Our Coral Island Guides will tell you what you need to know to get started with this Farming RPG from Stairway Games and Humble Games.
Coral Island Guides
- General Guides
- Character Guides
Coral Island Skill Guides
- Catching Guide
- Combat Guide
- Diving Guide
- Farming Guide
- Fishing Guide
- Foraging Guide
- Mining Guide
- Ranching Guide
Coral Island Starter Guide
This Coral Island Starter Guide is here to help you get your feet wet! (Literally, in some cases!)
Starting Your Adventure
Your adventure begins with a staple of Farming RPGS -- creating your character. Take your time to pick your appearance carefully -- you won't be able to change your look (at least, not yet as of Early Access v0.1 -49002.)
Once you're done, the game will switch to a cutscene showing your character zooming along the ocean toward the titular island. You'll get your first glance at the island itself -- and the pollution that pervades it.
A short introductory cutscene will follow, introducing you to a handful of characters including the local Carpenters Joko and Dinda along with the Mayor Connor. These are just a handful of the dozens of characters you can meet throughout the game.
Farming 101
With the opening cutscenes completed, you're given your first quest "Starting Out." It requires you to plant 10 Seeds and water 10 Seeds. Walk outside of your home and you'll also see that you have mail in your mailbox. This gives you the quest "Home Sweet Home" -- this gives you the opportunity to make your house a little less awful.
Before we get started, let's go over the tools you have at the beginning of the game and what they do:
- Axe - Used for cutting down trees and logs on the ground.
- Hoe - Used for tilling soil and digging up wild plants or the ground.
- Pickaxe - Used for breaking rocks.
- Scythe - Used for cutting grass and collecting Trash.
- Watering Can - Used for watering Crops.
You also have 3 Candied Tree Seed (which can restore your Health and Energy) and 15 Turnip Seeds.
Let's start things off by clearing out the top-right corner of the field and planting all 15 Turnip Seeds. Use your Axe to chop down trees, your Scythe to clear away grass, and your Pickaxe to break rocks. Then, till the soil with your Hoe, plant the 15 Turnip Seeds, and water them.
Once you've watered your tenth seed, the quest "Home Sweet Home" will update with two new objectives:
- Visit Sam's General Store
- Harvest your first crop
The "Harvest your first crop" objective is going to take you a few days -- after all, you do have to wait for it to grow! We are going to go visit Sam's General Store today, but first, we have one more task.
Crafting Storage
Before we head to Sam's General Store, we're going to solve something that will quickly become a problem if you don't deal with it right away: storage.
Note the circle on the left side of the above image. That is "Trash," a resource in the game that you can use to Craft many early-game items. You can pick it up with your Sickle. Hack away at Trash on your farm until you have 10 Trash total.
Next, go into your menu and craft a "Makeshift Chest" using 25 Wood and 10 Trash. This will give you a chest with 20 storage spaces. Place it in front of your house. (Unfortunately, you cannot place storage indoors for some reason.)
Put everything away except for your Sickle and Hoe. Now we're ready to head to Sam's General Store... although we'll be taking a slightly longer route.
Heading to Sam's General Store the Long Way
Sam's General Store is located in the center of town, but we're going to be taking a slightly different route.
Follow this route using your map. You're going to have two objectives:
- Meet Townspeople
- Harvest Forageables
Make sure to press Shift to activate sprinting so you move faster. You can also dash repeatedly with the Space Bar to get an even bigger speed boost. (Don't worry, it doesn't cost Energy to dash!)
Here are the Forageables you'll want to keep an eye out for on your first day:
Furthermore, make sure to rummage through any trash cans you pass by. Just like Stardew Valley, you can find useful items in the garbage. You don't have to worry about people seeing you do it, either; it seems that the people of Coral Island don't mind you rifling through their trash.
Once you get to Sam's General Store, you'll have another cutscene to go through. Then, you can make your purchases -- buy the following Seeds:
- 10 Daisy Seeds
- 10 Turnip Seeds
You'll also likely find some Wild Seeds when you're digging up Forageables, so we'll plant those when we get back home, too.
Now, head back to your farm. Once again, we're going to take a slightly longer route:
As before, take the time to meet any Townspeople you see along the way, rummage through garbage cans, and harvest any Forageables you find.
Planting Your New Seeds and Calling It a Day
Upon returning home, you'll want to stash away any Trash you've found. Keep your Tools and any Food you've found in your inventory for now. Pick your Pickaxe, Axe, and Watering Can back up and put them on your Hotbar.
Till as much soil as you need to, plant all of your Seeds, and water them. If you run low on energy, eat the food you've found on your trip around Coral Island. Only eat the Candied Tree Seeds as a last resort.
Our final task for Day 1 is to try to collect enough Wood and Stone for the "Home Sweet Home" quest. You'll need 50 Wood and 20 Stone, but you probably won't have enough Energy to get it all. Just keep working until you hit 0 Energy (or a little under). Do not go to -15 Energy or you'll pass out and start the next day with 50% Energy!
Go to bed as soon as you're around 0 Energy and the game will save. As with most Farming RPGs, you can only save the game by going to sleep.
Day 2 - Visiting the Carpenter
Day 2 begins! Start your day off by watering all of your Crops.
Your only other major goal for today is to gather enough Wood and Stone to complete the "Home Sweet Home" quest. Take the 50 Wood and 20 Stone up to the Carpenters and they'll fix your house up nice. This also unlocks the television (which can give you tips about the game) and the ability to rearrange the furniture in your house.
You'll likely have loads of Energy and a fair amount of time left in the day. Spend some of this time meeting villagers and gathering food in the wild.
Day 3 - Fishing and Catching
Day 3 is when you'll get a letter from Sunny & Eleanor at the Beach Shack. They're offering to give you a Bug Nut and a Fishing Rod. These both open up new opportunities to complete collections and earn money. You'll also be able to donate the creatures you catch to the Museum when it opens up.
As always, start the day by watering your crops. Then, spend the rest of the day however you think is best.
Day 4 and Beyond
That's the end of our Coral Island Starter Guide. We've covered the basics, but there's so much more to explore in this game!
Over the next few days, you'll unlock the Caverns (where you can do Mining) and the ability to go Diving. You can also explore Ranching and many other activities in this wonderful island paradise. Have fun!
Coral Island Save File Location
The Coral Island save file is located in:
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\ProjectCoral
Where "USERNAME" is your Windows 10 username.
Don't Let Your Energy Go to 0
You will begin to slow down when your energy gets around 30 or less in Coral Island. Nothing extra happens when your energy hits zero, but you will pass out if it gets around -15. You can restore your Energy by eating food, going to the Hot Springs, or ending the day by going to sleep.
If you pass out, you will wake up in the Clinic and the day will end. You'll start the next day with 50% Energy and you'll have to pay a medical bill.
Fast Travel is Possible
There is Fast Travel in Coral Island, but you have to unlock it first. You'll have to complete the quest "Mythical Dream" and then the quest "Temple Offering" to begin restoring the power of the goddess. Once you complete one Offering, she'll activate the ability for you to fast travel between shrines.