Expanding on Farmerama basics -- clarifications and answers? (newbie edition)

EDIT -- I intend to update/correct this. Please many any constructive comments below. If soemone else has a better idea for a format or such, then feel free to create another thread or just show me below and I can consider pasting your idea.

This thread is primarily to serve as a reference/handy copy link for mentors to give their chickadees. If there is ever a mentor forum, this can be moved there. Until then....


CC -- country coins, these are the basic coinage, what you get when you sell items in the market, earn from some decorative "giver" items, quests, etc.

BB -- Barnyard Bills -- Its best to think of these as "real money". You get a few at first, from leveling up, filling a few quests, etc. Some people can earn a few more through the cinema in town and in some countries there are some special offers you can find through links in the bank. However, any additional BBs need to be bought with "real money"-- whatever currency you use your country. . Prices are relatively low, but not everyone wants to spend money. You can absolutely play and do everything regularly available for free, but some of the special items (some pets, cloud rows,wonder pens and trees, etc) need to be bought and there are a variety of special offers that require BB (or just real money directly).

SG-- supergrow and SuzySupergrow -- SS/SSG These are easy to confuse, so be cautious.
SG is the green droplets. They cut the growing time for crops in half. It can only be used on crops. One item is needed for each individual plot of land, whether the plot is 1 X 1, 1 X 2 or 2 x 2.
SSG is the propeller looking item, also sometimes shown as an airplane with a pilot (when given as a quest reward, for example). It can be used either for trees OR for crops and will add a percentage to your harvest. As with SS, you need one item per tree or plot of land. However, the bonus is a percentage that varies. Normally, you get 2 extra fruit per tree harvest, 1 extra crop item for 1 x 1 and 1 x 2 plots, 2 extra per 4 X 4 plots and 3 extra per comfort field (comfort fields are available from level 60). HOWEVER, if you have another harvest bonus (won on the wheel or awarded from an event, for example), that may increase. This can be confusing (even to experienced players), but remember that the total you will harvest is given when you click on the plot/tree.

Feed and Powerfeed - Both of these can be milled in your feed mill. However, only regular feed can be sold and purchased in the regular market in the village. Regular feed is what you need to start every pen and workshop. Powerfeed can be used from the beginning to cut the harvest time in half (warning, you do NOT need to use both!). However, the far more important use for Powerfeed comes at level 21 -- namely, it is needed for breeding. Experienced players will all strongly urge you to save your powerfeed for breeding, at least until you understand the game and ramifications, unless you have no problem buying Powerfeed with real money (and note, while no purchase is at all necessary, most of us do buy powerfeed eventually , but its best to wait until you understand the game at least fairly well). Some people make a habit of milling and selling (regular) feed. To start, that can be a very lucrative prospect. However, powerfeed is by far the most "valuable" . Some quests, many events offer some powerfeed, but you will quickly find that those do not meet your needs. Additional Powerfeed must be bought with BB or with real money during a powerfeed sale. In addition, one of the benefits of a premium membership is that you will get 10 units of PF a month.

Manure is what you get from cleaning your stalls, not a profanity. (if using a translation program that is not always clear) It reduces the time it takes to harvest crops. You can sell it, and when there are events requiring crops, the price skyrockets so you can make quite a few Country Coins (CC) from it.

Deleting pens and trees from your field simply places them in storage for you to use later. They are not gone. Deleting a plot of land with crops, however, deletes the crop permanently (and you get a warning about that).

Some stalls have upgrades. The FAQs can give you a full rundown, but remember that you have to place each upgrade on a base pen, not the lower level upgrade. If you are having trouble, you probably have an upgrade already on it. Try deleting the pen, then installing just the base followed by the upgrade you want to use. Each pen uses just 1 feed, no matter the upgrade.
Roughly -- yellows give more EP/shorten time to harvest ; Orange pens give 2 animals each harvest, red give 2 animals and more EP/(usually) shorter harvest than orange pens; Pink pens give 3 animals per harvest ; Neon pens give 4 animals per harvest.

Most trees have upgrades . The upgrades reduce the time to harvest and offer more EP per harvest, but do not increase the number of fruit given. Just like for pens, you have to put the upgrade on top of a base tree. Note that sometimes you get both the upgrade and the base as a prize, sometimes you get only the upgrade. If you trade (in a special event, Gift and Trade) or buy them, however, then you get either the base OR the upgrade, not both.

Craft products are made in the artisan village. You can do this beginning at level 40. (See the game FAQs for a full rundown). Anyone, however, can use these products. The easiest way to use them is to go to your storage crate (the wooden box on the left of your screen. If it does not appear, then click on the green arrow mid screen and the icons should appear), then click on the deco tab (the blue vase), followed by the "consumables" tab, then click on the picture of the item you want to use. If it is an EP giver, you will see your EP count rise immediately. If it is something that impacts your growth, harvest, etc, (what we call a "buff") then you will see your shield on the left. Click on it to see all the active buffs and the time they have remaining. Each item has a particular slot, so you if you have more than one you have to decide what you want to put in each slot. Again, there are quite a few, so check out the FAQs or ask your mentor/other experienced players for more details, but roughly anything that adds to your harvest should be used just before harvesting and anything that shortens growth/maturation time should be activated before you start your pens/plant your crop or place your EP item to get the most benefit.



Gifts -- Wonder why those items keep appearing?

Mentors can give trees, pens, water, manure and supergrow (green droplets) at first. As you go up in level, other items can be gifted (first rabbit pens, then other pens, workshops, even powerfeed later on). If you like the gifts/advice your mentor offers, consider giving "little box of luv" points -- to find, go to the farmhouse (on your main field its the rectangular tan building with a grey roof), then click on the little picture of a baby chick. That's the chickadee roost where you can contact your mentor, give luv points, etc.

Neighbors are needed to open up the green meadow, but also give you daily gifts, and of course, you can give them in return. Many are free -- salt, sugar, toolboxes, phermones, EP givers, etc. Some do cost BB. Whenever there is an event, there is often a "drop" item that you can gift as well. (it will appear when event starts and disappear when it closes). As a rule, if there is an event item, most people will want that. When there is no special event items (either no event or an event without a drop), then likes and dislikes vary. You can ask or just send whatever they are sending you.

Friends people in this game like to help each other. If you ask, many people will send items to newer players. They almost never want anything in return, (a basic thank you is always appreciated, of course!) just ask that you help other players when you are able. Some people may ask to "exchange" free drop items during events. As a rule, its good to send drop items to people who send them to you unless they say its not necessary. (some higher level players really don't need them).

Other gifts. When you first appear, there are a few items that may appear from Farmerama itself. They change, so I won't list them here, but chances are if its a gift that does not match any of the other descriptions, it was one of these. You can always ask where you got an item in Help section of the forum, newbies thread. Sometimes Farmerama offers a bonus code. When one is available, it will usually be announced in the announcements found in the headquarters section of the forums. (and other players will often tell you as well).

Bats and Crows You get bat pens and crow pens by submitting some crops into Jack's shop during mini event called moonlight mania. For full details on Moonlight mania, visit the FAQ (here is a link: https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/mini-event-moonlight-mania.77/ note.. only links to official farmerama sites are allowed here). Two points I found confusing. First, while you have to wait for moonlight mania to make the pens, once you have them they get placed on your regular (mainland.. not Baharama) fields like any other pen. You can make as many pens as you like, provided you have the crops needed. To breed crows and bats, you have to open an additional item in Jack's shop. Then, upgrades and workshops (guano from bats, jewels from crows) are made in the workshop in town (or traded during a Gift and Trade mini event) just like other workshops.

Magic Glade The Magic Glade offers free water, but its not automatic. You use it just like water that you buy for the other fields (click on the water droplet), but no water will be deducted from your tank. (I get into some other benefits in the intermediate guide).

 

Wow, that is a brilliant breakdown for anyone that is just starting out, it makes sense of all those un-answered questions I can't remember if I had a mentor (if so, don't be offended, but the communication was simply not there), so for me, this would have been a great way to learn Thanks Woody

 

woody, breeding begins at level 21, not level 20.