Where to Farm Deviate Fish in WoW Classic

Deviate Fish are a great fish to farm in the lower levels, and even at level 60. Used to make both Savory Deviate Delight and Elixir of Giant Growth, these fish remain relevant all the way to the level cap and beyond, as many players continue to enjoy using these items just for fun. This guide will cover all of the effects you can get from these fish as well as where you can farm Deviate Fish in Classic WoW.

Deviate Fish Effects

Eaten on its own without any crafting, a Deviate Fish will have one of the following random effects. You can have any or all of these effects at the same time if you eat several fish in rapid succession.

Debuffs

• Party Time!
  • This debuff lasts for 2 minutes or until it is dispelled with a Magic dispel. While it lasts, your character will perform a random emote every few seconds. Possible emotes include /cheer, /clap, /chicken, /dance, and /wave.
• Shrink
  • This debuff lasts for 2 minutes or until it is removed with a Decurse ability. While it lasts, your character’s Strength, Stamina, and size will be reduced.
• Sleepy
  • This debuff will put your character to sleep for 30 seconds or until it is dispelled with a Magic dispel.

Buffs

• Healthy Spirit
  • This buff lasts for 30 minutes and increases your character’s Spirit by 5. This buff does stack with food buffs and Spirit scrolls.
• Invigorate
  • This is an instant effect that will heal your character for a random amount, somewhere around 400-600 health.
• Rejuvenation
  • This is exactly the same as rank 4 of the Druid spell of the same name, and will heal your character for 45 health every 3 seconds for 12 seconds.

There are two other effects you can get from items that are crafted using Deviate Fish:

• Enlarge (gained from Elixir of Giant Growth)
  • This buff lasts for two minutes and increases your character’s Strength by 8. It also makes your character larger.
• Flip Out (gained from Savory Deviate Delight)
  • This buff lasts for one hour and transforms your character into a human pirate or ninja (50/50 chance of either) of the same gender.

How to Catch Deviate Fish

The best place to catch Deviate Fish is from School of Deviate Fish. These are small pools that can be found in each of the three oases in The Barrens. Deviate Fish can also be caught at a lower rate from the open water in those oases as well as inside the Wailing Caverns instance and the entrance to it.

Technically you can start catching Deviate Fish as soon as you learn the Fishing skill, but a lot of your fish will get away until you have leveled the skill up a bit. For a 100% catch rate, you’ll need a Fishing level of 100 or higher. You can reach this with just your skill or through a combination of skill and equipment. Shiny Bauble and Nightcrawlers can be purchased from Fishing Vendors and will net you 25 and 50 skill levels respectively.

We’ll cover each of the 4 possible fishing locations below.

Deviate Fish Locations

The three oases in The Barrens share four random School of Deviate Fish spawns. These four schools can appear in any of the three oases. Each oasis has four potential spawn points. If you deplete one of the pools, it may respawn in a different oasis. That means that if there is no one actively fishing in the other two locations, you may not see your schools respawn. You’ll have to run to one of the other oases to find one.

The Forgotten Pools

The first oasis can be found northwest of the Crossroads at around 45, 23.

This area is inhabited by Kolkar Stormers and Kolkar Wranglers, level 12-13 mobs who patrol near the pond.

This oasis is generally a bit quieter than the other two, so it may be the best place to fish in peace on a busy server. It’s also the only one that doesn’t have level 15-16 turtles who wander around in the water and on the shore.

The Stagnant Oasis

The next oasis is located southeast of the Crossroads and southwest of Ratchet at around 55, 43.

This area has slightly higher level mobs than the other two: Kolkar Bloodchargers and Kolkar Marauders are level 14-15 and patrol the area, and you’ll come across many Oasis Snapjaws as well, level 15-16 turtles who wander around the water.

The Lushwater Oasis

You’ll find the third oasis southeast of the Crossroads where the Wailing Caverns entrance is located at around 46, 40.

Kolkar Stormers and Kolkar Wranglers, level 12-13 centaurs, wander around here just like in the Forgotten Pools. You’ll also find level 15-16 Oasis Snapjaws in and around the water.

This is usually the busiest oasis due to the amount of players going to and from the dungeon. Not recommended for Alliance players on PvP servers.

The Wailing Caverns

If you’re not having any luck with the oasis ponds, you can try fishing inside the Wailing Caverns dungeon. There are no schools of fish here, so you will have to fish in open water, meaning the drop rate will be lower. But you’ll be able to fish in privacy, which can make this the best option for Alliance players on PvP servers.

You’ll have to get past a few level 17-19 elites to reach the water. This will be easy enough to do at level 25, or if you clear the dungeon with a group beforehand. Tuck yourself into an alcove to avoid patrols, or fish inside Mutanus the Devourer’s room to avoid respawns.

You can also fish just outside the instance in the Cavern of Mists, but this is probably the worst location to farm – there are no schools, plenty of elite enemy spawns, and you may encounter members of the opposite faction.