Easy Accessory Projects in Rune Factory 2

I believe I have discussed this in another post that deals with Lessons in the 2nd Generation of Rune Factory, but it may be useful, especially for Harvest Moon players with little experience in playing traditional RPG games, to continue this topic.

Rune Factory 2 includes all basic aspects of any Harvest Moon game such as farming, ranching, fishing, and mining as well as that of collecting items. The combat option, however, adds a new dimension to the 'collecting' aspect of the game.

Monsters who drop 'War Trophies' must be defeated in order to yield an item. They do not drop a Chest containing an item every time you defeat them, but it is a result that will occur periodically. Taking a Monster Ally with you into combat appears to increase your chances of obtaining War Trophies somewhat. It depends somewhat on the type of Monster as each has his/her own distinctive method of fighting. I have found the Wolves, both the Silver and Hunter varieties to be wonderful procurers of War Trophies in the Caves.

The purpose of this post, however, is to discuss Accessories rather than War Trophies.

A player with little experience of RPG games may underestimate the important of choosing the right weapon and equipment for combat in any given situation. He/she further may underestimate the need to raise experience and Skill Levels for the purpose of defeating Monsters (or taming them!)

Increasing skills in forging and creating Accessories are the key to obtaining the best weapons and equipment in Rune Factory 2. Although some weapons and accessories can be obtained by completing Requests, they are not the best that will become available to you provided you have sufficient skill levels to make them yourself.

A traditional Harvest Moon player with no RPG experience must learn how to interpret the descriptions of Weapons and Equipment in order to maximise success and minimise pain and loss.

For example, if you go to the Blacksmith to buy an Accessory, you may find the Field Gloves a little lacking in value if you do not pay close attention to your Statistics. After all, the item has zero Defence capability.

Field Gloves: Level 1, Defence 0
Protect your hands from blisters and calluses. No farmer should be without a pair.
STR up, BODY up

Is there any point in buying them, apart from their potential use as an ingredient in a Recipe to create something better?

In fact, by 'upgrading' the Field Gloves at your Workbench, you can make them into a rather marvelous Accessory in the early stages of the 2nd Generation.

You will find that there is an option to ‘upgrade’ basic items in the 2nd Generation. You can do this at the Forge or Workbench or you can trade over wi-fi with another player to increase the levels of your items. It is better to do it at your own Forge or Workbench for one simple but important reason: doing so will increase your own Skill Levels.

You will use materials each time you upgrade an item but the advantage in terms of increasing both Skill Levels and the power of the item itself are significant.

As the Field Gloves increases both Strength and Body, you will find the following effects with Level 7 Field Gloves. All it takes to upgrade the Field Gloves, by the way, is a single piece of CHEAP CLOTH.

Field Gloves: Level 7, Defence 6
Protect your hands from blisters and calluses. No farmer should be without a pair.
Increases STR and BODY: +5 STR +5 ATK +1 DEF +1 VIT

Another example of an easy upgrade is the ‘Cheap Bracelet’.
A Level 1 basic Cheap Bracelet has the following values:

Cheap Bracelet: 740G
Level 1; Defence: 1
Selling Price: 370G

Cheap Bracelet: Level 10, Defence 11

Each time you upgrade it at your Workbench, you will raise ALL values, including the Selling Price. You only need two pieces of Iron to perform an upgrade to this Bracelet. It is worth doing for the increase in your own Skill Levels if not for its own sake, although three upgrades to the Cheap Bracelet will increase its Defence point value to 4 and at the maximum level of upgrade, Level 10, as shown, it will give you 11 Defence Points!

When your Skill Levels increase a little, you should make upgrades to your Leather Boots. Only one piece of Bronze is required for each upgrade to the Leather Boots and each will raise your Defence by 1 Point.

Again, another reason for performing the Upgrades is to increase your Skills at the Workbench. Otherwise, you never will be able to make a ‘better’ class of Accessories.

Granted, a Silver or Gold Bracelet is superior to the Cheap Bracelet even before these superior Bracelets have been upgraded. It does require a far higher level of skill at the Workbench to create either, however, not to mention all the Gold and Silver in each.

Make maximum upgrades to the most basic low-level Weapons and Accessories to increase your Skill Levels as well as improving the only Weapons and Accessories available to you in the early stages of the 2nd Generation. As time passes, you will raise your Skill Levels to the point where you can create better items.

Meanwhile, Accessories with Defence Points really can make a big difference in combat. This may appear obvious to some, but all the emails I have received both with respect to the original Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 have made it clear to me that a large percentage of players really are oblivious to the fundamental rules of an RPG game. They go into the Caves with a bsic weapon, no shield, and no Accessories and then wonder why their HP is reduced to zero before they can make any progress against their targets. Defence is as important in any RPG as your character's ability to Attack. Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2 may be 'Fantasy Harvest Moon' games with all the best elements of ANY Harvest Moon game, but they are RPGs as well.