How to find Exotic fish and Broken Blades in Destiny 2

Destiny 2: Season of the Deep’s biggest addition to the game wasn’t its astounding lore cutscene, but the pinnacle of all MMO activities: fishing. Yes, nine years into Destiny’s life as a franchise, players are finally able to serenely sit on a dock and fish for critters named after some of the game’s most beloved guns.

But shortly after launch, a mystery surrounding missing Exotic fish started to unfold inside the Destiny 2 fishing community. Weeks after it was first datamined, one of the mysterious Exotic fish finally appeared in-game on Tuesday, June 20. And by depositing it into their aquariums, players picked up the “Broken Blade of Strife” item. Since then, two more Exotic fish, as well as the “Broken Blade of Ambition” and the “Broken Blade of Cunning,” have entered the game as well.

In this Destiny 2 guide, we’ll explain how to catch the missing Exotic fish and what to do with the Broken Blades once you earn them.

How to catch Exotic fish

Image: Bungie via Polygon

The Kheprian Axehead was the only Exotic fish in the game for the first four weeks of the season, and you could only catch it at whatever the featured fishing location was for the week. However, on June 20, Bungie added Fishing Rallies to the game. And — after a bug fix — players were finally able to catch a second Exotic fish, native only to Savathun’s Throneworld: the Whispering Mothcarp. During the week of June 27, the Nessus Fishing Rally appeared in-game, allowing players to also catch the Vexing Placoderm Exotic fish. And finally, on the week of July 4, the EDZ Fishing Rally appeared, and with it the Aeonian Alpha-Betta Exotic fish.

Here’s how to catch all four Exotic fish in Destiny 2:

• Whispering Mothcarp: Fish in Savathun’s Throne World when it’s the featured location for a chance to catch it.
• Vexing Placoderm: Fish on Nessus when it’s the featured location for a chance to catch it.
• Aeonian Alpha-Betta: Fish in the EDZ when it’s the featured location for a chance to catch it.
• Kheprian Axehead: Fish on any featured location for a chance to catch it.

Note: Exotic fish are very rare, and it’s not uncommon to use over 100 bait without a single Exotic.

Turning in any Exotic fish to the kiosk in the HELM will net you an Exotic piece of armor. But the first time you deposit each of the Exotic fish you’ll also pick up one of three mysterious new items: the Broken Blade of Strife, the Broken Blade of Ambition, or the Broken Blade of Cunning.

What do you do with the Broken Blades?

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Each time you get a Broken Blade, it will add a new perk to your Fishing Tackle, saying which blade you have and where you got it. These perks are relatively useless until you — or someone you know — has all three. Once you’ve gotten the Broken Blade of Strife, Ambition, and Cunning, they’ll merge into a single perk that reads: “Broken Blades have been claimed from the EDZ, Throne World, and Nessus.”

Once you have this perk, you’ll be able to interface with all three secret statues in the Deep Dive seasonal activity, which will unlock a secret door that leads to the timed Exotic mission Whetstone, which rewards the Wicked Implement Exotic scout rifle.

While access to the Whetstone Exotic mission is the primary reward for the Exotic fish (in addition to the Exotic armor, that is), you’ll also get a special Triumph — Exotic Angler — and an adorable emblem called “Pond Pals” if you manage to catch all four.

Update 1 (June 28): We’ve updated this guide to reflect the addition of the second hidden Exotic fish, Vexing Placoderm, and the Broken Blade of Ambition. Both were added to the game on June 27th.

Update 2 (July 5): We’ve updated this guide to include all four Exotic fish and all three Broken Blades, plus additional context about the Wicked Implement Exotic scout rifle quest.