As farming simulators develop, more seek ways to improve the genre and make it appealing to wider audiences. Square Enix does so through Harvestella, a farming simulator that draws heavily from the JRPG genre. The mix may seem strange, but the two genres have created a fun experience.
As you dive into the world of Harvestella, you may face challenges while you fight and develop your farm. After all, the game throws many systems at you, so you may find it intimidating. As you understand the game and apply the best tips, you’ll make your way through Harvestella and survive Quietus.
Manage Your Time
Time sticks out as your most valuable resource. The game lets you work until midnight, but you’ll collapse if you wait too long. Because of that, you must plan out your days and work around the time constraints to avoid that from happening.
Time constantly passes, even if you sit still and don’t move around. Whenever you play the game, keep an eye on the clock in the top-right corner, so you can figure out when you should head back to your home. However, using the in-game menu pauses the timer.
If you plan to maximize your efficiency while playing, ensure you sprint to reach locations faster but not to the point where you run out of stamina. Stamina takes a while to refill, so save it if you plan to work on the farm or fight in the dungeon. Otherwise, feel free to use it to sprint throughout the town.
Time will pass as you walk around on the World Map. It calculates the time passing based on how far you walk, so you’ll waste your day if you head to the wrong location. Think about where you want to go before you head out, so you don’t lose time.
Work On Your Farm Daily
Farming remains a critical element of Harvestella, so farm every day. For example, you must water your seeds daily if you want them to grow into plants for harvesting. Neglecting your farm will cause you to lose out on some benefits, such as not having your crops grow fast enough and losing money.
Even though you won’t have too many seeds at the start, you should plant them as soon as you get some. Doing so will help you make a bit of money while you tackle other tasks around the town. Since the field is outside your home, you should start the day with some quick farming before you tend to your other tasks, so you never forget to do it.
Focus On Upgrades, Skills, Renovations, And Crafting Early On
You can’t do too much when you first start the game. If you plan to try out the various features, like fishing or owning animals, you’ll have to look into upgrades, renovations, skills, and crafting.
Upgrades and renovations refer to improvements you can make to your farm life. For example, you can upgrade your backpack to carry more items, so you won’t run out of space while scavenging. As for renovations, you’ll make additions to your home as excellent benefits. You could add a kitchen to your home to cook meals, so you won’t have to pay for them.
You’ll come across points you can’t use or access yet. For example, you’ll immediately notice you have fishing locations, but you can’t use them. You must go to the general store and purchase the fishing book to learn how to catch them. Doing so will turn fishing into a skill to throw out your line and catch fish. You’ll also need to find a fishing pole, but once you have everything, you can start fishing.
Crafting also matters since you’ll need additional tools and items. For example, you’ll want to make a hammer as soon as possible to make more space in your field. While the hammer won’t remove all the rocks in the way, you’ll clear tons of space to meet your farming needs. As you keep crafting and discovering new crafting options, you’ll make the life simulator aspect easier.
You should create Return Bell every time you craft. Even if you can’t go far and cut close to midnight now, you’ll want those stones later. Craft as many of them as possible to use later in the game.
Use Your Storage And Delivery Boxes Daily
When you first start the game, you only have about 20 slots to carry items in your backpack. While the same items stack, and you won’t find yourself with 20 items early on, you won’t want to run out of space while you travel or go through a dungeon. Before going out, place any items you don’t need to use in the storage box.
Delivery boxes also help you clear up space. Sometimes, you may harvest what you grew and leave it in your backpack. However, you won’t get money for those crops unless you place them in the delivery box, so put them in as soon as you finish harvesting them.
The only items you shouldn’t store are food you plan to eat while you go out and return stones. Anything else can be easily accessed through storage boxes when you need them.
You should end each day dropping off items in the storage box. Doing so will help you save time since you won’t need to run back to the storage box and drop some items off when you want to harvest your crops.
Try To Get Saplings
As you go to the general item shop, you’ll find them selling some saplings. They cost over ten times the money of seeds, so why bother using them? While they may seem overpriced, they pay for themselves and make money, so you’ll want them as soon as you can get them.
Saplings grow during every season, don’t require you to water them, and give you crops every week or so. While it won’t seem like much at first, the crops they give you will slowly add up to the point where you make more money than you spent on the saplings. The sooner you get them, the more you’ll get out of them as you play, so you should save for them once you purchase some essentials, like a kitchen.
Go To Gathering Points Daily
You have multiple gathering points you’ll come across, such as around your home and near monsters. As you go through the world, you’ll learn that you get certain items from collection areas. For example, you’ll discover points to collect stones and other items at the Njord Steppe. You can then use those stones to craft a hammer and improve your field.
On top of gathering points, enemies will sometimes drop items. For example, you’ll pick up berries from some enemies, so you can keep them for eating or cooking later. You can only collect one or two items from these points, then they disappear.
However, they respawn daily, so you can return to those points and collect more items. Visit these places daily to collect as many materials as possible. As you discover more points and learn what they offer, you can prioritize some over others based on your needs.
The world of Harvestella can feel rewarding for both JRPG and farming simulator fans. It does a great job of fusing the genres, making it a fun experience where you’ll watch your character and farm grow. Do your best to focus on the farm, improve, and prepare for the dangers surrounding Quietus.