Direct answer: Current August 24 editorial UI evidence shows the Leeches objective as 0/3. Leeches are reported as interactable ground pickups in grassy areas on Island 2, not catches from a fishing lure. Collect the amount shown by your live quest counter, return them to the quest NPC, and keep the special bait reward for the Giant Piranha encounter.
Reviewed through the latest visible official Patch 1.0.8 on 2026-08-24. The 0/3 UI evidence is dated 2026-08-24, while spawn recovery remains unverified.
What to do
| Question | Best supported answer | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| How many Leeches? | Three in the strongest current evidence | Older pages say five; your live objective counter controls if it differs |
| Where are they? | On the ground in grassy Island 2 areas | No approved source provides guaranteed coordinates or a fixed route |
| Do you fish for them? | No; current sources describe ground pickups | Look for the interaction prompt rather than changing lures |
| What is the reward? | A special bait used for Giant Piranha | Sources disagree on the exact bait name |
A practical search route
- Activate the local quest and read its counter. The clearest approved evidence shows
0/3. Do not keep searching for five solely because an older guide says so. - Search grassy ground, not the water. Walk the accessible grass around the Island 2 quest area and scan for small interactable pickups. Use the prompt shown by your current control scheme; this guide does not assume a keyboard or controller button.
- Sweep methodically. Cover one side of the area, return through the middle, then inspect the remaining edge. This avoids repeatedly checking the same patch while making no claim about exact spawn points.
- Watch the counter after each pickup. The counter is stronger evidence than an old article's total or an item name translated from video footage.
- Return all required pickups together. The approved route sources connect the completed Leeches objective to a special bait for the next boss. Keep that reward until the Giant Piranha step is complete.
If Leeches do not appear
Players were still discussing missing spawns on the August 24 Steam discussion index, but a discussion title does not establish a cause or a guaranteed fix. Try only low-risk checks:
- Confirm the quest is active and the visible objective is still incomplete.
- Revisit all accessible grassy ground near the Island 2 quest area.
- Save, return to the main menu, and reload the same session.
- If playing co-op, have the host confirm quest state and recreate the session after saving.
- Stop before deleting saves, editing files, or repeatedly consuming the boss bait.
These steps may refresh session state, but the approved evidence does not prove that any one of them restores a missing pickup.
Why some guides say five
The current Leeches article includes a 0/3 objective view. The Steam achievement route, Giant Piranha route, and launch-era gameplay video support the three-pickup progression chain. Older five-Leech wording is therefore treated as outdated or conflicting, not silently merged into the current answer.
The exact reward name also varies among sources. “Leech Bait,” “Modified Leech,” and another NPC-specific label appear in reporting, so this page uses special Giant Piranha bait until a current UI capture resolves the name.