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How to Complete Scales of Fire Milestone in No Man's Sky
With a bunch of additions such as mechanics, technologies, and activities added to No Man's Sky thanks to the Aquarius update, players will be spending a considerable amount of time fishing for the rarest fish out there in the universe. And while collecting your 160+ fish collection with your Lost Angler's Rig sounds like a herculean task, the average player will probably end up spending hours aiming for a particular one.
Out of them all, the mysterious fish that makes up the Scales of Fire Milestone during Phase 5 of the Aquarius Expedition in No Man's Sky has given players more headaches than any other fish. And while the task is RNG-based, there are still many things you can do to boost your chances of completing the Scales of Fire milestone. Today's guide will focus on how to complete this milestone without breaking a sweat.
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How to Complete Scales of Fire Milestone in No Man's Sky
The objective of the Scales of Fire milestone can be a bit cryptic as it states you need to "find the fiery scales of the Angler's legacy" and that you'll need a "suitable body of water" to cast your line in order to get it – with the help of the Exo-Skiff. What No Man's Sky is referring to in this case is a specific specimen called "The Angler", which is a legendary fish – it is labeled as such, but it is actually an octopus.
Using Bait to Boost Fish Rarity in No Man's Sky
Therefore, you will need a bait that will significantly boost your chances of encountering legendary fish via rarity increase. Only using the base baits, the Bionic Lure is the best one you can use as it provides a 64% rarity boost while fishing. That said, there are other items besides traditional bait that you can use and players have found several items you can cook with the Nutrient Processor that work even better but might take a while to get:
- Caramel Ice Cream (76% rarity boost):
- 1x Viscous Custard + 1x Frozen Tubers + 1x Crunchy Caramel
- Cheese-and-Flesh Stew (74% rarity boost):
- 1x Mystery Meat Stew + 1x Partially-Liquid Cheese
- Mucal Doughnut (72% rarity boost):
- 1x Lumpen Doughnut + 1x Sweetened Mucous
Finding a Suitable Body of Water in No Man's Sky
Regarding the "suitable body of water" part, No Man's Sky refers to deep waters, with players finding relative success while fishing in bodies of water 50 to 70u+ deep. There are water worlds with deep oceans that encompass the majority of their surface, but you can also artificially create sea depth by using the Terrain Manipulator – which can also help you with the Freediving milestone in Phase 3.
By fishing at this water depth by using your best baits and the Exo-Skiff, all that is left for you to do is to fish until The Angler bites – which could take a while regardless.
Using Automated Traps in No Man's Sky
Finally, if you feel like you are spending too much time fishing for The Angler, then you can opt to use Automated Traps in No Man's Sky to get the job done while you focus on other Aquarius Expedition milestones. You can unlock these by spending one Salvaged Data at the Construction Research Station in the Space Anomaly or by completing the Tales of the Waves milestone in Phase 3 – which happens right after getting the Gone Fishing: 3 milestone. Build an Automated Trap by using the following materials:
- 50x Salt: Found as a secondary element in some minerals, as a primary element in underwater minerals, or inside Resource Deposits. You can also craft it by using the Refiner with the following ingredients:
- 1x Chlorine
- 1x Di-hydrogen + 1x Oxygen
- 3x Metal Plating: Build it using 50x Ferrite Dust.
- 1x Ion Battery: Build it using 5x Ferrite Dust and 10x Cobalt.
No Man's Sky
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Adventure
Action
Survival
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:72/100 Critics Recommend:36%
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , PC
- Released
- August 9, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Publisher(s)
- Hello Games
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op
- Engine
- Proprietary
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- How Long To Beat
- 30.5 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 150 hours
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Supported VR Headsets
- Sony PlayStation VR , Sony PlayStation VR2 , Valve Index , HP Reverb G2 , HTC Vive Pro 2 , HTC VIVE Cosmos , Meta Quest 3 , Meta Quest 2 , Meta Quest Pro
- File Size Xbox Series
- 20.36 GB (September 2024)
- Cross-Platform Play
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
