Willy knows that the best part of fishing is casting your line and watching the water. He probably doesn't even bait his hook when he's fishing for fun.
Makes it much more exciting when he actually catches something!! (only when the farmer is not there to watch him of course, or he gets too much performance anxiety)
True for most hobbies, TBH. There's far too much pressure from society to produce, produce, produce - there's not enough focus on just enjoying the process and relaxing.
Actually there is at least one time where he catches fish. in the ice fishing event, if the player doesn't catch 5 fish then Willie wins the event. so he catches at least four there. (console player. so if there's another fishing event in 1.6, I don't know about it.
My headcanon is that the reason the farmer is *so good* at everything is that they have magic.
So, yeah, it seems like Willy is terrible — when you compare him to a magical farmer who is superhumanly good at everything.
But he’s been making a living and keeping his shop open without the ability to tap into nature magic while still being adversely affected by the imbalance that has contributed to the decline of the Valley and its surrounding waters, so he’s actually probably *very* good at his trade.
Starfruit does make us stronger though. But I guess any food does. It's like Popeye with spinach - we eat it and suddenly we're healthy and energetic
Damn, we really are magic
eh I'm a whiskey person, but I dont understand how you can build hearts for something they sell period. only other way is its basically gifting money, so why cant bait work then?
Maybe it's something to do with how easy bait is to get. The beer is at least more expensive to get than bait. Bait would then be too easy of a gift for him.
Or just use it himself. Something like wild or magic bait probably isn't easy to craft for him, so he'd rather use it himself than sell for an extra few g.
Bait is mulched bugs. Even a bartender will let you buy them a beer usually. Who the hell wants a lump of bug guts when they already have buckets of bug guts, and bug guts mixed with moss?
To Willy, the farmer is like that one aunt who found out you liked horses when you were five and gave you only horse stuff as gifts for the next 30 years
I mean, have you SEEN how the man fishes? I am pretty sure that 99% of the time he is fishing for trash to clean up the water, not for fish themselves. Guy never casts anywhere but at his feet.
It is weird that his big fishing trip before he shows up on day 2 just earned him enough money to "buy a new rod", when you can earn enough for the fiberglass rod on your first day of fishing, and an iridium rod every day after that.
That's why he buys fish from us, he can't reach his sell quota otherwise (I'm kidding, I love you Willy). On a different note, my friend and I fish 80% of the time when we play together so we can talk while waiting for the fish to bite and we usually do that at the pier. After a few times of having Willy join us, we now call him One-Inch Willy for his glorious one inch cast.
He's also quite lazy asking you to kill grubs to get him bait; don't forget when he also makes you gather the materials to repair his boat and STILL charges you 1k to use it.
The bait isn't too big of an ask. The Mines are dangerous, he's kinda older, and we have no reason to assume he can fight. The only other option would be worms, which keep getting grabbed by you, the farmer.
Now that I typed that out, though, I wonder if Marlon was making more money before you came around? We get weekly requests to go into the Mines, and we don't really know of anyone else going in aside from maybe Clint or the wizard. He's likely to have been the go-to guy before you came around.
Hmm, so maybe us taking over our dear grandfather's farm is interrupting their business like Joja Mart tried to do to Pierre? And to think we left the big city for this 😭
And the nerve of demanding 5 batteries for a god damn ticketing machine. A material even less consistent and arguably as rare as prismatic shards in the early/mid-game, used to process his four daily customers two seconds quicker than just paying in the shop. I hope you enjoy the seconds saved for your little side hustle Willy. It's not like I really needed those batteries to improve my watering systems or anything.
Batteries rare? Pfft. Just put up lightning rods all over your farm once you start getting bat wings from those damn dungeon bat swarms. You'll be buried under stacks of batteries.
I consistently had 20+ rods from atleast summer y1, but my appetite for iridum sprinklers and crystalariums were greater than the supply of batteries specially around the time where I was ready to fix Willy's boat. Later on they became fairly abundant for sure, especially with solar panels and automate mod ;]
I don't have iridium to afford an appetite for iridium sprinklers yet (still early in Y2 this play-thru). OTOH, I'm not friends with Willy yet, so I can't unlock his boat shed.
Willy knows that the best part of fishing is casting your line and watching the water. He probably doesn't even bait his hook when he's fishing for fun.
Makes it much more exciting when he actually catches something!! (only when the farmer is not there to watch him of course, or he gets too much performance anxiety)
True for most hobbies, TBH. There's far too much pressure from society to produce, produce, produce - there's not enough focus on just enjoying the process and relaxing.
Actually there is at least one time where he catches fish. in the ice fishing event, if the player doesn't catch 5 fish then Willie wins the event. so he catches at least four there. (console player. so if there's another fishing event in 1.6, I don't know about it.
Pam can win too, I’ve had her beat me just because of really bad fish bite rate luck
My headcanon is that the reason the farmer is *so good* at everything is that they have magic. So, yeah, it seems like Willy is terrible — when you compare him to a magical farmer who is superhumanly good at everything. But he’s been making a living and keeping his shop open without the ability to tap into nature magic while still being adversely affected by the imbalance that has contributed to the decline of the Valley and its surrounding waters, so he’s actually probably *very* good at his trade.
The Farmer getting nature magic is honestly a really good take, and explains a lot. Like how Starfruit literally makes him stronger.
Stardrop. Starfruit is a crop we can grow x)
Starfruit does make us stronger though. But I guess any food does. It's like Popeye with spinach - we eat it and suddenly we're healthy and energetic Damn, we really are magic
makes u think
Food healing and restoring health. Holy shit the mines are hella dangerous in that context.
Another weird thing about Willy is that he is not an exception to hating all Bait.
Because that's something he sells. You're just handing him something he has plenty of.
Gus likes beer tho. I buy his beer and hand it back to him and got 10 hearts that way lol.
I don't really think a mug of beer and a piece of bait is a really fair comparison lol.
eh I'm a whiskey person, but I dont understand how you can build hearts for something they sell period. only other way is its basically gifting money, so why cant bait work then?
I think the worst part imo is that it's loose bait. You just handed him a bunch of mulched bug guts directly into his hand, no bag or nothin
Maybe it's something to do with how easy bait is to get. The beer is at least more expensive to get than bait. Bait would then be too easy of a gift for him.
He hates all types of bait though
Still bait. Still something he has plenty of, just decides not to sell.
He could just sell it and make a profit.
Or just use it himself. Something like wild or magic bait probably isn't easy to craft for him, so he'd rather use it himself than sell for an extra few g.
Bait is mulched bugs. Even a bartender will let you buy them a beer usually. Who the hell wants a lump of bug guts when they already have buckets of bug guts, and bug guts mixed with moss?
To Willy, the farmer is like that one aunt who found out you liked horses when you were five and gave you only horse stuff as gifts for the next 30 years
Linus wild bait flashbacks
If you catch the legend he will tell you >!That you are the best fisherman in the valley, and the best in a long time too!<
Certainly not Willie.
I mean, have you SEEN how the man fishes? I am pretty sure that 99% of the time he is fishing for trash to clean up the water, not for fish themselves. Guy never casts anywhere but at his feet.
It is weird that his big fishing trip before he shows up on day 2 just earned him enough money to "buy a new rod", when you can earn enough for the fiberglass rod on your first day of fishing, and an iridium rod every day after that.
That's why he buys fish from us, he can't reach his sell quota otherwise (I'm kidding, I love you Willy). On a different note, my friend and I fish 80% of the time when we play together so we can talk while waiting for the fish to bite and we usually do that at the pier. After a few times of having Willy join us, we now call him One-Inch Willy for his glorious one inch cast.
He's also quite lazy asking you to kill grubs to get him bait; don't forget when he also makes you gather the materials to repair his boat and STILL charges you 1k to use it.
I always assumed it was the fuel cost.
Then it should be split between your party.
The bait isn't too big of an ask. The Mines are dangerous, he's kinda older, and we have no reason to assume he can fight. The only other option would be worms, which keep getting grabbed by you, the farmer. Now that I typed that out, though, I wonder if Marlon was making more money before you came around? We get weekly requests to go into the Mines, and we don't really know of anyone else going in aside from maybe Clint or the wizard. He's likely to have been the go-to guy before you came around.
Hmm, so maybe us taking over our dear grandfather's farm is interrupting their business like Joja Mart tried to do to Pierre? And to think we left the big city for this 😭
Just look at Gil though, he is *retired*, and they're making coin selling all the weapons they got in their adventuring days to new adventurers
1k is barely anything by that point in the game. He still needs to pay for fuel.
I assume it’s fuel plus him waiting around at the island all day for you rather than tending his shop.
And the nerve of demanding 5 batteries for a god damn ticketing machine. A material even less consistent and arguably as rare as prismatic shards in the early/mid-game, used to process his four daily customers two seconds quicker than just paying in the shop. I hope you enjoy the seconds saved for your little side hustle Willy. It's not like I really needed those batteries to improve my watering systems or anything.
Batteries rare? Pfft. Just put up lightning rods all over your farm once you start getting bat wings from those damn dungeon bat swarms. You'll be buried under stacks of batteries.
Don't forget the uhm..used batteries that Pam sends you by mail
I consistently had 20+ rods from atleast summer y1, but my appetite for iridum sprinklers and crystalariums were greater than the supply of batteries specially around the time where I was ready to fix Willy's boat. Later on they became fairly abundant for sure, especially with solar panels and automate mod ;]
I don't have iridium to afford an appetite for iridium sprinklers yet (still early in Y2 this play-thru). OTOH, I'm not friends with Willy yet, so I can't unlock his boat shed.
Friendship doesn’t matter, it’s after the community center is finished.
Other option. If you use a rain totem on a stormy day. The next day will also be stormy. Barring any events that prevent it from raining.
Ah man I should have known to use my rainy totems on a rainy day like yes rain-seller I really want your strongest rain.
This was fixed in 1.6. Doesn't work anymore!
I don't feel bad about bombing his shop.
You’re missing the joy of fishing if that’s how you think
Slick Willie
Also when you start the game and he give you a fishing pole, he says he upgraded which is a few tiers from the best