The Pro meter for the not so pro

[Bumblewoot]

Greetings,

Just curious as to some of the specific uses people are finding for the pro meter. Seeing what there is out there to learn to improve my virtual fishing. And maybe to help others as I am finding people are only really caring about the line meter.

The line tension meter is obvious, but what about the other two?

The rod tension I have found handy as it clearly indicates the situation when line tension is maxed, but rod tension is not. Allowing me to confirm when I can give a good pull. I do not really need a meter for it, but it does help.

The drag meter is nice as you can tell exactly when the drag will start to click - allowing for a better read and prediction of the fish fight.

I only bring this up because I was talking to a streamer who was not using it mainly due to its size. Besides the basics above, any helpful hints/tips in how to get the 3 to work together to help with the fights?

Thanks

[TTV_itzParkman]

i say everyone should use the pro indicator, 1 of the best things they added into the game by far

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

It depends on how comfortable you are with your gear and its capabilities. I swap my rods far too often to know by heart how each setup reacts to each type of fish.

I like knowing how much stress is on my reel and my rod, compared to my line. I'm more likely to have my line in the high reds while my reel, I don't want any higher than high yellows. I like knowing where exactly the tension is at.

Also, I like being able to keep track of the durability of my gear, line, reel and rod.

[Groovy Monster]

Originally posted by Durkaderr:

I only bring this up because I was talking to a streamer who was not using it mainly due to its size.

Ha, that's exactly why I don't use it (level 21 here). Just takes up too much screen space for my tastes...sometimes I even turn all HUD elements completely off for more immersion. I get plenty of feedback already out of the default (much less-intrusive) basic indicator--no probs with gear or landing fish ever.

I play this game to feel like I'm really fishing, so the larger pro indicator, with its huge screen-stealing size, actually works counter to that, so I choose not to use it--yes, mainly for aesthetic reasons. :) But then, I don't play this game for any real "competitive" or serious goals, and I also don't want it to feel too game-y, so that stuff makes it an easier choice for me, I guess. I just want to pretend like I'm out fishing, usually with friends.

P.S. Really, hiding all onscreen HUD elements is the ultimate true "pro" experience (not to mention the most realism, by far, that you can get out of the game), if you stop and think about it. :)

[XentroDiMentro]

The pro meter is completely useless if you use common sense, its actually more a "noob" meter for people who are lacking just that :P.

The normal meter just shows the weakest piece of gear, which is all you need. If you need more oversized unscalable HUD on your screen than activate the pro meters ^^.

[Bumblewoot]

Originally posted by XentroDiMentro:

The pro meter is completely useless if you use common sense, its actually more a "noob" meter for people who are lacking just that :P.

The normal meter just shows the weakest piece of gear, which is all you need. If you need more oversized unscalable HUD on your screen than activate the pro meters ^^.

That is the thing though. Playing with no hud or the basic meter and relying on common sense does not always work in a digital programmed simulator. I would love to play with minimal HUD, but too many things happen that go against common sense that I need to make sense of. The pro meter helps decipher it.

For example, the bending of the rod with rod tension is not consistent. You can have low rod tension and still have it bend hard. Without a meter it would appear as if a lot of tension was on that high bending rod, but in the game, the meters can reveal otherwise.

My best example is this: For easy numbers we will have a 10lbs line, 10lbs reel, 10 lbs rod. In the game you can be in a fish fight and have 8lbs tension on the line, 8 lbs tension on the reel, BUT only 2lbs tension on the rod. While the visual of the rod and common sense work most of the time, it does not always. The meter helps by revealing what is missing - actually feeling the rod tension.

In this scenario something a little odd happens, that maybe someone could help explain to me. With 8lbs tension on both rod and reel, and only 2lbs on the rod (all being 10lbs test) the game allows you to pull back on the rod to bring that rods tension up and yank the fish - but the tension on the line and reel do not change when you do this.

When you have max tension on your line, and low tension on the rod irl, yanking back on that rod will certainly put tension on the rod, but some should also add to the line. In game, nothing adds to the line.

I would not know this if I did not monitor the pro meter. This programming of how tension works helps the fights feel more real, as this is how the game simulates reeling, then stopping reeling to pull back on the rod, then reel on the down tension of the rod.

I am not sure how much of that makes sense. I just thought I'd share what I have learned. Maybe someone agrees, or maybe someone can correct me on some of this.

Thanks for all of the replies!

[lepisosteus74]

Originally posted by XentroDiMentro:

The pro meter is completely useless if you use common sense, its actually more a "noob" meter for people who are lacking just that :P.

The normal meter just shows the weakest piece of gear, which is all you need. If you need more oversized unscalable HUD on your screen than activate the pro meters ^^.

I agree!

[matts]

I use the pro meter because the other one was very annoying to me because of it flickering back and forth between rod or reel and the line.. So if that makes me a noob then so be it.