Cindersap Hermit Challenge

[Snowy Sprout]

I'm gonna see how far I can progress in one year as a hermit who has access to Cindersap and other areas not in town, but not Pelican Town or the Mountains.
The exception is one day per season (your choice) you get free to go anywhere.
The goal is to bring as many people to full hearts as possible, without ever going into town.

I'm gonna do a written let's play about it here. I'm hoping someone else might try the challenge and join me writing about your progress. The challenge would be so much more interesting with someone to compare with!

[Snowy Sprout]

End of Week 1

Meadowland farm doesn't start with parsnip seeds, so the only immediate source of crops will be mixed seeds and the Travelling Cart. However, in this first week I tried not to cut any weeds because I want them to reproduce, so I can farm them for mixed seeds all year long. This challenge is all about the long game, not the quick strategies that work normally.

Part of my challenge is to get max hearts with as many people as I can, so I'm making sure to greet everyone in the Forest as often as I can. That includes Marnie, Jas, Shane, Leah, Lewis, Haley, and Willy for spring. I can't see the Wizard until I unlock the quest by going to the CC.

For more excitement I think I'll leave the farm once per season. Picking the right day to go, to give me the most benefits, is a complicated choice. I probably don't want to go to most festivals, because the shops will be closed. Birthdays are important, so I might try to go on someone's birthday that I really hope to befriend. I also need to be sure not to go on a day any shop is closed normally, so Thurs, Fri, and Sun are all good days.

Chickens grow up fast, so I've been getting eggs since day 3. I want to buy two more chicks, but I spent all my money on an octopus at the travelling cart this week, and a couple speed-gro. Octopus is a loved gift for Willy, so if we reproduce it in a fish pond I'll have a great gift to give him all year.

This season I think I'll choose Sunday 7, Mayor Lewis' Birthday. I'll give him the best gift I can, and buy as much seeds as possible. I'm not sure yet whether green beans or parsnips would be the best choice. I'll have to do the math. But I'm betting green beans, since they regrow and it's still pretty early in the season.

Of course, the 30 Spring Seeds from the CC will give me another great crop to plant and stay busy with. I'll get at least two or three harvests out of that, which will give me plenty of gifts to give and money to make from packets or tea saplings. Actually, tea saplings would be better to straight-up plant, since they produce forever and pickled tea leaves will get me over 3000g per year from one plant. I'm not sure how to get to two hearts with Caroline with just one day out per season, but I'm gonna try my best and see what happens.

My usual chores every day this week include clearing sticks from my farm, and scything green grass to make space for the blue grass to grow, but trying to leave the rocks and weeds to reproduce both on farm and in the Forest. Also I'm cutting down all the trees in the Forest, and placing torches behind the bushes to light things up. I pet my chickens daily, greet everyone, and harvest Green Onions and other forage. It's keeping me busy every day right up to the end of my stamina or till the end of the day, which is surprising for a farm with "so little" to do.

[Snowy Sprout]

Sunday 7 Spring - first day out

Feeling super proud that I got so much done today! Everything on my list, in fact.
* Fed chickens and collected spring onions
* Got CC cut scene with Lewis, and read plaque
* Turned in an artifact to the Museum
* Got fishing rod
* Gifted Lewis and Caroline each a gold daffodil
* Bought 53 green bean starters
* Found some carrot seeds
* Opened mines and got to level 10, collecting 48 copper ore and a few coal

I'm kind of disappointed that even after gifts given, I still haven't got a single friendship heart with anyone yet. Slow going.
Still, it was a good day! I like this going out once a season. It gives me more to work with than the original Hermit Challenge, and it's more interesting to have so much to balance and to strive for!


Monday 9

Planted all the seeds, including 10 wild seeds. I'm so silly, I forgot I cannot turn in the wild forage until after I get the Wizard's letter, so I just planted what I could. Watered all seeds, then scythed green grass carefully away from blue grass and any weeds I could find, to give them space to grow. I'm still not getting mixed seeds from any of the weeds I scythe though, and I'm beginning to think this game is glitched that way. Makes me extra glad that I do have access to store bought seeds in this challenge.

Got to Fishing 1. Also have Farming 1, Mining 1, and Forage 3



Tuesday 10

Got a new cat today, named Darling.
After normal daily chores of watering crops and tending chickens, planted a tree farm, just south of the farmhouse and regular crops, where it will be easy to check daily for acorns, tappers, or mushroom logs (someday).
Greeted Wizard, who will now be part of my daily greeting routines. Got the wild cut scene for Junimo Language. It'll come in handy in Summer.
Collected spring onions, and realized Leah likes forage, so she likes spring onions. She gets my gold ones from now on.
Fished for the rest of the day.

Made it to level 2 Fishing.

[Snowy Sprout]

wed, thurs

Reached fishing 3.
Selling all the fish and eggs I have, hoping to buy a chair from the travelling saleslady, maybe. It's a longshot, but if I get one I can add the Secret Woods to my daily routines.

Finally reached one heart with Leah, after gifting two starred spring onions! I guess I'll probably end up marrying her. She's a good character. Even though I don't normally try to marry in this game, this time it seems inevitable.

[Snowy Sprout]

Tues. 16

I totally forgot salmonberry season was coming! I was able to gather 42 of them yesterday, and of course I'll gather them every day I can. That energy will help me finish cutting down all the trees in the forest.

I also forgot about checking the Bus Stop, and the Backwoods road. It clean flew out of my mind as I got into the habit of greeting people in the Forest and then heading straight to fishing. I don't want to lose the chance of forageables there any more, so I'll have to be more careful.

I reached Fishing level 5 last night, so I sold all the fish I had and got about $4000. First thing I'll buy is two chickens, and the rest will be to buy a chair the next time Lorraine sells one. (I've always thought of the Travelling Sales Lady as being named Lorraine.)

Also, my crop of wild forage seeds finally grew up, so I harvested ten and replanted twenty. Those and the 53 green beans are keeping me very busy every morning. I sure look forward to getting sprinklers to help with that job. I even plan to get an axe upgrade someday, but it will take good planning. IDK how I would survive a whole season without my axe. But it will be great to be able to destroy hardwood stumps. Getting hardwood is an unusual bonus in a Hermit challenge!

[Snowy Sprout]

Thurs. 18 Spring

Finally green beans are ready for harvest! it's the middle of the month and it feels like I've been working forever watering these things with no result. I hope to get four harvests in before the season ends.

I didn't water perfectly though. A whole row got missed somehow, so it will be ready to harvest tomorrow. Guess I got distracted or forgot my place when refilling the watering can. I just hope I'll still get four harvests from those plants, and not lose a whole harvest for just one missed day.

Finishing up salmonberry season now with a total of 153 berries. Those will certainly be helpful for energy needs, and if any are left over they could become jam. They could even be gifts, but only Leah really likes them. The others would feel neutral about them. I'm not sure how much benefit neutral gifts give.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm fishing in the wrong spot. Right under Leah's house is good for seeing when folks come and go, so I don't fail to greet any visitors to the forest. But there's a waterfall by the hat mouse where Goby live, and maybe it would be more lucrative to fish there. IDK, maybe I should do a test, fishing all day long there, then comparing that to a day's profit in my usual spot.

[Snowy Sprout]

10th of Summer

Just hit Farming level 6! Now I could make sprinklers, if I had the resources. I'll buy them next time I'm out.

I had this month's Day Out a few days ago. Got the fully upgraded backpack, filled the museum with plenty of loot (got melon and starfruit seeds), and found coral and sea urchin on the beach so I could make a bait maker. Also got iridium rod, and summer seeds. I ran through most of my money so I got just a few of each of the regrowing crops, and a whole lot of wheat. Ordered a silo from Robin, and got the farmhouse and sell bin moved to where I like them.

I decided to give up on the CC, because I just can't do it. I'm a Joja fan through and through. So I paid my membership fee, and next time I go into town I hope I can order the greenhouse.

This month I look forward to stockpiling hay, and becoming much more focused in my fishing. I'll get really intense about the Trout Derby and win lots of prizes. I'm hoping maybe I can earn 2 Quality Sprinklers each day of the Derby. It's a high goal, but with this good rod and some good bait I think it's possible.

I'm only at fishing level 8 so far though. IDK why, given that I've hit level 10 before the end of Spring in the past. I can only guess it's because I'm not able to fish at the Mountain Lake, and these river fish must be lower xp. Also I've had to give up a few days of fishing in order to chop wood. I chopped all the trees in Cindersap Forest so I could stock up, because I also turned in my axe to be upgraded to copper, so i'll be without an axe for the rest of this season.

We had a green rain already, and that was fun. I got to stock up on fiber weeds, moss, and mixed seeds. Other than that it has not rained this season. When it does rain I'll fish in the Secret Woods to get catfish. I finally got in because I found a chair at the Travelling Cart. I have a club that I found in the Mines, so I get to raise my Combat skill now too.