To beat the pufferfish boss in Dazed Games’ Steam co-op shooter How to Fish, keep moving away from its rolling attacks, shoot during the gaps, and treat the second phase’s purple poison trail as the main danger.
The pufferfish is the Island 3 boss in How to Fish, the physics-based co-op shooter from Dazed Games on Steam. You reach it through the island’s tourist quest, which hands you a carrot to use as the boss bait. The fight itself is a straightforward rhythm of dodge, shoot, and heal, right up until the boss hits half health and the fight changes shape.
What the pufferfish boss is and when you fight it
Every island in How to Fish ends in a boss, and on Island 3 that boss is the pufferfish. You don’t stumble into it — you summon it deliberately with the island’s boss bait, the carrot, which you earn by finishing the island’s tourist quest first.
Once you drop that bait and fish it up, the pufferfish rolls at you and grows larger as the fight drags on. It runs across two phases, and the second one adds a poison hazard that turns a simple duel into a spacing test. Everything below is built around that shift.
What to bring before the fight
| Prep | Use |
|---|---|
| Cooked fish | Your healing — eat after taking damage |
| Grill access | Cook raw fish into usable heals |
| Extra inventory / hotbar slots | Carry more cooked fish into the fight |
| Maxed Uzi | Steady damage on the boss between dodges |
The pufferfish is winnable with basic Island 3 gear, but the fights this deep in the game are decided by how much healing you walk in with. Cooked fish is your health source, so the real prep is stockpiling it — and that means having somewhere to cook and somewhere to store it all.
Getting grill access comes from the island’s Grillmaster quest, and once you have it, cooking fish becomes your reliable heal. Pull each fish off the flame around its peak so it’s a proper heal and not a worthless burnt lump. Then load up: buy any extra inventory and hotbar slots you can afford, because more slots means more cooked fish on deck, and stock more than you think you’ll need. For the boss itself, a maxed Uzi is enough to keep steady pressure on it.
Reach Island 3
Progress through the story until you land on the third island, where the tourist and the grill are.
Catch an endangered fish
Needlefish, bowl fish, and sea horse all count as endangered fish and get flagged on screen when you catch one. Use the pink standard lure.
Give the fish to the tourist
Hand it over to complete the Vacation quest and help him on his way.
Take the carrot as bait
He rewards you with the carrot, which is the Island 3 boss bait — fish it up to start the pufferfish fight.
Dodge the rolling body
The pufferfish charges by rolling straight at you, so keep moving sideways and out of its line rather than backpedaling into it.
Keep your footing clear
The island is packed with coconut trees that block your dodges, so fight in open space and watch where you’re stepping.
Shoot in the gaps
After each dodge, while the boss is recovering, pour damage into it — that’s your window, and a maxed Uzi chews through it fast.
Eat cooked fish after damage
Every time it clips you, eat to top back up. Don’t wait until you’re nearly dead; heal steadily so a single hit never ends the run.
Avoid the phase 2 poison cloud
At half health the pufferfish starts trailing a purple poison cloud that follows behind it. Keep chasing your damage windows, but never dodge or run through that cloud.
Respect its growing size
As the fight goes on the boss gets bigger, so the same distance that felt safe early leaves you clipped later — widen your spacing as it grows.
Never run through the purple cloud. In phase 2 the poison trails directly behind the pufferfish, so circle around it rather than cutting across its path to reach a shot.
Mistakes that cost players the run
The most common death is running straight through the purple cloud — usually while chasing a shot or trying to escape a roll — so plan your movement to go around it, not through it. The coconut trees are the other trap: getting boxed in by trees or terrain kills your dodge and lets a roll connect.
The rest come down to healing. Entering without a stack of cooked fish leaves you with nothing to recover with, and panic-healing too late — waiting until you’re almost dead — means one more hit finishes you before the heal lands. Eat early and often.
Fighting the pufferfish solo or in co-op
How to Fish supports 1-4 players, and the pufferfish plays the same either way — there’s no special co-op mechanic tied to it. What co-op changes is the margin: more players means more guns on the boss, so it drops faster, and teammates can revive each other instead of a single death ending the attempt.
Key Solo is entirely doable with the same dodge-shoot-heal loop — you just carry the whole fight yourself, which makes your cooked-fish stockpile and your spacing matter that much more.
Related How to Fish guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the pufferfish boss do in How to Fish?
The pufferfish boss rolls at you and grows larger as the fight goes on. At half health, it enters phase 2 and trails a purple poison cloud behind it.
How do you avoid the pufferfish boss’s poison cloud?
Do not run into the purple poison cloud. Keep dodging the boss, stay clear of its trail, and shoot when you have space.
What should I bring to the pufferfish boss fight?
Bring cooked fish for healing and keep extra cooked fish available if you can. More inventory and hotbar slots help because they let you carry more cooked fish into late boss fights.
Can the pufferfish boss be beaten solo?
Yes, the game supports 1-4 players, and the pufferfish boss can be handled by dodging, shooting, and healing with fish. Co-op makes bosses easier because more players bring more guns and can revive each other.
What is the best basic strategy for beating the pufferfish boss?
Dodge its rolls, shoot it between attacks, and eat fish whenever you need to heal. Once phase 2 starts, treat the purple cloud as the main danger and keep moving away from its path.
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