Wooden hooks & fir root fibre

[Potjeh]

As cool as the fishing update is, it has made life harder for newbs. Before it, they could just use the starting fishing pole to feed themselves indefinitely as soon as they get the fishing skill. Now, however, they have to get hunting so they can get bones for hooks and animal husbandry or plant lore to get string. This means they have to do more tedious grinding before hey can actually start doing useful stuff, which sends the wrong message about the game to newbs.

I suggest that wooden hooks should be craftable from branches, which should be inferior to bone hooks. Primitive string should be obtainable by digging up and braiding fir roots. Bait in the form of leeches is obtainable without any skills, so this would make fishing useful as soon as it's bought.

[Peter]

Yeah, this is exactly what I meant. I don't know what J&L are trying to do here, but it seems like each update makes it harder to play as a newb.

[jorb]

Hmmm, I thought the fishing pole in the newb chest came fully equipped. It seems it does not. Our ambition is definitely not to make the game harder for newbs. Quite the contrary.

[Potjeh]

I haven't actually checked if the starting pole comes fully equipped. Still, even if it did, what happens if the line breaks the first time you cast (it's not that unlikely).

[kimya]

I haven't actually checked if the starting pole comes fully equipped. Still, even if it did, what happens if the line breaks the first time you cast (it's not that unlikely).

true, ive only been fishing a chest or two so far, and the string broke 2 times already...

[theTrav]

wooden hooks would float... you'd need a sinker...

Bone can be obtained from rabbits... Oh yeah, still need hunting... yeah fishing is no longer for noobs.

[niltrias]

Well, it will be fine for newbs if they get the stuff in the starter chest.
Also, I have actually made wooden hooks before. They do work. Only two problems would be 1) As theTrav mentioned, they float, and 2) They break a LOT. In a way, that would be good for the newbies, getting more LP every time they break a hook...
I can not imagine carving one of these with a stone axe, tho. The thought of trying it makes me shudder.