Tips for Quests in FarmVille

Most players probably are aware of these little aids to success but tips may be useful for novices or farmers who have not had much experience with the FarmVille Quests:

***************
Crop Requirements
***************

The first tip involves Crop requirements.  With respect to Quests that require a specific number of a given Crop, players should be aware that the requirement will be fulfilled by ANY Crop in the same family.  For example, there was a Quest recently that required a specific number of Peas to be harvested.  Players could choose either the regular Pea, the Super Pea or the English Pea.   What are the advantages of choosing one over another?

For a start, Recipes are Ingredient-specific.  You therefore cannot use an English Pea in a Recipe that requires Peas.  Super Crops, on the other hand, CAN be used in a Recipe that requires the same regular Crop.  Where XP is concerned, any Super Crop will deliver more XP than its regular equivalent.  The ordinary Pea gives 3 XP where the Super Pea gives 5 XP.

If one is concerned solely with Quest results, however, it is in terms of Harvest time that one Crop can be more advantageous than another.  Using the Peas again as an example, the ordinary Pea and Super Pea require an entire Day to mature (23 hours actually in FarmVille time) while the English Pea requires only 12 Hours.  A player therefore can complete a Quest that requires a specific number of Pea Harvests more quickly when he/she plants the English Pea.

Note here that Hybrid Crops can satisfy a Quest Crop requirement.  I discovered this rather to my surprise when one Quest required a specific number of Rice Harvests and another required the production of two Sets of Shovels in the Craft building.  The Recipe for the Shovel Sets requires 3 Bushels of a Hybrid Crop known as Double Grain.  Double Grain is produced in a Greenhouse by combining Rice Seeds and Wheat Seeds.  When I harvested the Double Grain for the Shovel Set Recipe, each plot counted towards the Rice Harvest requirement in a different Quest.

*************
Animal Harvests
*************

Quests lately have included specific Animal Harvest requirements quite frequently.  When an Animal is given to a Player as a Reward for completely one step in a series of tasks in a Quest sequence, the next step often requires that the Player harvest that reward Animal twice.  Here there are some useful shortcuts that can be used on occasion.

Some types of Animals can be placed in more than one sort of Pen or enclosure. A step in a Quest Sequence can be completed much more quickly if a Player has the right Enclosures on his/her Farm.

***************
Chickens in Quests
***************

For example, most Chickens can be placed either in a Chicken Coop or in an Aviary.  Whenever a Quest requires two Harvests of a specific type of Chicken, the Player can place it first in one enclosure, harvest it, then transfer it to the other type of enclosure for the second Harvest, eliminating a considerable waiting period.  Note that when any new Animal is placed in an Animal Pen, including an Aviary, the readiness will decrease to some extent.  An Aviary that is at 100% readiness will decrease to 96% readiness with the placement of one new Chicken.  A Chicken Coop, on the other hand, will NOT decrease in readiness when a new Chicken is placed.  Place the Chicken in a Chicken Coop first, therefore, harvest the Coop and then transfer the Chicken to the Aviary for its second Harvest.  The waiting period will be very short compared to the period that would be required if one were simply to harvest the Chicken outside any Enclosure and then wait for it to become ready for another Harvest.

Instant Grow can be used to make all Animals, including those in enclosures and on Unicorn Island ready for Harvest instantly.  It is unnecessary to spend the premium Cash for Instant Grow if one follows this little procedure.

*********************************
Horses, Unicorns and Pegacorns in Quests
*********************************

When a step in a Quest requires the Harvest of a specific Horse, Unicorn or Pegacorn, the best procedure is to have two Horse Paddocks on any given Farm or the ability to transfer items from one Farm to another.  Transfer of Animals between Farms can be effected if one has earned or purchased a Special Licence for a specific Farm.  Any Player who completed all of the English Countryside Quests can transfer Items between the Home Farm and the English Countryside.  Players who completed all of the Cove Upgrades at Lighthouse Cove or paid 75 Farm Cash for a Special Licence can transfer any item between the Cove and the Home Farm.  If that player completed all the English Countryside Quests, items can be transferred between all three Farms.  And so on...

If a Player has two Paddocks on a single Farm, however, he/she can place the Animal first in one Paddock, wait for it to reach 100% again, harvest it and then place it instantly in the other Paddock.  Readiness should be at 100% when the Animal is placed in the second Paddock if it is on the same Farm but it will decrease to 96% when any new Animal is placed.  A short wait is required before the second Paddock can be harvested unless the Player opts to use Instant Grow.  This is a bit of a waste, however, in this situation as the waiting time will be brief.

The reason why Animal Enclosures are to be preferred over a simple placement of an Animal on the ground is because the readiness of the Enclosure can be used to effect while an Animal when placed on the ground will take a long time to become ready for harvest, starting as it will at zero readiness.

*******************
Animal Mastery in Quests
*******************

A common Quest requirement is Mastery of a specific Reward Animal to One Star.  This is where Instant Grow may be useful as ordinarily an Animal will require a total of 5 Harvests to attain one Star Mastery.  If, however, a player has multiple Animal Enclosures and the ability to transfer Animals from one Farm to another, the waiting time between Harvests can be reduced greatly and it may not be necessary to use Instant Grow.  If a Player opts to use INstant Grow, however, it is a good idea to choose a single Farm for this purpose and to deposit ALL Quest Animals on that Farm, buikling multiple Animal Enclosures there as well.  Two Paddocks, a Chicken Coop and an Aviary,  at least one Wild Animal Habitat, one Zoo,  one Pasture and one Pet Run are recommended.

Sites such as the FarmVille Freak site list all Quests and their requirements.  A player who intends to complete all current Quests should coordinate his/her actions as much as possible between the various Quests.  Often a specific Crop will be required to complete more than one current Request.  Requirements to harvest Reward Animals usually are found in all Quests.  If Instant Grow is to be used, it is helpful to be able to use it on more than one Reward Animal on a single Farm to satisfy more than one Quest.