Knowing How to Really Fish weapon prices before you walk into the shop is the single biggest lever for early progression, because every coin you spend on a blade is a coin you're not spending on lures, bait, or a boat repair. According to the official How to Really Fish game page, weapons let you fight back against aggressive sea creatures while you fish, and stronger blades are explicitly required for harder islands and the Giant Crab boss. The trick is matching your cash flow to the right tier so you never overspend on a flashy weapon you can't actually afford, and never underspend on a weak starter that gets you killed by the second island.
This guide breaks down every weapon price tier in How to Really Fish, ranks the best picks for new players, and shows you exactly when a weapon upgrade is worth the cash — and when you should save your coins for lures instead.
How to Really Fish Weapon Price Tiers at a Glance
How to Really Fish weapons are organized into clear price brackets, and each bracket roughly corresponds to a power tier you can feel the moment you start swinging. The starter weapon is handed to you for free, and everything past that has to be bought, earned, or unlocked through gameplay. Most players hit the first upgrade wall around the 2,000–3,000 coin mark, when starter weapons stop cutting it against the tougher fish roaming Forest Island and beyond.
Below is the full price breakdown by tier so you can plan your shopping trips instead of panic-buying after a death.
| Tier | Price Range (coins) | Power Level | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 0 (free) | Low | First 10–15 minutes, beginner island |
| Budget | 500–1,500 | Low-Mid | Players with limited cash, early Forest Island |
| Mid | 2,500–5,000 | Mid | Forest Island survival, Giant Crab prep |
| High | 7,500–12,000 | High | Late-game islands, boss solo runs |
| Endgame | 15,000+ | Top | Co-op boss runs, hardest sea creatures |
The community-reported price ranges above come from player testing shared across the Crazy Fishing Friends group, where most buyers confirm the starter weapon is free and each subsequent tier roughly doubles in cost. The jump from mid to high is where the How to Really Fish weapon tier list gets interesting, because some high-tier weapons actually perform worse per-coin than the best mid-tier picks — which is exactly why a price-first buying strategy matters.
Starter Weapon: The Free Blade
The starter weapon costs zero coins and is automatically equipped when you crash your boat at the beginning of the run. It's a basic melee weapon with low damage and a short reach, but it does the job for the first few catches and any low-level aggressive fish you bump into while learning the reeling mini-game. According to community data, the starter weapon is enough to survive roughly the first 10–15 minutes of play on the beginner island.
What the starter weapon is really buying you is time — time to learn the cast, reel, and sell loop without burning cash on mistakes. Once you start seeing Forest Island fish that hit harder and approach faster, the starter blade stops being viable and you need a budget or mid-tier replacement. Don't pour upgrade coins into the starter weapon if you can save up for a budget melee pick instead; the power jump between a budget weapon and a fully-upgraded starter isn't worth the cost for a new player.
Best Weapon Tier List by Price-to-Power Value
Not every weapon in the same price bracket delivers the same value, and that's the core of any good How to Really Fish best weapon tier list. Some weapons in the mid tier outperform certain high-tier picks because they have better stamina efficiency, faster swing speed, or a special attack that shreds boss phases. The table below ranks the best weapons in each tier based on community-reported damage-per-coin ratios.
| Rank | Weapon | Tier | Approx. Price | Value Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coral Saber | Mid | ~3,500 | Best mid-tier pick, top damage per coin |
| 2 | Tidal Spear | Mid | ~4,200 | Strong ranged option, pierces groups |
| 3 | Rusty Cutlass | Budget | ~1,200 | Beats most high-tier weapons per coin spent |
| 4 | Deep-Sea Harpoon | High | ~9,000 | Best boss weapon, worth saving for |
| 5 | Pearl Dagger | Budget | ~800 | Fastest swing speed, great stamina economy |
| 6 | Abyssal Greatsword | High | ~11,500 | Highest raw damage, slow swing |
| 7 | Seashell Slingshot | Starter | 0 | Ranged starter, weak but free |
| 8 | Trident of Tides | Endgame | ~16,000 | Late-game flex, not worth pre-boss |
The Coral Saber and Tidal Spear dominate the mid bracket because they hit a sweet spot where a single How to Really Fish weapon upgrade at the blacksmith pushes them into late-game viability, whereas most high-tier weapons don't scale well with upgrades. The Rusty Cutlass is the budget pick that punches above its weight, and the Deep-Sea Harpoon is the consensus boss weapon according to community testing shared in the How to Really Fish complete walkthrough by KEIBLOXex.
Why Mid-Tier Weapons Beat Some High-Tier Picks
A common mistake new players make is assuming the most expensive weapon in the shop is automatically the best weapon. In practice, several mid-tier weapons outperform high-tier options because of two hidden stats: swing speed and stamina cost. A weapon with 80% of the damage but twice the swing speed will kill a boss faster because you land more hits per stamina bar, which is exactly the trade-off the Coral Saber makes versus the Abyssal Greatsword.
The second factor is upgrade scaling. According to community testing, mid-tier weapons gain a proportionally bigger boost from each blacksmith upgrade than high-tier weapons, which means a fully-upgraded Coral Saber often rivals a stock Abyssal Greatsword at half the price. If you're building a How to Really Fish best weapon tier list based on long-term value, mid-tier picks with upgrade potential almost always rank above raw-stat high-tier weapons.
Melee vs Ranged Weapons: Which Category Wins?
How to Really Fish melee weapons and ranged weapons serve very different combat roles, and the right choice depends on whether you're fighting solo or coordinating with a co-op partner. Melee weapons are cheaper, easier to find in the shop, and have better stamina economy for solo play, while ranged weapons cost more but let you kite aggressive fish and contribute damage from a safer distance.
| Category | Avg. Price | Strengths | Weaknesses | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee | 1,000–6,000 | Cheap, fast swing, stamina efficient | Must close distance, takes hits | Solo survival, boss melee phases |
| Ranged | 3,500–12,000 | Safe distance, pierces groups | Higher price, slower reload | Co-op support, kiting aggressive fish |
| Hybrid | 5,000–9,000 | Mid range + melee combo | Jack-of-all-trades pricing | Players who switch roles mid-fight |
For new players, the answer is almost always to start with a melee weapon and add a ranged option later. The How to Really Fish starter weapon is melee, and your first 2,000–3,000 coins are better spent on a Coral Saber or Pearl Dagger than on a ranged weapon you won't use efficiently yet. Once you've cleared Forest Island and saved up a mid-tier budget, a ranged weapon becomes a strong second slot for kiting the bigger sea creatures that spawn on harder islands.
When Ranged Weapons Are Worth the Price Premium
Ranged weapons earn their price premium in two specific situations: when you're fighting the Giant Crab boss and need to stay out of melee range during the enrage phase, and when you're running co-op and want to focus on damage output while your partner tanks. The Tidal Spear is the standout ranged pick because its pierce damage hits multiple fish in a line, which is perfect for crowded ocean swarms where a melee weapon would only hit one target at a time.
The trade-off is price. A good ranged weapon costs roughly 2–3x more than its melee equivalent, and ranged weapons also burn through ammo or stamina faster when you spam shots. If you can't afford both a melee and a ranged weapon in the same shopping trip, prioritize melee first and treat the ranged weapon as a How to Really Fish weapon upgrade you unlock after your second or third island clear.
When to Buy, Save, or Upgrade Your Weapon
Timing your weapon purchase is just as important as picking the right one, and the worst move a new player can make is buying a high-tier weapon the moment they can afford it. The smarter play is to buy a budget or mid-tier weapon first, upgrade it at the blacksmith, and only spend on a high-tier replacement once you hit a difficulty wall you can't break through with upgrades alone.
| Cash Available | Recommended Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0–500 coins | Keep starter weapon | Not enough to upgrade meaningfully |
| 500–2,000 | Buy budget weapon (Pearl Dagger) | Replaces starter, covers beginner island |
| 2,000–5,000 | Buy mid-tier (Coral Saber) + first upgrade | Best damage-per-coin, scales well |
| 5,000–10,000 | Save for high-tier or save for upgrades | Don't overspend before Forest Island clear |
| 10,000+ | Buy Deep-Sea Harpoon + full upgrade | Boss-ready build, late-game prep |
The threshold to remember is 5,000 coins. Once you cross that mark, you should stop buying and start saving for either a high-tier weapon or a full upgrade pass on your current mid-tier pick. How to Really Fish weapon upgrade costs scale with the weapon's tier, so upgrading a Coral Saber twice is much cheaper than buying a stock high-tier weapon and then upgrading it once. According to community testing reported by players in the RobloMine no-commentary gameplay video, most successful runs on Forest Island use a fully-upgraded mid-tier weapon rather than a stock high-tier one.
The Hidden Cost of Weapon Upgrades
The price tag on a weapon is only half the story, because every weapon you own can be upgraded at the blacksmith for additional coins. The upgrade cost scales with the weapon's tier, which means a high-tier weapon costs 2–3x more to fully upgrade than a mid-tier weapon, even though the stat gains are often smaller. Before you buy, factor in the total cost: weapon price + (upgrade cost × number of upgrades you plan to use).
For a new player, the total-cost calculation usually favors the mid-tier path. A Coral Saber at 3,500 coins plus two upgrades at roughly 1,000 coins each runs you about 5,500 coins total, while a stock Deep-Sea Harpoon at 9,000 coins plus a single upgrade at 2,500 coins is already 11,500 coins for one less upgrade. If you want a deeper breakdown of upgrade math and which weapons scale best, the How to Really Fish upgrade weapons guide walks through the full progression curve.
Starter Weapon Strategy for New Players
The How to Really Fish starter weapon is free, but it shouldn't be your long-term companion. The first 15 minutes of any run are a tutorial phase, and the starter blade exists to let you learn the reeling, combat, and selling loops without financial pressure. Your goal in this window is to bank enough coins to buy a real weapon, not to master the starter.
| Phase | Time | Goal | Weapon State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial | 0–10 min | Learn cast, reel, sell, basic combat | Starter (free) |
| Early cash | 10–25 min | Hit 1,000–1,500 coins | Buy Pearl Dagger or Rusty Cutlass |
| First island clear | 25–45 min | Hit 3,000–5,000 coins | Buy Coral Saber + first upgrade |
| Mid-game push | 45–90 min | Hit 8,000–10,000 coins | Save for Deep-Sea Harpoon or full upgrade pass |
The first real decision point is at 1,000–1,500 coins, when you should replace the starter with a budget weapon like the Pearl Dagger. This unlocks better stamina economy and faster clear times on the beginner island, which accelerates your coin income and gets you to the mid-tier pick faster. Trying to save all the way to a mid-tier weapon from the starter phase is a common new-player trap, because you'll die repeatedly to aggressive fish that the starter can't handle, which costs you coins on respawn or boat repair.
If you want a full beginner-friendly walkthrough that includes lure choices, island order, and boss prep, the How to Really Fish weapon guide for beginners covers the entire first-hour progression path with a focus on budget builds.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the best weapon in How to Really Fish cost?
The top weapons in the endgame tier run around 15,000–18,000 coins, but most players don't need to spend that much. The Deep-Sea Harpoon at roughly 9,000 coins is widely considered the best boss-ready weapon because it has the best damage-per-coin ratio in the high tier. Save the endgame weapons for after you've cleared all islands and have a stable coin income.
Should I buy a melee or ranged weapon first as a new player?
Melee, almost always. How to Really Fish melee weapons are cheaper, have better stamina efficiency, and the starter weapon is already melee, so your first upgrade should match your existing combat style. Save the ranged weapon purchase for after you've cleared Forest Island and can afford a Tidal Spear or similar mid-tier ranged pick without starving your lure budget.
When is it worth doing a weapon upgrade instead of buying a new weapon?
When your current weapon is mid-tier and the upgrade cost is under half the price of the next-tier weapon. A Coral Saber with two upgrades is almost always a better buy than a stock high-tier weapon, because the upgrade gains on a mid-tier weapon are proportionally larger. Only switch to a new weapon when your current one is fully upgraded and still isn't cutting it on the next island.
What's the cheapest weapon that can beat the Giant Crab boss?
The Rusty Cutlass at around 1,200 coins, fully upgraded twice, is the lowest-cost weapon that community testing has shown can solo the Giant Crab. It won't make the fight fast, but it works. The faster route is the Coral Saber with two upgrades, which costs more but clears the boss in roughly half the time and is easier to recommend for first-attempt players.
Can I sell back weapons I no longer need?
Yes, but only for a partial refund. How to Really Fish weapon resell values are roughly 50% of the purchase price, and upgraded weapons only refund the base price — not the upgrade cost. This is why buying cheap and upgrading is safer than buying expensive and regretting it; the resell floor on a 1,000-coin weapon is much smaller than the resell floor on a 12,000-coin weapon.