Used to prepare soil for planting · Range 1 tile
Free pickup — Pickup in Farm (Farm)
Upgrade: Sturdy Gardening Hoe — Workshop Anvil, from a Basic Gardening Hoe, using Copper Bar and Iron Bar.
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Welcome to Elderfield Beginner Guide: What to Do First
This page covers your first session: what to clear, which tools you already have, and what to plant. Once farming is running, the progression guide takes over.
Quick Answer
First things to do
1.Get your farm usable
2.Pick up your starter tools
3.Talk to Farmer Hans
4.Don’t ignore Molly
5.Open fishing when convenient
6.Don’t worry about the Ranch before Day 5
None of this needs every side quest finished first.
Where are you now?
Pick the closest match and we’ll point you to the next useful step.
01
Your First 10 Minutes
Four steps, in order. Everything here uses what is already on your farm.
1Look around before spending anything
Your hoe and watering can are pickups on the farm rather than purchases, and the same is true for the axe in the Apartment and the fishing rod at the Lakefront. Check what you are already carrying before you spend gold — see the Item Finder if you are unsure where something comes from.
2Clear a small patch, not the whole farm
Ghost Tentacles block your crop plots, and Cleansing Balm is what clears them: interact with a Ghost Tentacle while carrying balm. Clear only enough ground for the crop you are about to plant and keep the rest.
3Get the tools you need for the first crop
You need something to prepare soil and something to water it. Basic Gardening Hoe and Basic Watering Can are both on the farm already.
4Start The Farmer’s Path
Talk to Farmer Hans in the Farmhouse, then buy your first Wheat Seed. Everything after this is a system you chose to open, not a chore list.
02
Get Your First Tools
These are the tools your first farming objective needs. Sources and upgrades below come straight from the item data.
Used to water crops · Range 1 tile · Capacity 16
Free pickup — Pickup in Farm (Farm)
Upgrade: Sturdy Watering Can — Workshop Anvil, from a Basic Watering Can, using Copper Bar and Iron Bar.
Used for smashing things up · Mining Lv 2
Bought — Mining Shop (Mall Mine)
Reach the Mall Mine and talk to the vendor.
Upgrade: Sturdy Pickaxe — Workshop Anvil, using Copper Bar and Iron Bar.
Used for chopping things · Woodcutting Lv 2
Free pickup — Pickup in Apartment (Apartment)
Upgrade: Sturdy Axe — Workshop Anvil, using Copper Bar and Iron Bar.
An old, weathered fishing rod · Fishing Lv 1
Free pickup — Pickup in Lakefront (Lakefront)
Upgrade: Sturdy Fishing Rod — Workshop Anvil, from a Old Fishing Rod, using Copper Bar and Iron Bar.
03
What Should You Plant First?
Plant Wheat. It is what your first farming objective asks for, so it is the only crop you need to think about right now.
- Why
- Required for The Farmer's Path
- Seed source
- Wheat Seed — Farming Shop (Farmhouse)
- Seed cost
- 5 gold
- Grow time
- 4 days
- Grown in
- Farm crop plots
- Harvest
- 1 Wheat
Crop timing lives on the seed itself — Wheat Seed states 4 days. Check the seed’s item page rather than guessing how many nights are left.
04
What Should You Spend Money On First?
A beginner budget: one purchase, plenty of things you can skip, and a short list you should not sell.
Buy early
- Wheat Seed — 5 gold, needed for your first objective.
Don’t rush to buy
- Gardening Hoe, Watering Can, Axe and Fishing Rod — these are found in the world, not bought.
- Anything a quest further along will hand you directly.
Don’t sell yet
- Wheat — Finish The Farmer's Path
- Copper Ore — Help Molly and open the Workshop
- Wheat Seed — Making Wheat
05
Your First Major Progression Goal: Farming
This is the first real milestone. Everything here is a single quest with a short list of requirements.
Head to the Farmhouse and talk to Farmer Hans. His quest, The Farmer’s Path, asks you to grow and harvest one Wheat and bring it back.
06
Open the Workshop Early
Farming and the Workshop are parallel routes. You can finish Helping Molly while The Farmer’s Path is still running.
Find Molly on the Farm Path and hand over Copper Ore. The hand-in is the ore, not a Copper Bar, so check your inventory before walking over.
Before you go
- Bring Copper Ore — confirmed as the required hand-in.
- No other preparation is needed. Community claims about extra prerequisites are not backed by the item data, so this guide does not repeat them.
What the Workshop actually unlocks
Workshop
The crafting station itself, opened by Helping Molly.
Forge Shop
Where tool and bar recipes become available to you.
Furnace progression
Bars such as Copper Bar feed your tool upgrades and later recipes.
07
Start Fishing When You Want It
Fishing is repeatable income rather than a gate. Opening it does not commit you to finishing the fish list.
Head to the Lakefront and talk to Fisherman Herb. Completing Casting Your Line opens Lakefront fishing.
Do I need to finish the fishing quest right away?
No. Nothing in the farming or Workshop route requires a completed fishing objective, so unlock it and come back when a quest or recipe asks for a specific catch.
Worth postponing
- Quality Fishing Rod — needs later content, so it is not an early-game target.
- Rare and seasonal catches, and completion objectives.
08
Day 5: Opening the Ranch
The Ranch is a day gate. Once you reach Day 5, use the Ranch gate from the Farm area — there is no long farming chain in front of it, and you do not need to finish The Skull Chalice first.
Day 1
Get the farm usable and open the Workshop route with Molly.
Day 2–4
Fishing, side quests and gathering while your crops grow.
Day 5
The Ranch gate becomes available from the Farm area.
Why isn’t the Ranch open?
Before Day 5: normal. Keep playing.
Day 5 or later and still closed: the confirmed requirement is the day itself, so check that your save has actually rolled over to Day 5 before assuming a missed quest.
What opens with it
- Ranch access, Animal Shop and Building Shop
- Tentacow, Black Goat and Giant Crow
- Animal products — see the Ranch guide
What Can You Safely Ignore at the Start?
Three tiers. Only the first one is progression-critical.
Not every quest you pick up needs finishing now. If you are choosing between a side quest and a system unlock, the unlock is the better first move.
Do early
These open farming, the Workshop and fishing.
Do when convenient
Confirmed side quests with no system unlock attached.
Save for later
- Rare and seasonal catches
- Late-tier gear such as Quality Fishing Rod
- Relationship and collection goals
Some content in the current build has no normal completion route yet. This guide only recommends quests the quest data lists as reachable, which is why a few community-listed early quests are deliberately absent here. Browse the full quest list for their current status.
Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
Each of these comes from how the systems actually connect, not from general advice.
Selling Copper Ore
Copper Ore is what Helping Molly asks for. Selling it sends you back to the mines for a second trip.
Check the details →Buying tools you already have nearby
Your Gardening Hoe, Watering Can, Axe and Fishing Rod are found in the world rather than bought, so early gold is better saved.
Check the details →Waiting for one system before starting another
Farming and the Workshop do not depend on each other. Helping Molly can be finished while The Farmer’s Path is still running.
Check the details →Assuming a locked Ranch means you missed something
The Ranch is gated by the day, not by a quest you might have skipped. A closed Ranch early on is expected.
Check the details →Chasing the best fishing gear immediately
Quality Fishing Rod depends on later content, so an early grind for it does not pay off yet.
Check the details →Expecting wheat overnight
Wheat Seed carries its own timer (4 days), so plan around the number of days rather than checking the plot repeatedly.
Check the details →OptionalSpoilers
Optional: Explore the Stranger Side of Elderfield
There is a hidden route into the Catacombs. It begins with By the Gods, given by Pete in the Laundry Room.
The quest asks you to investigate two shrines — one in the Mall and one in the Sewers — before returning to Pete. Completing it reveals the route into the Catacombs.
This is optional content. You can finish farming, the Workshop and the Ranch without it.
Show Me How to Find the Catacombs →First-Week Checklist
| Priority | Do this | What it opens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clear a patch and pick up your tools | Planting |
| 2 | Start The Farmer’s Path with Farmer Hans | Farming |
| 3 | Harvest Wheat and return to Hans | Recipe Shop + Grinder |
| 4 | Help Molly | Workshop + Forge Shop |
| 5 | Complete Casting Your Line | Lakefront fishing |
| 6 | Reach Day 5 | Ranch |
| Optional | Complete By the Gods | Catacombs |
Beginner FAQ
What should I do first in Welcome to Elderfield?
Get your farm usable and talk to Farmer Hans to start The Farmer’s Path. Opening a system teaches you the loop and unlocks more than clearing side quests does.
The Farmer’s Path guide →What should I plant first?
Wheat. It is what The Farmer’s Path asks for, and Wheat Seed is 5 gold from the Farming Shop, taking 4 days to grow.
Wheat details →How do I start farming?
Talk to Farmer Hans in the Farmhouse. He gives the first crop objective and opens the farming progression.
Farmer Hans →How do I unlock the Workshop?
Complete Helping Molly. You bring Copper Ore to Molly on the Farm Path, and finishing it opens the Workshop and Forge Shop.
Helping Molly guide →When does the Ranch unlock?
The Ranch is a day gate, not a quest reward: Once you reach Day 5, use the Ranch gate from the Farm area. A locked Ranch before then is normal.
Ranch unlock guide →How do I start fishing?
Talk to Fisherman Herb at the Lakefront and complete Casting Your Line. You do not need to catch every fish before doing anything else.
Casting Your Line guide →Do I need to finish every quest?
No. The quest data currently lists 9 quests as normally available, and the farming, Workshop and fishing routes do not require clearing the side quests first.
All quests →What items should I keep early?
Wheat, Copper Ore and Wheat Seed all feed early progression. Selling them means farming or mining them again later.
Item finder →What Should I Do Next?
I know the basics — what should I do next?
Tell the Progression Assistant what you have already completed.
Find My Next Step →I’m missing something
Find the first quest, item or unlock blocking your route.
Check What I’m Missing →I need an item
Search the easiest source and the unlock it needs.
Find an Item →Show me the whole route
See how farming, Workshop, Ranch, fishing and later systems connect.
View Full Progression →