In this Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners, we'll tell you everything you need to know to get started with this new farming RPG and creature collecting game from Maple Powered Games and Merge Games.
What is Monster Harvest?
Monster Harvest is a farming RPG that, on its face, is well-familiar to fans of games such as Stardew Valley. You'll start off with a farm that's filled with debris and a handful of seeds. You can clear land, grow crops, and sell them for a profit.
The twist in Monster Harvest, however, is the addition of a mysterious slime. This slime can be used to transform your crops into monsters called "Planimals." You can then take these monsters down into the dungeons and have Pokemon-style, turn-based battles with other creatures to score cool new loot and level up your Planimals.
Getting Started with the Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners
Now that we've covered the premise, the next part of our Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners will cover your first week in the game.
You'll have to play through a short tutorial that teaches you the basics of Farming RPGs. The twist with Monster Harvest is that you can make your crops grow into Planimals; you can do this by using Red Slime on one of your crops. Each crop grows a different monster.
Monster Harvest Starting Tools (and How They Work)
You begin Monster Harvest with four tools, each of which has its own purpose:
- Pickaxe – Can break stones and remove tilled soil.
- Hoe – Can till soil.
- Axe – Can break stumps, chop down trees, and remove tilled soil.
- Watering Can — Can water crops. You can refill it at any nearby body of water.
In short, Monster Harvest has a pretty standard setup for farming RPGs at the beginning; it should be very familiar to fans of the genre.
How Energy Works in Monster Harvest
Energy in Monster Harvest works like most other Farming RPGs: using tools will drain your Energy. You can restore Energy by eating food or sleeping.
How Time Works in Monster Harvest
Monster Harvest has a somewhat different time system than most RPGs. You don't have to worry about the clock ticking away in real-time; rather, a single day is split into "Day" and "Evening."
At the beginning of a day, you will have 100% energy. Your crops will be unwatered and there will be more wild forage items available to collect. You can drain your energy to 0 without passing out; you simply won't be able to work any longer.
When you go to bed, you'll have two options:
- Evening – rest until Evening of the same day.
- Next Day – rest until the Next Day
Selecting "Evening" will have you take a nap and wake up later in the day. 25% of your Energy will have been restored, letting you get a little more work done before the day is over. This is also the only time you can head into the Dungeon.
Your First Week in Monster Harvest
Our next section in the Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners covers what you're going to do in your first week of the game.
Naturally, everyone playing will have a slightly different experience. That said, I didn't do any kind of crazy min-maxing or anything like that; you should be able to follow along with this guide without too many problems.
Your First Day in Monster Harvest
On Day 1, you will essentially be stuck on your farm. Start things off by clearing out a small section of land by breaking rocks, chopping logs, and chopping down a few trees so you can see some open soil.
Once that's done, your next step is to till 9 tiles of soil and plant the 9 Mutato Seeds given to you by your Uncle. Equip your Watering Can and water the Mutato Seeds, then refill your Watering Can by standing next to the river's edge at the bottom right of the farm, walking towards the river, and using the Interact button.
Now that your crops are planted, there isn't much else to do other than make the most of your remaining energy. Chop down some trees and clear more land (ideally in the same area). When you run out of Energy, sleep until Evening and use your last bits of Energy to clear out more rocks and wood from your farm. Then, you can finally go to sleep.
Day 2
Start off Day 2 by heading outside and watering all of your Mutato plants. Once you've handled that, it's time to head North and explore some new areas that have opened up.
A forest will be immediately North of your farm; you can find forage items here. You may want to save one or two of them to restore your energy, but you can otherwise sell them via the Consignment Board on your farm. You might be tempted to chop down some trees here, but don't bother — save your energy for clearing out more land on your farm first!
Once you've scoured this area, head further north and you'll enter the town. Take note of the big board in the center of town — this tracks what items you've sold via the Consignment Board and what rewards you can unlock by selling them There are also four key shops available to explore here:
- General Store – Buy seeds and other supplies. You can also buy a Backpack upgrade here to increase your inventory. Open during the Day.
- Livestock/Slime Store – Buy various Slimes to grow more Planimals. You can also upgrade your tools here. Open during the Day.
- Clinic – Buy Energy-restoring items here. You'll also be transported here if your Planimals all die in the Dungeon. Open during the Day.
- Saloon – Buy Energy-restoring foods here. Open during the Night.
Head to the General Store and purchase 9 Radish Seeds. Next, head further north until you see a wide building with three flasks on it — this is your Uncle's Lab. Head in, talk to him, and then go back outside. Continue north past your Uncle's Lab and you'll enter the area outside of the Dungeon. You can't enter the Dungeon just yet, but you may be able to find another forage item in the area outside.
Return to your farm and plant the Radish Seeds on tilled soil next to your Mutato plants. Water these crops, refill your Watering Can, and then spend the rest of the Day (and all of the Evening) clearing out more land until you're out of energy.
Day 3 & Day 4
Day 3 and Day 4 of Monster Harvest will play out the same way; follow these steps in order on both days:
- Water your Mutatos and Radishes.
- Refill your Watering Can.
- Remove Rocks, Logs, and Trees until you run out of Energy.
- Sleep until Evening.
- Remove Rocks, Logs, and Trees until you run out of Energy.
- Sleep until the next Day.
Day 5
Day 5 is where the fun really begins. You'll be treated to a cutscene with your Uncle being chased by a Red Slime. He'll need you to save him, but take care of your crops by watering them first!
Make sure you have a few free inventory spaces and head north. Collect the forage goods in the woods above your farm, then proceed north through the town to the Dungeon forest. Your Uncle will provide you with a Sword to kill Slimes and your first Planimal: the Mutanko, grown by placing Red Slime on a Mutato plant.
You should still have plenty of Energy left. Head back to your Farm, sleep until Evening, and then go back up to the Dungeon in the Evening. It's time to dive into the Dungeon and fight your first Planimal Battle!
Your First Trip into the Monster Harvest Dungeon
The dungeon in Monster Harvest should be a pretty familiar design to most players. You can choose to go in any of the four cardinal directions and explore new rooms. Be careful not to leave, though — you can only visit the Dungeon once per day.
The Dungeon has Iron, Gold, Red Crystals, Blue Crystals, Rocks, and Logs in most rooms. The important thing, however, is that it is also populated with hostile Planimals which you'll have to fight.
Surviving Your First Planimal Battle
Planimal Battles in Monster Harvest play out like a simplified version of Pokemon. You and your opponent take turns attacking or using special abilities. Whoever loses all of their HP first will die. If you defeat the enemy Planimal, you may earn some loot which includes Seeds — and some of them may be new Seeds you have not yet discovered.
Should all of your Planimals fall, however, you'll have a very different consequence. Your Planimal will die and is gone forever. In exchange, you'll get a quantity of Heartslime which can be used to upgrade your farm's Soil Level.
Ideally, you want to fight a single battle for each Planimal you have. (Which Planimal goes into battle first can be rotated in the inventory on the Planimal tab.) Once that's done, head out of the Dungeon, expend any remaining Energy clearing out land (if you haven't already looted Iron, Gold, or Red and Blue Crystals from the Dungeon), and start Day 6.
Days 6 & 7
The last two days of your first week in Monster Harvest are monumental — you will finally be able to harvest your Mutato crops and grow some new ones in their place.
Day 6
When Day 6 begins, your Mutato plants (and probably your Radish plants) will be available for harvesting. Right-click on the plants to pick them all up and then place them in the Consignment Board to sell them. (Unfortunately, there is no way to directly sell items to a merchant.) You should also sell any Flowers you may have, but do not sell any food items that restore your Energy — you might need them for tomorrow.
Once that's done, explore the woods to the north of your farm and the woods outside of the Dungeon to grab any wild plants that you can find as usual. Once again, sell flowers but keep any food that can restore Energy for now.
Sleep until the Evening, and then you have a choice: you can dive back into the Dungeon and fight one battle apiece for each of your Planimals and/or gather materials there. If you don't want to do that, clear some more land on your Farm instead. Once your Energy runs out, sleep until the next Day.
Day 7
Day 7 is the end of our journey in the Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners, but you'll just be getting started with the game: it's time to plant some new crops!
You may have gotten some Seeds from defeating enemy Planimals in the Dungeon; whatever the case may be, you should plant at least four or so of every crop with one exception: Mutatos are slightly more profitable than Radishes, so invest most (but not all) of your remaining money into Mutato Seeds. Plant as many as you can, eating food to restore your Energy as needed.
There is a possibility that you may run out of food while planting and watering your new round of crops. If that happens, you can head to the Clinic during the Day or the Saloon during the Evening and buy the items that cost $50; each of these items will restore 50 Stamina.
Once your new round of crops is watered, you can opt to go dungeon diving in the Evening again, mine for resources in the Dungeon, or clear out more of your farm. As always, sleep until the next Day when your Energy runs out.
Monster Harvest Day 8 and Beyond
That's it for our Monster Harvest Guide for Beginners. You've just completed a full week of the game, so what's next?
You've already gotten into a groove of clearing land, planting crops, and leveling your Planimals. Keep doing this and exploring the Dungeon every evening as you go. You'll level up as you gain more XP and unlock some cool new things you can craft.
There are also a whole bunch of cool things you can unlock in town such as the Calming Cove and Glowing Glade. Keep planting crops, making money, and winning Planimal battles and you're sure to uncover the grand mystery of the game!