Monster Levels and Prizes

I wrote a post about Monster Levels recently but did not mention the Monster Contest that occurs on 25 Autumn. In this Contest, your most powerful Tame Monster competes against those belong to other unspecified villagers. There is no physical combat or trial of strength. It is simply a matter of 'registering' the strength level of the monster you have chosen to enter. The prize is a 'Health It'.

Herman's instructions for the Contst are a little confusing. He will tell you to:'Please send at least one of your monsters back to the Forest.' At first I thought it would be like the 'Monster Taming Contest' which required a free space in your Monster Barn for the Monster that you tamed in the course of the competition. (I had to free a Monster in order to be able to compete in THAT one, because my Barn had its full quota at the time.)

In fact, I think that Herman's instructions in this first sentence of his probably were supposed to go with the other Contest. In the 'Monster Contest' in Autumn, your entry will be one of your existing Tame Monsters rather than a new one. In fact, as the 'strength' of your Monsters will improve with time and use, it is best to use a Monster who has been tamed for a long time.

You need to ask your Monster first to accompany you. When he/she is outside the Monster Barn, you then need to speak to Monster to discover total Strength. Yu have the option to choose NOT to enter the Monster in the Contest if you wish to see the totals of all your Monsters before you make a final decision. 15 out of 16 of my Monsters were at 46. The Silver Wolf I use in combat always was at 50. As the other monsters never fought with me but only work on the farm and provide Ranch Products, 'Strength' is not earned by combat exclusively but by 'use' of the Monster and Heart Level combined somehow. The other 15 monters ALL had 46 Strength, even though two had been tamed fairly recently, and were of many different varieties... but all were at 10 Hearts.

The prize for winning the Monster Contest is a HEALTH IT. More important a reward for me was the fact that this Festival brought the remaining girls to maximum heart level at 10 Hearts.

Autumn Farm Melody and Farm Tutorial in Rune Factory 2

Two different factors persuaded me to create a little video of the monsters working in my field. One was the lovely Autumn melody that plays whe4never you are on the screen containing your field in Rune Factory 2. The other is the amusing way that the monsters move and work in the field.

After filming the sequence, I decided to use it as an opportunity to share some basic farming tips with players. Without any text, it could have been a little dull.

Here is the result:



The Autumn Farm Melody is only one delightful theme among many different musical themes in Rune Factory 2.

First Generation Bestiary Guide

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Although there is little one can do in terms of the actual 'story' plot in Rune Factory 2 in the 1st Generation, I decided I should complete all aspects of my Guides before I moved onto the 2nd Generation. Two important aspects of the game are the acquisition of all necessary tools and a complete Bestiary. I have completed both now.

Monsters are a vital aspect of both Rune Factory games. They serve many purposes, from providing all Ranch products and acting as helpers on your farm to being a source both of transport and War Trophies. A War Trophy from a Monster often will be the object of one of the Requests on the Bulletin Board. Although the individual who makes the Request will tell you precisely where to find the War Trophy in question, it saves time and energy if you have saved items in advance in your Cabinet.

Knowing which Monsters will water crops and which will harvest them can be useful as well. If you intend to grow as many crops as possible both on your own field and in the plots in the Cave/Dungeon areas, it is most helpful to have a Monster working for you on your farm.

Monsters who neither produce any Ranch Products nor can be trained to work on the farm nonetheless may be useful companions in a fight. All Monsters can be commanded to accompany your character when he goes to any Cave/Dungeon and they automatically will fight by your side against both enemies and Monster Generators. Some Monsters are more powerful than others and some have far better attack strategies than others.


In the 1st Generation game, there is one Monster who will act as a Transport Animal, and in fact, it is one of my own personal favourites in the wild animal kingdom. You can ride a Wolf both in the original Rune Factory and in its sequel although the Monsters bear different names in each game.

The Silver Wolf whom you can ride happens to be one of the best fighters to have with you in combat as well. In the 1st Generation game, he is powerful enough to take out any Monster Generator with a single pounce. He can fell any Monster enemies with one or two blows. His attacks are very well-aimed as well. There are other types of Monsters who may be powerful but less adept at aiming their attacks precisely.

I have included screenshots of my best Silver Wolf. One shows the Monster Options Menu that appears when you have taken the Monster from the Barn. As you can see, one of the options for the Silver Wolf is to 'Get on its back.' Another screenshot shows my character riding the Silver Wolf through Cherry Blossom Square. The last screenshot shows both screens in the Trieste Forest Cave/Dungeon Area. Note that a detailed map of the Cave/Dungeon appears on the top screen. Among other things, it shows the location of any tillable land in the area.

When you are mounted, you neither can fight nor use farm tools. Dismount to use your Watering Can in any Cave/Dungeon area. The Monster will wait patiently by your side until you complete your chores. (Farm work is 'beneath' a Wolf!) As stated previously though, the Wolf is very useful even when your only purpose in visiting the area is to tend to the crops. He will take out the Generation instantly while you defeat the enemy it spawned, saving you time.

One cautionary note that I will make certain I include in my General Guide is the potential effect of combat on Crops. Using any weapon where a Crop grows may destroy the Crop as surely as if you used a Sickle on it. In the beginning of the game, when my attention was directed solely towards the threat any Monster posed, I inadvertantly destroyed a couple of my Crops by fighting the Monster on the plot where they were growing. If you do not have 9 squares filled with fully ripened Crops or Flowers, a Rune Point will not appear. By allowing my character to flail about with his weapons on the farming plot in the Cave or Dungeon, I lost a chance to create a Rune Point...

To be honest, in the 1st Generation, you may find that you have far more Rune Points than you can use. It is only later that you will be able to make every Rune Point count.

My Caves and Bestiary Guide now is complete for the 1st Generation game. It gives the name and specific location of each Monster, the time of day when it appears, a full description of its skills or Products and the War Trophy it drops.

Strategies for Using Runes in Rune Factory 1 and 2

Expert players will be aware of the dual use for Crops in both Rune Factory 1 and 2, but beginners may not be familiar with the system and may not understand how it works. Runes are tiny orbs of brilliant light that can be found on a plot with 9 fully ripened Crops/Flowers. In both Rune Factory games, your character's energy levels are determined by two factors: HP (Health Points) and RP (Rune Points). When your character's RP bar reaches zero, any use of tools will begin to consume HP. This is the most simplistic explanation and in fact, there are other uses for Rune Points, such as the casting of Spells. At the start of the game, however, it is mainly in order to preserve your HP that you need to keep your RP at maximum.

Only an entire 3 x 3 plot filled with fully-ripened crops will produce 1 Rune Point daily. If you harvest ANY of the crops/flowers in that plot, a Rune Point no longer will appear. What this means in effect is that you need to have a strategy with respect to the crops that you grow throughout the map.

A Crop grown in any of the dungeons/caves may be more useful sometimes as a source of Rune Points than for the product it produces. Keep the 3 x 3 plot of crops intact and it will continue to produce 1 Rune Point daily. This can be very useful when your energy is depleted while fighting monsters and smashing rocks for treasure.
Don't forget to continue to water the crops that are fully ripened in any field if you choose not to harvest them.

Crops in Rune Factory, as in any Harvest Moon game, ripen at different rates and have different values. A crop with a high shipping value should be grown for shipment. One with a very low shipping value can be grown for Rune Point production instead.

For example, in Spring in Rune Factory 2, you can grow Pink Turnips. (Regular turnips, I believe, are the equivalent in Rune Factory 1.) They grow very quickly and have a fairly low shipping value compared to some of the other Spring Crops. Although you may be in need of money in the first Spring, you still should keep some 3 x 3 plots filled with fully ripened Turnips or Pink Turnips in order to have access to Rune Points on a daily basis.

There is a question of timing as well when considering when to harvest a crop. If you wish to harvest the crop and ship it, you still should wait until the Rune Point it has produced can be used effectively and not harvest it at 6.00 a.m. when both energy bars are filled. In Rune Factory 2, for example, shipments are collected by Mana at 3.00 p.m. It would be a waste of a good Rune Point to harvest a 3 x 3 square of fully ripened crops of any kind at 6.00 a.m. Better to use some energy either in chores or fighting monsters, then replenish the energy with the Rune Point before you finally harvest the Crop prior to 3.00 p.m.

Remember that you need to have fully-ripened Crops or Flowers in all 9 squares of any 3 x 3 plot in order to produce 1 Rune Point. If one square ripens more slowly or if you harvest one or two of the plants, no Rune Points will appear. It therefore requires an 'all or nothing' strategy where harvesting is concerned.

There is one further consideration or potential complication in both games. If you wish to keep fully-ripened Crops/Flowers in your field on the farm, you cannot set any Monsters the task of harvesting your Crops!

Cheating Time in Harvest Moon

In any Harvest Moon game, finding the time to perform all your tasks or aims in any given day can be one of the greatest challenges. As Friendship and Courtship are important in these games, it is not farming tasks alone that require a judicious use of your time.

In terms of transport, it is vital, therefore, to acquire a transport animal as early as possible, whether that animal is a Horse (in most Harvest Moon games), an Ostrich (available in Tree of Tranquility) or one among an assortment of exotic Monsters (in Rune Factory). Having a Horse or other transport animal essentially cuts your travel time in half.

Even better than a transport animal is a Teleport Stone. These do not exist in all Harvest Moon games and when they do, the means of obtaining one will differ from game to game. In FoMT/MFoMT, the teleport stone is found in a Mine. In HM DS/Cute DS, it is purchased with medals in the Casino. In Island of Happiness, it can be purchased ultimately from Chen at his Market once unlocked for a rather high price.
It definitely is worth having, however. On an Island that is large enough to require three different bridges, you would be unable to make or sustain friendships with every one important if you did not have a Teleport Stone.

Travel by teleport is instantaneous and it can be used in your own Field, once you have unlocked the Rice Paddies, to save time. A tip on how to do this when watering your crops is given in my General Guide.

It is not with respect to travel alone that one needs to find ways to 'cheat' time.

In HM DS/Cute DS, there are Necklaces that, when equipped, allow a player to perform any task inside any building. If you have an upgraded Necklace that corresponds with the highest level of Tool that you are using, you even can charge your Tools while using them inside buildings. This is an official way to 'cheat time' and players, including myself, really loved having the option.

In other Harvest Moon games, however, it is a little trickier, but there are ways and means for the clever player.

In FoMT/MFoMT, you can transform some of the Cursed Tools into Blessed Tools if you use them during a Festival. As usual is the ability to fish during Festivals and Events. That option did not exist in HM DS/Cute DS, but was not needed with the Necklace option.

In Island of Happiness, once again your character can fish to his/her heart's content during any Festival. As the Festivals occur at the Meadow, however, you will be restricted to river-fishing, which means that you cannot catch Large Fish. Even so, it is a valuable option. The appearance of many characters, including one of the Eligible Bachelors and one of the Eligible Girls, is predicated upon your Fishing accomplishments. Early in the game, Fish are one of the few Recovery items that exist. Make certain that you do USE your Recovery items while fishing during a Festival, however. Your actual SR (Stamina Recovery) and FL (Fullness) bars will not be displayed during Festivals, but watch your character carefully for the physical responses that signify energy loss and eat raw fish to counteract this if you have nothing better.

Even later in the game, you may find that time still is one of the greatest challenges. As you need to fish regularly at all points in the game to keep characters on the island, it is a good idea to catch a few fish at each Festival and ship them when you return home in order to meet your character quota.

Mining in Harvest Moon may or may not consume time. Even when it does, time will pass more slowly in the Mines. In Island of Happiness, time does pass in the Mine, but more slowly than above ground. Even so, if you need to ship items from the Mines before 5.00 p.m., make adjustments in your mining schedule for that. Until you have a Teleport Stone, it will be a long journey from your Ranch to the Mine...