Abyss Money Guide: Best Ways to Earn and What to Buy First

Who This Guide Is For

You just started Abyss and you are not sure where to spend your first dollars. Or you have been playing for a while but you always seem to run out of money right before a major purchase. This page covers early, mid, and late game money strategy — and most importantly, the decisions about what to buy and when that make the biggest difference to your overall progression pace.

Short Answer

Accept and complete every NPC quest you can find — quests are the most consistent source of large cash rewards. Keep an eye out for mutated fish (they look different from base fish and sell for significantly more). Equip a cash-boosting race like Kraken or Sea Angel when farming. For spending: get the Boat Tube first, then the Air Rifle Gun or Crossbow Gun, before spending on anything cosmetic or speculative.

Accept every NPC quest from the start

Multiple sources — including Game8, Pro Game Guides, and Destructoid — consistently identify NPC quests as the highest-value early activity. Public guides describe Kraken's quests in Forgotten Deep as giving enough money to buy your first real gear upgrade. As you unlock new zones, NPCs like Marcus in Ancient Sands offer quests that public discussions cite as worth up to ~$1,600 per completion.

If you want the practical order instead of a raw NPC list, the Quest Guide lays out why Kraken, Scientist, Diver, and then Marcus is the route most public progression coverage supports.

Note: Specific quest reward amounts may vary by quest stage and game version. Check the in-game quest panel for current values.

Sell every mutated fish you find — do not pass them up

Mutations look different from base fish (typically a distinct color) and carry a multiplier applied to their sell price. Game8 documents multipliers ranging from x2 (Golden) to x8.5 (Abyssal). Community discussion across multiple guides describes Abyssal, Angelic, and Shadow mutations as particularly valuable. Since mutations spawn "anywhere on the map," according to Game8, you do not need to travel to a specific zone to encounter them — just stay alert while playing.

Do Diver Delivery quests for steady Star Shards and cash

The Diver NPC appears near the Ocean area on the path to Ancient Sands. Public guides describe his delivery quests as a reliable source of both cash and Star Shards. Multiple sources — including Destructoid and Game8 — recommend targeting this early to fund your first major purchase. Destructoid specifically cites 5,250 as the Boat Tube price and describes Diver Delivery as the most efficient path to reach it.

This is also why the Quest Guide treats Diver as an early money bridge instead of optional side content.

Equip a cash-boosting race from the start

Pro Game Guides identifies five races that provide passive cash bonuses: Kraken (+15%), Sea Angel (+15%), Shark (+10%), Anglerfish (+8%), and Spirit (+5%). Switching to one of these races costs nothing once you have unlocked the race. Public guides describe this as an easy habit to form that adds up meaningfully over a long session of catching and selling fish.

Farm Ancient Sands with your new gear

Once you have the Boat Tube and a mid-tier gun like Crossbow Gun, Ancient Sands becomes the recommended farming zone. Destructoid describes Blackfin Tuna, Scorpion Fish, and Groupers as the key species to target in this zone, noting that their base values are noticeably higher than Forgotten Deep catches. Mutations in this zone are significantly more rewarding per catch, which is why the gear upgrade matters before committing to this zone seriously.

Keep completing NPC quests for burst cash

Quest rewards do not scale down as you progress — they remain one of the most reliable burst-cash mechanisms at every stage. In Ancient Sands, Marcus and Mr Black offer quests that public guides describe as substantially more rewarding than Forgotten Deep quests. Stack these with regular fishing in the same zone to maximize income per session.

If you are unsure when Marcus becomes worth the detour, check the Quest Guide first, then pair it with the Fish Route Guide for zone-specific farming rhythm.

Use the Fish Pond for passive income

The Fish Pond system lets you display fish in a tank where they produce Roe over time. Roe can be sold to The Guy for additional income. Game8 notes that heavier, rarer, and higher-quality fish in the tank produce more valuable Roe. This is not a replacement for active farming — it is a supplement that generates income while you are doing other things in the game. Community discussion commonly describes it as worth setting up once you have stable catches.

Target Spirit Roots with a full loadout

Multiple sources — Destructoid, Pro Game Guides — describe Spirit Roots as the most rewarding late-game zone for money farming, primarily because of spawn rates that result in more frequent mutation encounters. Destructoid specifically recommends farming Sunfish and Napoleons in this zone. Isolde, Lumi, and Golem NPCs here offer quests that are described as giving "drastic bursts of cash." This zone requires decent gear to farm efficiently, which is why it is a late-game activity.

Open treasure chests and collect Geodes

Treasure Chests appear across all zones and contain cash alongside Star Shards and other consumables, according to Game8. Geodes can contain artifacts that provide cash bonuses. These are not a primary income source but serve as meaningful supplements that accumulate over time. Community discussion commonly treats chest and Geode collection as a background activity rather than a dedicated farming strategy.

1. Boat Tube — first real unlock

Destructoid cites 5,250 as the Boat Tube price and describes it as the first major mobility unlock that makes ocean travel meaningfully faster. Both Destructoid and Pro Game Guides consistently reference this as the early-game spending priority that enables all subsequent zone access and faster collection runs.

2. Air Rifle Gun (2,150) or Crossbow Gun (4,750) — your main tool

Your gun determines how reliably you can catch fish across all zones. The Air Rifle Gun at 2,150 is widely described as the practical floor for effective Ancient Sands farming. The Crossbow Gun at 4,750 is the more common mid-game ceiling before Ancient Sands. Community discussion suggests buying whichever one fits your current savings — do not sit on Starter Gun indefinitely waiting for the "perfect" moment.

3. Rare Fish Bag — prevents lost catches

Multiple sources mention the Rare Fish Bag as a quality-of-life purchase that prevents valuable catches from being lost when your inventory fills up. Community discussion commonly cites this as particularly important once you start targeting mutations, where a single missed catch can represent significant lost value. The price is not documented consistently across sources — check the in-game shop for current value.

4. Luck-boosting artifacts — worth seeking out

Pro Game Guides specifically recommends equipping luck-enhancing artifacts when farming for mutations, as they increase the odds of encountering higher-value mutation variants. These are obtained by opening Geodes. Public guides describe this as a worthwhile investment of time (finding and opening Geodes) even though the outcome is probabilistic — it shifts the odds in your favor without costing cash directly.

• ✕
  Race rerolls before your core gear is sortedSwitching races is free once unlocked. Paying Star Shards to reroll races before you have a functional gun and tube is a common early mistake that delays your actual progression.
• ✕
  Cosmetic items before mid-game gear is completeThe core gameplay loop depends on your ability to catch fish reliably. Cosmetic purchases that do not improve your catching speed or survivability are best deferred until you have stable income from a solid gear base.
• ✕
  Expensive guns before you can access their zoneBuying the Wasted Gun (17,500) before you can efficiently farm in Ancient Sands means you are paying for a tool you cannot fully use yet. Match your gun purchase to the zone you are actually farming.
• ✕
  Star Shard rerolls earlyStar Shards are valuable for race rerolls and other upgrades. Spending them on speculative rerolls before you understand which races are most useful to you is commonly described as premature in community discussion.

• —Grinding aimlessly without active quests — public guides consistently emphasize that quests multiply the value of any fishing session you are already doing
• —Selling base fish and holding onto mutations (or vice versa) — mutations are worth far more per unit and should be prioritized over base catches when inventory is tight
• —Staying in Forgotten Deep too long — once you have the Boat Tube and a decent gun, the income per catch in Ancient Sands is meaningfully higher
• —Ignoring the Fish Pond — once you have stable catches, leaving it empty means you are missing passive income between sessions
• —Buying gear out of order — the Boat Tube unlock and first gun upgrade are documented across all major sources as the highest-ROI early purchases

Strong support (confirmed by 3+ sources)

• ✓Quests as the highest-value early activity — Game8, ProGameGuides, Destructoid, Game8 Beginner Guide
• ✓Mutation multipliers documented by Game8 — Abyssal x8.5, Angelic x7.77, Shadow x6.66, Neon x2.8, Golden x2, Ultraviolet x3.6
• ✓Race cash bonuses — Kraken +15%, Sea Angel +15%, Shark +10%, Anglerfish +8%, Spirit +5% — confirmed by ProGameGuides and Game8
• ✓Boat Tube as first major purchase (~5,250) — Destructoid + Game8 Beginner Guide
• ✓Ancient Sands as the primary mid-game farming zone — Destructoid + ProGameGuides
• ✓Air Rifle Gun (2,150) and Crossbow Gun (4,750) as key early/mid gun purchases — consistent across Game8 guns list and Destructoid

Community consensus only (1–2 sources, widely repeated)

• ⚠Marcus quest worth up to ~$1,600 — cited by ProGameGuides; specific reward may vary
• ⚠Spirit Roots as best late-game farming zone for mutation frequency — Destructoid + ProGameGuides, consistent but not independently verified
• ⚠Rare Fish Bag price and exact value — not consistently documented; check in-game shop
• ⚠Fish Pond Roe income levels — described qualitatively by Game8 and Roonby, no specific income figures publicly available
• ⚠Specific Geode artifact luck bonus values — not documented with precision in public sources