Update: Leechfin Fishing Proposal Revised

Now that the Leechfin opinion poll has wrapped up, we’d like to talk a little bit more about our plans and next steps for Vampyrium's new fishing activity. If you haven’t already, check out the overview blog and rewards blog for more details. Thus, the question: What should the Leechfin fishing activity offer instead? If you can’t see the image above, click here! After reviewing the opinion poll results and discussions around Leechfin in general, it became clear that simply swapping in another reward was not as straightforward as it might sound. Rather than rushing into a replacement that players had not clearly rallied behind, we've taken a step back and looked again at the activity itself, where it sits, and what would make it feel worthwhile going forward. That led us toward an updated, XP-focused version of Leechfin fishing that rewards for hthat rewards for higher levels of choice and engagement. We know this will be welcome news for some and disappointing for others, so we want to explain how we reached this point and why we think it is the right direction based on what we’ve heard from you so far.

Results from our opinion poll helped us better understand what you wanted from the fishing activity, and showed that there wasn't a strong push towards any one replacement. When asked which direction the reward should take:

• •33.6% preferred non-food
• •32.9% preferred no reward and higher XP
• •29.8% preferred a revised niche food

When asked which reward categories were most interesting to you, responses were similarly split across the board. This showed us that no single replacement had earned a sufficient consensus for us to treat it as the obvious next step. The survey also reinforced something we'd already seen in wider discussion around the reward itself: highly specialised food mechanics are not where most players want this reward space to go. Only 4.2% of respondents said they preferred highly specialised food mechanics, and foods tied to a specific combat style drew strong dislike. The survey also showed strong opposition to preparation stations for complex foods, which would have made it harder to revisit this kind of reward without running into many of the same concerns again. As a result, we don't believe the right response here is to continue iterating or to attempt to rush out a replacement for the Leechfin sandwich. Rather, we believe the next step is to revisit the activity itself and ask what Leechfin fishing would need to stand on its own.

While XP-only was not an overwhelming majority outcome, it was nearly level with the most popular alternative and clearly ahead of a revised niche food reward. That told us there was enough support for Leechfin fishing to stand more firmly as an activity in its own right, rather than on another attempt to replace or iterate on a failed reward players had not clearly rallied behind. However, the feedback on our previous update made one thing very clear: players did not want this to become a middling XP method that required more effort without offering a strong enough payoff. When Leechfin fishing was first pitched, it was described as a medium-intensity fishing activity with a flatter reward profile. With the Leechfin sandwich no longer moving forward, we do not think that the original positioning is strong enough as it stands. The updated version we’re now proposing would lean much more clearly into player choice. Depending on how you engage with the activity, you would be able to prioritise either stronger XP or a modest amount of Blood vials. If you choose to focus on XP, Leechfin fishing will genuinely shake up the fishing meta. In that mode, it would be intended to overtake 3-tick Barbarian fishing and compete with the highest-end fishing training methods in the game. Maxed out, this activity would likely land within a range of 120 - 130k XP an hour. If you choose to focus on Blood vials instead, you would trade away a proportion of that XP in exchange for a modest amount of Blood vials. Our current expectation is that this would be in the range of 5 to 10 Blood vials per hour, though we want to be careful not to overstate the exact numbers until we can fully assess the balancing around that. While Blood vials from Leechfin at launch will remain modest, we will continue exploring options with you for Blood vial acquisition beyond just this activity post-launch. This would replace the previously pitched plan to add a deliberately very limited amount of Blood vial supply across Vampyrium’s wider ecosystem at launch. The activity's intensity is also directly inspired by fishing during perilous moons (and will play similarly) without the need for any form of tick manipulation. The goal here is to give Leechfin a clear niche in the fishing meta: an activity that rewards the level of attention you put into it while still competing at the highest end of current fishing training methods. As this revised proposal would be a meaningful change to the activity that originally passed the poll, we believe it's only right to put the decision back in your hands via a re-poll. Question #1:Should Leechfin fishing be added as an updated, more active fishing method in Vampyrium, without the Leechfin sandwich reward, offering a choice between higher XP or Blood vials depending on how you engage with the activity, as described in the blog?

We also want to acknowledge the other conversation we've seen around Leechfin fishing, both before and after this updated direction: Why couldn't this reward have been an alternative source of Blood vials? We know this is something players have been asking for. Currently, Blood vials only come from the Theatre of Blood, and we've seen feedback from those who want a greater variety in how they're obtained, rather than having Scythe upkeep tied solely to a single piece of content. In our previous update, we said we did not think Leechfin fishing was the right place to deliver that in its current form. The feedback since then has made it equally clear that many of you do want Blood vials tied to this activity now, rather than pushed into a later solution. That is why the updated proposal above is designed to cover both sides. If you want to use Leechfin fishing as a high-XP method, that path is available. If you want to use it as a source of Blood vials instead, that path would also be there, with lower XP in exchange for a modest amount of vials. We still need to be careful here. Blood vials sit in a much more sensitive part of the game than they might immediately appear, as any new source has knock-on effects on Scythe upkeep, Theatre of Blood profitability, and the wider economy. That is why we are being cautious with how much we commit to on the Blood vial side before balancing is complete. Our current expectation is that this path would offer a modest amount of Blood vials (around 5-10 per hour) rather than anything close to Theatre of Blood rates, and this would do so in exchange for less XP (likely sitting somewhere in the region of around 90k an hour at maximal effort). This follows a similar principle to other skilling methods (such as fishing Zulrah scales) by offering a deliberately much slower alternative to the main source, rather than trying to compete with it or replace it outright.

We know this update will not answer every question around Blood vials, and we do not want to pretend that Leechfin fishing alone resolves that whole conversation. Once this revised proposal is in your hands, we’d also like to hear more about how you’d like Blood vial sourcing handled in Vampyrium going forward. The previously pitched stopgap plan to add a deliberately very limited amount of Blood Vials across Vampyrium’s wider ecosystem at launch will no longer go ahead, as Leechfin will now fill that role instead. To help inform us on what comes next, we’ll be sharing a short survey so that we can work with you to shape what that looks like. That feedback will help us better understand what you want from longer-term Blood vial sourcing beyond just Leechfin itself.

With the Leechfin sandwich no longer moving forward, we’ve revisited Leechfin fishing to ensure we’re aligned with you on what the activity should offer. The revised proposal is designed to cover the two strongest messages we heard from players: that Leechfin should be capable of genuinely threatening the current fishing XP meta, and that Blood vials should be tied to this activity now rather than later. That is why the updated version would let you choose between a high-XP path and a lower-XP Blood vial path, depending on how you want to engage with the activity. As this requires changes to the previously described version, we’re putting the revised design back to a poll. Until next time, and thank you for hearing us out on this one.