and Weekly challenge rewards are being reverted back to XP. Daily challenges have XP rewards and the weekly challenge for next week will award XP too.
Winter Update - Out Now!
Dive into the new Winter Update! Check out the breakdown of features and content, including bottom fishing, new Legendary Fish, and the latest additions to Spain’s Souvenir Shop. You’ll also find information about the accompanying improvements and bug fixes.
Highlights
• Time to plunge deep - bottom fishing is here!
Use a ledgering technique, along with a quiver-tipped feeder rod to target those larger fish that lurk deep down, and filter out the smaller ones that tend to stay closer to the surface. Head directly to the mission board in Golden Ridge Reserve and run through the tutorial to become acquainted with bottom fishing. You'll even get some free gear to get you started!
Dev Team’s Notes:Catching those bottom lurkers will be much easier with the addition of bottom fishing as a new tool in your fishing skill set.
• Test your skills and catch the new Legendary Fish in Spain
Spain welcomes 3 legendary fish to the game! Best of luck with finding and catching El Monstrenco, a mutated female Comizo Barbel with bulging eyes; El Matador, a comically big but menacing male Mirror Carp; and Alejandro Magno, a big and hungry-looking male Brown Trout.
• Dress to impress with new items available in the Aguas Claras Souvenir Shop
The local Souvenir Shop is now open in Spain! Work towards unlocking the Cetro del Rey rod and a range of new unique cosmetic items to stand out in the crowd.
Dev Team’s Notes:With the popularity of the Souvenir Shops in Golden Ridge Reserve and Trollsporet Nature Reserve, we've added a range of locally themed items, including sneakers, 4x4 liveries, a new rod, t-shirts, and more. Use your hard-earned credits and tokens to unlock them.
Features and QoL Improvements
Both the Lionheart 500 Sport Boat and Voyage Bluerat 4x4 have received upgrades. The boat is noticeably faster, both off the line and at the top end, making travel across the expansive waterbodies much faster. The 4x4 update is more of a refinement, with tweaks to the suspension and steering to improve the handling further.
Dev Team’s Notes:Getting around the selection of reserves in The Angler has never been as easy with faster locomotion on the water and a better ride on land!
The bail arm on spinning reels will now open and close correctly at the right times before and after casting. Additionally, you can open and close the bail arm freely after casting while bottom fishing to let the line out or stop the sinker from sinking.
Dev Team’s Notes: Having been on the desirables list for a while now, the animations added to the bail arm add an extra layer of authenticity to the fishing experience. Expect a similar update to the baitcasting reels in the future.
The on-screen display (OSD) during fishing has been updated for all fishing techniques to provide clearer iconography, states, and text.
Dev Team’s Notes:As we added the new OSD for bottom fishing we realized it looked better than both float and spin overlays, so we updated them all to be consistent.
We’ve doubled the amount of map markers that you can place.
Dev Team’s Notes: Originally, we limited each map to 40 player-defined markers, but for many this wasn't enough. We've increased that to 80 per map so you can mark even more fish locations and reminders.
We've revamped the reserve selection screen for a full-screen display and improved layout. Now, it's more visually appealing and efficiently provides crucial information when you need it.
Dev Team’s Notes:With more reserves planned for the future, we've overhauled the presentation of the page to support more locations and re-arranged key information in a much more readable way.
You've now got full control in the customization screen to choose when you want to zoom in or out on your character to get the best view of your avatar.
Dev Team’s Notes:The camera would previously zoom in or out depending on the chosen category which made it hard to get the best view, so now you have full control.
There is a new seasonal event on the horizon with even more unique cosmetics and gear. There’s even special décor in Golden Ridge Reserve to put you in a merry mood.
Dev Team’s Notes:There is still some time left before the festivities begin. Watch our social media channels to be first notified when the event starts!
Our artists have turned their eyes to the beards and upped their quality for a more realistic look.
Dev Team’s Notes:We've been listening to your feedback, making updates and alterations to the beards (all colors) to improve their look and presentation. We want to make JaxyBeard proud!
The movement range of a fishing rod has been enhanced, including the pumping action when a fish is hooked and close to the water’s surface.
Dev Team’s Notes:This addition allows for a greater freedom of movement whenever there is slack on the line.
Patch Notes
Gameplay
We’ve fixed an issue when the water depth incorrectly appeared as 0.0m when fishing in the Cueva de la Aparicion point of interest location.
The player camera no longer falls through the ground if you are on a boat in the reward screen when another player starts to drive the boat.
The torch now works correctly and it will turn itself off when a player gets on a boat. Moreover, if it was switched on before getting aboard, it will automatically turn itself back on when the player exits the boat.
The option to "Dock" never appeared at docks and jetties across Spain. This has now been resolved, making it easier to disembark the boat at specific locations.
The large rock in Spain that was partially blocking the pier next to the Pumpkinseed Location Challenge has been removed.
We’ve removed a tree stump that was growing through a road in the Norway Reserve.
The boat spawner at the Sendero del Lagarto Trailhead now spawns the boat much closer to the jetty.
We’ve addressed an issue with the boat spawner at the Sendero del Amanecer Trailhead spawning the boat on the ground.
The Atajo del Rey Hugo point of interest now correctly spawns you by the dam instead of near the power station.
We’ve fixed an issue with the Sun Lover and Night Owl traits not working correctly in Spain.
It is now possible to survey an area again in Spain at the lookout towers if you desire.
Progression
"Enter Souvenir Shop" objective during Taylor's Tackle Academy tutorial now works correctly and can be completed.
UI
It is now possible to sell rods and reels directly from your Backpack and not just from your Storage.
Players can no longer place the photo challenge icons on the map.
Dev Team’s Notes:This was an unintentional addition that we now removed.
The description for the Zander in the Handbook is no longer missing.
The Apex Connect "Account Management" option on consoles now has a QR code present to allow you to easily access the Apex Connect Website via your mobile device.
The icons for rods and baits/lures in the Quick Menu will no longer disappear if the player has no rod set up.
When a seasonal event is active, the seasonal tab within 'Local Souvenirs' now only appears in the reserve where the event is taking place.
We’ve addressed the Backpack/Tacklebox Expansion icon selection and overlap issues, that could prevent the player from being able to highlight the icons in the menus.
The problem where players couldn't sell items if they had less currency than the item's selling value has been fixed.
Previously, when catching a fish weighing less than 0.5kg while using Quick Chat, Map, or Text chat, the catch screen would either not appear or become unresponsive. This issue has been fixed.
Messaging for how to enable or disable Multiplayer has been updated to guide players to the correct menu.
The hot springs point of interest icon on the map in Golden Ridge Reserve has had its name added.
The fish counter for Taylor's Tackle Academy missions no longer keeps counting fish after completing the missions.
We’ve fixed an issue where remapped controller bindings on consoles could disappear if you chose to cancel and not save the changes.
Subtitles in the Aguas Claras Reserve video now show the correct name prefix.
Some redundant text has been removed from the ‘Spain Food Collectibles’ descriptions in the Handbook.
Audio
Incorrect voiceovers for multiple collectibles in Spain have been updated.
Visuals
We’ve fixed an occasional issue where the flashlight would turn off while taking a Trophy Shot, making it difficult to see the players’ catch at night.
The fade to black when exiting to the main menu has returned so players should no longer see the water vanishing.
Spain and Golden Ridge Reserve have both seen a range of world and asset-related issues addressed, which include: fixes to missing collisions, corrections to levels of detail, adjustments to specific textures, gaps in terrain being resolved, and more.
A broad selection of minor water-related issues have been addressed across all 3 reserves, which includes fixes to flow problems, water being cut off unnaturally, incorrect blending of water bodies, the ability to see underwater in some areas, and one location where the boat may have become stuck.
We’ve fixed an issue with flickering water reflections when viewing from a high altitude.
Some waterbodies in the Norway Reserve have had rendering issues resolved.
We hope you’ll enjoy bottom fishing and all these new additions and improvements we’ve brought to the game with this update.
Don’t forget to check out our latest DLCs to enhance your fishing experience even more.!
Happy fishing!
December DLC Releases
‘TIS THE SEASON!
What better way to welcome the end-of-year festivities than with a jolly good selection of all-new fishing gear, boat and vehicle liveries, and stylish clothing items?
There’s a lot of December DLC to cover, so let’s jump right in!
FREE PACKS
‘Tis the season of giving (and fishing), so here’s a little treat from the team. Thank you for your support and passion!
WILDERNESS COSMETICS PACK
Explore the wilderness and fish in style! This free pack contains a complete outfit, three car liveries, and three boat liveries to customize your angling experience.
This pack contains two unique baitcasting rods and two baitcasting reels, available in three color variations each, as well as three swimbait lures and three spoon lures.
Navigate tight waterways easily with the practical new Ultra Cruiser, a flat-bottomed Jon Boat that’s small in size and constructed of sturdy middle-grade aluminum.
FREE WINTER VEHICLE COSMETICS PACK
Jazz up the winter season with a frosty new collection of five liveries each for the Lionheart 500 and Voyage Bluerat, available for free for all players.
Please consider nominating us for the Steam Labor of Love award!
Dear Anglers,
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year and a half since we launched Call of the Wild: The Angler on PC. Since then, we’ve been committed to expanding and improving the experience for players, delivering fun new content and in-game events for your continued enjoyment
If you’d like to show your support for the game, please consider nominating us for the Steam Labor of Love award.
We’re incredibly thankful for your support, and equally excited and motivated to continue on this journey together with you.
