The Foundations of Your Farm

Agriculture in Hytale is more than just a side activity; it is the foundation of your resource independence. By mastering the mechanics of farming, animal husbandry, and resource management, you will transform your gameplay experience from simple survival to a strategy of sustainable prosperity. Plant, harvest, trade, and repeat: each cycle strengthens your position and brings you closer to mastering Orbis.

Life Essence: The Fuel of Farming

Life Essence is the master resource for all agricultural progression in Hytale. It is indispensable for upgrading your Farmer’s Bench, unlocking new seed varieties, and accessing high-level content. Fortunately, once your farm is operational, it generates this resource faster than almost any other activity.

Your first mission is to acquire initial seeds. Two methods are available to you:

• Exploration: Look for wild crops like wheat or lettuce growing naturally in the fields.
• Loot: Luck may smile upon you when opening chests.

When you spot mature crops in the wild, use Shears to harvest them. Each mature plant will yield the crop itself and valuable Life Essence—an excellent boost to get started.

The Farmer’s Bench: Your Command Center

The Farmer’s Bench is the heart of your future farm.

Crafting:

• 6x Tree Logs (any type)
• 20x Plant Fibers (from bushes, grass, or destroyed tree leaves)

Main Features:

• Farming Tab: Allows you to craft essential tools like the Rudimentary Hoe (Tree logs + Stone blocks) and the Watering Can (3x Iron ingots).
• Seeds Tab: Purchase bags of seeds using Life Essence.
• Life Essence Tab: Starting at Bench Level 2, convert your surplus crops directly into Life Essence, creating a sustainable resource loop.

Upgrades:

The Farmer’s Bench can be upgraded to unlock better tools and seeds. Level 2 specifically requires Softwood Logs (from Aspen or Beech trees), specific crops, and Superior Life Essence (crafted from 100 regular Life Essence).

Important Tip: Always keep a stock of Softwood Logs. Ordinary wood does not work for bench upgrades, and Softwood can become scarce if you don’t collect it early on.

Cultivating the Land: Crops and Harvests

Soil Preparation and Planting

Your Rudimentary Hoe is the indispensable tool for transforming bare ground into arable land.

1. Clear: Left-click on vegetation to remove it.
2. Plow: Right-click on the exposed dirt block. Plowed soil will appear darker and textured.

Water significantly accelerates crop growth. Rain offers a similar bonus, but the Watering Can gives you total control. Fill it at any water source and use it on plowed soil. Wet soil visibly darkens.

To plant, equip a seed bag and right-click on the plowed soil. Crops go through several stages before reaching maturity, recognizable by their full size.

The Essence Cycle

Mature crops, harvested with Shears, yield two essential resources:

• The crop itself (wheat, lettuce, corn, carrots, etc.)
• Life Essence (quantity varies by crop quality)

This double yield fuels your sustainability loop. Seeds cost less Essence than what you harvest on average, ensuring a profit with every cycle. Higher-level crops generate more Essence.

Once the Farmer’s Bench is at Level 2, the Life Essence tab unlocks the direct conversion of crops into Essence, turning surpluses into upgrade materials.

Warning: Do not convert all your crops into Essence. Save some for recipes, trading, and bench upgrades that require specific crop types.

Farm Design: Space Optimization

Expanding your farm follows a simple principle: more cultivated soil equals higher yield. Layout is crucial for efficiency.

• Rectangular Grids: Arrange crops in rectangular grids with water channels every few rows to optimize growth speed.
• Volume: Focus on planting volume rather than micro-managing humidity. Rain is frequent, making the Watering Can more optional on a large farm.

To traverse your farm quickly during harvest sessions, use the “Dagger Swap” technique. Equip a dagger, sprint between crop rows, then quickly switch to your Shears to harvest. This significantly reduces collection time on large operations.

Animal Husbandry: Hides, Leather, and More

Husbandry is an excellent complement to crop farming, offering parallel resource flows. Feed bags (crafted at the Farmer’s Bench) are used for livestock breeding. You can also capture baby animals with Capture Crates to populate your pens.

Hides and Leather

Hides and processed leather are essential ingredients for crafting backpacks, advanced benches, and gear. Hides drop from animals, and their “density” generally corresponds to the animal’s size. They are refined into leather using a Tanning Rack.

Here is an overview of animals and the types of hides they drop:

Light Hide / Light Leather

Used for early-game upgrades, including iron tools and armor.

Medium Hide / Medium Leather

Used for Thorium and Cobalt tools, armor, and weapons, as well as the first backpack upgrades.

Heavy Hide / Heavy Leather

Used for Adamantite tools, armor, and weapons, the second backpack upgrade, and advanced bench upgrades.

Storm Hide / Storm Leather

Currently unavailable in survival mode; used for the final backpack upgrade and crafting Mithril gear. Expected to come from mobs in the Tier 4 zone, not yet implemented.

Sustainable Development of Your Operation

Trees: A Renewable Source of Softwood

Softwood is crucial for your Farmer’s Bench upgrades. Once you know how to identify it, you can even establish your own tree farm.

Identifying Softwood Trees:

Two tree species yield softwood: the Aspen and the Beech.

Harvest and Processing:

Cut Aspens or Beeches with an axe. The raw Softwood Logs must then be processed into Softwood Planks at your Builder’s Bench.

Sapling Farm:

Your Farmer’s Bench can craft Beech Saplings for only 5 Life Essence each. Plant them near your base, and they will mature in about 2 in-game days, offering you a constant supply. A Watering Can can speed up their growth.

The Forgotten Temple and Memories

The Forgotten Temple is a vital location that unlocks the Memory system. This system is directly linked to progression, crafting recipes, and character upgrades, including expanding your inventory via the backpack.

Location: The temple is marked on your navigation bar near your starting point.

Access: An Earth Golem guards the entrance, but you don’t need to defeat it; you can simply sprint past it to enter the portal.

Unlocking: Interact with the Heart of Orbis inside to activate the Memory system.

Collection and Restoration:

Memories are automatically collected the first time you approach creatures, NPCs, or bosses. Restore them at the Heart of Orbis to unlock rewards like new recipes, access to teleportation, and Backpack Upgrades (requires 100 Memories for Backpack Upgrade II).

Advanced Tips and Mistakes to Avoid

Inventory Optimization

Good inventory management is paramount, especially with a large farm.

• Bring only the bare necessities (pickaxe, weapon, food, torches) on expeditions.
• Craft a Backpack as soon as possible to increase your carry capacity.
• Place chests near cave entrances or your farm to unload surplus materials.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Neglecting Softwood: Failing to stock enough will block your Farmer’s Bench progression and access to advanced seeds and tools.
• Ignoring Wild Crops: They are a free source of Life Essence, even if you already have a farm.
• Poor Soil Preparation: Planting on unplowed soil will yield no results. Always hoe before planting.
• Over-converting Crops: Do not turn everything into Essence. Keep crops for recipes and specific upgrades.