Grimshire Guide for Beginners: How to Get Your Farm Ready in Week 1

Is Grimshire a Stardew Valley game? Yes and no. The game has downgraded the difficulty of many mechanisms, such as fishing, tracking NPCs, mining, etc. Yet, Grimshire also adds a major story plot to the game, the plague. As the only farmer in the town, the town animals commit the player to provide for both the herbivores and carnivores living in the town. Meeting the quote becomes the main challenge at the early stage of the game. Here are some tips on how to get resources and meet the quota as a beginner!

First Things First: Where to Find All the Tools

Grimshire guide in the game does not give players clear clues on which thing should be taken as a priority. And, the first thing you might notice is that you do not have most of the tools to start farming yet. The game does not limit players from walking around and exploring areas, etc., but Fin, the trader, will come back to the town, and the government will set the food submission quota after week 1. With all things considered, it’d be best to get your hands on farming as soon as possible.

That’s why the first thing you should do is to introduce yourself to all the residents in town. Every resident fills you in with more info, and most importantly, they give you gifts, which are tools and furniture indispensable for farming and other activities.

The map shows the location of every shop and animal in town, even before you met them. You can open the map to check which animal you haven’t met yet, and their live location on the map. A shortcut, by the way, is to visit the tavern after 5 P.M. Most of the townsfolk will be there (which is very similar to Stardew Valley).

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Grimshire Guide on How to Provide for Herbivores

The tricky part of Grimshire is that, as the only farmer in town, you need to provide for both herbivores and carnivores. In this case, players can not just focus on farming. Instead, players need to do farming, foraging, fishing, and raising critters at the same time, to keep donating to the village stock. The fun part is that other villagers will donate and distribute the food as well, so the pressure is not entirely on players alone… Yet, players’ donations still contribute to the majority of the stock.

Players can donate fruit, mushrooms, vegetables, flowers, and herbs for herbivores (basically anything that is not meat). These foods can be obtained from any source. Players can:

1. Work on farming to produce food.
2. Forage for wild flowers, herbs, fruit, vegetables, etc.
3. Buy from the general store or other food stores.

The difficulty lies in how to balance the selling for coins and the food donation. Here are some hacks to help you save money and gather more resources at the beginning:

1. Walk around the map to forage herbivore food. When there are harvestables, wait one more day to harvest some seeds as well, so that you don’t need to buy seeds from the general store. (Snow mountains yield a large amount of radish and radish seeds in Spring, for example.)
2. Instead of selling food for coins, sell planks, quartz, or things you cannot donate as food. Especially planks and wood. Players can easily gather them and sell them in batches.

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Grimshire Guide on How to Provide for Carnivores

It’s a bit difficult to provide critters’ meat for carnivores in week 1. That’s why players can opt for fish instead. Fishing is easy in Grimshire, and it does not require players to play mini-games.

1. Players first need to find the shadows of fish in any water.
2. Then, use the fishpole to aim at the direction of the shadow.
3. Wiggle the rod to get the fish’s attention (shown exclamation marks).
4. Reel in once the fish bites the hook.

Compared to Stardew Valley, in Grimshire, you can tell where there is fish, the size, and the type of fish by the shadow. Players simply need to wiggle the rod and reel in to catch the fish. It is totally possible to fish for 10 fish a day and more, which is sufficient to meet the quota at the early stage of the game.

Another reason for fishing instead of raising critters is that you can focus on setting up the farming area. Raising critters takes extra time and energy to find one, attract one with the right bait, and build up the pen. There are also hay and other tools players need to prepare. It’d be better to handle all these later.

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Prioritize These Skills as a Beginner

Several skills can make your begin and progress in Grimshire easier in the first week:

1. Cardio: This skill increases stamina by 20%. Higher stamina allows you to do more farming, fishing, and mining.
2. Careful Fisher: Fish are less likely to be startled by wiggling the rod too much. Players can catch fish more easily and quickly with this skill.
3. Courier: The walking speed increases by 20%, allowing players to do more errands, foraging, and others. A very good skill, generally speaking.

Players can opt for tier 1 skills first because the skills in tier 1 generally satisfy the needs of survival in the first week. It also takes some time to level up and gain skill points. Therefore, spending three skill points on one tier 3 skill is not entirely helpful.

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Is Grimshire Worth Playing

Grimshire guide in the game gives players a clear introduction and explanation on how to complete each activity. On the other hand, it might still be necessary to go through some beginner’s guides to get a general understanding of the mechanism of the game.

All in all, the game is relatively easy and allows you to immerse yourself in farming from the first day. The farming, fishing, and mining are straightforward. There is no mini-game for fishing, making it all the more stress-free. No monsters shock you in the mine or anywhere. However, the game puts pressure on providing and starvation. There is only one sword on your head: the ration. If the ration is provided, all is good.

If you prefer a dark story setting but a warm community setup, Grimshire can be your game. The game creates interaction with NPCs not just through conversations and gifting, but also community efforts in donating to the ration and any community projects, like a herb garden. The game is still in early access as of now, but it’s definitely worth 30 hours of playing.