A breakdown of what to prioritize in the morning, afternoon, and evening to maximize your progression in Dave the Diver.
Your morning dive should focus heavily on story objectives, mapping out new areas, and uncovering the mystery of the Blue Hole. Don't worry too much about filling your inventory with basic fish right out of the gate. Focus on following the yellow quest markers, opening weapon crates, and looking for permanent oxygen upgrades.
Use your afternoon dive to hunt specific fish you need for VIP quests, upcoming party events, or weapon upgrades. Always bring a Hush Dart or Net Gun to catch fish alive for 3-star quality (which yields more meat). If your inventory gets full, prioritize keeping high-value items (like Shark meat) over basic kelp or starfish.
Once you unlock the farm areas mid-game, never go straight to Bancho Sushi in the evening. Always take the boat to your Fish Farm and Vegetable Farm first. Harvest your crops, pull weeds, water the plants, and check your fish hatchery to sell off or transfer breeding fish to the restaurant.
When you arrive at the restaurant, it's time to set the menu. Do not add all your fish to the menu! Add just one portion of your highest-value dishes and click the "Auto-Supply" button. This ensures the kitchen only cooks what is ordered, preventing you from throwing away un-eaten food at the end of the night. If you have a massive surplus of a specific fish, use it to 'Enhance' the dish and permanently raise its base price.
Before opening the restaurant, make sure your Wasabi is fully grated. Once the doors open, speed is key. If you have hired staff (which you should do as soon as possible), let them handle the serving and cleaning. Dave should focus purely on grating wasabi, pouring perfectly matched green tea, and occasionally running food if the staff gets overwhelmed.