How to Fish Pufferfish Boss: Carrot Bait & How to Beat It

Quick answer

Video-tested: Complete the Tourist’s Endangered Creature request first. The reward is a Carrot, which is used as bait for the Pufferfish. During the fight, use trees, walls and corners instead of staying in open ground. After the kill, secure the Pufferfish Tail; that is the progression item.

How to summon the Pufferfish boss

The tested Island 3 chain is:

1. Help the Tourist by turning in a creature labelled Endangered Species.
2. Receive the Carrot reward.
3. Use the Carrot as bait for the Pufferfish encounter.
4. Defeat the boss.
5. Pick up the Pufferfish Tail and return it for progression.

If you still need the full island sequence, see the Island 3 guide.

Best tested tactic: fight around solid terrain

Pufferfish is unusually fast and becomes hard to control when it rolls or rushes. Multiple launch-day players independently reached the same practical answer: make the boss path around terrain.

1. Start near a tree, wall or solid corner with enough room to move.
2. Force Pufferfish to change direction around the obstacle.
3. Shoot during the gap created by that pathing change.
4. Move again before it reconnects with you.

This is a video-tested launch tactic, not an official permanent exploit. Physics behavior can change in patches.

Weapons that worked in the supplied runs

An upgraded SMG worked well once recoil was controlled. A suppressor or compensator helped weapon control in the tested sessions. Shotgun knockback also appeared useful in some attempts, but the footage does not prove one mandatory weapon or a fixed best loadout.

The biggest progression trap: keep the Pufferfish Tail

One multiplayer group killed the correct boss but initially tried to progress with ordinary chunks. The distinctive Pufferfish Tail was the item that mattered.

Do not cook, sell or gamble the Tail. Seagulls can steal unattended drops, so secure it before sorting normal loot.

Pufferfish stuck checklist

• No boss yet? Finish the Tourist’s Endangered Creature step and make sure you received the Carrot.
• Dying in open ground? Move the fight around trees or other solid terrain.
• Boss is dead but no next island? Look specifically for Pufferfish Tail, not generic Meat Chunks.
• Tail disappeared? Check the immediate drop area quickly; launch footage shows seagulls can interfere with loose catches and quest loot.

Continue with the main island progression guide or browse all bosses in order.

Patch 1.0.4 balance

Official: Dazed Games nerfed Pufferfish in Patch 1.0.4. They did not publish exact HP or damage numbers.

The Carrot bait chain, the Pufferfish Tail hand-in, and the tree / wall kiting habit from launch footage are still the progression rules. Treat launch-day “this fight is a spike” wording as older context: the encounter is officially weaker than on day one, but terrain still helps if it closes distance fast.