11 tips and tricks for HARVESTELLA

With this advice, you’ll be ready to start your new life in style - and survive the season of death!
By Duncan Heaney

Your new life begins today: HARVESTELLA is out now for Nintendo Switch and Steam!

This life simulation RPG places you in an expansive world where you can farm, fish, socialize and battle throughout the different seasons of the year. But be careful, because a new season has started to occur in the interim between the others: Quietus - and it’s the season of death.

It’s up to you to solve the mystery behind this dangerous new phenomenon - and turning your humble homestead into a flourishing farm. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone - we’re here to help. We’ve put together 11 top tips to help you get going.

Lethe Hamburger and Egg

1. Don’t go out on an adventure without food

Remember: a hungry adventurer is a dead adventurer!

Exploring the world of HARVESTELLA is exhausting work - especially when you factor in the scary beasts that slink and snarl in its darkest corners. One of the biggest challenges when traversing dungeons is ensuring you can manage your stamina and HP - run out of either and you’re in trouble.

That’s why you should always carry some food, so before you head out, be sure to do some cooking and stock up. It’s also worth carrying a few options - while some food will just heal and restore stamina, others can also add additional effects like boosting attack power.

It’s also worth bringing a bite to eat for your companions. If you take a break, and give them a meal they like, you’ll get closer and maybe even share some unique interactions!

Combat in HARVESTELLA

2. Bait enemies until you unlock the ability to dodge

When you start your adventure in HARVESTELLA, you won’t have the ability to dodge straight away. You’ll unlock this later, but until you do, you should be careful in how you approach combat.

Ideally, you’ll want to avoid getting surrounded by a mob as much as possible. In these early stages, try to bait enemies away from each other and into positions where you can take them out one on one!

The Mage job in HARVESTELLA

3. Exploit enemy weaknesses wherever possible

In classic RPG style, enemies have weaknesses to elemental attributes and certain attack types. Exploit these weaknesses wherever you can - if your foe is weak to fire, burn them up. If they’re weak against water, make a splash when you attack.

You can find details of enemy weaknesses in the encyclopedia, found in the main menu. It won’t always be possible to take advantage of weaknesses, of course, but if you can, it’ll make your battles a lot easier.

Exploring Higan Canyon in HARVESTELLA

4. Repairs are almost aways worth the time and effort

As you explore wild regions of the world, you’ll see areas where you could build a ladder. Doing so takes time, but it typically opens a shortcut that helps you get around much easier. It’s almost always worth building a ladder, especially if you plan to make a return visit to an area later.

Throughout dungeons, you may encounter broken bridges, which you can repair with a kit. Sometimes you’ll need to fix them to progress, and other times there are valuable rewards on the other side - it’s always worth using some of your valuable time to fix them up.

So, make sure you always carry some repair kits with you. Dianthus gives you the first for free, but after that, you’ll have to craft them.

Farming carrops in Harvestella

5. Get the hammer as soon as possible

One of your first tasks in HARVESTELLA is to get a hammer, so you can clear some of the debris littering your farm. There’s no time limit on this, so you can take a few days if necessary, but we recommend you get to gathering the materials as quickly as possible.

Cleaning up your field means you can start growing more crops at a time and - importantly in the early game - making money!

Fishing in Harvestella

6. Unlock fishing ASAP

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does the book of fishing knowledge (with included rod)… and that’ll take you some of the way there.

You’ll find places to fish throughout the world of HARVESTELLA and it’s always worth taking some time to drop your lure. Not only are the waters full of aquatic creatures that can be sold for decent money, or cooked up for a tasty treat, you’ll sometimes find more valuable treasures!

Plus, fishing is fun - a delightfully zen way to while away a few hours of the in-game day.

The Renovator in Harvestella

7. Also, buy the kitchen counter from the Renovator ASAP

We have one more early-purchase tip for you to complete you spending-spree. The Renovator store in Lethe lets you add home improvements for your house. As soon as you can afford it, get the kitchen counter. It lets you cook with ingredients you find and produce you grow.

Cooking is massively advantageous. The meals you make let you keep your stamina up, so you can do more in a day without a break. It can keep you alive when you’re adventuring, raise your friendship with other characters, especially if they ask for a specific meal, and it sells for a good price. Plus it looks delicious!

Faerie orders in Harvestella

8. Faerie Orders offer extremely valuable benefits

At some point, you’ll meet a Fire Faerie, who’ll introduce you to a feature called ‘Faerie Orders’.

As the name implies, these are orders to complete specific tasks, such as harvest a certain number of crops or build a new device. Always keep an eye on what the Faeries want you to do and remember to report any completed orders - because the rewards can be amazing!

For example, you’ll get the ability to water multiple plants at once or expand the size of your fields. When you meet more faeries, you’ll even get access to new biomes like caves and water pools, so you can grow specialist crops!

So check those orders!

Harvesting carrops and growing dress lettuce in Harvestella

9. Experiment with seasonal produce

Some crops can only be grown and harvested during particular seasons. For example, the Nemean Tomato only grows during Spring, while the Lumpotato is only harvestable during the Winter season.

It’s worth growing at least some seasonal produce while you can because it’s a good way to make some money, and some unique meals that you can’t get at other times. Meals like these for example:

What do you mean this tip was mainly an excuse to post mouthwatering pictures of food?


10. Be a good friend

Socializing is an important part of HARVESTELLA - friends support each other, so the better your relationships with the people you meet, the easier your life will be.

Characters will sometimes give you quests to complete and doing so will result in the two of you getting closer. Important characters and battle allies also have character stories, where you’ll learn more about them.

Helping out your friends is always worthwhile because they’ll reward you with useful items, benefits in combat and more. If they get close enough, they may even move into your house.

So as a rule, if a character wants your help, attend to their request sooner rather than later, as the rewards are normally worth it!

Waking up at the start of the day in Harvestella

11. Relax and take your time

Although the days go by, HARVESTELLA is not a game you need to worry about rushing. Once you complete the introductory sections of the game, you’re free to do what you want when you want.

For example, if you want to play hooky from all the world-saving shenanigans and spend the day tending your crops, fishing and chatting up the locals, you absolutely can. Alternatively, if you want to dive straight into the next dungeon, bash some beasties and get to the bottom of Quietus, you can do that too.

Don’t stress about trying to do too much in one day - just relax and enjoy the game at your own pace. That’s what HARVESTELLA is all about.


With this advice, you have everything you need to start your new life in HARVESTELLA. The game is available physically and digitally on Nintendo Switch and digitally on Steam:

We hope you enjoy the game. Just watch out for Quietus!

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