Early Equipment Choices in Rune Factory Frontier

In any RPG and Rune Factory most definitely is an RPG in this respect, your character’s choices of Weapons and Equipment can mean the difference between victory and defeat. There are many players who approach Rune Factory with experience in Harvest Moon but little knowledge of combat games and RPGs. They will obtain a weapon to fight monsters without bothering with equipment that can protect them from damage. They then wonder why their character is defeated again and again when attempting to confront Monsters either for the purpose of sending them back to the Forest or taming them for the Monster Barn.

Defence is as vital as Attack in any RPG. By equipping your character with items that protect, you can confront more powerful enemies in the dungeon and still remain undefeated. Furthermore, you can boost your total HP with equipment, giving you more energy in any given situation where you need to use tools, weapons or sustain damage of any kind.

It is fun to reach advanced stages in any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game and some of my happiest moments in Rune Factory 2 were those where I finally 'arrived' in terms of Weapons and Equipment. With Gravios in hand, a Rune Shield, Knight Boots and a Happy Ring, I knew I could win any Battle readily. Of course, having earned the necessary experience was an essential step as well. You can transfer your high-level Weapons and Equipment to another character through trade in Rune Factory or Rune Factory 2, but you cannot transfer your Skills! Note that Skills and Experience are 'inherited' by your own Child in Rune Factory 2, but that is quite a different matter.

All the advanced options and secrets are part of the fun in any Harvest Moon, Rune Factory or other traditional RPG, but it is the beginner who most NEEDS some information or help sometimes in terms of taking the first steps on the road to success. I therefore am showing my own character's initial Weapons and Equipment choices in Rune Factory Frontier.

These are 'initial' choices but they do require a small Forge and Workbench. Without a Forge of your own, you will be restricted to the Broadsword and Cheap Band until Rosetta opens the Materia Store. You then can purchase a Neck Towel from her.

Purchasing any Weapon or Equipment is far more expensive than making it yourself. Furthermore, you need to increase your own Skill Levels at the Kitchen, Forge, Workbench and Pharmacy by practicing again and again. I therefore would urge every player to obtain a Handy Kitchen and Forge at the earliest possible opportunity and to buy the requisite Recipe Books from Selphy.

At the start of the 3rd week in Spring, my character had the following Weapon and Equipment:

Windsword: ATK 13, SP ATK 1, RP USE 6, FX Wind Attack +5, Wind Resistance +10, made from a Broadsword and a Wind Crystal.

A Broadsword can be purchased from Ganesha or made from a Knife Piece and a piece of Iron, both found in the Whale Island Cave. A Wind Crystal can be purchased from Ganesha for an exorbitant price of 2500G or obtained as a War Trophy in the Whale Island Cave early in the game. I saved mine until I had the Forge, then transformed my original Broadsword into a Windsword, earning Forge Experience and a better blade in the process. I'm afraid I always prefer a one-handed blade to any two-handed weapon. I like them because, in many games, including Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2, they allow a defensive Shield to be equipped in the other hand. Even if you do not have a Shield, a single-handed blade is fast, light and has more movement choices than heavier, two-handed swords. They may have less power but they are easier to wield and use less energy.

If you do not have a Forge, a Broadsword will give you the following:

Broadsword: ATK 5,SP ATK 0, RP USE 6

Hand-knit Hat: Head EQ, ATK 0 DEF 20, MAG 25, made at the Workbench using a Wool and a Yarn. Wool can be obtained from a tame Wooly or purchased from Erik. Yarn must be made from Wool using a Yarn Maker. You can buy that from Lute.

Neck Towel: Neck EQ, ATK 0, DEF 10, MAG 5, MAX HP +15, made a tthe Workbench using a Cheap Cloth and Wool. Cheap Cloth can be found both at the Whale Island Cave or at Green Ruins. Wool can be obtained from a tame Wooly or purchased from Erik.

Leather Belt: Torso EQ, ATK 1, DEF 5, MAG 1, FX MAX HP +15, made at the Workbench using a Monster Hide and Iron, both of which can be found in Green Ruins

Fe Bracelet: Arms EQ, ATK, 0, DEF 18, MAG 0, made at the Workbench using Iron and a Warrior Medal, both of which are easily found in Whale Island Cave or in the Green Ruins

When I did not have a Workbench, I bought a Cheap Band and Pendant from Danny and equipped those.

Cheap Band, ARMS EQ. ATK 1, DEF 6, MAG 6

Pendant, ATK 0, DEF 8, MAG 7

Both can be purchased from Danny and when Rosetta opens the Materia Store, she will sell them there as well as other items of equipment that include the Neck Towel and Wappen. By the time she opens the Materia Store in the middle of Spring, however, you should have your own Kitchen, Forge, Workbench and Pharmacy and the necessary books and experience levels to make your own Food, Weapons and Equipment.

The Hand-Knit Hat may not be the most dashing choice in terms of fashion, but it offers a lot of protection and may be the first piece of Head Equipment that you can create.

Tips for Long-Term 1st Generation Players in RF2

A player who intends to stay in the 1st Generation game long enough to be able to experience the Rival Wedding events and have opportunities to 'steal the bride' wondered what this would do to experience levels...

What I have done in my own 1st Generation game is to attempt to increase ALL my experience levels. When I had increased my Weapons Skill to the point where it was almost embarrassingly high for any combat with the Monsters to whom I have access, I began to use other methods of fighting in the Cave/Dungeon areas. I began with Magic, buying the Rod and using it exclusively. Even though you have few options in terms of Spells at this stage of the game, the levels you attain in Magic will be useful for ALL Magic later in the game. I therefore stashed conventional weapons and began to fight with Fireball.

Once I had increased that Skill to a very respectable level, I began to focus on farm tools that received little use otherwise and used THEM as weapons in combat in the Cave/Dungeon areas. I used the Axe, which is the least used Tool in my game, as there are few branches or stumps as I tend to use all squares for farming. Although there are rocks to smash daily in the Caves, I used the Hammer to pulverise Monster Generators as well... And so on...

If you focus exclusively on traditional weapons in the 1st Generation, your Weapons Skill will be at maximum, but you will not have good levels in any other areas apart from Farming and possibly Fishing. (You can't use the Fishing Rod as a weapon, by the way!) By using all your tools in unconventional ways, you can raise your Skills in every department, something that will serve you well in the next generation.

Incidentally, it is the transition to the 2nd Generation that will make it impossible for you to experience the Rival Weddings firsthand, not your marriage per se. If you wish to delay the transition to the 2nd Generation in order to experience all the Rival Weddings, simply do not build the school until the last of the Rival Weddings occurs in the 4th year. Once married yourself, you obviously will not have the option to 'steal the bride' but you can attend the wedding. Personally I do not see the point of this unless you intend to marry a girl who has a Rival. If you intend to marry Mist, Yue or Alicia, but wish to experience the Rival Weddings, it is better to remain single until the last one has occurred, giving your character the option to save his game BEFORE each Wedding, steal the Bridge to experience THAT result and then reloading to the point where the Wedding is about to occur. He then can allow the Rival Marriage to proceed unhindered... and repeat this performance for each Rival Wedding until the last one has been 'done and dusted'... At that point, he can choose the partner of his dreams, marry her, have the child and move forward almost instantly to the 2nd Generation. Each player can play the game differently, however and that is the beauty of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory.