Right before winter break, my best friend introduced me to Singularity Six’s “Palia”. This free MMO, still in beta, has become the game that I recommend to students looking for a bit of online community. 

This game is reminiscent of “Stardew Valley”  with added elements of cooperative gameplay, a larger map and more activities to do. While having an in-game day and night system, “Palia” does not implement a mandatory sleep schedule and has few rewards that are time-limited. 

While the game does a great job of helping players acclimate to the game environment, the possibilities are so endless that it helps to have a guide. Let us take a look at the mechanics of the game so you can call a friend, hop on your console of choice and get started. 

Villagers

There are 27 NPCs (24 available before completing main quests) available to chat with in the game. Talking to them each game day and finding gifts they will like is key to unlocking new items and progressing the main story. 

You can find each NPC in various parts of the map. Many of them specialize in an activity and offer shops that sell necessary items and tool upgrades. 

Events

Singularity Six is extremely active with this game and sends out a new patch every month. Every patch brings a new bulletin board (found in Killima Village) where players can input items for limited-time rewards. Alongside this, the “Maji Market” opens up for a week every month, where players can earn tickets from cooperative games that are accessible from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. in-game time. 

However, while shops are open throughout this time, the games do not start until 10 p.m. “Pop- A-Chapaa,” where players use arrows to pop balloons, goes from 10- 11. Then, from 12:10 a.m. to 2:10 a.m. “Chapaa Chase” begins. This game is pretty chaotic, as players must catch Chapaa’s 

and bring them back to their pen. 

It is also important to note that there are daily in-game events that happen at 12 a.m. and p.m. Let us start with the former. At 12 a.m. in Bahari Bay, an abundance of flow trees will spawn at a few possible locations on the map. When located, players will shout them out in chat and wait until 3 a.m. to chop them down. Everyone waits until this time because these trees require more than one player to chop them, and so every player can get wood from every tree.

For the latter, a “bloom” spawns at certain locations in Killima Village every in-game day at noon. This event is an array of waterable plants that take a while to gather, due to weeds needing to be picked off and respawning. Players can gain flowers, forageables, recipes, the Li’l Sprout plushie and pod prize bags from this event. Pods are cute plant-like collectibles that can be placed on your plot. All pods and plushies are tradeable at Zeki’s Underground. 

Zeki’s Underground is available from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. every in-game day. Once unlocked, players can fish, play the mini-game “Hotpot” for prize wheel coins and buy exclusive furniture. 

Cosmetics

The only paid portion of this game surrounds outfits, pets, tool skins and plot backgrounds. Every cosmetic that has been released is always available and the developers do a great job of adding new content every patch. 

Mining

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how each activity works and what you can get, it is important to understand the RNG system of the game. Attainable items are available at different points of the day and have a certain percentage of showing up. If you are looking for a specific item, I recommend checking out the “Palia” Wiki for locations and tips. Once you level up enough, you can purchase items that help track rare flora and fauna, helping with this “grindy” aspect of the game.

Every ore is available after upgrading the pickaxe from makeshift to standard, fine and exquisite. This is the same for all tools. Upgrades are acquired by using tools and gathering items for the craft table. Collecting ore is a handy way to make money and complete quests, and some may even yield “plushies”. These are adorable decorative items you can put on your plot with a very low drop rate. Do not get discouraged, though, as there are so many plushies to obtain that you are bound to gather quite a few. 

You can find Copper and Silver in Killima Village, Iron and Gold in Bahari Bay and Pallium and Platinum in Elderwood. 

Hunting

There are various animals in the game that drop meat and sellable items (and plushies!!). Upgrading your bow helps with catching these animals faster and making specialized ammo. You can find Sernuk and Chapaa’s in Killima Village and Bahari Bay, Muujin in Bahari Bay and Elderwood and Ogopuu’s and Shmole’s in Elderwood. 

Bug Catching

With a belt and smoke bombs as ammo, players can catch any bug that pops up on the map. These are great items to sell, showcase on your plot, find for quests and grind for plushies and flowers. There are way too many to list but specific bug spawn times are easily found on the aforementioned “Palia” Wiki. 

Fishing

At this point, what good game does not include a fishing mechanic? I will say, catching fish takes quite a bit of getting used to and in my opinion, is the most difficult mechanic of the game. You can ease this difficulty by crafting fishing buffs and lures, as well as upgrading your rod and bait. Fishing yields great money value, alongside rare fish to show off on your plot, plushies and recipe requirements. Like bug catching, there are too many fish to list, so make sure to check out the Wiki! 

Gardening

Ah, the joys of passive income. Growing crops on your plot is a great way to make money and gather materials while you are chasing after Sernuk’s in Bahari. Crops do not die, but rather stop growing if you do not water them by 6 a.m. in-game time. There are various fruits and veggies to grow, with many that are necessary for cooking certain recipes that sell for great money. You can upgrade your watering can and hoe to water and till the soil faster. Most seeds are available for purchase at the General Store in Killima Village. 

Foraging

This skill is both chopping down trees for lumber and picking up gatherable items across the map. Wood is an important item for crafting and upgrading, with different trees being found across the map. Trees may also drop seeds, which allow you to grow them on your plot. You can find Sapwood in Killima Village, Heartwood and Flow-infused wood in Bahari Bay and Ancient wood in Elderwood. 

Gatherables spawn at different times of day, with many being necessary items for cooking and crafting. There are also flower seeds that can be gathered to grow on your plot. 

Cooking

This is a really fun one. Players can cook by themselves or with others to make dishes that restore focus points, which is the energy bar that helps you gain XP. Once crafting a standard oven, prep station, mixing station and standard stove, you can complete any recipe to your heart’s content. Every recipe is a timed mini game, and starred (perfect) food items can be placed as decor items on your plot. Recipes can be found from Reth’s shop, quests, or by exploring the map. 

Ranching

Accessed from the player’s home plot, an introductory quest unlocks a barn bell that allows you to travel to your farm. After upgrading your farming ability by petting and feeding animals you receive, players can grow their animal capacity and hold up to 30 at a time. There are currently 7 different animals players can obtain that produce items. These are the Peki (eggs), Trufflet (mushrooms), Ormuu (milk), Bumbles (honey), Goobis (forageables), Boovars (fish) and Ferris (fruit). 

Not only does ranching yield valuable resources, but the animals have a chance to be born with, or gain, traits that either change how they produce items or the way they look. I have a prized Bumble named “Cactus” with electric green fuzz and stripes along its back. All animals can be bred with the hope of keeping or getting new traits. However, these animals do age and become venerable, meaning they no longer produce items or can be bred. You can donate these animals for treat packs that give current animals random traits or abilities. 

Furniture Making

Everyone’s favorite part of the game: how cool can I make my plot look? There are some seriously insane plots out there, which are available to walk through for inspiration from the “tour board” at the front of your plot. 

You can craft anything from a fork to an archway at the worktable. There are different lines of furniture that you can unlock at the “Furniture Shop” in Killima Village. Once you have crafted one item, it will allow you to pick which one you would like to craft next. This goes on until you complete the furniture line or run out of materials. Players can also purchase home line blueprints from City Hall in Killima Village, as well as rooms, windows, patios, etc. 

Conclusion

If I covered everything possible in this game, I am pretty sure this article would be 10 pages. While this basic guide is still fresh in your mind, grab a friend, download this amazing free game and take a break before your next lecture.