Ghost Whale - EU Region First - details and location
Item window, tooltip shows the vendor price (top three harpoon prize fish can not be traded but sold)
Like all prize fish I have caught, the knowledge is learnt on first catch each time
Fish Guide > Other > p. 3/9 - EU region first catch
Details
Well, been a hard search for this one, being with research from KR last October 2018, as it seems it is not sea-wide catch like most prize fish but seems it is restricted to a small part of Margoria North sea.
Took me personally 6-7 hours before it dropped but @g_ from the MaoMao Prince Fishing Discord who I worked with to find the location, got it within 20 odd fish, such is BDO harpooning.
One thing to consider, the Ghost Whale has a fixed value of 100M and along with the other two highest value prize fish species, the Requiem Shark (75M) and Giant Black Squid (50M), it was changed at the beginning of this year from a tradable fish like most, to a fixed price vendor item which can't be traded distance or otherwise except for the fixed value (like Koi etc.).
They basically tripled the value and doubled the drop rate (according to their patch notes at the time) to make up for the lost potential trading buffs, when making this change so it should be around the same value when being caught overtime.
For the record I had Fishing mastery 711 providing Harpoon +2 Level. @g_ only had +1 Level so the Ghost Whale is not gated in any way by Harpoon level, just the chance to drop rising per level. The exact percentages are not given in the patch notes so hard to even guess at this stage what they are.
The confusing part with Margoria North sea area is that we discovered that perhaps at mastery launch this week or perhaps back to a change by the developers in KR, that the original harpoon table seems to have been mostly swapped for the Margoria South one which is:
Harpoon
Bigeye Tuna
Humpback Whale
Marlin
Yellow Swordfish
Cuttlefish
The original Margoria N harpoon table, which I confirmed back when they stealth changed all fish tables in the game last October 2018, appears not to be restricted to a small area of the sea. There was no patch notes in KR but players found it out on the forums there and helped give some clue where to try on launch.
The Margoria N harpoon table you need to find is:
Harpoon
Albacore
Hammer Whale
Black Marlin
Sailfish
Cuttlefish
Ghost Whale spot details
The spot where you will find the right table is the player location on this map. Port Ratt is to the S - SE of the yellow circle, just sail due S out towards Zagam Island.
Basic instructions from Port Ratt are:
Before departing I strongly recommend obtaining a compass to help orientate yourself once in Margoria as it is easy to lose your bearing.
- Sail fishing boat out due S from Port Ratt towards Zagam Island (Zowoom is the NPC there).
- Once there align your boat from the SE most part of Zagam Island group marked in the yellow circle and aim due S.
- Follow the route across the Vadabin Sea and then soon into Juur Sea and all safe until you reach Margoria N proper. It remains relatively safe as it is an area of Ocean Stalker with some small pirate ships that generally will not aggro unless you get really close occasionally.
- Aim for the player marker on the map and use the red lines to give yourself some bearings and idea of distances.
- You will know you are close to the right spot when you see the stalkers plus some small pirate ships, debris and importantly a Candidium in front of you to the S. Try to keep it in view to your SE but a good distance away not to aggro it. They foll ow a regular route back and forth so just watch then position yourself checking all around then test the harpoon table. If not move a bit and retry.
Here is a video showing the actual journey from Zagam Island yellow circle > GW spot which may help posted by @g_. it shows the part from where you arrive at the Juurs Sea border going S to the spot;
Video - Juur to North Margoria
Once you have the right table you are in the right spot, just ensure decent distance from pirates and large sea monster.
Couple of screenshots of the location to help
View from boat SE towards Candidium in view but safe distance
View N back to the mainland (very high graphics settings) with small pirate and stalker
Like trying to find anywhere in Margoria it is not easy but really, once you get out there is is mainly gauging distance and checking the harpoon table once in the general area. If it is not right recheck map and travel around in the area should find the sea monster and other markers. Just remember that debris floats around so not static and small pirate ships tend to spawn or despawn randomly but will be there. Sea monster should remain pretty static is the best markers.
Finally, as I mentioned only having mastery for Harpoon Level 1 is fine to catch the Ghost Whale. These are the requirements for each harpoon level of fishing mastery. Just hit the stages is all that is required. more wont help for this unless reaching the next stage. +3 not possible I think yet until better gear arrives.
As with everything BDO the RNG can be fickle and like for us could take half an hour or between 6-7 hours, or anything in-between or beyond. Fishing mastery is new and our levels low so keep expectations realistic.
Good luck!