is Rancher viable now?

[Kobi]

i've played the game before
and i was appalled by how underwhelming Rancher--> (shepherd & coop master)
is compared to Tiller -> Artisan.


with the patch v1.1 that made some balancing changes
like boosting rancher buff from 10% to 20%

is tiller -> artisan still the king by a huge margin
or things get a seem of balance somehow?

finally,
I'd like to know your thoughts about the competitiveness of the rancher line.

[Mrrshan68]

Rancher cannot hold a candle to artisan simply due to the sheer scale of crops vs animals.
As long as sprinklers exist crops will always be king just because of how godamn many you can plant and manage.
Personally i do a little of everything and my 200 crops and 30 kegs make about 10x as much money as my coop/barn.
I spend about 75% of my time on the coop/barn too just to give you an idea of how far behind animals are.

Animals just take too much busy work each day and are much too slow to get going.
Even if they made you much more money the slow start is still a killer.
Say 2 guys each have 100,000g to invest one guy crops 1 guy animals.
Crop guy goes to town and buys 100's of potato/blueberry/carnberry seeds then spends 1-2 days digging/planting. Few days later he is a millionare.

Animal guy goes to see robin. Few days later he has 1 coop with 4 baby chickens and a barn under construction.....

and all this is before the insanity that is kegs/jars.

[Chief_Pilos_Lipsknecte]

I chose rancher because prefer cute animal sprites over unmoving, mute crops.

[Magpie]

I'm facing the rancher/tiller decision at this very second. My day can't save until I decide. I'm not that interested in making the most possible money, although I don't want to spend years struggling for cash, either. I have no experience ranching, but it seems as though the workload of rancher wouldn't give me as much time-freedom to fish or mine or talk to villagers, as would crops.

Is it viable to play as both rancher/tiller, even while choosing one or the other in the skill tree?

Is rancher more fun to play than tiller? How much effort does rancher require compared to farming crops? Which is more fun or worthwhile as rancher: coop or barn?

[timewar]

Sure rancher is viable. They aren't going to pack you up and ship you back to Joja-dystopia because you didn't make as much money as you could have otherwise.

But really, animals are a pain. If you don't enjoy doing the animal stuff, the rewards simply aren't worth the effort.

[Magpie]

So do you still keep a few chickens or whatever, in addition to your crops, or is the constant construction of buildings prohibitive especially in the early game?

[timewar]

I grab a few animals so I don't have to rely so much on the travelling merchant for bundle items. After I get what I need they are toast though.

Also I like the idea of a dinosaur farm.

[Magpie]

Dinosaurs caught my attention too! I'd love to see a dino farm. :) Sounds dicey to find the first one though.

Ugh, I don't want a farm dedicated to hundreds of crops, but I guess I need to choose tiller so I can balance the workload eventually.

[I Kinda Fail]

I'd say Rancher is viable, but exclusively, it sucks.

Like you could have 2 barns, 1 full of pigs, 1 full of cows and goats. And have 2 coops, one full of rabbits, one full of chickens and maybe ducks/dinos. But you'd also want to have SOME crops growing for extra cash or food. Even just hops for energy or wheat to make beer, or one quality sprinkler growing some cauliflower or something.

It's just such a huge waste of space otherwise. Most people can't "correctly" juggle animals and grass - if you aren't careful, your animals will eat all the grass.

Normal farming has no such problem. Grow to your heart's content. But more than 32 animals is pushing it imo.

[Magpie]

Wow, I can't imagine tending 32 animals. I'm in my first summer, so I have trouble thinking BIG-ly.

[I Kinda Fail]

Well I think each building holds 8... So that'd be 4 buildings. :P Most people just do like 3-6 chickens and like... 2 cows, 1 goat, 1 sheep and a pig, or something.

[SeemannTheAssamite]

Rancher path will net you much less money unless you really spend time on it.
Tiller path will usually get you more money for less input.
Even with latest buffs to the former and nerfs to the latter.
But they both can get you quite a lot. Just take whatever you enjoy more. :P

[Kobi]

on my first playthrough, i was a rancher -> shepherd. i had 3 barns and 2 coops. everyday, i spend the whole morning tending to my livestock. I didnt care how much time i needed to finish my routine.

I was under the impression that,
more effort means more money.
BOY WAS I WRONG!

i got tired ranching and rolled a new char,
went jar and keg tiller -> artisan, just like everybody else.
the thing feels broken -(or maybe it's just me, coz i have a bias from my 1st playthrough)

the fact is;

when people pick tiller -> artisan the reason is obvious.
then when you go rancher the reason suddenly becomes "for fun" & "just because i like it".

feels like, if you dont go to the "INTENDED" path on the farming tree, you wont get rewarded enough for your effort. seems like to get adequate rewards you have to fit in some mold first.

"you like milking your cow so much? pick artisan and turn that milk into cheese *kaching*"

feels like the other skill choices other than artisan are there just to be there, you know.
they're there just be a "choice".

look at other trees, like foraging.
forester -> lumberjack feels like its own compared to gatherer -> botanist.
so when you pick which way to go, it feels like YOU made the choice
and not that the game made you choose.


i get that the game is casual and is meant for relaxation.
but the thing is, CHOOSING ANIMALS gimps you so much on its opportunity cost.
it ruins immersion, and i just cant relax while that thought is at the back of my head.

i hope DEVs would take notice

[SeemannTheAssamite]

Can't really agree with you on this, Kobi.

1. Although Tiller/Artisan is, indeed, the most profitable build, it's by no means an "intended" one, unless you make it your goal to make as much money as possible.
Remember that the game is extremely open ended and it's the player who sets up the goal (and pretty much the only reward is achieving it...) for themself.
As an example my last playthrough's goal was to complete the community center within year 1 (and as an extra challenge or gimp, as you'd call it, I didn't build a coop or a barn). I didn't care what my skill builds were, just picked whatevs, didn't even get to level 10 in any skill. Didn't even care about the money too much, just enough to get what I had to.

2. I get that some of the new end game money dumps are really expensive (since I assume that is what you're talking about with being adequatly rewarded) and getting there with rancher might take longer, but it's not impossible. Also - Nothing is stopping you from farming as a rancher. Or making the same wine factory as a Tiller/Artisan.
Sure, you'll get less money, but with the same setup it's still comparable, especially when you add the money from animal products.

3. Foraging - No, lumberjacking, even with selling all hardwood and replanting trees all the time won't earn nearly as much money as a farm of wild seeds on steroids which have guaranteed iridium quality with a chance of double harvest. You can even combo it with Artisan (yes, it's *really* good at making money, even as a side skill) and make wine out of fruit for even more value.

4. Immersion. I don't think I quite got that. You mean the fact that one way is less efficient and than another ruined your immersion? Does every skill build, or skill, has to be equally profitable? That's the thing I disagree with you on the strongest, I think. It's a single player, casual, open ended game, not a competitive one. It's doesn't need to be balanced in every aspect. Otherwise you could argue that every skill and every build has to earn very similar amount of money over the same period of time.

[Sue]

But to please Grandpa and get his reward we have to meet targets!

No matter what, I find I put myself under pressure to meet Grandpa's targets cos' that's how my brain is wired - lol

On the subject of Ranching, I always have the bare minimum for bundles. I think they have a valid place in the game, especially with the new vats where you can age cheese, but they are labour intensive. There's also the question of providing enough grain to sustain a large volume of animals through a winter. Playing as a Rancher could be considered a difficult choice due to these factors

Perhaps an automatic miking machine and egg collecter are needed so we can just go in, collect the milk/eggs and pat our animals every other day or so.

[Cohnway]

Originally posted by Sue:

But to please Grandpa and get his reward we have to meet targets!

No matter what, I find I put myself under pressure to meet Grandpa's targets cos' that's how my brain is wired - lol

On the subject of Ranching, I always have the bare minimum for bundles. I think they have a valid place in the game, especially with the new vats where you can age cheese, but they are labour intensive. There's also the question of providing enough grain to sustain a large volume of animals through a winter. Playing as a Rancher could be considered a difficult choice due to these factors

Perhaps an automatic miking machine and egg collecter are needed so we can just go in, collect the milk/eggs and pat our animals every other day or so.

An automatic pet-petter would be better.