What's the best way to farm coal?
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CryogenCrystals
Farmer
In early game I seem to get quite a bit in the mines on lucky days (I seem to get lots, but I tend to kill all the critters I see and love going after dust sprites), plus I hit up the mine carts, and on unlucky ones I toss some wood into the charcoal kiln, which only requires foraging level 4 skill and a few easy resources to make.
Once I'm higher level I seem to be swimming in it, though if I'm flush and find myself short, I'll do a lazy trip to Clint's blacksmith shop and burn my cash there for it out of some farming laziness lol.
Once I'm higher level I seem to be swimming in it, though if I'm flush and find myself short, I'll do a lazy trip to Clint's blacksmith shop and burn my cash there for it out of some farming laziness lol.
Tom
Farmer
TL;DR: Kilns
Once my axe is upgraded, I am swimming in wood, and I am managing my farm forests, I put a Kiln or two outside my house and change them every time I run by, which turns out to be quite often since I am soon swimming in coal.
Later on, I just buy it and everything else money can buy using my Starfruit and Ancient Fruit Wine gold.
Once my axe is upgraded, I am swimming in wood, and I am managing my farm forests, I put a Kiln or two outside my house and change them every time I run by, which turns out to be quite often since I am soon swimming in coal.
Later on, I just buy it and everything else money can buy using my Starfruit and Ancient Fruit Wine gold.
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Lew Zealand
Helper
Like others here, I make it in a Kiln. I'm perpetually out of Coal thanks to mass producing Preserves Jars, so planting a stonkload of Trees with Tree Fertilizer (Foraging Lvl 7) gets you an equivalent landslide of wood and therefore Coal, once processed. Of course that Fertilizer is made easier with a giant amount of Fiber from Fiber seeds, and that's one of the few things that you can grow in the Winter so consider planning that out.
If your mass Farming is raking in the g like Tom's, then you can just buy the Wood from Robin or Coal from Clint, but I rarely end up doing that except for the semi-daily times when I forget what I was planning. Stupid afternoon Field Snacks just knock me out and I wake up at 9pm with everyone's doors closed and a crow trying to pick my pocket. I'll nap by the Alien Rarecrow haberdasher next time.
@Tom , what system do you play SDV on? On PC/Mac I find that I can't easily harvest and replace in my Kegs and Preserves Jars nearly as time-efficiently when they're vertically arranged like your Farm as when they're horizontally arranged. I always miss a bunch and have to go back, and you know how that goes. Practically a temper tantrum with arms waving in the air, a lot of huffing, sighing and eye-rolling, ending with wiggling on the ground looking for a comfortable spot to siesta.
If your mass Farming is raking in the g like Tom's, then you can just buy the Wood from Robin or Coal from Clint, but I rarely end up doing that except for the semi-daily times when I forget what I was planning. Stupid afternoon Field Snacks just knock me out and I wake up at 9pm with everyone's doors closed and a crow trying to pick my pocket. I'll nap by the Alien Rarecrow haberdasher next time.
@Tom , what system do you play SDV on? On PC/Mac I find that I can't easily harvest and replace in my Kegs and Preserves Jars nearly as time-efficiently when they're vertically arranged like your Farm as when they're horizontally arranged. I always miss a bunch and have to go back, and you know how that goes. Practically a temper tantrum with arms waving in the air, a lot of huffing, sighing and eye-rolling, ending with wiggling on the ground looking for a comfortable spot to siesta.
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Tom
Farmer
I play on Windows/Steam. I was wondering about system and the exact mechanics of changing Kegs too. On Windows/Steam I have tried and ruled out Quarry and Sheds and tried and got tired of the house and the Mines ground level; I decided against the Desert. I may want to give horizontal rows a try, because to be honest I haven't tried any long horizontal rows outside. Can you give me a spoiler about how horizontal might be better? I'm partly intrigued because an outdoor farm horizontal row could be slightly longer. Here's how vertical rows behave:
As you can tell, I put the north and south ends of my rows at the limits of stationary mouse changing. I equip the produce and run by the Kegs (with the right mouse button held down for the entire mob of Kegs, sometimes with Pepper Poppers speed buff) up and down each row. I run back both up and down because while every Keg harvests, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the Kegs do not also fill on the first pass. I don't sweat that; it's just the cost of automation and running like the wind. I find it enjoyable thanks to the cute animations and sounds. The first pass is to harvest all Kegs and fill most. The second pass is to fill the Kegs that didn't fill on the first pass.
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Lew Zealand
Helper
I found that when doing much the same horizontally (with a Coffee speed buff, haven't tried Poppers), I could harvest all the Jars/Kegs while running past and likewise place the same on the return trip with Fruit/Veggies. However I would skip massive amounts in v1.4 when doing the same vertically, which was greatly improved in v1.5 but still I would miss some pretty frequently. This works better with single item placements like Fruit/Veg vs. multiple item placements, like Coffee/Tea.
It "feels" like the placement trigger is tuned to detecting a wider swath of targets when running horizontally than vertically. However I never tested this properly to get some real data and of course now I'm doubting myself.
Pfft! Real data would have to take actual effort, just my luck.
hexnessie
Farmer
Trash. I'm with Linus, nothing beats a good rummage through the trashcans. And my crabpots give me lots of wood (to burn in kiln) and trash as well.
I do realize it's probably not a late-game strategy, but early on, each bit of trash that gives you iron, coal, and worst-case scenario, stone, is a good deal.
I do realize it's probably not a late-game strategy, but early on, each bit of trash that gives you iron, coal, and worst-case scenario, stone, is a good deal.
Tom
Farmer
I better clarify that I am harvesting and refilling on a single pass. I equip the produce and run by with the right mouse button held down for the entire mob of Kegs. So are we both making exactly two passes?
Lew Zealand
Helper
LOL, I'm not doing that but instead expending twice the effort like a schlub with one pass of remove and a second pass of placement.
I didn't even think you could do both at the same time. Yet another (another anotheranother) time I should have tried something instead of just assuming. I'll need to try that out when the next pass of Pumpkins comes due from the Preserves Jars.
Wow, so many more opportunities to be lazy. It's all just a wonderful dream...
Elenna101
Farmer
Unfortunately, I feel like I miss more kegs with the "do it in two passes" way.
That being said, interestingly I've heard (from a min-maxer on Twitch) that vertical lines actually work better for not missing kegs/jars when doing the placement and removal at the same time...
Tom
Farmer
All I know is
- I feel more comfortable with vertical, probably mostly/partly because I can see what I am doing.
- I do get 100% success with two passes. The first pass gets 100% retrieval and 2/3 to 3/4 filling. The second pass gets the rest of the filling.
- I am curious whether left-clicking or right-clicking is better. I use right-clicking, and it could be due to better experience that way, but I am not gonna promise anything.
Elenna101
Farmer
Oh, I've been holding down both, actually. I feel like that makes it slightly faster but I think I might also miss more? It's been a while since I tested that (And I've been using horizontal rows because you get more kegs in a shed that way. I should maybe set up my kegs outside the farm instead but meh, don't feel like it.)
Boo1972
Farmer
I generally choose miner and prospector as my mining professions which helps increase the amount of coal you can find. I don’t regularly use the kiln because I need so much freaking wood. But, if you’ve unlocked it and enjoy combat I recommend monster musk. You’ll kill so many more dust sprites. And everything else.
Worblehat
Planter
Re: coal - I also use kilns, for exactly the reasons already stated.
Re: speed-filling kegs, my experience in the shed is exactly what Tom described. There are always a few kegs that don't fill, so I have to go back and find them. The shed doesn't lend itself as well to the "second pass" approach, but I prefer to keep the kegs indoors.
Re: speed-filling kegs, my experience in the shed is exactly what Tom described. There are always a few kegs that don't fill, so I have to go back and find them. The shed doesn't lend itself as well to the "second pass" approach, but I prefer to keep the kegs indoors.
Giant Octopodes
Farmer
Personally I'm always lacking for wood. This in turn is because I'm perpetually lacking Fiber. Haven't gotten the Fiber Seeds recipe yet though, so maybe that would turn things around for me. However, as someone who just bought 15,000 wood from Robin less than two months ago in game, the idea of burning up 10 wood for 1 coal is incomprehensible to me. As such, it's Dust Sprite farming for my coal needs, which, using the Burglar Ring and bouncing between elevator floors where they are found, I typically can get around 150 coal (and a bunch of iron) on a day of specifically targeting it.
Your main 3 ways of getting coal can be evaluated like this:
Buying it: Obviously the main thing which determines if this is worth it is A) do you have an excess of money, and B) do you enjoy farming for coal. If A is yes and B is no, buying it is the way to go. In terms of evaluating opportunity cost though, since it costs 250 per starting year 2, for me a day of going for coal gets me around 37,500 in materials (not to mention ancillary supplies of course). If I had an activity which I enjoyed as much or more, which got me things I could sell worth 37,500 or more, it would be better to do that, and just buy the stuff. Or, if I had excess money with no other plan for it, certainly a valid option.
Wood: It costs 10 wood to get a coal in a kiln, plus the setup costs of them, and the interactions to load and unload. If you have an excess of wood with no other plan for it, like literally wood to burn, this is an option. If other options are competing with this for wood, just keep in mind that buying wood after year 2 starts costs 50 per, so it 'costs' effectively 500 worth of wood to get 1 coal, which is double the cost of buying it directly. Of course you can't sell 10 wood and get 250+ in return so it's a bit of an unfair comparison, the point is only that I would only choose this option if I was certain I was not going to be buying wood at any point in the near future, and the wood going in was well and truly 'excess'.
Going for Dust Sprites / Farming it directly: If the answer to A in the buying it section is no, and / or the answer to B is yes, you can always go for the dust sprite route. Alternately, you can get it from rocks, with the Prospector skill equipped. Keep in mind that the "Prospector" skill only affects drop chances from stones to my knowledge, not from enemies. Still, if you have a need of coal, and don't need geodes or have any intent to sell metal bars, it actually makes a pretty big difference in terms of relative ratios of materials found, for what it's worth.
Your main 3 ways of getting coal can be evaluated like this:
Buying it: Obviously the main thing which determines if this is worth it is A) do you have an excess of money, and B) do you enjoy farming for coal. If A is yes and B is no, buying it is the way to go. In terms of evaluating opportunity cost though, since it costs 250 per starting year 2, for me a day of going for coal gets me around 37,500 in materials (not to mention ancillary supplies of course). If I had an activity which I enjoyed as much or more, which got me things I could sell worth 37,500 or more, it would be better to do that, and just buy the stuff. Or, if I had excess money with no other plan for it, certainly a valid option.
Wood: It costs 10 wood to get a coal in a kiln, plus the setup costs of them, and the interactions to load and unload. If you have an excess of wood with no other plan for it, like literally wood to burn, this is an option. If other options are competing with this for wood, just keep in mind that buying wood after year 2 starts costs 50 per, so it 'costs' effectively 500 worth of wood to get 1 coal, which is double the cost of buying it directly. Of course you can't sell 10 wood and get 250+ in return so it's a bit of an unfair comparison, the point is only that I would only choose this option if I was certain I was not going to be buying wood at any point in the near future, and the wood going in was well and truly 'excess'.
Going for Dust Sprites / Farming it directly: If the answer to A in the buying it section is no, and / or the answer to B is yes, you can always go for the dust sprite route. Alternately, you can get it from rocks, with the Prospector skill equipped. Keep in mind that the "Prospector" skill only affects drop chances from stones to my knowledge, not from enemies. Still, if you have a need of coal, and don't need geodes or have any intent to sell metal bars, it actually makes a pretty big difference in terms of relative ratios of materials found, for what it's worth.
Tom
Farmer
How does lacking Fiber make you lack Wood? Tree fertilizer? Mid-game I just leave sections of my farm overgrown with trees. Am I leaving a lot more forested than other people? Late game I just buy Wood and Coal separately. If I spend half a million gold on them it just helps atone for the IRL miserliness of my youth.
Giant Octopodes
Farmer
How does lacking Fiber make you lack Wood? Tree fertilizer? Mid-game I just leave sections of my farm overgrown with trees. Am I leaving a lot more forested than other people? Late game I just buy Wood and Coal separately. If I spend half a million gold on them it just helps atone for the IRL miserliness of my youth.
Yep Tree Fertilizer. Between that and retaining soil and scarecrows etc I’m always out of fiber, and trees just grow too slowly au naturale for my insatiable hunger for preserve jars, kegs, buildings, etc to be met. I tried hard to leave more things overgrown this time around than normal, but then I cut down everything, planted 100 new trees, fertilized them and made tappers for them, and flooring to go around them, so that didn’t last long XD
