Tails by the Foxfire

Tails by the Foxfire’s Atelier Rorona DX Quickstart Guide

I put off starting the Atelier series for a long time because of the time limit mechanic, but eventually decided to take the plunge with Atelier Rorona DX and find out how bad it really was. The verdict? It’s really not so scary so long as you know how to manage your time. Atelier Rorona DX throws players into the deep end in a way that feels authentic for someone in Rorona’s situation, offering her the choice to sink or swim by sharpening her alchemy skills in 90-day sprints. Keep reading as I guide you through how to make the most of the time limit so you never miss a deadline. Here are 8 things I wished I’d known before starting my adventure in Arland:

1. Accept Requests From Esty to Build Your Popularity (But Avoid Suspiciously High Rewards). Prioritize Shopkeepers and Party Members.
2. Give Sterk Enough Items to Score 5 Gold Stars On Your Assignments (Not Just Pass)
3. Experiment with Different Party Members in Your Loadout
4. Remember to Pack Your Basket Before Leaving Town to Gather
5. Ingredient Gathering and Synthesis Are Supposed to Feel Overwhelming at First. Buy Recipe Books From Shops
6. When Available, Check the Happy Basket for Free Materials and Synthesize More Decorations For Your Workshop When You Can
7. Rest on the Couch to Restore HP & MP. Rorona Uses MP For Every Synthesis
8. Always Give Hom a Task

1. Popularity Matters in Arland

Near the start of Atelier Rorona DX, you’ll get access to requests which can be accepted and completed by talking to Esty at the palace front desk. The TL;DR is, you’ll have to buy or synthesize certain items and hand them in (usually within a specified time limit) in exchange for money (Cole) and a popularity boost. Even though you may feel like you don’t have time to fulfil these, each of your main story assignments gives you 90 days, which is a deceptively long time. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to weave in some requests alongside your gathering and synthesizing, especially once you unlock Hom, and you can save precious days by buying the necessary items from the shops in town.

• Talk to Esty at the Palace Front Desk to Accept and Complete Requests
• Prioritize Requests from Companions and Shopkeepers (but Steer Clear of Suspiciously High Rewards)
• Check your Container and Shops in Town for Premade Items (or Easy Wins)
• Accept Requests and Fulfil them Immediately

2. Focus on Getting 5 Gold Stars

For palace assignments, don’t worry about the small pink stars you earn while turning in items. Just keep turning in the items Sterk asks for until you have 5 of the big gold stars at the bottom. Earning 100+ of these stars is another requirement for Atelier Rorona DX’s true ending (or 94+ for the good ending), so best policy is just to keep turning the required items in until you max this out.

• Ignore the Small Pink Stars When Turning in Assignment Items
• Continue to Turn in Items Sterk Requests Until You Have 5 Gold Stars
• 100+ Gold Stars Required for Atelier Rorona DX’s True Ending
• 94+ Gold Stars Required for Atelier Rorona DX’s Good Ending

3. Try Using Different Party Members

You’ll need to hire companions to track down your synthesis materials, but with only 2 party slots available, you’ll feel spoiled for choice for who to hire. Interestingly, some companions (like Esty) have a wider base attack range that can hit multiple opponents at once in addition to standard unique special ability types. As well, Iksel can unlock unique synthesis ingredients when you bring him to new locations, which is necessary to see all his character events and unlock his ending. You’ll also discover different character events and scenes by travelling with different characters in your party, adding lots of replayability and incentivizing experimentation with varied party loadouts.

Though hiring costs might feel like a deterrent when picking your party, don’t worry: these are only charged once per excursion out of Arland, (NOT once per in-game day that passes during screen transitions while exploring a location, like I initially thought when I first played). By the time you factor in the Cole dropped by monsters and that you’ll gain from Esty’s requests and selling unwanted materials to shops, you’ll find you hardly notice the dent in your coinpurse.

• Experiment with Party Loadouts by Hiring Different Party Members
• Some Companions (like Esty) Will Hit Multiple Enemies with a Base Attack
• Iksel Can Unlock Unique Synthesis Ingredients When Visiting New Locations
• Some Characters Have Unique Scenes if You Visit Certain Locations With Them
• Hiring Costs are Charged Once Per Trip Out of Arland, NOT Once Per In-Game Day

4. Don’t Forget to Pack Your Basket with Food, Healing Salves/Bells, and Combat Items

You can’t use items unless they’re in your basket, so make sure you pack healing salves, food, and bombs (useful for battle and for destroying obstacles like boulders) BEFORE you leave for your destination. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than burning multiple days on the walk to the dungeon, getting into an encounter with a monster, and having to burn just as many days trekking back to the workshop for the items you forgot.

• Remember to Pack Bombs, Healing Items, and Food Before Leaving Town
• You Cannot Use Items in Your Container While Out Gathering Ingredients
• Forgetting Items Will Mean You Have to Spend Days Returning to the Atelier

5. Don’t Feel Overwhelmed: Synthesis & Gathering Proficiency Comes with Practice!

If you’re like me, then ingredients will feel really overwhelming the first time you try to perform a synthesis. Luckily, many early-game recipes only call for basic, easy-to-find items. Fest can be bought from the Beefy Weapon Shop to craft Polish Powder, Magic Grass can be found in the Nearby Forest or bought from R&T Sundries to make Healing Salves, and Supplements can be made from basically anything: even water from down the stairs from your workshop! For a strong start, go to the Nearby Forest and keep running around and grabbing whatever you can until you fill up your basket. Make sure you transfer your ingredients to your container so they don’t decrease in quality over time!

Rorona will probably only find lower-tier, D or C-level items when you first start out. Remember, she’s brand new to this! Gathering proficiency will come in time. For now, just pick up whatever materials you can find, keep synthesizing, buy recipe books from shops whenever you can afford them, and you’ll improve your levels to the point of gathering and synthesizing B, A, and even S-tier items by endgame!

• Ingredients Will Feel Overwhelming at First
• Buy Fest from the Beefy Weapon Shop to Make Polish Powder
• Gather Magic Grass from the Nearby Forest or Buy it From R&T Sundries to Make Healing Salves
• Supplements Can Be Made From Anything, Including the Water From the Well
• Fill Up Your Basket with Whatever You Find in the Nearby Forest
• Keep Ingredients in Your Container so They Don’t Go Bad
• Rorona Will Get Better at Finding Higher Quality Materials Over Time
• Buy Recipe Books From Shopkeepers When You Can

6. Craft Atelier Decorations for Freebies & Bonuses

The Happy Basket Sterk gifts you is more than just a nice decoration: you can check it every in-game day to receive free materials! As you unlock more recipes, you’ll be able to craft more decorations like the Spring Cup, Lady’s Dumbbell, Traveller Shoes, Harvest Glove, Blessed Coin, Secret Bag, Goddess Statue, and Stylish Cauldron to unlock valuable bonuses and effects. The higher quality the decoration, the better the bonus. Decorations also carry over to New Game+, so do yourself a favour and outfit your workshop as soon as possible to take full advantage of their effects!

• Happy Basket: Spawns a Random Food Item Each Day
• Spring Cup: Spawns a Random Liquid Item Each Day
• Lady’s Dumbbell: Increases Rorona’s Staff Swing Power
• Traveller Shoes: Decreases Travel Time (Days Consumed) on the World Map
• Harvest Glove: Gather More Materials at Once
• Blessed Coin: Prevents Items in Your Basket From Deteriorating
• Secret Bag: Move Items From Your Basket to Your Container While Out Gathering
• Goddess Statue: Gain or Lose Popularity (Depending on Whether it Has Bad Rumours, Good Rumours, or Wonderful Rumours as Its Synthesized Ability)
• Stylish Cauldron: Lower Items Required for Synthesis and Increases Quality of Synthesized Items

7. Take Rest Days to Restore MP & HP

Returning home from an outing isn’t enough to heal your HP and MP from the damage done by monsters. Sleep on the couch in your workshop to restore Rorona and your party members to full health. Don’t forget: Rorona’s MP is used every time she crafts something, so if you’re going from making items to field gathering, you want to make sure you rest up first unless you’re fine with not using her abilities.

• Days Passing Isn’t Enough to Heal Your HP & MP; You Need to Rest on the Couch
• Rorona Uses MP Every Time She Synthesizes Something, So Rest Before You Leave Town

8. Always Give Hom a Job

Nothing Hom does costs anything (including synthesis!), and they want to work, so it’s a waste not to have them gathering or synthesising materials for you at all times. They don’t get tired and the only limit is how much container space you have. It’s an ideal way to stockpile resources like supplements or ingots rather than making them yourself, and all materials Hom gathers go straight to your container for immediate use. To increase Hom’s gathering and synthesis levels, complete optional palace objectives and get your stamps from Sterk.

• Send Hom Out Gathering to Have Items Delivered Directly to Your Container
• Have Hom Synthesize Items Infinitely Without Cutting Into Your Gathered Materials
• Increase Hom’s Gathering and Synthesis Levels by Completing Optional Palace Objectives and Collecting Bingo Stamps from Sterk

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