When I first tried unlocking the Merlin Staff Rod, I made the mistake of going straight to Sunstone Island, expecting the option to just craft it.
Turns out, the game doesn’t even let you talk to Merlin about the rod until you finish collecting all five of his shards. If you’re stuck wondering why the menu option isn’t appearing, that’s almost always the reason.
This guide walks through the full unlock path, the materials you need, and how to reliably farm each item, including the annoying ones that depend on fishing RNG.
Step 1: Unlock Merlin’s Crafting Option
Travel to Sunstone Island and talk to Merlin. If you don’t see the crafting prompt for the rod, your shard quest isn’t done yet.
To unlock the quest:
- You must collect all five Merlin Shards
- These drop from Rifts
- If you haven’t finished the questline, keep spawning and clearing rifts until your shard log is complete
For me, the biggest slowdown was just waiting for rifts to spawn, so if possible, server hop until you find active rift rotations.
Once you finish the shard quest, Merlin finally gives you access to the crafting dialogue.
Step 2: Crafting Requirements for the Merlin Staff Rod
Once unlocked, the rod requires:
- Shard of Time
- Anomalous Log
- Iron Chunk
- 1,000,000 coins
Money isn’t the challenge, it’s the gathering. The shard and log are the real gates.
Step 3: Travel to the Chasm (Mine Shaft Area)
You’ll need Merlin’s buff active to enter the Chasm. Once you’re inside, the focus is collecting the crystals needed to obtain the Shard of Time.
There are three key crystals:
- Cut Gem
- Gemstone (fished)
- Radiant Crystal
You’ll collect each using different mechanics in the mine shaft.
How to Get Each Crystal
Cut Gem (Lever + Minecart Puzzle)
This one confused me initially because I kept mining rocks instead of doing the puzzle properly. Here’s the actual process:
- Wait until the minecart reaches the center track
- Pull the lever exactly as it passes
- The cart slams into the crystal barrier
- You receive the Cut Gem
Timing is the only challenge here, expect a few failed attempts while you learn the timing.
Gemstone (Basic Mining)
For the basic gemstone, you just need a Flimsy Spear and break the rocks in the mine shaft until it drops.
This is the fastest crystal, took me less than five minutes.
Radiant Crystal (Fishing)
The Radiant Crystal only comes from fishing in the chasm.
A few tips that made this easier:
- Fish in the mine shaft water, not outside
- Use luck-boosting totems or buffs if available
- Higher rarity rods don’t improve the odds by much, luck matters more
This one took the longest for me, so don’t get discouraged if it takes multiple attempts.
Once you have all three crystals, you can finally turn them into the Shard of Time.
Step 4: Getting Iron Chunks
Iron Chunks drop from fishing in the same chasm area. If you’re already fishing for Radiant Crystals, you’ll usually get these naturally in the process.
I got mine accidentally while fishing for the Shard of Time mats, so don’t overthink this one.
Step 5: Getting the Anomalous Log
This item looks intimidating but it’s actually one of the easiest parts of the process.
You need:
- A rod with the Anomalous enchant/mutation
- Any bait (even garbage bait works)
- Just fish normally until logs drop
I recommend using a weaker rod on purpose so you catch junk faster. The drop isn’t tied to rarity; it’s tied to the anomaly effect.
Why the Log Drop Is Easier Than It Seems
I tried using a high-tier enchanted rod first and barely got logs because it filtered catches too efficiently. When I swapped to a low-tier rod with Anomalous active, logs dropped consistently every few minutes.
Step 6: Craft the Merlin Staff Rod
Once everything is acquired, return to Sunstone Island, speak to Merlin, and craft the staff.
The rod rewards are worth the grind, especially if you plan on farming high-tier fishing drops. I’ll spare full spoilers, but the rod scales extremely well once enchanted.
Showcase Thoughts After Crafting
After crafting and testing it:
- It feels noticeably faster for rare catches
- Works especially well in late-game fishing zones
- Pairs perfectly with enchanted baits and mutation builds
Overall, it’s not just another update rod, this is a solid endgame rod if you care about resource grinding and rare fish progression. Definitely worth the materials.
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