Kick off a great Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town career with these 5 top tips

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town isn’t a particularly complicated game, but there are ways to help speed up progression during your first few weeks in-game.

Here’s just a few of the things you can do to get ahead in your new farming life.

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Not sure if Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is worth checking out right now? Take a look at our impressions on the current version of the game.

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Make lots of makers

Makers are key to progression in Pioneers of Olive Town. They’ll turn logs and ore into useful materials, process crops and animal products into items useful for cooking, and are generally required to unlock most of the game’s content. In Pioneers of Olive Town’s current state, basic makers can only create one thing at a time, so the more makers you place early on, the more items you’ll be able to process in a day.

As a side note, makers are planned to be improved in later patches, due to negative feedback from Japanese fans. This might not be helpful right now, but building lots of makers will probably not be as necessary a few months from now.

Mine early

Ore is in constant demand for craftable items, tool upgrades, town projects, new areas and more, so mining early on is important. More mines are unlocked as areas of the farm are repaired, giving access to new types of ore and other valuables. Glass, gemstones, and even certain types of fish can be gathered down in the mines later on, so taking a few trips after attending to your makers is a good use of time.

Don’t go too crazy with crops

It can be tempting to try and plant a bunch of crops as soon as possible, though this isn’t the best idea. Having a few types of crops planted is a nice way to make a little money early on, but you have to take into account the amount of stamina you use in the process (not to mention the time it’ll take with your basic tools). By the time you’ve finished preparing the land and watering your crops, most of your stamina will be gone.

Sticking with 18 or so crops to start with is a good plan, letting you gain fieldwork experience without stopping getting in the way of mine exploration or gathering other items. Pioneers of Olive Town also gives access to sprinklers fairly early on, so you wont have to wait long before being able to plant huge rows of crops.

Pick up free stuff from the rewards box

Pioneers of Olive Town has its own achievement system, with various rewards attached to it. By visiting the town hall at the north part of the map, you’ll be able to gain some new items via the rewards box. These range from medals, which can be sold for easy money, to free makers and produce. As you’ll be unlocking lots of achievements early on, it’s always worth visiting the town hall every now and then to see what you’ve earned.

Give people bad gifts

Building relationships lets you unlock new events with the residents of Olive Town. Unlike previous Story of Seasons games however, the process has been made much faster. This is mainly due to the fact that there are no disliked gifts any more. Pick a random clam up from the beach and they’ll happily take it. Even bits of grass or rocks are more than fine for some reason.

Obviously, you’ll eventually want to start giving people gifts they really like, especially if you’re planning on marrying one of the 10 potential candidates. But for the first season or so, giving people any gift, no matter how bad you think it might be, is a viable way to gain friends. Don’t worry about ignoring certain people for a while either, as friendship levels don’t decay now either.

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Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is out not for Nintendo Switch. It is available physically and digitally via the eShop

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