Overview

Complete guide for Fishing Rod in Mina the Hollower. Learn the effect, Joule cost, location and best use cases.

Sidearm profile

  • Joule Cost: 2
  • Type: Traversal
  • Location: Nox's Bayou. Borrowed from one of the alligator brothers (Irwin and Durwin), then kept.

Build parser notes

  • Affects: Sidearm, Passive Effects
  • Extra Stat Level: Attack 0, Defense 0, Sidearm 2
  • Passive Effects: Makes fish-shadows appear in all water, including puddles; catch fish and critters that drop Joule Jars, Plasma Roses, flowers, and Mana.

How to Get Fishing Rod

Backwaters (from Irwin & Durwin).

Best use cases

  • Use Fishing Rod for situational rooms where spending Joules solves a safer route problem than melee attacks would.
  • Treat its 2 Joule cost as a safety trade: spend when it prevents damage, saves a long chase, or confirms a route-critical hit.
  • Best fit: traversal loadouts that need Makes fish-shadows appear in all water, including puddles; catch fish and critters that drop Joule Jars, Plasma Roses, flowers, and Mana..
  • It is strongest when the Sidearm solves a concrete route problem: a flying target, awkward switch, dangerous approach, or cleanup check that would otherwise slow the room down.

Route notes

  • Location/progression note: Backwaters (from Irwin & Durwin).
  • Refill and test the timing near an Underlab before using it in a long cleanup route.
  • Pair it with a weapon that covers the opposite range, so failed shots do not leave Mina without a safe punish.
  • If the route has multiple refills, spend it more freely; if the next refill is uncertain, save it for hazards that reliably cause damage.

Tested notes

  • Current metadata tags it as Traversal and affects Sidearm, Passive Effects.
  • Extra Stat Level metadata: Attack 0, Defense 0, Sidearm 2.
  • Recheck exact Joule cost and hit behavior in-game after patches before using this page for strict routing.

Common mistakes

  • Spending Joules for damage when a basic weapon hit would be equally safe.
  • Forgetting to swap Sidearms between exploration, boss attempts, and cleanup routes.
  • Building around the tool before confirming that the current room actually rewards its range, safety, or utility.
  • Treating every shot as DPS instead of asking whether it protects routing rhythm, resource safety, or a difficult movement line.

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