newcomer! help & tips to get started?

[Rei]

2. You don't need to descend in The Mines more than 10 floors every 2-3 days. Aiming for floor 80 on Spring 26 or so is fine.

Why is this important? It's the first game. You can do it in winter or year 2...

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Why is this important? It's the first game. You can do it in winter or year 2...

He's probably thinking about the importance of getting Sprinklers down for Summer to reduce your daily chorin' that drains stamina. Because the faster you no longer need to manually water your crops, the faster you have enough stamina to do other things with.

It's something to think about, but perhaps not for a first playthrough.

 

[Tom]

Why is this important? It's the first game. You can do it in winter or year 2...

SchneekeyTheLost is right. Editing.

I'm currently salvaging a very early playthrough of mine that was at Mines floor 30 on Summer 1 with no upgrades but a Copper Watering Can. I decided to plant 75 hops, water by Can, and focus on tapping Oaks and upgrading Pick, Axe, and Can to Iron. It's going well, so I agree Mines floor 60-ish is adequate even for Pale Ale. (After like my second playthrough, I never upgrade my Watering Can. And I always start Quality Sprinklers around Spring 26. Also, I have only been to Y2 and been married once, so there's that.)

The main focus of my point 2 was that you don't need to knock yourself out mining. And for max fun, I think it's really important to take time to get goodies as you go down. Floor 80 on Spring 26 is as early as needed for a relaxed, balanced playthrough. But later is fine too, especially if you upgrade your Watering Can.

 

[Tom]

Why is this important? It's the first game. You can do it in winter or year 2...

Edit below should be more clear:

2. You don't need to descend in The Mines all that fast. Just 10 floors every 2-3 days will get you to floor 80 around Spring 26 if you want Quality Sprinklers for Summer. And just 10 floors every 4-5 days will get you abundant Iron ore soon enough for tool upgrades and Kegs. Take your time and enjoy all the goodies.

 

[Quillmagic]

My lil’ tip (tho you may be past this point) is to wait to use your fishing rod for the first time until the 3rd, when it’s raining, then cast it out in the town river (I’d recommend the south section) Your first catch you will always get no matter what, so I use it to catch a catfish! They’re pretty hard early game.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

My lil’ tip (tho you may be past this point) is to wait to use your fishing rod for the first time until the 3rd, when it’s raining, then cast it out in the town river (I’d recommend the south section) Your first catch you will always get no matter what, so I use it to catch a catfish! They’re pretty hard early game.

The other option is to grind your Fishing on Day 2 so you have a couple levels of Fishing to help you land those tougher catches on Day 3, including the Catfish and the Eel. In fact, there's an entire strategy that revolves around fishing for your first couple of weeks nonstop, and getting a Fiberglass Rod on Day 3 with some Bait to further increase your catch. That does require a certain degree of proficiency in the fishing minigame, so YMMV.

Also, new to 1.4 is the Training Rod for a mere 25g, which can certainly help new fishers. It won't catch Catfish, but you can load up on many other catches instead, and it is much easier to land with the Training Rod.