Friday, May 8, 2009

Creating Prosperity in Rune Factory Frontier


The Runey system in Rune Factory Frontier adds another challenge to the game, but even veteran players both of Harvest Moon and of Rune Factory have problems with it.
It may have been created to remind players of the very real problems that confront us in our own world, problems created partly by human beings who do not have any thought of how their own actions may affect the entire globe. As we face the problems of global warming and destruction of the ozone layer, the Runeys may represent an attempt to alert gamers to the reality of how actions in one area may affect the situation in others.

The Runeys represent four elements: Water, Rocks, Trees and Grass. One type will 'feed' off the other. The Water Runeys are at the top of the food chain. Establishing balance is a matter of establishing equal numbers of each type of Runey in a district. Prosperity is achieved when there are 35 or more of each type of Runey in a district. The maximum number of Runeys that can exist in any district is 60 of each type.

If you grow Crops on your field, your own Runeys will increase. When you have 60 of each type, you can reduce the number periodically in order to transfer those Runeys to other districts if needed. When your Homestead is in a state of Prosperity, your Crops will mature faster, but you cannot ignore other districts.

Runeys will fluctuate according to variables such as weather. Whenever it rains, Water Runeys will increase. Furthermore, the game arbitrarily 'seeds' the Map with Runeys randomly each week.

There are two ways to deal with the Runey population.

My solution is to have your Homestead at 60 across the Board at the end of each week. I remove 5 of each type on Monday and use these to replace any Runeys that are not balanced elsewhere. By Wednesday, the total on the Homestead is back to 60 across the board. I then remove 5 of each type again and either store these or use them where needed.

Everywhere else, I maintain at least 12 of each type of Runey at all times in as good a state of balance as possible. I actually try to have 20-35 of each type on every other district apart from the Homestead but for players who are short on Runeys, 12 of every type on every district will suffice. I noticed that at 35 (Prosperity point), the Grass Runeys usually start to die off. The game will release more Runeys onto the Map randomly as well each week.

If you keep a watchful eye on the Runey Distribution Map and restore balance once each week, you should have no trouble. I keep 99 of each type of Runey in storage for 'emergencies' but I never had any emergencies. My Homestead is in a state of Maximum Prosperity most of the time and my Crops grow much faster than they otherwise would. I do believe that the Crops in all Dungeons may be growing faster but not as quickly as those on the Homestead. I have not timed them yet.

Note that Runey Distribution is as important in Winter as in the other three seasons if you are growing ANY Crops in ANY dungeon. If you have dead zones on the Map, the Crops in the dungeons either will not grow or actually will wither.

Some players advocate the following solution:

The maximum number of any type of Runey that can be sustained on any single district is 60. Grass Runeys, however, begin to die off when they are on a district in large numbers, unless that district has ripened Crops growing on it. With 60 of each type of Runey on a district, therefore, only Grass Runeys will die and you will have to replace them either daily or weekly.

The players who use this method keep 60 of each type on every district but one. They use the one District that remains as a breeding ground for Grass Runeys to replace those that die off continuously.

I was persuaded by a player to post this solution awhile ago, although personally I do not care for it! I do not think it actually is in the 'spirit' of the game.


Whichever method you use:

The best way to deal with Runey distribution is to start as early as possible in the game by planting Turnips and Grass in your Field. Grass is a necessity for fodder for tame Monsters. If you keep at least a quarter of your field planted with Grass, you can keep it unharvested until you actually begin to need Fodder for the Monsters you have tamed. The ripe Grass will generate Runeys on the Homestead. Turnips are good because they mature quickly, allowing you to boost Runey production very early in the game. The biggest problem in the first Spring, however, will be income. You will need the income that the Turnips produce and, as they are single harvest crops, once they have been harvested, you will be forced to replant.

Strawberries may be a better choice than Turnips in terms of maintaining Runey production as, with a state of Prosperity on your Homestead, you may be able to harvest Strawberries daily, making certain that there are fully ripened Crops always on your Field while allowing you to skim off the ripened Crops for shipment. Grass will ripen almost as quickly when you have achieved Maximum Prosperity and Balance on your Homestead, allowing you to set a Necro or Ghost to the task of cutting your Grass for Fodder daily.

Whatever you do, try not to allow any District to become a 'dead' one, as this will affect productivity everywhere, including your own homestead. To recapitulate the ecological principle at the foundation of Rune Factory Frontier, the situation in other areas will affect your own home. Ignore the world at your peril. If you care only about your own Homestead, you will find that your own life will suffer if other areas are in a state of inbalance or attrition. No man is an island and no island is immune to a negative situation in another part of the world.

Store Runeys whenever possible for possible use in other districts rather than shipping them or converting all of them into Rune Stones. Be sparing with your use of Rune Stones until you have a healthy Map. When Runeys are not balanced, the food chain will not work properly and you will find one type in danger of dying out completely.

An obsessive player will work diligently to create a state of Maximum Prosperity and Balance throughout the map. Once this is accomplished, your workload will decrease as long as you religiously replenish the Grass Runeys that die each week.

A player who is not that concerned with perfection can maintain a state of Maximum Prosperity and Balance in his/her own field and allow all other districts to remain chaotic PROVIDED ALWAYS THAT NO TYPE OF RUNEY DIES OUT COMPLETELY IN ANY DISTRICT. Your Crops will continue to grow at a faster speed even when other districts are not in perfect balance, nor in a state of Prosperity, provided that you maintain a presence for every type of Runey in every district. As stated previously, it is better to bleed off excess Runeys if you do not have a store of Runeys to boost the smaller numbers to balance the larger than to allow one type to become too dominant in any district.

If your Crops wither and die or take far longer than they should to mature, it is because you have neglected Runey Distribution. Period. Full stop. This is true with respect both to Trampoli and to all the dungeons. The Runeys are vital to farming in Rune Factory Frontier. Ignore them at your peril.

N.B. The screenshot shows the Homestead in any early stage of Prosperity, before I had reached the Maximum Balance and Prosperity in my first game. Even at this stage, however, my Crops were maturing far more quickly than they would in any dungeon. With fully ripened Crops on your Homestead, it does not take long to reach maximum Prosperity at 60 Runeys across the board.

9 comments:

D Figman said...

Just want to share my thanks for all these guides again! I know it takes a lot of dedication, and hard work to make these. I haven't played RFF for a while now due to my Masters work, but I will use your guides to help me when I get back to it. The birthday, and early money making guides especially are helpful.

Anonymous said...

I'd honestly believe that grass runeys would be able to soak up the water ones... kinda odd they made water immune, when plants thrive on it... I think sun runeys would be a good addition in next title, as the giant star plays role in the life and growth of plants. If grass runeys are too weak to soak up the water ones, then the sun runeys will evaporate them!

I sorta like the challenge of having to balance out funky critters, gives me something to do while I wait for the hot springs to open after I've used up all my Rune points in the morning. I run around with one of my loyal monsters and harvester, preventing extinction.

Well, I'm off to go tame a giant mushroom! Maybe it'll give me free 1-ups, like those other mushrooms do...

FanofTA said...

I seem to be doing something wrong...I've read this review like 3 times. And I've gotten all my districts at 60 of each and my farm I try to keep at 35 of each (although it doesn't usually work)but my game still decreases my grass runeys by 2 a DAY. At this point I don't know what I can do. I tried breading the grass runeys in another area...but I was running out of rock runeys...Can you give me some pointers on what to do if it sin't much trouble? This review was very helpful btw^^

Freyashawk said...

FanofTA, I changed my Guides but didn't change this post. I apologise.

I was persuaded by another player to write about the Method that stuffed each district with Maximum 60 Runeys of each sort. Grass Runeys WILL die constantly, however, if you do that, as you have discovered and to me, that ultimately seemed contrary to the spirit of the game.

I have changed the post to reflect the method I have given in my Guides. It works in my game. My Crops grow twice as fast, my Homestead is in Maximum Prosperity at the beginning and end of each week, and I have healthy Districts everywhere on the map. I do not bother with 'Prosperity' except on the Homestead as when I do, the Grass Runeys begin to die...

There appear to be seasonal fluctuations as well. It's a very interesting and complex system but you really only NEED at least 12 of every type on every district and Prosperity on the Homestead in order to succeed. Keep Runeys of all four types in storage for 'emergencies' and you'll be fine.

My guide quotes the actual game, which states that when Grass Runeys are in great numbers, they will begin to die... The only place this will NOT occur is on the Homestead in a state of Maximum Prosperity. In Winter, the Homestead will remain the same throughout the season as nothing will grow on your Field.

Freyashawk said...

I apologise for not updating this post sooner with my conclusions.

Anonymous said...

They all died 0_0'

I saved 5 grass runeys but otherwise they all died. I lost the game! (So did you)

Freyashawk said...

First of all, Anon, you did not lose the game. Runeys will be dropped onto the Map randomly.

I personally never had any problem with Runey distribution in my own game. As I wrote, you must make certain that you have at least 12 of every type on every district, including the Homestead to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

I do this throughout the year. A player I knew stored his Runeys during Winter but he was not growing crops in the dungeons at the time. If you have any Crops growing in the dungeons in Winter, they will die if you don't maintain healthy Runey Distribution throughout the map.

Players have lost ALL their Runeys and by continuing to play the game and organise the new Runeys that are dropped each week, managed to recover. You did not lose the game. It's a setback, but nothing more.

Lunar said...

Before I say anything, I would like to put out that your post DID help me for awhile.
Everything was fine until SOMETHING happened just recently. Then, all I could get to a reasonable number in any of the areas on the map was grass!!
They all just keep dying! I would be doing fine with 12(like you said)one day, and the next day, BOOM!! my water and rock are reduced to a mere dwindling 3 each. And the day after that, BAMM!! there goes my tree runeys.
And then, to put icing on the cake, my grass runeys got all suicidal on me and started dying like the others until I replenish all four! I can't keep up with them!!
I have got to be doing something wrong, but I don't know what else to do.
Just in the past season of the game all of this happened. Half of my map is dead! Devoid! Barren! Vacant! Of ANY runeys. It feels like I got pushed into a corner with two broken legs! Please help........

Anonymous said...

Okay, some1 help me real quick, Freya says to keep a healthy balance of at least 12, but I'm almost out of water runeys! They practically never reproduce and my homestead only has 38 left... My homestead is in prosperity, I have about 7 or 8 patches of 9x9 grass and no monsters on my homestead, but what I really want to know Freya is how you get your water runeys to reproduce so quickly! 5 in just a week!!