Money & weapon upgrades

1. Killscore: how to multiply payouts

Kills score higher when the kill is stylish. Specific values change with patches, but the high-scoring categories are stable:

• 5x Trick Shot: shoot a fish out of the air. Forest island's Flying Fish is the easiest target.
• 360° no-ADS spin kill: complete a 360° mouse spin while hip-firing. This is also the achievement "360° no-ADS spin kill".
• Aerial headshot: when a seagull picks you up (or dynamite launches a gull mid-air), land a headshot on it in flight.
• Long-range kill: land a sniper hit from 30m+ away.
• Double / multi kill: one explosive or one shotgun blast clears two or more small enemies at once.

Don't grind Killscore on every fish, but develop the habit of trying the aerial / long-range / spin variants when the situation is right. Over a run, the bonus stacks.

2. Grill 1.5x: the ceiling

Hand the Blue Shark to the Grillmaster on the Desert island to unlock the grill. Any sellable item can be grilled:

• Place the item on the grill; press F to monitor the multiplier.
• The multiplier climbs from 1.0x to 1.5x. Pull the item off at 1.5x.
• Past 1.5x the multiplier drops, and a fully burned item sells for less than its base value.
• Anything can be grilled — fish, weapons, junk. Old guns in particular get a meaningful bump on the grill.
• Volcano lava is a free 1.5x grill that cannot burn your item. Use it for batch processing before the final hand-in.

3. Dynamite: when to use it

Dynamite ($25 per pack, available on the Forest island and beyond) drops multiple fish at once for big payouts. But it has limits:

• Use it for: clearing trash mobs for quick health and money on Forest / Desert; refilling HP during Volcano boss fights.
• Don't use it on: high-value single targets (boss bait, rare Drip variants) — dynamite shreds the value.
• Co-op trick: place 20 dynamite around the boss arena, then cast the boss bait. Detonate on spawn for an instant kill. Solo: the dynamite cost is not worth it.
• Default key: G to throw.

4. Weapon upgrade order

Each weapon has 4 upgrade slots: magazine / damage / laser sight / muzzle / optic. The community-tested order is:

1. Max out one main weapon first: the "Fully Armed" achievement wants every attachment on a single gun. The Uzi / SMG is the cheapest path (~$2,500 fully upgraded).
2. Early game loadout: shotgun ($150) + laser sight + damage upgrade.
3. Mid game loadout: Uzi with silencer + extended mag + damage upgrade.
4. Endgame loadout: Assault Rifle with silencer + extended mag + damage upgrade + armor-piercing.

Do not spread upgrades across multiple weapons. A half-upgraded shotgun and a half-upgraded Uzi both die to the same boss; a maxed Uzi wins it.

5. Engine upgrade timing

The three engine tiers cost roughly $230 (Forest) → $860 (Desert / Rocks) → top tier (Rocks exclusive).

• Buy the Forest tier: $230 cuts travel time roughly in half and is the best ROI in the game.
• Skip the $860 tier: put the money into weapons and bag upgrades instead.
• Buy the top tier on Rocks: the "I Am Speed" / Tsunami achievement requires the top engine, which is sold only on the Rocks island. If you miss it, you cannot unlock the achievement later.

6. Slot machine: gold skin farming

Each island's gambling machine accepts any non-trophy creature for a chance at a skin. Two wins:

• Cosmetic: a gold skin can be applied to a weapon for display. The achievement "Gold! Gold! Gold!" requires at least one gold drop.
• Sharing: skins cannot be traded directly, but you can equip a gold skin on a weapon and drop the weapon on the ground for a teammate. The skin travels with the weapon.

Feed it the cheapest small fish you can find. Do not feed it Drip variants — those are 3–10x more valuable if sold directly. Do not feed it boss trophies — those are quest items.

7. Sell-or-keep decision table

Item	Recommendation	Why
Common small fish	Sell (grill 1.5x first)	Low value, high volume
Mid-tier fish (mackerel, etc.)	Sell (grill 1.5x first)	Mid value
High-value fish (Tuna, etc.)	Depends on boss progress	May be bait
Drip variants	Sell (3–10x)	Don't gamble them in the slot machine
Boss trophies (shell / skeleton / fin / head)	Do not sell	Quest items
Endangered fish (Needlefish / Seahorse)	Do not sell	Trade for the Carrot bait
Broken / old weapons	Grill 1.5x, then sell	Free +30% on junk
Cooked fish (food)	Keep half as healing	Don't sell all of it

8. Solo vs co-op economy

• Co-op wins: shared boss damage, faster trash clearing, teammates grab trophies you might have missed.
• Co-op risks: teammates selling rare fish by accident, disputes over slot-machine drops,stealing boss kills (which can change trophy attribution).
• Solo wins: 100% of income, no coordination overhead, no risk of accidental sales.
• Solo risks: slower boss kills, lower trash-clear rate, the slot machine is a single-player resource.

Recommendation: play the first two islands solo to learn the loot loop, then bring friends in for the boss fights on Desert and beyond.

9. Endgame money loop (post-clear)

Once you have cleared the Volcano and can sail freely:

1. On the Rocks island, spam the Professional Lure at the Flying Fish school — the 5x Trick Shot kills are the best raw cash in the game.
2. Cook the Flying Fish on the Volcano lava (free 1.5x, no burn risk).
3. Sell the cooked fish at the nearest vendor.
4. Use the profit to finish maxing the Uzi (Fully Armed achievement) and to buy the top engine on Rocks (I Am Speed achievement).

Money is not about catching more fish — it is about catching the right fish, killing them the right way, cooking them the right way, and then selling them at the right time. The same two hours of play with all four multipliers turned on earns 4–5x more than raw grinding.How to Fish Guide Hub

Next

Gear and economy sorted, skim the All five islands page for the overall map, then the Boss guide for the final fights.