We’ve filled this article with everything you need to know in Echoes of the Plum Grove. Any questions on your mind will be resolved after consulting our guide! Let’s get started on our comprehensive guide with all the details considered!
Echoes of the Plum Grove: Guide
Basics
So you’ve created an adorable character and they’ve been left clueless on a plot of land. Here are a few tips and some general information to help you get started.
- Little tutorials will pop up as you start doing things, but there are also some helpful tutorial pages in the menu, on the rightmost tab.
- If you need to use something on your toolbar that isn’t a tool, hit the spacebar. Space is how you refill your watering can, eat food, and read recipes/blueprints.
- Don’t want to worry about food, sleeping or diseases? Turn those options off in the menu. I’d suggest trying with them on though, as it makes the game unique and fun.
Trees
- Always shake trees twice as you go past them in the world. Not only is the wood useful for building things, it also makes you a reasonable amount of money – each piece is worth 10 gold, so a stack of 50 is worth 500. This is an easy way to earn some extra money at the beginning.
Food
- At the beginning of the game in spring, the easiest food to cook is survival salad, which you can make with plantains and violets you can forage from the ground.
- The best way to continue feeding yourself (indefinitely) is to put fruit/vegetables/fish onto a drying rack or in a preservative jar. This produces an item that will refill 10-20 hunger, and last for a long time in your inventory.
Farming
- You need seeds, which you can buy from people working in the fields in the area left of your farm. People in the top right and bottom left fields have different stocks, and change their stock each day, so check back if you are looking for different seeds.
- When you harvest them, crops are likely to spawn more seeds of that type.
Livestock
- If you have any two of the same species, there is a chance for them to reproduce, which can get you free livestock!
- It’s therefore worth focusing on fewer species early on, and letting them breed. Ie. get two chickens, or two cows.
Making Friends
- Talk to everyone! You can talk to people 2 times per day (until their talk button is greyed out). Once people are friends with you, they will send you presents in the post – sometimes very expensive, helpful ones.
- If you see a question mark above someone’s head, it might be that they are offering a quest, but they could also want to give you a gift, so it’s worth clicking on them.
Quests
- Be aware that you are frequently offered quests that you cannot complete yet – don’t worry about not taking or finishing a quest if it ends up too hard.
- Prioritise quests that give blueprint or recipe rewards. When you have the items you need for a quest, that person’s icon will show up on your map.
Tools and Materials
- Tools made of hardier materials give increased durability, but no special abilities. Move to the next level up when you feel it’s worth it.
- Trees and stones you clear from your farm do not currently grow back. You will have to use alternate sources of these materials once you’ve cleaned up your farm.
Crafting
- Sometimes you need to put several of an item into a crafter for it to work. Don’t think that you have to craft everything! Embrace the game. Be a farmer.
The Carpenter
- Your initial options at the carpenter are to build a chicken coop, barn, or upgrade your house. Ensure that the entire area you want to place your coop/barn/house in is clear before you visit the carpenter.
Disease and Death
- Once you have a bit of money, ask the doctor for an inoculation. Smallpox can wipe out half the town, and you don’t want your character to be one of them.
- Befriending the doctor means they will send you free medicine, which is great.
Marriage and Children
- You don’t need to upgrade your house or bed to get married and have children. Befriend a villager and give them the bunch of flowers bought from the lighthouse to indicate your serious interest.
Lifespan
- If playing with normal aging, your character will stay in the adult lifestage until the end of the first year, then become an elder. But, on the other hand, you could die horribly of a disease, so don’t wait too long to have an heir!
Miscellaneous
- Festivals: Put your all into the spring fishing contest, as you can get a really good rod as a prize. Most events don’t need any preparation.
- Winter: Assuming you have some drying racks/preservative jars, you will be fine throughout the winter, as you can stock them with fish.
- Fishing: areas appear to be categorised as ocean, freshwater (river/lake), mine, and swamp.
What to Aim for in Year 1
- The game has a very gentle pace, and there is no rush to get anywhere – you can always carry on as your child if your character runs out of time. Explore and tinker at your own pace.
- Getting money may feel like a bit of a struggle at the start, but that’s okay, that’s a natural part of the game. You’ll have plenty of money by summer/autumn.
- Take the story quests at your own pace. After the initial quest from the mayor and the ones from the blacksmith that provide you with useful tools, don’t worry about pushing forward. There’s no rush.
- Particularly useful things to craft are: Well, Drying Rack, Preservative Jar, Flour Mill, Compost Bin, Smelter, Small and Large Ice Boxes.
- Coop and Barn: By the time you can afford to build these, you will probably have alternative revenue sources. Build up your farm gradually.