How Duet Night Abyss Turned Fishing into a Boring Login Reward

Duet Night Abyss started with a chill fishing minigame, but updates—especially v1.1 (Huaxu expansion)—turned it into a joke. Here's how the devs accidentally (or not) ruined it, handing out rewards for zero effort.

Original Fishing: Tedious but Fair

• Upgrade your rod to make the minigame easier and catch rare fish.
• Max grind: 100 fish/day or 870/week (bait-limited).
• Even with top rod, it was tedious compared to unlimited mission grinding elsewhere.

Fishing felt slow, but it was balanced... until other systems made it obsolete.

Dynamic Quests: Passive Rewards Beat Active Play

• Send a character on auto-expedition (up to 20 hours, no player effort).
• Rewards: Multiples more fish than manually completing the quest.
• Sell quest fish for fishing currency—easy side income without casting a line.

"Trivial effort = bigger rewards. Oof."

At Peace Trait: RNG Paywall to Skip the Minigame

• Rare drop from befriending Geniemons (some players got it fast, others waited months).
• Effect: With max rod, fish every few seconds—no minigame needed.
• Result: Clean out the fishing shop quickly. Bank massive currency (e.g., 200k+). Skip fishing for weeks/months.

Problem: Mechanic-breaking RNG created envy and FOMO. Lucky players dominated; others felt left behind.

Huaxu Expansion (v1.1): Devs Double Down on Easy Mode

Instead of fixing complaints, they made it worse:

Change	Impact
Added At Peace Trait to fishing shop (1 copy needed forever).	Everyone with a decent rod can now trivialize fishing.
10x boost to expedition rewards (manual quests unchanged).	2-3 fishing quests/day = dozen+ fish. No fishing required!
New Huaxu fishing shop (limited items) + even more bait.	Cleaned out in one day with banked currency. Bait accelerates buying At Peace pre-trait—no grinding needed.

The Final Nail: Weekly Login Rewards

Now, fishing is pointless. Patience + quests = best rod, At Peace, and full shops. No minigame. No effort.

Fishing went from engaging grind to autopilot snoozefest.

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How This Violates Core Game Design Theories

These changes don't just make fishing easy—they break fundamental principles, turning fun into boredom. Here's a breakdown:

Theory	What It Says	How DNA Violates It
MDA Framework	Mechanics → Dynamics → Aesthetics (fun emerges from rules in play).	Minigame mechanics (skill/timing) created engaging dynamics (catch thrill). At Peace/passives remove mechanics, killing dynamics/aesthetics—pure tedium.
Flow Theory	Balance skill/challenge for immersion (clear goals, feedback, no frustration/boredom).	Original: Skill-matched challenge = flow. Now: Zero challenge post-At Peace = boredom. Passives remove feedback loop.
Risk/Reward Balance	Rewards should match effort/risk for satisfaction.	Fail minigame? Risk lost bait/time. Now: Guaranteed rewards, no risk—feels unearned, diminishes joy.
Core Loop Integrity	Protect engaging loops; don't trivialize with shortcuts.	Fishing loop (cast → minigame → reward) bypassed. Shops/quests become "login rewards," eroding daily play.

Result? Players log in, collect, log out. No flow, no mastery, no fun. Good design evolves loops—DNA deleted them.

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How DNA Could Fix Fishing (Especially for Newer Players)

Fix	Details	Newbie Benefit
Rebalance Dynamic Quests/Expeditions	Restore pre-Huaxu auto-rewards. Manual = same reward, Auto (sending a character) = delayed (up to 20hrs), no bonus.	Farm faster manually—no waiting.
Bi-Weekly Shop Resets for Limited Items	2-week resets for weeklies like Yum-Yum Cream (x20 total), Weapon Manuals, Carmine Globules, Coins, Secret Letters, etc. Bait/one-time rods/traits unchanged (weekly/daily as now).	Longer window to get redemptions before they expire reduces the urgency to get At Peace.
Buff Rods, Tweak Minigame	Larger hitboxes, slower escapes. Fishing can still feel engaging without At Peace feeling essential to relieve tedium.	Early rods rewarding; minigame fun pre-At Peace, not frustrating.

These restore skill, flow, and fairness. Newbies catch up fast; vets retain luxuries. Fishing becomes engaging again—not just logins!