Big Picture Strategy
When it comes to determining your strategy with Farmville, think of what you want to accomplish. Do you want all the ribbons? Mastery of all the crops? Or do you want to get to level 70 as fast as you can? You don’t have to write it down but you should have a general idea of how to get what you want out of Farmville and the best way for doing that.
Level
Leveling is about accumulating xp and there’s thankfully a variety of ways you can do that. Use a combination of techniques in order to get the best results. Aside from the obvious (planting and harvesting crops), here are a couple more ways to maximize your xp potential:
- Visit at least 20 neighbors everyday to help on their farms and fertilize their crops.
- Plant and harvest crops which give higher levels of xp. For example, pineapple will give you 2 xp to Harvest whereas raspberries will give you 0 xp.
- The hay bale method
- The soybean method
- Buy a building/decoration/vehicle which gives xp. Compare price vs. amount of xp given to figure out where you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Ribbons represent a variety of accomplishments. Many can be attained through regular gameplay and a bit of patience. Others you may have to change your habits in order to get all the way from the yellow ribbon to the blue.
For example, the “Animal Shelter” ribbon is awarded when you adopt a specific number of lost animals. You may have to spend some time watching the Live Feed in order to collect the 15 animals necessary for the blue ribbon.
The “Architect” ribbon is a result of owning buildings. You’ll have to fork out some of your hard-earned coins for buildings in order to own the 30 buildings needed for the blue ribbon.
Don’t bother spending coins just to earn the “A Pretty Penny” accomplishment—you’ll eventually get there soon enough without buying junk just for the sake of spending coins. Check on your ribbons from time to time to see which ones you’re close to getting. You can do this by clicking on the blue ribbon button on the lower right of your screen.
Mastery
Mastering a crop requires that you successfully harvest it many, many times. Each crop has a different requirement for attaining each star of mastery.
For example, wheat is easier to master than aloe vera. You only have to harvest 200 squares of wheat for the first star of mastery as opposed to 1000 for aloe vera.
Focus on the crop you want to master and plant it as often as you possibly can. Though it may feel like it’s taking forever, you will eventually win that third star and all the bragging rights that go with it. Keep an eye on your progress by going to the Market and viewing how many stars you have filled under a certain crop. The progress bar will fill up a little with each square you harvest.
