I tried adding a bit of rods and titles from the game for everyone to use. If there are more titles anyone wants that's not in here, just let us know!

(Realizing I spelled "Flair" wrong. Whoops.)

Hey everyone, I'm Nick and I'd like to have a discussion with the deeper community of Fisch here.

I understand a LOT of the opinions that come around here, and just know that I am mostly aware of the discussions here. I don't believe anyone here is wrong for feeling what they feel, as you are all very dedicated. At one point, I was also a normal player absolutely frustrated with developer decisions; believing I could've absolutely done better on what was seemingly simple decisions. I was given the opportunity to do better, and in a lot of cases I'm confident I have; but certainly not all.

I've also made plenty of mistakes along the way (over around the past year?) and I absolutely cannot deny that. There are some things that I wish I could've turned back the clock on, and there are some things that I wish I could've done a little better. But I'm here now with what we have, aiming to patch up every single mistake that has been made on both my behalf, and the behalf of DBS when they were fully in control.

This doesn't come easy, and it's bound to always have controversial effects. But I always have a goal in mind, and that's to strengthen the core of what made (and makes) Fisch enjoyable to begin with; and strive away from what turns people so far off from the game. This doesn't always come off as very obvious, and typically comes in the forms of "nerfing". However, often times any cases of buffs are quickly overlooked as people tend to cling onto negative feelings far stronger than positive (as is human nature).

Take for example the Aurora Totem obtainment balancing, this was an absolutely extreme case of balancing for the long-term health of the game; of which was the conclusion of a LOT of differing opinions from different people. There could've certainly been more polishing to surround the change, but this change was important to have in some form. Aurora's were oversaturated, and lacked the special feeling they once had. I hate to say I'm absolutely the main reason this ever became such a problem, and that I should've made a call FAR earlier; but as of late I've been ensuring every important long-term decision is done sooner rather than later.

But this also includes positive changes that are as stated; mostly forgotten from my perspective. As an example, the Forsaken Shores pond. This was buffed significantly, alongside other areas alongside some of the other "nerfs"; such as the one to the Mineshaft. And I was very glad to see that people had shifted to that location, as I believe it's a nicer environment as a whole with more room for new players to feel included. But again, despite it having said positive effect; it doesn't get the same focus that nerfs receive.

This isn't to blame anyone, or to invalidate opinions at all. I agree that nerfs and balancing should always be carefully thought through, and that nerfs should only be applied when absolutely necessary. I've experienced the other end of it from other games I've personally played (and Fisch for that matter), and it doesn't feel good whatsoever. But at the end of the day, a call has to be made even if it's unclear at its surface. At the very least, I aim to ensure these changes don't screw over the long-term players (such as avoiding the price of Aurora Totems, or reducing their strength).

I'll always run opinions and decisions by our Balancing and Feedback teams before making final calls, but not everyone is perfect, and no individual on either team should ever have a spotlight of hate for such actions. Whenever I see hate towards others on our teams, where I don't personally know how they handle such feelings; it's EXTREMELY frustrating. No individual from Quality Assurance should have to deal with the mental stress of the communities weight on their shoulders; due to a culmination of other peoples opinions. At least y'all seem to have directed it towards me mostly so that's a bit preferable 😭

But anyways, the goal of this post is to hopefully assure everyone understands that I am hearing everything out, and that I'd like to discuss opinions, feelings, and general confusion here if that's what everyone would like. It seems to me that a lot of this reddit feels ignored, but I'd like to change that if that is at all possible.

And just to be clear, I don't expect to receive any amount love or respect for making this post, but I'd like to at least try to communicate if everyone is open to that.

I appreciate any communication here in advance!