The Sunhat Starfish is a new FischFest companion pet in Fisch that stacks up to +100% luck (150% at max level) as you reel in sub-legendary fish and adds a Tropical Sun mutation chance, making it a luck-and-value support pet rather than a direct cash multiplier.
The Sunhat Starfish is the newest companion pet tied to the FischFest summer event, and it has drawn attention for its stacking luck mechanic. However, the single most common mistake is assuming it acts as a flat money multiplier that directly boosts the sell value of every fish you catch. It does not. Instead, it functions as a luck-and-mutation support pet, indirectly increasing your income by helping you roll higher rarities and apply valuable sell-value mutations.
What the Sunhat Starfish does in Fisch
| Tropical Sun mutation | Sell-value multiplier |
|---|---|
| Beach | ×6 |
| Tropical | ×7 |
| Paradise | ×8 |
| Super Tanned | ×10 |
The pet has two distinct abilities that work together to boost your farming efficiency. The first is a Tropical Sun mutation chance. At base level, there is a 20% chance for any fish you catch to roll a Tropical Sun mutation, which scales up to 35% at max level. Tropical Sun is a mutation family that includes Tan, Beach, Paradise, Tropical, Sandy, and Super Tanned. These mutations act as sell-value multipliers, drastically increasing the payout of the fish they affect. The exact multipliers for Tan and Sandy were not shown, but the highest-value mutations are well documented by early players.
The second ability is an arm-based luck stacking system. The starfish has five arms. Every time you catch a fish below legendary rarity, one arm lights up. Each lit arm grants +20% luck at base level, scaling to +30% luck per arm at max level. If all five arms are lit, you gain a total of +100% luck at base level, or +150% luck at max level. The catch is the reset rule: hooking anything above legendary rarity resets all arms back to zero. This makes the pet highly volatile in pools saturated with legendary fish, but incredibly strong in mid-rarity farms where you can rapidly cycle common and rare catches.
Note: These multipliers are creator-reported from early showcase runs, not officially documented. How they stack with other bonuses internally is unverified.
Forsaken Shore money test: rod-by-rod results
| Rod | Avg $/hour | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Elder Mossripper Rod | ~$56.41M | Surprise standout |
| Souler Reaper Rod | ~$41.72M | Reliable money rod |
| Fabulous Rod | ~$21.26M | Disappointing |
| Nate’s Blade | ~$15.08M | Needs a buff |
To see how the pet performs in practice, four rods were tested at Forsaken Shore targeting the Power Captain Goldfish. The setup included maxed enchantments, Allseason and Tier III Luck potions, and a Sparkly Totem. It is important to note that the pet’s individual contribution to these figures was not isolated—the results reflect the entire setup’s power, not just the starfish’s gains.
The Elder Muser Rod was the clear surprise standout, pulling in over $56 million an hour. The Souler Reaper Rod remained a reliable money rod at roughly $41 million, though players report better results pairing it with a Relic Construct enchantment. The Fabulous Rod was disappointing, hampered by a slow passive trigger, and Nate’s Blade underperformed despite its mutation guarantees, desperately needing a mastery update to compete.
Best setup to farm with the Sunhat Starfish
Because the pet thrives on rapid sub-legendary catches, you want to fish at Forsaken Shore targeting the Power Captain Goldfish. This spot is ideal because the daytime bite rate consistently churns out common and mythical fish, keeping the starfish’s arms lit and your luck spiked.
For conditions, aim for the summer season during daytime, and use Truffle Worm as your bait. If you use an Allseason Potion, you can ignore the actual in-game season entirely, meaning you only need to manage the time of day and your bait. A Tier III Luck Potion is essential to stack with the pet’s arm bonuses.
For totems, the Sparkly Totem is recommended to passively boost your overall payout. You don’t necessarily need a luck totem if your potions and pet arms are active, but you can optionally use a Weather Matrix to try and roll a lucky weather event like a Sovereign Storm for an extra 4x luck multiplier. This setup highlights exactly why the pet shines: it turns a mid-rarity, high-value farm into a high-roll machine.
Common mistakes players make with the pet
The biggest mistake is fishing in spots where you constantly hook legendary fish, which triggers the arm reset and wipes your luck stacks. You want to avoid pools that spit out legendaries if you are trying to keep the pet’s buff online. Along the same lines, players often mistakenly try to light the arms by catching legendary fish, not realizing the arms only light for catches below legendary rarity.
Another frequent error is skipping potions and relying entirely on the pet for luck. The arm bonuses stack with your potions and totems, so skipping your Tier III Luck Potion drastically lowers your income. Finally, players often conflate luck with mutation value. Luck affects the roll odds of the fish you hook, while the Tropical Sun mutations affect the sell-value multipliers. They are separate systems—the pet boosts both, but you need to manage your setup to benefit from both.
While working through the event progression to unlock the Sunhat Starfish, you will concurrently unlock other highly sought-after items. The Starshell Rod and the Lagoon Serenade Rod are both tied to the same FischFest milestones. Since the event introduces several new limited rods, keeping up with potion management and luck stacking will be essential for grinding the full reward track efficiently.
Target Power Captain Goldfish at Forsaken Shore during the day with an Allseason Potion to keep the starfish’s arms lit and avoid legendary resets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sunhat Starfish a money or cash multiplier?
No, the Sunhat Starfish is not a direct cash multiplier. It is a luck and mutation support pet. It indirectly increases your income by boosting your luck to help you catch rarer fish, and by granting a chance to roll Tropical Sun mutations, which act as sell-value multipliers.
How do you light up the starfish’s arms and what resets them?
You light up the starfish’s five arms by catching fish that are below legendary rarity. Each catch lights one arm. If you catch a fish that is above legendary rarity, all arms reset and you lose your stacked luck bonus.
How much luck does the Sunhat Starfish give at max level?
At max level, each of the five lit arms grants +30% luck, totaling a +150% luck boost when all arms are fully lit. At base level, it grants +20% per arm, totaling +100% luck.
Which rod made the most money in the test?
The Elder Muser Rod made the most money in the Forsaken Shore test, averaging roughly $56.41 million per hour with the full setup equipped.
Where and how do you get the Sunhat Starfish?
You get the Sunhat Starfish by participating in the FischFest summer event and completing a Captain questline—reported as either the Captain Cut or Captain Conch questline. The exact in-game currency cost to claim it after the quest, if any, is not yet confirmed.
Video help
