Dead Man’s Rod sits at the top end of Fisch’s fishing tools, building on the same story thread that runs through Dead Man Joe, Oscar’s Locker, and the Great Rod of Oscar. It is not a quest reward you stumble into early; it is a late-game, craft-only rod aimed at players already deep into the game’s progression.
What Dead Man’s Rod is and where it comes from
Dead Man’s Rod is a Stage Fishing Rod obtained by crafting it at the Ancient Archives. It is not sold by a standard merchant and does not drop from a quest chest. Instead, it exists as a destination for players who have already climbed through the mid and late game, including the content tied to Dead Man Joe and Oscar.
The Ancient Archives act as the hub for this rod. Once you have access to that location and meet the requirements, Dead Man’s Rod is crafted there for a very high credit cost.
Dead Man’s Rod crafting cost and basic stats
Crafting Dead Man’s Rod is expensive even by late-game standards. It requires:
- 5,000,000C$ spent at the Ancient Archives crafting interface.
In exchange, the rod leans heavily into raw power:
- Luck: 300% luck, which is at the very high end for fishing rods.
- Max Kg: Effectively infinite max kg, so fish weight no longer caps out the rod.
This combination turns Dead Man’s Rod into a tool designed for chasing rare, high-value fish and doing so without worrying about weight limits. It is aimed squarely at high-level farming and late-game optimization rather than early progression.
How Dead Man Joe and the Great Rod of Oscar fit into the picture
Dead Man’s Rod is thematically tied to the “Dead Man's Tale” questline and Oscar’s story, but it lives on a different branch from the Great Rod of Oscar.
The narrative thread starts with Dead Man Joe, an NPC located at Forsaken Shores at coordinates -2951, 184, 1623. Dead Man Joe stands in the mouth of the skull structure and offers the quest marked with a star as Dead Mans Tale.
That quest sends you to explore the deep-sea rift known as Oscar’s Locker and to retrieve an Amulet from the Grand Reef. The Amulet lies inside a ruined boat on the center island of Grand Reef around -3558, 144, 480. Bringing this Amulet back to Dead Man Joe unlocks the story about Oscar and his weapon, the Great Rod of Oscar, along with 10,000 XP and directions to the entrance to Oscar’s Locker near Terrapin Island.
From there, the story connects to the Great Rod of Oscar, which is a separate high-end rod and one of the best XP and credit grinding options in the game. While Dead Man’s Rod is crafted at the Ancient Archives, the lore that leads up to it is rooted in this same Dead Man's Tale storyline.
Great Rod of Oscar stats and why players chase it first
The Great Rod of Oscar anchors the Dead Man's Tale arc and is often the first major milestone players hit before considering a grind toward Dead Man’s Rod.
| Stat | Great Rod of Oscar |
|---|---|
| Lure Speed | 95% |
| Luck | 280% |
| Control | 0.1 |
| Resilience | 20% |
| Max Kg | 100,000kg |
| Cost | 2,500,000C$ |
| Requirement | High-level (late game) |
| Location | Forsaken Shores (behind the spike at Snowcap Island) |
The rod’s near-instant lure speed and high luck make it one of the strongest leveling tools in Fisch. On top of raw stats, it carries three passives:
- Progress Speed: 30% faster progress speed.
- XP Boost: 1.35x XP on all fish.
- Oscar mutation: 5% chance to apply the Oscar mutation with a 6.4x multiplier.
These passives tilt the rod toward XP and credit grinding, which is exactly what you need if you plan to push all the way to Dead Man’s Rod’s crafting cost at the Ancient Archives.
How to start Dead Man Joe’s “Dead Man's Tale” questline
Step 1: Travel to Forsaken Shores and locate the skull-shaped structure. Move into the mouth of the skull to find Dead Man Joe standing there. Interact with Dead Man Joe to begin the conversation that leads to the Dead Man'ss Tale quest.
Step 2: Follow the dialogue as Dead Man Joe introduces Oscar’s Locker, an ancient crack in the sea floor filled with curses, madness, and hope. Respond to move the dialogue forward until Joe explicitly points you to the Amulet hidden in Grand Reef.
Step 3: Accept the quest prompt when it appears. Once you acknowledge you will look into Oscar’s Locker and retrieve the Amulet, the Dead Man's Tale quest is active, and Dead Man Joe will comment that he will be waiting until you return with the item.
How to get the Amulet for Dead Man Joe
Step 1: Travel to the Grand Reef. Head for the center island in that area, where a ruined boat serves as the landmark for the Amulet’s location.
Step 2: Search the ruined boat on the center island until you find the Amulet. It is placed in the wreck and does not require a separate NPC interaction. Pick it up so it appears in your hand or inventory.
Step 3: Return to Dead Man Joe at Forsaken Shores with the Amulet equipped in your hand. Interact with him again; he recognizes the glow of the Amulet and confirms that it is the Deepsea Amulet, explaining that it protects your soul as you descend into Oscar’s Locker.
Step 4: Continue the dialogue until he mentions the Great Rod of Oscar at the heart of the Locker and then wraps up with a confirmation that the entrance lies in the ocean near Terrapin Island. At this point, the Dead Man's Tale quest completes, and you receive 10,000 XP.
After this, Dead Man Joe’s dialogue shifts to brief encouragement, and his role in the questline is essentially done. You are free to pursue Oscar’s Locker and the Great Rod of Oscar using the location hint he provides.
How Great Rod of Oscar is obtained in Forsaken Shores
Great Rod of Oscar used to be tied directly to Oscar’s Locker in the Second Sea, but it is now obtained in the First Sea at Forsaken Shores. The rod is positioned behind a spike at Snowcap Island, requiring you to navigate to that specific part of the island to reach it.
The purchase conditions are straightforward but punishing:
- Price: 2,500,000C$.
- Level requirement: Late-game level gate (high level requirement is enforced).
Once you meet those conditions and reach the spot behind the spike on Snowcap Island, you can buy the rod and start benefiting from its lure speed, luck, and XP-oriented passives. Many players treat this as the main tool to fund and justify the extreme late-game investment in Dead Man’s Rod at the Ancient Archives.
Recommended enchantments for Great Rod of Oscar
Because Great Rod of Oscar already pushes luck and lure speed, the best enchantments tend to focus on reinforcing its strengths or patching its weak stats (control and resilience).
- XP-focused: Clever (2.25x XP) or Insight (1.5x XP) stack with the built-in XP Boost passive to accelerate leveling. Clever provides the largest bump but is harder to roll.
- Resilience-focused: Mystical or Resilient lift the rod’s low 20% resilience. Mystical is an exalted enchantment that requires Exalted Relics to apply.
- Control-focused: Controlled, Unbreakable, or Herculean give you a larger control bar to compensate for the rod’s minimal 0.1 control stat. Herculean is also an exalted enchantment and consumes Exalted Relics.
- Luck-focused: Divine or Immortal increase luck even further. Immortal is an exalted enchantment and demands Exalted Relics as well.
In practice, the choice comes down to what you are doing with the rod. If your main use is grinding levels and credits to push toward Dead Man’s Rod, XP and resilience enchantments generally offer the best return, with a control enchantment as a quality-of-life pick if you struggle with higher-weight fish.
How Dead Man’s Rod fits into late-game progression
Dead Man’s Rod is a natural endpoint for players who have already cleared Dead Man Joe’s quest, explored Oscar’s Locker, and invested heavily into high-end rods like the Great Rod of Oscar. Its 5,000,000C$ cost, 300% luck, and infinite max kg make it a specialized tool rather than a general-purpose upgrade.
Instead of replacing earlier rods outright, it combines well with the progression path built through Forsaken Shores and the Grand Reef. You use the Great Rod of Oscar to rush levels and farm enough credits, then move into the Ancient Archives to unlock and craft Dead Man’s Rod once your economy and character level can support it.
That structure turns the “Dead Man's” content—Joe, Oscar’s Locker, the Amulet, and the high-end rods—into one of Fisch’s longest and most demanding arcs, with Dead Man’s Rod as the final payoff for players willing to see it all the way through.
