If you’ve spent any time roaming the sunny shores of Jinzhou in Wuthering Waves, you’ve probably run into Dana, the quirky fish-obsessed NPC who hangs out near the south pier. She’s got a rotating list of fish she’s dying to get her hands on, and turning them in comes with some of the best early-game hidden rewards most new players completely miss. I spent three hours fumbling through bad fishing spots and wrong delivery routes before I figured out the smoothest way to complete this task, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know about how to deliver fish to Dana in Wuthering Waves without the hassle.
What You Need Before You Start Delivering Fish to Dana
First, you can’t just show up to Dana’s pier with a random fish and expect her to take it. There are a few small prerequisites you need to knock out first to unlock her delivery requests, and skipping them will leave you confused when she only talks about the weather instead of accepting your catch. You’ll need to hit player level 18 first, and complete the short “Casting the First Line” side quest from the Jinzhou blacksmith to unlock the base fishing mechanic and your first rod.
You don’t need to accept a formal quest from the quest board to start Dana’s fish deliveries, just interact with her twice when you first meet her and she’ll mention she’s always looking for fresh fish to add to her collection. You can check what fish she’s requesting at any time by opening your NPC friendship tab and selecting her profile, so you don’t have to run back to the pier every time to confirm her current request. I recommend upgrading your base rod to the reinforced version as soon as you can, too—it cuts fishing time by 30% and makes catching higher-quality fish way easier.
If you’re short on time and only want to catch what you need for how to deliver fish to Dana in Wuthering Waves that day, filter your map to show only fishing spots that spawn the fish she’s requested. That cuts out a lot of unnecessary travel across the map.
Best Spots to Catch the Fish Dana Requests Most Often
Dana’s request list rotates every 24 in-game hours, but she almost always asks for one of four common fish types, and you can stock up on all of them without traveling more than a few minutes from her pier. I’ve tested every fishing spot within a 10-minute ride of Jinzhou to find the most reliable spawns, so you don’t have to waste casts on spots that rarely have the fish you need.
Catching 2-3 extra of each common fish type every time you go fishing saves you hours of backtracking later when Dana asks for the same type two days in a row. I keep a small stack of each in my inventory at all times, so I can turn in her request in 30 seconds flat whenever I pass the pier. Here’s a quick reference for the most reliable spots for each common request:
- Silver Perch: Shallow waters 10 feet from Dana's pier (all day, all weather, 90% spawn rate per cast)
- Golden Koi: Hidden pond north of the Old Tree Statue (6pm to 6am in-game, clear weather only)
- Glowing Jellyfish: East Jinzhou deep waters (all day, all weather, requires reinforced rod to reach)
- Spotted Grouper: Abandoned lighthouse rocky cove (all day, rain only, 80% spawn rate when it’s pouring)
How to Deliver Fish to Dana Without Wasting Resources
There are a ton of small mistakes I made when I first started turning in fish to Dana that cost me hundreds of shells and hours of extra fishing time, so I’m breaking down the simple rules I follow now to make every delivery count. First, don’t even bother bringing her 1-star fish. Dana will reject any 1-star fish you try to hand over, so don’t waste inventory space storing low-quality catches for her requests. 2-star fish work fine, but 3-star versions of the same fish give you 50% more friendship points, so prioritize those if you have them in your inventory.
One small trick I picked up after dozens of runs for how to deliver fish to Dana in Wuthering Waves is to keep a dedicated storage tab in your inventory just for Dana’s requested fish, so you don’t accidentally use them for cooking or sell them when you’re clearing out space. I can’t tell you how many times I cooked a Silver Perch for a health buff before I realized I needed it for Dana’s daily request.
If you can, turn in your fish between 10am and 2pm in-game time. During that window, Dana gives you a small bonus reward on top of the standard shell and friendship payout, usually extra fishing bait or a random cooking recipe. It’s not a huge bonus, but it adds up over time. Never turn in 4-star rare fish to Dana, as their trade and crafting value is 10x higher than the delivery reward. You can sell 4-star fish for 5000 shells each, or use them to craft endgame attack buff food that gives you 30% extra damage for 30 minutes, which is way more valuable than a handful of extra friendship points.
Rewards You Can Unlock From Delivering Fish to Dana
A lot of players skip Dana’s fish requests because they think the rewards are not worth the time, but that’s a huge mistake. The payouts start small, but the long-term rewards are some of the most useful early to mid-game unlocks in the entire game, and you can’t get them anywhere else. For every standard delivery, you’ll get between 100 and 300 shells, 15 to 50 friendship points with Dana, and occasionally random cooking ingredients or fishing bait.
When you hit friendship level 3 with Dana, she gives you the exclusive Master Fisherman Rod that cuts fishing time by 50% and increases your chance of catching 3-star fish by 25%. That rod makes every future fishing trip way faster, and it’s the best fishing rod you can get before you reach the late-game snow region. At friendship level 4, she unlocks a hidden side quest where you help her find a legendary deep-sea fish, and completing that gives you a free 4-star weapon ascension material that usually costs 10000 shells to buy from the Jinzhou shop.
Hit max friendship level 5, and she gives you a permanent 10% discount on all fishing supplies from every vendor in the game. That adds up to thousands of shells saved over the course of your playthrough, especially if you fish often for cooking ingredients or other NPC requests. Every 10 deliveries you make, she also gives you a free bait box with 10 of each bait type, so you don’t have to spend time crafting bait as often.
Delivering fish to Dana is one of those low-effort, high-reward side activities in Wuthering Waves that most players skip over their first playthrough, but it’s 100% worth carving out 10 minutes a day for. The rewards, especially the Master Fisherman Rod and permanent shop discount, make fishing for the rest of your playthrough way easier, and you don’t have to grind for hours to unlock them. Next time you’re wandering around Jinzhou with a few extra fish in your inventory, stop by the pier and turn them in. Now that you know how to deliver fish to Dana in Wuthering Waves, you can skip all the frustrating mistakes I made early on and start unlocking those exclusive rewards right away.