Absolute Darkness is a random event that happens in The Depths. When it triggers, you'll hear a loud alert, the area goes almost completely dark, and a bright yellow pool appears somewhere in the water. That pool is your target—it's the only place in the entire game where you can catch the Ancient Depth Serpent, and the event also boosts your luck while it's active.
The tricky part: the event is unpredictable. You can't force it to happen, and the pool might disappear before the event ends. Prepare properly and you'll have a real shot at landing this rare fish.
What You Need
A Fish Radar is essential. The event area is extremely dark, making it nearly impossible to spot the yellow pool with your eyes alone. A Fish Radar lets you detect it instantly, even if it vanishes partway through.
Better visibility: Turn on the "Higher Brightness" setting in your game's accessibility menu. Your screen gets dimmed a lot during Absolute Darkness, so boosting brightness helps you see what you're doing while fishing.
Alternatively, buy a Lantern from the Lantern Keeper. This gives you a light source you can carry around The Depths.
A good fishing rod and patience. You'll be fishing normally once you reach the pool, so make sure your rod is solid enough for deep-sea catches.
When Absolute Darkness Occurs
This event triggers randomly at any time, day or night, with no way to predict when. You cannot use a Sundial Totem to force it—the celestial cycle has no effect on this event's spawn chance. You just have to be fishing in The Depths and hope the announcement blares.
Some players have spotted the event spawning in the same locations more than once, suggesting there may be specific zones where it's more likely to appear. Known spots include coordinates like (674, -750, 1192), (1189, -750, 1555), and (938, -750, 1478), but it can happen elsewhere too.
How to Fish During Absolute Darkness
Once the event is active and you've located the yellow pool (using your Fish Radar), fishing works exactly like normal:
- Position yourself at the yellow pool.
- Hold down your mouse button or the designated cast key to cast your bobber into the water.
- Wait for a bite. You can "shake" your rod while waiting to attract fish faster.
- When you see a bite, hold down or click to pull. A white bar will appear—keep it lined up with the blue line as you reel.
- Fill the progress bar on the bottom of your screen completely to land your catch.
The Ancient Depth Serpent is a rare spawn at this location, so you may need to fish multiple times during the event. The luck boost from Absolute Darkness improves your odds, but it's still not guaranteed on every cast.
Important Timing Note
The yellow pool can vanish several minutes before the event officially ends. If you see it disappear, the event is wrapping up. Fish Radar becomes even more critical here—if the pool reappears (or if you think it might), your radar will let you spot it instantly. Sometimes the pool stays even after the event finishes, so don't give up immediately.
Tips for Success
Always carry a Fish Radar to The Depths. Without it, hunting for the yellow pool in near-total darkness is nearly impossible. This single item makes the entire event manageable.
Use higher brightness or a Lantern. You need to see the white bar and blue line during the fishing minigame. If your screen is too dark, you'll miss hooks and lose your catches. Visibility is not optional.
Stay in The Depths between visits. Since the event is random, you don't want to waste time fast-traveling back and forth. Park yourself somewhere safe and keep fishing until Absolute Darkness announces itself.
Bring multiple rods if you can. If your main rod breaks or you run out of stamina, having a backup rod ready keeps you in the action without delay.