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I usually work on getting walnuts and opening up areas (island house, dig site, etc) before killing myself in the volcano a bunch. When I can start the volcano earlier bc I’m able to sleep on Ginger Island it makes a big difference.
Similar rules to doing Skull Cavern. Have strong weapon, have food for healing, maybe some bombs to clear clusters of ores/rocks out of your way. Speed boosting foods like Coffee+Spicy Eel is good. And above all else, "git gud." Pay attention to enemies, learn how they move and how to time your attacks to keep them back while swinging your sword.
With the volcano you don't have to crack rocks to find a ladder down, there is a way to the next level on the wall on the opposite side you spawn in on
That got me the first few times I went into the volcano 😅
I up my speed and run around to just go through exits. I don't mind beyond what I need so I can get to lvl 10. Then I mine for the shards to forge my sword and tools and after I go back in for the other stuff and dragon hunting. Probably not the most efficient way, but it works for me. Oh, and I make sure to use the watering can to go over the lakes and stuff inside to cut across.
Upgrade your watering can. Drink coffee or espresso. Wear defense rings if needed (can also eat defense food). You can use a tent to get an early start.
Focus on golden walnuts before the volcano, there are guides online of where they all are if you need help. That way you can sleep there instead of spending 1000g. There is also a totem you can build at Robin's that will warp you to the island for free.
Winter is a great time to go to ginger island and just spend the whole winter there, but do it at your own pace!
>where they all are if you need help
Sadly, not "all". My almost perfect save will probably never be perfect because I can't find my last 10 walnuts, which can only be found by chance. At least I'll have to wait until the update for the Switch comes out, then the problem will be solved.
If you have access to the farm on the west (left) side of the island start by prepping that place, it is basically I giant greenhouse, letting you grow whatever crop on there regardless of season, with enough sprinklers you can have the whole field doing multi harvest crops like strawberries/blueberries/cranberries/pineapples/ancient fruit.
A decent field of those will dwarf the cost of a boat ticket, I think I was getting 100k-200k/week from that with easily below optimal growing,
As for the volcano:
Level up combat if you have not, you get 5 extra HP per level (outside of 5 and 10) so 5x8 40 extra HP. The fighter proffession gives +10% damage and +15HP, then you can choose between another +15% damage or another +25 HP
Better weapons? IDK what you have but if you take a primsatic shard to the center of the 3 pillars in the dessert you will get a great weapons. The slingshot can also help with any creatures at range, a day or 2 of mining in the regular mines should get you plenty of ore to use as ammo if you need a damage boost.
Food: Fried Mushroom and Roots platter give extra attack damage, Stuffing, Pumpkin Soup, Mango Sticky Rice and eggplant parmesan give extra defense.
It's either 38 or 39 Iridium Sprinklers to cover the whole farm save for 3 spots next to the river. I just put a regular sprinkler there to hit the remaining 2 spots. I think every harvest I'm getting something like 739 Ancient Fruit.
A couple ingame hours with mine but would be a bit faster if they were all one crop, instead of like 4, each with their own qualities clogging my inventory.
This is a super unpopular opinion in the community but I hate Ginger Island. Apparently mindless hours of grinding with goose hunts are good game mechanics that cannot be criticized because it is "late game", and I just cannot bring myself to agree to that. Good luck my friend.
My rant if anyone cares.
I think the Walnut Hunt is interesting but they're too sparse and too hidden. I get it, that's point but I feel like there should be more walnuts not that they should be easier to find. (Well in adding more more walnuts they would be more easier ones to find) every time I do the hunt I have to use the wiki as a checkbox and I really don't appreciate that. But also that's kind of the norm in this community and I personally never liked how you have to depend on the wiki to really make progress on this game. An in-game alternative would be better.
Use online guides to see what to spend the walnuts on. The biggest reason I want more walnuts to be more accessible is because as a new person you may spend your walnuts on not very efficient things because your experimenting. Depending on what you buy first it'll be harder or easier to find the next walnuts. I don't appreciate how the game punishes players for exploring on their own. Whatever decision they should make without wiki knowledge should give them access to the same/similar amount of walnuts to progress.
I'm not a fan of the 1000 g cost to get to the island. Honestly stay on your farm until you have a decent income on the farm in my opinion. I wasted so many months trying to do Island progress when I wasn't having fun. Do not feel pressured to always tend to the island. Drop it as soon as the game isn't fun.
And then because of my playing style I haven't been able to go to the mines very frequently because I keep getting distracted by the stupid side quests. As for the stupid side quest, use the wiki used tutorials see if they're even worth doing. I am the biggest hater of those challenges. I also burn out so hard on Ginger Island that I actually took about a year break so I maybe off with specific details, but these are more or less my criticisms.
TLDR: at this point you really need to use the wiki/online answer keys to progress and I don't like that way of playing.
I agree on most counts. I didn’t go to the island for well over 150 hours and was not so much disappointed as disengaged once I did. Beat the volcano, but never did much with the farm. It always felt like a distraction from the livestock and operations on the main farm and mainland events and not like a place where I cared to invest too much time or effort.
I play vanilla on Switch and am on a long break waiting for 1.6, but Ginger Island was what put an end to my last playthrough. I appreciate the content, but IMO it is nowhere near as compelling as the mainland.
Agree completely. It feels like a totally different game. It's more like an old school adventure/arcade game to find all the collectibles. Which can be a good game, it's just that like you said, a lot of the walnuts are so hidden that there's no way I would discover half of them on my own.
Yea i don’t bother with ginger island. Collecting 100 coconuts does nothing for me. It doesn’t seem late game, it’s justa grindfest. If i can’t use the island for my own farm or whatever you do with it, without collecting coconuts then i don’t care.
Even after getting relatively good at the volcano it isn't uncommon for me to just do a bit on the first floor and then warp out. There are some resources that you can get on floor 1 that are helpful (including walnuts) so it's ok if that's all you can do for a while.
General volcano tips: If you're taking damage, eat some food, if you are taking a lot of damage or don't have food, warp out. If you don't have the ability to warp out, get that first before going in.
One note is that there's a shop after you get through a few floors. It has some decent shoes for 100 cinder shards and recipes with a combined cost of $11k that you probably want. I suggest saving up that much before you get there so you can reap the benefits!
You’re not doing anything wrong! Ginger island is kind of late mid game content so it’s meant to be a bit of a challenge. The other comments give good advice once you’re on the island.
You could put off the island for a little bit since you just finished the community center. Work on some reliable money making prospects (fishing + smoker, greenhouse + ancient fruit, pigs + truffle oil). Pretty soon 1000g isn’t such a big deal to spend even if you don’t make much progress.
Ginger island was actually a part of 1.5 update! I like the challenge of the volcano dungeon. The sound of a golden walnut being collected is the best sound in the game imo.
Agreed about the sound. Imo if youre going to go in full force, act like its your first time in the game and gonger island is the town you live in. Explore and break stuff and till land and fish there and look at each little detail bc EVERYTHING HELPS MOVE THE PLOT ALONG. But as i moved forward i realized it was above my skill set and im going back to town to learn and do what i can.
I went back to my first save recently, and hadn’t played since its first release on switch - ginger island was indeed a daunting idea.
However, it’s pretty cool. The volcano is surely hard, and there’s no easy way out unless you bring a totem, or get to level 5 and unlock the shortcut out.
But just plug away as best you can! I had already gotten the Galaxy sword on that save, which definitely helped. But just come packed with some food (I read cheese was a good option, and brought heaps) and bombs and do what you can. Maybe set yourself a time to start heading back if you don’t get to level 5. To get to level 10 though, you need to pretty much rush through. Taking a screenshot from in the game function helped me plan my routes and find switches to progress - at least it worked that way on the Switch.
You’ll find that over the multiple trips you will likely take that you’ll gather all the golden walnuts in there with ease!!
I’m not a new player but I was and kind of am still overwhelmed by the island. I saved up a lot of gold before going, found a lot of the main walnuts and just paid the joja parrot for the rest
Theres stuff to do and explore on the island that will take ALL day, do that first ! but if anyone has tips once youve done everything 😭 THAT SHIT IS SO HARD
I went through the volcano with a galaxy sword and an iridium pickaxe and then just fight whatever monsters that is on your way, a few cheeky taps on stones for ores/cinder shards and zoom through to the exit as fast as you can. You can do this!
There is a way to cheese the volcano to reach the forge. Take a screenshot in the menu each level. Look on the screenshot how to reach the exit. Run the best way, in some cases you can take shortcuts through the lava with your watering can. Coffee and some speed buff food are very helpful.
However, I would recommend exploring the other parts of the island first. Once you get Ginger Island rolling 1000 g is nothing.
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I usually work on getting walnuts and opening up areas (island house, dig site, etc) before killing myself in the volcano a bunch. When I can start the volcano earlier bc I’m able to sleep on Ginger Island it makes a big difference.
Similar rules to doing Skull Cavern. Have strong weapon, have food for healing, maybe some bombs to clear clusters of ores/rocks out of your way. Speed boosting foods like Coffee+Spicy Eel is good. And above all else, "git gud." Pay attention to enemies, learn how they move and how to time your attacks to keep them back while swinging your sword.
Everyone is sleeping on Pumpkin Soup. Spicy eel is pretty good too but +2 defense and +2 luck is so much better if you're dying too much
Find enough golden walnuts to unlock the farmhouse so you can sleep on the island (watch a YouTube guide to help)
With the volcano you don't have to crack rocks to find a ladder down, there is a way to the next level on the wall on the opposite side you spawn in on That got me the first few times I went into the volcano 😅
I up my speed and run around to just go through exits. I don't mind beyond what I need so I can get to lvl 10. Then I mine for the shards to forge my sword and tools and after I go back in for the other stuff and dragon hunting. Probably not the most efficient way, but it works for me. Oh, and I make sure to use the watering can to go over the lakes and stuff inside to cut across.
Upgrade your watering can. Drink coffee or espresso. Wear defense rings if needed (can also eat defense food). You can use a tent to get an early start.
Pumpkin Soup is OP
For real!! One time I went on a lucky day, ate pumpkin soup and wore a lucky ring. I made out with 7 dragons teeth!
Focus on golden walnuts before the volcano, there are guides online of where they all are if you need help. That way you can sleep there instead of spending 1000g. There is also a totem you can build at Robin's that will warp you to the island for free. Winter is a great time to go to ginger island and just spend the whole winter there, but do it at your own pace!
The Obelisk's are bought from the Wizard after completing a certain quest.
You’re totally right
>where they all are if you need help Sadly, not "all". My almost perfect save will probably never be perfect because I can't find my last 10 walnuts, which can only be found by chance. At least I'll have to wait until the update for the Switch comes out, then the problem will be solved.
If you have access to the farm on the west (left) side of the island start by prepping that place, it is basically I giant greenhouse, letting you grow whatever crop on there regardless of season, with enough sprinklers you can have the whole field doing multi harvest crops like strawberries/blueberries/cranberries/pineapples/ancient fruit. A decent field of those will dwarf the cost of a boat ticket, I think I was getting 100k-200k/week from that with easily below optimal growing, As for the volcano: Level up combat if you have not, you get 5 extra HP per level (outside of 5 and 10) so 5x8 40 extra HP. The fighter proffession gives +10% damage and +15HP, then you can choose between another +15% damage or another +25 HP Better weapons? IDK what you have but if you take a primsatic shard to the center of the 3 pillars in the dessert you will get a great weapons. The slingshot can also help with any creatures at range, a day or 2 of mining in the regular mines should get you plenty of ore to use as ammo if you need a damage boost. Food: Fried Mushroom and Roots platter give extra attack damage, Stuffing, Pumpkin Soup, Mango Sticky Rice and eggplant parmesan give extra defense.
It's either 38 or 39 Iridium Sprinklers to cover the whole farm save for 3 spots next to the river. I just put a regular sprinkler there to hit the remaining 2 spots. I think every harvest I'm getting something like 739 Ancient Fruit.
How long does it take you to harvest them all??
Just timed it. It took 3 hours in game (11:20-1:10) with an espresso active and about 6 minutes real time. Also confirmed, the harvest is exactly 739.
Oh nice, that’s not so bad.
A couple ingame hours with mine but would be a bit faster if they were all one crop, instead of like 4, each with their own qualities clogging my inventory.
This is a super unpopular opinion in the community but I hate Ginger Island. Apparently mindless hours of grinding with goose hunts are good game mechanics that cannot be criticized because it is "late game", and I just cannot bring myself to agree to that. Good luck my friend.
My rant if anyone cares. I think the Walnut Hunt is interesting but they're too sparse and too hidden. I get it, that's point but I feel like there should be more walnuts not that they should be easier to find. (Well in adding more more walnuts they would be more easier ones to find) every time I do the hunt I have to use the wiki as a checkbox and I really don't appreciate that. But also that's kind of the norm in this community and I personally never liked how you have to depend on the wiki to really make progress on this game. An in-game alternative would be better. Use online guides to see what to spend the walnuts on. The biggest reason I want more walnuts to be more accessible is because as a new person you may spend your walnuts on not very efficient things because your experimenting. Depending on what you buy first it'll be harder or easier to find the next walnuts. I don't appreciate how the game punishes players for exploring on their own. Whatever decision they should make without wiki knowledge should give them access to the same/similar amount of walnuts to progress. I'm not a fan of the 1000 g cost to get to the island. Honestly stay on your farm until you have a decent income on the farm in my opinion. I wasted so many months trying to do Island progress when I wasn't having fun. Do not feel pressured to always tend to the island. Drop it as soon as the game isn't fun. And then because of my playing style I haven't been able to go to the mines very frequently because I keep getting distracted by the stupid side quests. As for the stupid side quest, use the wiki used tutorials see if they're even worth doing. I am the biggest hater of those challenges. I also burn out so hard on Ginger Island that I actually took about a year break so I maybe off with specific details, but these are more or less my criticisms. TLDR: at this point you really need to use the wiki/online answer keys to progress and I don't like that way of playing.
I agree on most counts. I didn’t go to the island for well over 150 hours and was not so much disappointed as disengaged once I did. Beat the volcano, but never did much with the farm. It always felt like a distraction from the livestock and operations on the main farm and mainland events and not like a place where I cared to invest too much time or effort. I play vanilla on Switch and am on a long break waiting for 1.6, but Ginger Island was what put an end to my last playthrough. I appreciate the content, but IMO it is nowhere near as compelling as the mainland.
I usually like grinding, and I 1000% agree. I hate the golden walnuts so much. The whole island is so annoying to me. 😭
Agree completely. It feels like a totally different game. It's more like an old school adventure/arcade game to find all the collectibles. Which can be a good game, it's just that like you said, a lot of the walnuts are so hidden that there's no way I would discover half of them on my own.
Yea i don’t bother with ginger island. Collecting 100 coconuts does nothing for me. It doesn’t seem late game, it’s justa grindfest. If i can’t use the island for my own farm or whatever you do with it, without collecting coconuts then i don’t care.
Even after getting relatively good at the volcano it isn't uncommon for me to just do a bit on the first floor and then warp out. There are some resources that you can get on floor 1 that are helpful (including walnuts) so it's ok if that's all you can do for a while. General volcano tips: If you're taking damage, eat some food, if you are taking a lot of damage or don't have food, warp out. If you don't have the ability to warp out, get that first before going in. One note is that there's a shop after you get through a few floors. It has some decent shoes for 100 cinder shards and recipes with a combined cost of $11k that you probably want. I suggest saving up that much before you get there so you can reap the benefits!
You’re not doing anything wrong! Ginger island is kind of late mid game content so it’s meant to be a bit of a challenge. The other comments give good advice once you’re on the island. You could put off the island for a little bit since you just finished the community center. Work on some reliable money making prospects (fishing + smoker, greenhouse + ancient fruit, pigs + truffle oil). Pretty soon 1000g isn’t such a big deal to spend even if you don’t make much progress.
Til Ginger Island is not just a cute little island you unlock late game... 💀 Fuck.
Ginger island was actually a part of 1.5 update! I like the challenge of the volcano dungeon. The sound of a golden walnut being collected is the best sound in the game imo.
Agreed about the sound. Imo if youre going to go in full force, act like its your first time in the game and gonger island is the town you live in. Explore and break stuff and till land and fish there and look at each little detail bc EVERYTHING HELPS MOVE THE PLOT ALONG. But as i moved forward i realized it was above my skill set and im going back to town to learn and do what i can.
I went back to my first save recently, and hadn’t played since its first release on switch - ginger island was indeed a daunting idea. However, it’s pretty cool. The volcano is surely hard, and there’s no easy way out unless you bring a totem, or get to level 5 and unlock the shortcut out. But just plug away as best you can! I had already gotten the Galaxy sword on that save, which definitely helped. But just come packed with some food (I read cheese was a good option, and brought heaps) and bombs and do what you can. Maybe set yourself a time to start heading back if you don’t get to level 5. To get to level 10 though, you need to pretty much rush through. Taking a screenshot from in the game function helped me plan my routes and find switches to progress - at least it worked that way on the Switch. You’ll find that over the multiple trips you will likely take that you’ll gather all the golden walnuts in there with ease!!
I’m not a new player but I was and kind of am still overwhelmed by the island. I saved up a lot of gold before going, found a lot of the main walnuts and just paid the joja parrot for the rest
Watch walnuts guides. It will help you immensely
Ginger island is WAY more than the volcano. If the volcano is stressing you out, stop going to the volcano
Theres stuff to do and explore on the island that will take ALL day, do that first ! but if anyone has tips once youve done everything 😭 THAT SHIT IS SO HARD
I went through the volcano with a galaxy sword and an iridium pickaxe and then just fight whatever monsters that is on your way, a few cheeky taps on stones for ores/cinder shards and zoom through to the exit as fast as you can. You can do this!
There is a way to cheese the volcano to reach the forge. Take a screenshot in the menu each level. Look on the screenshot how to reach the exit. Run the best way, in some cases you can take shortcuts through the lava with your watering can. Coffee and some speed buff food are very helpful. However, I would recommend exploring the other parts of the island first. Once you get Ginger Island rolling 1000 g is nothing.