World of Anterra Water: Depth, Fishing and Sailing
Water in World of Anterra changes movement, hides resources and creatures, and enables fishing and sailing. Here is how shallow and deep water work.
How Water Works in World of Anterra
Water in World of Anterra is a gameplay system as much as a visual effect. In a Steam announcement titled "Gameplay Feature: The Way of Water", developer and publisher 81monkeys said water "factors into multiple game mechanics and features", and described shallow and deep water environments, resources, creatures and enemies that appear only in or near water, plus fishing and sailing. The announcement is a feature overview rather than a manual: it gives no numbers for how much movement slows in water or for fishing outcomes, and those specifics are not officially documented.
Shallow Water and Deep Water Behave Differently
The announcement separates shallow water from deep water environments, and says how much you can see through water depends on the depth and the type of water. Bog water is murky, while clean ocean water is clear enough to see through. The published text goes no further than that distinction, so any finer rules about visibility within a single body of water are not officially documented.
Refraction Makes Submerged Objects Wobble
Anything under the water appears distorted. According to the announcement, the pixels move to reflect how light bends through water, so submerged objects look naturally warped rather than static.
The effect is handled with shaders, which the announcement describes as small programs that run on the GPU at various stages of the rendering pipeline. It notes that shaders were originally created for shadows, hence the name, but are now used for much more, including water. The developer says multiple techniques and systems have to come together for the water to look the way it does, with shaders the most important of them.
Deeper Water Slows Creatures Down
Movement speed is tied to depth: the announcement states that creature movement is slowed based on how deep the water is, with an exception for water creatures. The published text is cut off at that point, so the full list of exceptions is not officially documented, and no slowdown values are given.
What You Find In and Around Water
The announcement lists several things tied to water:
- Resources that can only be found in or near water
- Creatures that only appear in or near water
- Enemies with the same restriction
- Fishing
- Sailing
The game's itch.io page, published by 81monkeys, describes World of Anterra as a "highly interactive, nonlinear, open world RPG", but it does not explain how fishing or sailing actually play, and whether either is available from the start is not officially documented.
Visuals and Other Systems
The official store description mentions "beautiful water shaders" alongside dynamic weather and day-night cycles, so water is presented as part of the game's broader environmental presentation rather than a standalone feature. The announcement adds that water is important to Anterra specifically because it feeds into several mechanics at once, not just because of how it looks.
For now, the developer's water post is the most detailed official explanation available. Details such as swimming controls, underwater exploration rules, sailing requirements and any fishing progression remain unconfirmed. The game is listed for Windows with a 2026 release date on the Steam store page.
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