Rebalance Bait and Crushed Shell Ratio, or add alternative crushed shell sources

[lusty harbor]

Right now, there's an imbalance in how fishing plays and it's core rare resource that it produces; Crushed Shells.

Used by Masons, Crushed shells are the backbone of codex pushing. It has a similar distribution curve to other rare items; you need far more low tier than you will need high tier.

But unlike many of the other sources of rares, the action you do to produce the crushed shells (creating bait from baitfish) has less and less value to the fisher the higher tier of fisher they are above the tier of shell that's needed. T1 is the poster child of this problem.

T1 Stone produces braxite and pebbles, which are needed for refined bricks. T1 Berries become fertilizer for wispweave, and crop oil while giving citrics. T1 Animals make pelts which become refined leather, while giving animal hair.

T1 fish oil is the base resource that creating T1 bait helps you acquire, but in the current quantities that players get bait in means that many fishers have ended up with an absolute deluge of t1 bait which they could never possibly chew through. It only takes one t4 or t5 codex push to acquire so much t1 bait that you will never find yourself fishing T1 baitfish for bait, and so there is rarely ever an excess of crushed shells in any player's inventory unless it's by active choice.

In this current iteration, T1 baitfish and shells are becoming a chore when higher tier bait is always in need and always in use. Please consider more uses for T1 bait, potentially less bait (I know this is unpopular), potentially more shells, or an alternative source of crushed shells that makes the process of acquiring these shells actually beneficial to the fisherman rather than something they have to force themselves to do for no reward for their own skill progress.

[plush goblet]

It would be nice if there was an option similar to tree trunks with logs vs bark, where you could opt for more shells at least.

It isn't as bad as crop oil used to be as far as "rares" go, but its more annoying than citric berries, etc.

[lusty harbor]

The cleanest solution for this in my view is more uses for bait, though this is also a good option; just choosing less bait for more shells can be a good way to do it.

In my mind if bait was used in high quantities, or could be re-processed for another go at shells or even processed down into some fish oil, there would be more options. Right now seeing the stacks of thousands if not 10's of thousands of t1 bait lying around tells me that this needs more uses, or less supply, somehow.

[sharp hare]

our fishers start running for the hills when warhead begins his crushed shell hunt lol

[plush goblet]

In general, the things I find myself in excess of is Bait, Embergrain, Sap, and Tree seeds. All of these could be good taming fodder technically, but it'd be nice if they could have more uses with existing things like catalysts in scholar.

[lusty harbor]

Oh, that's an idea. At least one solution would be if bait could be processed into some type of traveler task item for svim or alessi. Probably not the greatest solution, t1 items tend to be in less demand traveler-wise, but it would at least give bait more uses and eat up some of that oversupply.

[sharp hare]

using bait as an alt recipe for catalyst could work, or for a potion of some kind

[plush goblet]

If you mixed all four of those ingredients, it could make for a "protein bar", might make for a nice build speed or hunting interaction food since those both lack options.

If I could get a deluxe fish and bulbs equivalent for making roads I'd be over the moon, but bulb rolls do in a pinch for their high duration.