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• The point system

As in every Harvest Moon game, Romance and Friendship are as important as success in farming, ranching, mining and fishing. This game is a little more sophisticated and complex than other HM games in this respect. Now there are two kinds of Points that affect your relationship with eligible girls and villagers. These are 'Affection Points' and 'Friendship Points'. Only eligible girls will have a gauge both for Affection and Friendship. Affection refers to Romance and gaining points in this department will raise a girl's heart level. Eligible girls have a Friendship gauge as well, and this is the only gauge that you will have with respect to all other characters in the game. Whenever you give a gift to some one, you usually either will gain or lose Friendship Points with that person. If it is an eligible girl, you may gain Affection Points as well as Friendship Points. As in all Harvest Moon games, there are 'Most Favourite' items that will give more points than other gifts. Giving a gift to some one on his/her birthday will multiply the points that the gift usually would be worth by 5. It therefore is critical to remember every character's birthday with a gift that he/she likes. There are two ways to gauge the effect of a gift on a character. One is by learning the responses that he/she makes to specific gifts. The other is by purchasing the Love Ring from the Casino. Once you have the Love Ring from the Casino, you will be able to gauge people's friendship and love levels precisely. If you do not wish to make an error when you give a gift to any one, save your game before you give the gift, then reload if the person hates the item you gave to him/her! I am working on a Characters Guide for this game that will give the items that each person loves or detests as well as actual responses in each case. Friendship Tip: An easy way to raise Friendship levels is to show a villager either your cat or your dog. There are villagers who prefer one to the other and a few do not care for animals at all, but for the most part, you can win hearts by taking your cat or dog on a tour of the village and showing your pet to the villagers you encounter. When an individual likes your pet, it will raise FP by 1 Point. Here is a list of the individuals who like to be shown your Cat and/or Dog. Cat or Dog: Ann, Barney, Carter, Celia, Chris, Cliff, Cody, Daryl, Doctor, Elli, Flora, Galen, Gotz, Grey, Griffin, Gustafa, Hardy, Kai, Karen, Kate, Laia, Lumina, Mary, Mimi, Murrey, Nami, Nina, Rock, Romana, Ruby, Sebastian, Van, Vesta, Wally Cat: Grant, Hugh, Kassey, Marlin, Muffy, Takakura, the Witch Princess Dog: Patrick Villagers who dislike Pets: Popuri, Kiera, Mukumuku, Rick, Thomas Choosing Gifts Wisely: Monetary value does not determine the value of an item in terms of romance or friendship. Even when a girl likes to receive jewelry, she may be as thrilled with a simple flower. As in all Harvest Moon games, flowers are a wonderful gift that can raise the heart levels of men and women alike. There are a few individuals who either are indifferent or who actively dislike flowers, but for the most part, it is a great gift and easily acquired if you gather a few wild items each day. For example, if you give a pair of expensive earrings to Lumina, it will raise her AP by 300 and her FP by 3, but a Moondrop flower will have the same effect. Another gift that is popular with many characters is chocolate. You can purchase chocolate for 100G from Karen's Supermarket, and it is always useful to have a few bars of chocolate in your rucksack to give to villagers and girls. Another inexpensive gift that is quite popular with most people is an ordinary egg. If you have flowers, chocolate and eggs in your rucksack, you will be able to make most people quite happy. For those who do not care for any of these items, a fish often can be given instead. Actually, even a small fish can thrill the hearts of some characters in this game. A small fish will raise Daryl's FP by 9! You need to raise Daryl's heart level in order to be able to meet Leia the Mermaid. Giving him a small fish each day is an easy and inexpensive way to do that. Quick Gift Guide: Giving items as gifts in Harvest Moon DS is not as simple as it was in FoMT or MFoMT, but there are gifts that generally elicit a positive response from many of the characters in the game. Have Flowers, Eggs, Chocolate, Fish and a few Wild Grasses in your Rucksack at all times in order to be able to boost Affection and Friendship levels. My HM DS Characters Guide will give detailed information on all items with respect to every character in the game, but it may be useful to know which gifts will gain affection and/or friendship with villagers and eligible girls. Other useful gifts that are not terribly expensive or difficult to acquire are Bread, Bamboo Shoots and Toiletries. You can purchase Bread as well as Chocolate for 100G from Karen's Supermarket. Flowers, Wild Grasses and Bamboo Shoots can be gathered from the wilds. Chickens are usually the first animals you will purchase and raise, and eggs are plentiful thereafter. Jewelry and Toiletries in this game can be found at the Excavation Site using your hoe. As soon as you obtain the Fishing Rod from Galen, you will be able to catch fish. What follows is a quick reference guide to the eligible girls and other characters whose Affection and/or Friendship levels will be raised by these gifts. I did not include any cooked items or ranch products because those will not be available to all players early in the game. The items I have chosen to include all are easily obtained by any player. I included Bamboo Shoots because they are available in Spring at the start of the game. They are gifts in each case that will raise FP at least by 3 points and in the case of the eligible girls, will raise her AP as well. All flowers will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Celia, Lumina, Karen, Leia, Harvest Goddess N.B. Elli likes MOST flowers All flowers will give 9 FP with the following: Mukumuku, Romana, Sebastian All flowers will give at least 3 FP with the following: Chris, Cody, Kassey, Kate, Nina, Patrick, Vesta, Gustafa N.B. Rock likes MOST flowers Chocolate will give 500 AP and 9 FP with the following eligible girls: Ann, Mary, Popuri Chocolate will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Flora, Lumina, Muffy, Nami, Elli Chocolate will give 9 FP with the following: Chris, Grey, Rick, Van Chocolate will give 3 FP with the following: Cliff, Gotz, Hugh, Kate, Murrey, Ruby, Rock Eggs will give 500 AP and 9 FP with the following eligible girls: Popuri Eggs will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Ann, Karen Eggs will give 9 FP with the following: Gotz, Kai, Murrey, Rick Eggs will give 3 FP with the following: Grey, Mukumuku, Patrick, Ruby, Thomas, Eggs Jewelry will give 500 AP and 9 FP with the following eligible girls: Muffy, Elli, Popuri, Leia Jewelry will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Celia, Lumina, Karen, Mary Jewelry will give 9 FP with the following: Chris, Grey, Kassey, Thomas, Rock Jewelry will give 3 FP with the following: Cody, Rick, Romana, Sebastian, Van, Vesta, Gustafa Toiletries will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the followiing eligible girls: Celia, Lumina, Muffy Toiletries will give 3 FP with the following: , Chris, Ruby, Vesta Fish will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Nami, Elli, Leia (even a small fish) Fish will give 9 FP with the following: Daryl, Griffin (even a small fish) Fish will give 3 FP with the following: Murrey, Ruby, Sebastian, Trent, Van Wild Grasses will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Mary Wild Grasses will give 9 FP with the following: Daryl, Hardy, Trent Wild Grasses will give 3 FP with the following: Galen, Nina, Ruby, Wally Bread will give 300 AP and 3 FP with the following eligible girls: Lumina, Muffy, Ann Bread will give 9 FP with the following: Kai Bread will give 3 FP with the following: Grant, Takakura Wood Lumber will give 9 FP with the following: Gotz Wood Lumber will give 3 FP with the following: Grey Ores will give 3 FP with the following: Hardy, Nina, Patrick, Sebastian, Van, Vesta, Griffin, Gustafa Bamboo Shoots will give 500 AP and 9 FP to the following eligible girls: Karen Bamboo Shoots will give 300 AP and 3 FP to the following eligible girls: Mary Bamboo Shoots will give 9 FP with the following: Trent Bamboo Shoots will give 3 FP with the following: Thomas The Point system in HM DS is a bit more complicated than this, however. There are items that will raise or lower an individual's heart level by a single point. There are other items that, when given, will have absolutely no effect whatsoever. I intend to include all items in my Characters Guide. Multiple Gifts: In HM DS, each item slot can contain up to 99 items Unless you separate them, when you hold the items that are in a single slot in your hands, you will give all of them to the individual in front of you by pressing the 'A' button. Unfortunately, the items in a single slot count only as a single item for the purposes of AP and FP. You can give more than one gift in the course of a day to an individual and every gift will have an effect on Friendship rating or FP. Only the first item, however, will increase FP to the full extent. Subsequent gifts on that day will give fewer FP points. Secondgifts of items that usually give 3 FP will give only 1 FP, but a gift that is worth 9 FP as a first gift will give 3 FP as a second gift on the same day. With respect to AP, however, only the first gift counts. The first gift that you give to an eligible girl on any day is the only one that will affect her AP. Subsequent gifts on that day only affect FP. If you are trying to experience an event that requires 100+ FP or 200+ FP, you can give multiple gifts until the individual's FP is at the required level but remember that a gift usually worth 9 points only gives 3 points when it is not the first gift of the day and a gift worth 3 points gives only 1 point in those circumstances. It is only when an individual has a limited presence in the Valley that such a strategy would make any sense. The Harvest Goddess and Courtship: The Harvest Goddess is the protectress of romance and friendship in Harvest Moon. You cannot marry any girl until you have rescued the Harvest Goddess and if you make offerings to her, she will aid you in your courtship of the girl you love. When you have made offerings to the Harvest Goddess for 10 days, she will ask you on the 11th day if there is a girl that you like. If you answer in the affirmative, she will ask you whom you love. You will have the option to choose any girl, including the Harvest Goddess herself and any of the girls from Mineral Town. She then will raise the AP of the girl you choose by 2000 points. Social Participation You can gain or lose affection with girls simply by attending or failing to attend a festival. It is a good idea always to attend festivals, even when the festival is one where you are not eligible to participate actively. Speak to every one who is at the Festival, both before and after the main event if possible. One festival that will raise the heart levels of all the ordinary eligible girls is the Fireworks Festival on 24 Summer. If there is a girl at green heart level or higher, you can watch the fireworks with her. If not, however, you can speak to every eligible girl and gain Affection Points by doing so. The Harvest Festival is one that requires a difficult choice. If you wish to marry the Witch Princess, you will be required to donate a Toadstool to the Hot Pot for 5 years. If you donate something good to the Hot Pot, however, you gain 5 FP with every one there. The effect of donating a Toadstool is the same in terms of FP as if you did not attend at all. In other words, you lose the chance to gain 5 FP if you do not attend or if you donate a Toadstool. AP is not affected no matter what. Donating a Toadstool DOES affect your own energy levels, however. It does nothing in terms of Stamina but it increases your Fatigue by 2 points. Incidentally, you cannot toss your Dog or Cat into the Pot! Those who are inspired to attempt this horrible act will find that the pet no longer will be in their hands when they enter the Beach area. They then will find the pet at the entrance to the Beach after the event. Effects of Neglect: If you neglect any one in this game, you actually will be punished for it, losing Affection Points and Friendship Points with an eligible girl and Friendship Points with other villagers. It is better to give an item that raises affection level by 300 points daily than to give one item worth 900 AP once a week. This is true with respect to Friendship Points as well. It is far better to visit people often and give items that raise friendship values slowly but surely than to make one grand gesture. The maximum FP is 255 for any individual and once you reach that level with some one, you no longer need to give gifts on a daily basis to keep his/her friendship at that level. Simply visit the person regularly and speak to him/her in order to keep the FP at 255. You really should be able to have every one in the village at maximum FP before the end of the first year without any trouble. Resetting AP and FP Points: There is a possibility that, even if you give an individual a gift that he/she particularly likes, raising AP and/or FP, you will find that, the next morning, the individual's AP and/or FP has been reset to 0. A number of players have experienced this when courting a girl. It is usually the effect of dropping or throwing an item on the ground accidentally. The effect can be mitigated by equipping the Friend Brooch each night before going to bed, but do not count on the Friend Brooch, even the Large one, to do your work for you. It will not raise the FP of every individual. It eivdently randomly assigns the extra 2 points to specific individuals each night it is worn. It will not assign the points to every individual. As in Magical Melody, you evidently must work hard to create and maintain relationships or run the risk of losing friendships. Bear in mind that most often a reset in AP and/or FP usually is the result of a deliberate or accidental act of 'littering'. Even when you are in your own house or on your own field, you cannot drop or throw any item on the ground, whether rubbish, crop or anything else. When an individual reaches the maximum level of 255 FP, the risk of this occurring diminishes. Even if you have every one in the village at the maximum level of friendship and/or affection, however, there is a way to help your relationships to remain stable even if you fail to visit some one each week. The way to do this is by obtaining a Friend Brooch and equipping it before you go to bed at night. The power of the Friend Brooch depends upon its size or level. The Friend Brooch that can be purchased from Jet at the Sprite Company Tree is a 'Small' Friend Brooch. When worn, it may or may not raise the friendship level of every individual by 2 points. The most powerful Friend Brooch is the Large Friend Brooch that is found in the 3rd Mine. When found, it will be in Cursed form. You must ring the Church and pay 100,000G in order to transform it into the Large Friend Brooch. When equipped before bed, it definitely will raise the friendship level of every individual by 2 points. Obviously, in the case of individuals at maximum 255 Friendship level, it simply will guarantee that you lose no points with those individuals. If you have neglected an individual for a week, equipping the Large Friend Brooch each night will mitigate the damage. Please note, however, that any item that hits the ground, whether thrown or dropped by accident, will cause a loss of AP and FP in others. You cannot toss a weed on your own field in this game without losing affection and friendship. A crop that is dropped by accident will have the same effect as will a portion of Animal Fodder or Birdseed if wasted. You must be VERY careful in this game. It is only when you have the Miracle Glove that you will be able to dispose of weeds and other rubbish with ease. There is a way to make certain that this does not occur if you do not have the Friend Brooch but it is rather tedious. Ordinarily, it is a good idea to save your game before you go to bed at night and then save again in the morning after making certain that the Weather Forecast for the next day is good. If you are determined to keep a particular eligible girl at the highest heart level, you may wish to perform one more action before saving your game in the morning. Equip the Teleport Stone and go to visit the girl before doing anything else. If her AP has decreased overnight, simply reload your game to the previous night. Other risks exist in Harvest Moon DS. Leia the Mermaid actually will return to the sea in the Autumn of the second year but you can meet her once each week on the beach. Although there are many events that you will miss if you marry too quickly, it is important to raise AP and FP levels of as many individuals as possible by the start of the second year. (You need not marry this quickly. Simply experience the heart events without proposing to any one.) There may be advantages, however, if a girl's AP and FP are reset. If a girl is at the highest heart level, you no longer will be able to experience her rival heart events. The second rival heart event cannot occur before the 2nd year of the game. The third rival heart event cannot occur before the third year of the game. The fourth and final rival heart event cannot occur before the fourth year of the game. . By the second year, you should have a Kitchen and all cooking implements and therefore should be able to give Most Favourite items that are worth +800 AP and +9 FP to every girl in the game. That will make it easier to raise her heart level quickly if it has been reset. Decreasing AP while Maintaining FP If you have raised a girl's heart level in order to experience all four of her Heart Events, but do not wish to marry her, you will be required to lower her AP in order to experience all the Rival Heart Events ultimately to allow her to marry your Rival. Do this by giving her items that she detests. If it is an item that she truly hates, the gift will lower AP by 800 and FP by 9. There is no need to jeapardise your friendship with the girl, however. Although only the first gift of the day will affect a girl's AP, subsequent gifts will affect FP. That means that you can give a girl a weed or other item that lowers both AP and FP, then give her items afterwards to raise her FP again. Unfortunately, subsequent gifts never will raise FP by more than 3 points. Even so, this strategy will prevent a rupture in your friendship while still allowing Rival Heart Events to occur. There is a 'Secret Weapon', however, in the form of an item that each girl hates to the point of decreasing her AP by 5000 points and her FP by 20 points. This item differs for each girl. For Celia it is Pickled Cucumber and for Flora it is Red Grass. For Lumina, it is Elli Leaves. For Muffy, it is a Small Fish and for Nami, it is Grape Jam. If you use the 'Secret Weapon', you can lower a girl's affection to the required level to experience a Rival Heart Event in a day or two. This is a radical solution that is suited to a situation where you wish to experience a Rival Heart Event but have a girl at too high a level of affection for you to be able to do so. Effects of Littering: As in all Harvest Moon games, you must be conscious of the welfare of your community and any anti-social behaviour will have a negative effect. Littering of any kind will decrease the heart levels of every one. You may not toss items onto the ground on your own property or on any other field in this game, unlike other Harvest Moon games that allow 'littering' in your own house or on your own property. Any item that hits the ground ANYWHERE will lower the Affection and/or Friendship of other individuals, even when it is an accident involving a crop rather than rubbish or a weed. If you catch rubbish and toss it back into the sea, that is considered littering as well. Even tossing a fish back into the sea will cause you to lose Friendship Points with everyone. (You need to toss 1 small fish into the sea at some point if you wish to catch one of the King Fish. I would recommend doing this after every one in the village is at maximum heart level.) The Miracle Glove, by tossing any item that you drop directly into a shipping container will make it possible for you to discard items without any fear of littering. Farming Degree and Events: As in MFoMT, every event that you experience will give points towards your Farming Degree. The difference in HM DS is that you cannot see a chart of your points. You only can access your Farming Title by tapping on the icon of your character in the Farm Assets menu. If you are interested in obtaining the highest title, however, you may wish to experience as many events as possible. To do this, experience ALL four heart events for each girl as soon as possible without proposing to any girl afterwards. Once you have experienced the 4th Heart Event for any girl you do not intend to marry, you then either can neglect her or actively decrease her AP by giving her items she detests in the second year in order to be able to trigger the Rival Heart Events. Remember that the 2nd Rival Heart Event cannot occur before the 2nd year in any case.