Abyss Anglers Event Overview in Midnight

Abyss Anglers is one of the headline outdoor additions in WoW Patch 12.0.5, but it is not just a throwaway side activity built around cosmetics alone. The event mixes repeatable group gameplay, underwater navigation, fish hunting, treasure collection, and long-term upgrade progression into a single loop that keeps opening up as you spend more time with it. That makes it relevant both for players who want a new casual grind and for anyone trying to unlock every reward tied to the patch.

This guide breaks the event down into the parts that actually matter: how to start Abyss Anglers, how its core gameplay works, what each upgrade does, and which rewards you can earn from the system.

How to Start Abyss Anglers

Abyss Anglers is not tied to a rigid schedule, which makes it easier to jump into than many other outdoor activities in Patch 12.0.5. You can begin participating as soon as you travel to northeastern Zul'Aman and speak with Depthdiver Jeju, who stands on a small island just off the coast. That NPC serves as the starting point for the event and introduces the system through its opening quest.

The introductory quest is there to establish the basics before you start doing full dives. Instead of dropping you straight into the activity with no context, the event first walks you through the core idea behind Abyss Anglers and points you toward the underwater gameplay loop that defines the feature. Once that short setup is done, you can return to the event whenever you want and continue progressing through its dives, rewards, and upgrades.

If you want to head there directly, use the following waypoint in Zul'Aman:

Abyss Anglers Abilities

The introductory quest also teaches the core controls that define every Abyss Anglers dive. Once you enter the water, you gain a separate action bar and start managing a blue Oxygen bar that steadily drains over time. That resource sets the pace of each run, since every decision underwater is tied to how efficiently you move, how quickly you secure targets, and how long you can stay submerged before being forced back up. Take a look at the list of available abilities:

• Dash is your mobility button for quick repositioning and faster objective routing.
• Fire Harpoon is the main scoring tool and the ability you use to secure fish during the event.
• Surface! lets you end the run early instead of staying underwater until your Oxygen is depleted.

That opening dive is effectively a live tutorial. It gives you room to test the event's movement and targeting without burying you under every mechanic at once. After you finish and return to the surface, you are placed back near Depthdiver Jeju and can immediately queue up for additional dives.

How Abyss Anglers Dives End

A dive can end in two different ways, and understanding that distinction matters because it affects how much control you have over your run. The cleaner option is to use Surface! from the action bar once you are done chasing value underwater. That allows you to leave intentionally instead of overcommitting and losing control at the end of the dive.

The second outcome is simply running out of Oxygen. If that happens, the dive ends automatically. In practice, that makes Oxygen management one of the first mechanics players need to respect, because the event is not just about finding fish or treasures quickly, but also about knowing when to cut the run short and resurface before the timer forces the decision for you.

How Abyss Anglers Dive Scoring Works

Each Abyss Anglers dive ends with a point total based on what you accomplished underwater. Your score is built from the amount of treasure you found, how many fish you caught, and the rarity of those catches, so a run is not judged by a single objective alone. The event rewards both efficient routing and better fish quality, which gives each dive a bit more depth than simply firing at whatever is closest.

You also get an extra 1,000 points for resurfacing safely instead of letting your Oxygen run out. That bonus makes controlled exits more valuable than staying down for a few extra seconds and risking an automatic end to the dive. In practice, the scoring system pushes you toward cleaner runs, where knowing when to leave matters just as much as what you manage to collect before surfacing.

How to Earn Points During Abyss Anglers Dives

Points in Abyss Anglers come from several different actions during a dive. Harpooning fish is the most direct source, but it is not the only one. You can also score by swimming through schools of fish, fishing from Abyss Bubbles, catching small creatures, and uncovering underwater treasures such as Sunken Relics and Ancient Relics. That gives each dive a more flexible scoring loop, where route choice matters just as much as raw speed.

Harpoon Fishing

The main way to score in Abyss Anglers is by using Fire Harpoon on nearby fish. This covers the full rarity range, from Common targets all the way up to Mythic ones, but stronger fish are not caught in a single shot. Many of them are protected by Scales, and each harpoon removes only one at a time before the fish can finally be secured.

That is what makes high-rarity catches much slower to finish. Lower-rarity fish may only have one or two Scales, while tougher targets such as Legendary and Mythic fish can spawn with extremely large stacks, reaching as high as 99. In practice, that means these fish are less about one quick shot and more about steadily stripping their protection until they can be claimed.

You also do not need to finish every large target alone in a single dive. Other players can help remove Scales from the same fish, and any unfinished progress does not have to be treated as wasted if you need to leave and start another run later.

Finding Treasures

Fish are not the only source of value during an Abyss Anglers dive. While moving through the area, you can also come across Sunken Relic and Ancient Relic treasure nodes, usually placed on the seafloor or along trench walls. That gives dives another layer, since careful pathing can pay off even when you are not actively harpooning fish.

Sunken Relic can be collected from the start, so you can begin looting them as soon as your first dive. Ancient Relic is handled differently, because it requires the Pressurized Eyeglass upgrade first. That item costs 600 Angler Pearls, which means the higher-value treasure layer only opens up once you invest into the event a bit.

Abyss Bubble Fishing

Abyss Anglers does not rely on harpooning alone. During a dive, you can also find an Abyss Bubble and fish from it underwater with a normal Fishing Pole and bait. Once you interact with the bubble, the sequence works much like standard fishing: after a short delay, the bobber reacts and awards a catch.

The points you get from an Abyss Bubble depend on the rarity of the fish you pull from it, which makes these nodes another useful source of score during a run. This part of the event can also be improved over time, since items such as Finnow Chum can be bought from Depthdiver Jeju for Angler Pearls to help you catch higher-rarity fish from these bubbles.

Catching Small Creatures

Abyss Anglers also includes a separate way to score by catching Small Creatures. These targets are picked up with Nets rather than the harpoon, so this part of the event uses its own toolset. Early on, that means you need the right upgrades before this scoring method fully opens up.

The first options are Shallows Net and Triple-Thread Net. They do not start available by default and must be unlocked through the related achievements, Abyss Anglers: Shallows Net and Abyss Anglers: Triple-Thread Net. Once those are completed, the nets can be purchased and added to your dive options.

These small targets appear along the seafloor, with creatures like crabs and snails given as examples. Since they are not affected by Fire Harpoon, you need to treat them as a separate objective instead of part of the normal fish-hunting loop.

Schools of Fish

Swimming through a school of fish is one of the simplest ways to add points during an Abyss Anglers dive. It does not pay nearly as much as landing bigger catches with your harpoon, but it is an easy source of extra score while you move through the area.

Oxygen

Oxygen is the main limit on every Abyss Anglers dive. You begin with a full bar, and it drains gradually while you stay underwater. If you want to end the run cleanly, you can use Surface! to return safely, which also grants an extra 1,000 points at the end of the dive.

Your suit can be upgraded to permanently increase maximum Oxygen, which makes longer and more efficient runs easier over time. During dives, you can also find Oxygen Refills that restore 100 Oxygen on the spot, letting you stay below for a bit longer instead of surfacing immediately.

The bar is not only reduced by time. Aggressive fish and sharks can also knock away Oxygen if they hit you, so managing your route is not just about scoring points, but also about avoiding unnecessary losses before you are ready to leave.

All Abyss Anglers Upgrades and Rewards

Each completed Abyss Anglers dive converts your performance into Angler Pearls, with better runs paying out more of the event currency. Those pearls are then used to expand the system in several directions at once, including suit upgrades, new dive-related unlocks, and cosmetic rewards such as transmogs and Housing decor. Not every purchase is available immediately, though, since many items are also tied to specific achievements that must be completed before they can be bought.

Abyss Angler Vendor Locations

Abyss Anglers uses two main vendors. Depthdiver Jeju handles the gameplay side of the event, selling upgrades and other items connected to diving itself. Right next to Jeju on the dock, Depthdiver Tu'nakit covers the reward side instead, offering cosmetics and other unlocks tied to the event.

That split keeps the system easy to read. Jeju is the vendor for improving how your dives work, while Tu'nakit is where you spend progress on broader rewards, including decor, transmog, a pet, a key crafting reagent, and an item that opens up an additional quest.

Suit Upgrades

Depthdiver Jeju sells the core suit upgrades for Abyss Anglers. These upgrades improve either movement or Oxygen management, which directly makes dives longer, faster, and easier to route efficiently.

Activity Upgrades

Beyond the base dive loop, Abyss Anglers also has unlocks that expand specific point sources. These upgrades open extra objectives or improve what you can catch from existing ones, which gives you more ways to build score during a run.

Cosmetic Items

Depthdiver Tu'nakit sells the broader reward pool for Abyss Anglers. This vendor covers the event's cosmetic side, including decor pieces, transmogs, a pet, a crafting reagent, and a quest-starting item. Compared to Jeju's utility-focused inventory, these purchases are where your earned Angler Pearls start turning into collection rewards.

Abyss Anglers Achievements

Abyss Anglers has a large achievement set tied to progression, unlocks, and side goals during dives. Some entries are simple completion milestones, while others directly unlock new items for purchase. The table below organizes each achievement and shows its listed reward where one is explicitly shown.