What am I doing wrong?

[Tylan]

Darwoth's advice is the best in this thread (including his assessment of those who feel otherwise).

Maximizing your production/industry is the best thing you can do. There is no cheat guide, no easy way of doing it. Not since purity was adjusted. I've seen people use a single element of all types of produce to level and others who use a variety and the best foods of each. Some people swear by pumpkin pies, others have begun to experiment with corn as a result of this new update.

The sheer amount of recipes existing should tell you that the devs don't want a single right answer to lead your character from 5/5/5/5 to grand numbers. That would be a grind and not an experience.

My suggestion would be to maximize your industry in a way that meets your play style, which may be less that Darwoth's own allows for. The upkeep isn't that expensive for claims. If you are finding it too expensive, you may want to evaluate the way you play. Are you in a comfortable position to make/sell items for silver, specifically iron bars? Either way, without increasing your output, your advancement will be like pulling teeth. More farms = more food. After you have your farms and your nicely sized claim, then you can figure out what to plant and what mixes work best for you. In the meantime, don't forget defenses (big bases = nicer targets) and that you're going to want to keep working on your humus purity to increase crop purity once you're rolling along with a nice production base.

*edit* - Yes. Go ape on your fields. Vegetables are and always will be a better option than meats until husbandry comes around. Fishing is a waste of time. Rake it harvest and munch down. For information on recipes and their base values, see the wiki. So far as recipes involving higher tier crops go, I don't think anyone has hard numbers yet, but we have seen they get much better . Also, try making a friend. Bases are easier to manage with a buddy.

[Viackura]

Since last update you just have to make a few fields and fill them with hay nonstop, that way you get higher tier crops and better food for gluttony

[staxjax]

I agree with Darwoth here, best advice in the whole thread. Anybody operating with less than that is not really serious about this game. First thing I do when I set out to make a new base, is build atleast 10-12 ovens and ~100 fields of cereal/cabbage/pumpkin.

[Champie]

If that's the best advice for the OP then the game is all yours.

[DemonEyes]

May i just ask where the seeds and fertilizer come from for those fields? how much fertilizer per field? nails for bins? Gardening for pumpkin seeds?

And how long do you spend doing that? with a high humor character it should be possible in a few weeks.. for a starting player working up from 5 phlegm and BB . its an entirely different story. (plus the fact you have to set up a base in order to start finding something to mine etc. and then move onto another base)

I need a LOT more of luck and a hell of lot more activity on the server in order for me to even entertain that idea.. OR.. I am doing it wrong, thus the reason for my question.

[MagicManICT]

May i just ask where the seeds and fertilizer come from for those fields? how much fertilizer per field? nails for bins? Gardening for pumpkin seeds?

And how long do you spend doing that? with a high humor character it should be possible in a few weeks.. for a starting player working up from 5 phlegm and BB . its an entirely different story. (plus the fact you have to set up a base in order to start finding something to mine etc. and then move onto another base)

I need a LOT more of luck and a hell of lot more activity on the server in order for me to even entertain that idea.. OR.. I am doing it wrong, thus the reason for my question.

With that many fields, you just keep their upkeep at 50% (or close to it) and don't bother with too many fertilizers. It's really the cheapest, easiest route, though it's hardly the fastest. A field's yield will always produce enough seeds to replant it at 100% upkeep, so at 50%, you quickly get enough seeds to double the number of fields you replant every generation OR half your crop can turn into food or for other production. With the bonus Plenty from your Stocks & Cultivars proficiency, you don't need to worry about adding any fertilizers for that. The only thing you then need to worry about is A) how fast do you want to replant them, and B) how high do you want to push influence for tier 2 & 3 crops? Note that if you do it right, you'll have tons of hay to boost plenty with, too.

Do you need 100 fields? Maybe, maybe not. More fields are definitely the way to go if you want a minimal time investment farming. Granted, one whole play session every 4-5 days will be nothing but farming, but the rest you'll spend making so much food you can't possibly eat it all. You can also quit spending all that time hunting for fertilizers and spend it hunting for silver to pay the upkeep on that massive claim you have. The other downside is that your base is easily noticed due to the size of the claim and fence(s) you'll need to build.

[staxjax]

Don't use fertilizers, and if you have a problem making silver to buy nails/seeds then just take out your credit card.

[DemonEyes]

Okay, I am starting to understand your reasoning, however all the things you discuss take many generations of planting each crop (plus any involvement/waiting time to process the seeds) This is what I am doing.. I do also have time (as I can only plant the amount of seeds I have and limited by my Humus production (so far 14 fields and only 4 humus bins!) I have all the crops ('cept corn but I am planning now on purchasing) how do I get enough humus as I find I can either make food, OR produce just enough humus to replant (sometimes a little bit extra) but its gimping my attempt to build humours. This is the situation i find myself in. I am trying to follow the advice from all areas, and find my self mired within a expansion loop where I cant achieve what I need as my character isnt as developed as those giving advice.

I think.. Maybe I should focus less on how I am at the present, trying to squeeze a lot out of a little and plan for the future, to where I will have a lot more with which to achieve my aims.. yet one raider visit and I will be put back to square 1 and there is little I can do to avoid that..

Thanking you all people..

[Erunildo]

Well,what you should do is take the advise given and adjust it to your level. If you started recently you can't be expected to plant 100 fields and build 10 ovens. Start smaller but keep in the back of your mind that you will need to expand. 20-30 fields for the beginning should give you enough food. 4 bins are also enough for now(you can always build more,it helps),if you keep your upkeep at 50 you should have enough humus to plant. Plant mostly cereal and then colewort/pumpkin.Corn is not really useful at your stage,you'll use it only for the cornmeal bread.

With a couple of harvest you'll have enough to expand your fields. You can use the colewort and seeds to fill your bins too. While waiting for those you can work on your base/skills and raise silver to expand your claim and put a town bell. The bell will be your best chance to defend against raiders since they'll need to invest time and money on a waste claim,which isn't worth it if your base is new.


P.s what server are you on? If you're in Jamestown send me a pm,maybe i can help you with some seeds/humus to give you a boost.

[staxjax]

Plant all cereal for first round of farms, drop upkeep, add lime if you want to increase plenty. Throw all the cereal seeds that you dont need into the bins, and save the hay. Keep doing this until you have enough full bins to maintain your fields. 1 bin can replant 8 fields at 50-60% upkeep. Once the bin is full and all the fields are at 50, the excess product from farming will be enough to keep the bins full.

Thats how I would do it, anyways. You could always just hunt deer and fill the bins that way, doesn't take much meat to top the bins off to get started either.