Trade a non-Drip Seahorse, Needlefish, or Bowlfish for a Carrot. Keep a tree between you and the boss; at about half health it leaves poison. Hand in the small fin, not a meat chunk.
Pre-fight preparation
How to qualify for the fight
Catch a normal endangered Seahorse, Needlefish, or Bowlfish with the Standard Lure.
Exchange it for a Carrot at the quest NPC; a Drip appearance variant does not count.
Combat preparation
Buy the $650 SMG; its full-auto fire keeps steady damage on the fast, growing Pufferfish. An upgraded Shotgun also works.
Upgrade bullet damage as high as possible; the desert island caps upgrades at tier 9. Do not forget to upgrade bullet damage before the fight
Buy the $320 Extended Mag for the SMG for more rounds per magazine. The Shotgun has no magazine upgrade.
Stock creatures in your inventory to eat and restore health, and keep moving so you can eat safely between shots.
Boss fight walkthrough
The Pufferfish begins very small and can pass through narrow gaps. Keep circling the obstacles while firing; its body becomes larger as it takes damage.
Once the Pufferfish has grown, keep some distance and keep a large tree directly between you and the Pufferfish. The tree holds it in place, making it easy to shoot.
Keep a tree between you and the Pufferfish so it gets stuck and is easier to shoot
After losing about half of its health, the Pufferfish leaves a poisonous trail behind it. Widen your route, watch the ground, and move away immediately if poison blocks your current path.
The Pufferfish starts leaving a poisonous trail after losing about half its healthCircle wide to avoid the lingering poison while fighting
Watch the fight
Recordings from other players, picked for the method each one shows. Nothing is loaded from YouTube until you press play.
How to Beat the Pufferfish Boss - How To Fish Game Guide
The most-watched pufferfish guide. It is split into preparation, gear, and strategy, and the strategy section is where the actual fight starts, so you can skip straight to it once your loadout is ready.
A straight solo kill with almost no commentary. Good as a second pass once you have read the strategy and want to watch the fight play out cleanly.
These videos belong to the channels named on each card. Select the channel name to open the video on YouTube and support the creator.
Drops after victory
Quest items have a base sale price of $0 and should be kept for the island objective. The number of meat chunks increases with the number of players: three in solo play and one additional chunk per extra player, up to six with four players. Prices below are base values before other multipliers.
Drop
Quantity
Base sale price
Use
Pufferfish Fin
1
$0
Required quest item. Give it to the seated tourist to unlock the route to the rocky island.
Meat Chunk (pufferfish)
Player count + 2 (3 solo; 6 with four players)
$200
Can be sold or eaten, but it does not complete the island objective.
Objective after the fight：Keep the small Pufferfish fin and give it to the seated tourist. Meat chunks and drip appearance variants do not complete the objective.
After defeating the Pufferfish, look for the small fin among the dropsGive the fin to the seated tourist to receive the item that unlocks the next island
Quick answers
How do I summon the Pufferfish?
Exchange a normal endangered seahorse, needlefish, or bowlfish for a carrot, install the carrot on your fishing rod, and cast into the water.
What do I hand in after defeating the Pufferfish?
Keep the small Pufferfish fin and give it to the seated tourist. Meat chunks and drip appearance variants do not complete the objective.
