• /
• General/
• Harvest Moon : ToT/
• Making Money

| /
|/Although it's oftentimes the social scene that people are most interested
| in, the chief objective of any Harvest Moon game is to build a prosperous
| farm - or, in Tree of Tranquility, to be prosperous in general. There are
| numerous ways to spend your time and make money in Harvest Moon: Tree of
| Tranquility; below you'll find an overview of each one.
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Farming                                                                     |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Farming is where it all begins, in more ways than one. It's the cornerstone
| of the game's early development (although cows later take the crown as most
| profitable), and it's likely to take the largest portion of your in-game
| time.
|
| The concept behind farming is simple: plant crops, water them daily, and
| wait for them to grow. When they mature, pick the fruit or vegetable from
| them and sell it (or give it, or use it in a recipe - whatever you'd like
| to do, though the majority of your crops will likely end up getting sold).
|
| In planting crops, there are a couple aspects to pay attention to. First
| of all, pay attention to seasons. Different crops grow in different
| seasons. If you try to plant a crop in the wrong season, the seeds will be
| buried in the ground and never sprout. And if a crop is still growing when
| the season ends, it'll be dead by the next morning - so take special care
| when planting crops and pay attention to their growth times (for example,
| don't plant a crop that takes 6 days to grow after the 22nd day of the
| 28-day month).
|
| Secondly, there are two types of crops: there are one-time sprouting crops
| and there are re-growing crops. One-time crops are crops whose soil is
| returned to normal after picking them - a new crop can be planted in its
| spot once it's picked. Re-growing crops are more like vines - when you
| pick the fruit or vegetable, the vine stays behind and grows another fruit
| after a few more days. Typically, re-growing crops are more profitable, as
| the time to grow a second fruit from a single vine or stalk is usually
| much shorter than the time to grow a whole-new crop.
|
| If this is still confusing, consider this example: potatoes vs. corn.
| For potatoes, you plant a single seed in the ground, wait a few days and
| pull the potato: one seed, one potato. For the corn, though, you plant
| a single seed in the ground and a corn stalk grows. The corn grows from
| this stalk, but when you pick the corn, the stalk remains - allowing
| another ear of corn to grow a couple days later.
|
| Farming is especially prevelant in spring and summer, and has become more
| relevant in fall in recent Harvest Moon games. Winter, though, is the down
| season for farming - with snow on the ground, not much will grow, so make
| sure you either have enough money saved up or enough animals in your barn
| to keep you through winter.
|
| For more information on farming (specific crops, growth times, prices), see
| the Farming section.
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Ranching                                                                    |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Second only to farming comes ranching. Ranching (in my terminology at
| least) is the animal side of running your farm.
|
| At the beginning of the game, you lack any of the necessary accouterments
| begin running a ranch. However, these can be built by talking to the
| carpenter (and paying him, of course). There are two ranch buildings: a
| bird coop (which houses the chickens, ducks and silkworms) and
| a barn (which houses the cows, goats, sheep and ostriches). Odds are you'll
| build the bird coop first - it's cheaper, and the animals that live in it
| are cheaper as well.
|
| After building the necessary buildings, Brownie Ranch in the village is the
| place to go. initially you'll only be able to buy select animals and
| products, but as you sell more ranch products (milk, eggs, etc.), they'll
| grow as well.
|
| The chief reason for raising animals is that they yield enormous returns
| on the investment: a single cow gives milk every day for weeks after the
| last time it was bred. And they operate through all seasons as well, with
| every animal giving products all the way through the winter.
|
| Most animals give products continuously once they're purchased. Cows are
| slightly different in that they must have been bred within the past few
| seasons in order to give milk. Once a cow stops giving milk, it must be
| bred again before it will start.
|
| Every animal can be bred, though. Cows, sheep, horses and goats are bred
| through the use of something called a "Miracle Potion". After using a
| Miracle Potion on an animal and waiting a few weeks, it will give birth to
| a baby of its own type.
|
| Chickens, ducks and ostriches are bred differently though - instead of
| a potion, simply place one of their eggs in an incubator and wait a week.
| After a week, a chick will hatch. After another week, the chick will mature
| and start giving eggs of its own.
|
| For more information on the Animals, see the Animals section. For more
| information on the buildings, see the 'Home Sweet Home' section. For more
| information on having the buildings built, see the Carpenters' section
| (under the Shops section). And for more information on Brownie Ranch,
| see the shops section (also under the Shops section).
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Mining                                                                      |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Beyond those two activities, there are several other ways to make money in
| your spare time - they just require venturing a little further away from
| your farm.
|
| The first of these is mining. Mining involves going to the mine and
| breaking apart rocks, many of which hold ores, precious gems or other items
| that can be sold or used in a variety of ways, such as jewelry-making.
|
| To mine, all you need is a hammer and some time. Enter the mine (locations
| detailed below) and start breaking apart rocks. Try to work your way to
| the staircase - this allows you to descend to the next level of the mine.
| Lower levels of the mine hold better jewels and ores, and the bottom level
| holds a special lake. When you're ready to leave, just approach the stairs
| again.
|
| Holes operate differently: holes will drop you down a random number of
| floors, making them a good option if you're trying to descend the mine
| quickly. But, you can't ascend only one level: you can only ascend all
| the way to the top, so if you're trying to hit a certain level the stairs
| might be the better way to go.
|
| Remember, time passes in the mine just like outside, so keep an eye on the
| clock. The setting and music won't change, so it's easy to lose track of
| time. Another tip if you're trying to get down to the lower levels is to
| figure out the path that involves breaking as few stones as possible.
| What will most likely limit your descent isn't time: it's stamina. Using
| that hammer that many times can deplete your stamina fast if you haven't
| gotten any Power Berries yet, so try to calculate the most efficient path.
| It can also be beneficial to bring some stamina-restoring food for
| particularly deep treks into the mine.
|
| Tree of Tranquility adds one new feature to the standard mining framework.
| Rather than simply digging and selling/using what you find, sometimes
| you'll also discover small colored balls. These balls are gemstones, but
| you won't know what gemstone they are until you have them appraised. To
| have it appraised, take it to Mira at Maple Lake and show it to her. Note
| that until you have a gem appraised, it will be identified in your rucksack
| as just a "(color) Ball", but when you have it appraised it will
| automatically change to whatever gem it is identified as. This is important
| for some places where you actually need an unappraised gemstone (for
| example, for one of the goddess tree recipes).
| 
| There are two mines in the game:
|
|\________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
| The Small Mine
|
| The smaller mine (official name will come when it's released) is accessible
| from the beginning. It has a total of 30 floors, and at the bottom there is
| a small lake and a Power Berry.
|
| The first 9 floors contain mostly low-grade ores, mushrooms and pontata 
| roots. Floors 11 through 19 contain mid-grade ores and an occasional 
| gemstone, as well as more pontata roots and mushrooms. Floors 21 through 29
| contain almost exclusively rare ores and gemstones.
|
| Special floors in the small mine include the 19th floor, which contains
| almost exclusively mushrooms, and the 25th floor, which contains almost
| exclusively gemstones. The 10th, 20th and 30th floors also contain murals
| of the goddess.
|
| The reference section contains a more comprehensive list of the floors of
| the mine and the items that can be found.
|
|\________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
| The Large Mine
|
| The large mine is substantially more difficult to access than the small
| mine; it requires that you have completed four of the five rainbows
| (detailed in the Goddess section). More information on this mine will be
| posted when it becomes available.
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Foraging                                                                    |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Foraging? How can foraging be a viable moneymaking option? What are we, a
| bunch of squirrels?
|
| So many things grow in the woodlands around the village that foraging for
| little goodies can actually bring in a substantial supplement to your
| income early in the game. Mushrooms, herbs, and bamboo shoots are some of
| the dozens of items that can be found growing in the wild around the
| island. Some items, like specific herbs, actually sell for a notable amount
| of cash, so if you find yourself with some free time, head up to the hills.
|
| These items serve other purposes as well: certain recipes require them, and
| they also can make great gifts if you choose the recipient well. And while
| you're at it, don't forget to pick some flowers for your prospective
| spouses as well.
|
| A complete listing of all the forageable items, their sale prices, and
| their locations is in the Reference section.
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Fishing                                                                     |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Fishing is a favorite past time in Harvest Moon. After obtaining the
| fishing rod from Toby, you'll be able to fish in any of the bodies of water
| around the island: the ocean, the river, the lake, or the lakes at the
| bottoms of the mines.
|
| The way fishing works has changed over the past couple iterations of the
| Harvest Moon series, and it is not yet clear which method will be used in
| Tree of Tranquility. However, suffice it to say that you cast the rod by
| using the Fishing Rod tool while facing a body of water, and pull back the
| line when you get a nibble (typically indicated by a sound, a vibration
| or a visible indicator).
|
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
| Part-Time Jobs                                                              |
|  ___________________________________________________________________________|
| /
|/Tree of Tranquility introduces an interesting part-time job system to the
| Harvest Moon franchise. Different stores in the village possess the ability
| to allow you to perform part-time jobs for the store, doing small tasks and
| receiving compensation.
|
| The benefits of these part-time jobs aren't limited to just monetary
| rewards; if you work in the shop where you prospective spouse works or
| lives, you'll gain affection points towards increasing their heart level.
|\
| \___________________________________________________________________________
|_____________________________________________________________________________|