One of the biggest asks from the community for Palia was the ability to raise animals. It wasn’t fair for the Daiya family to be the only ones with fluffy Ormuus and fresh Peki eggs. Now, it’s finally here with the Of Barns and Briars update, patch 0.195. This is all you need to know about raising animals and Palia’s Ranching skill.
You’ll need to have unlocked your very own glider by completing the quest Like a Bird before you’re able to begin learning the Ranching skill. Once done, Delaila will appear on your plot and gift you with a Signal Bell, as well as the recipe for the Barn Bell. This begins the quest Ranching 101. Place the bell on your property and interact with it to be transported to your Ranch, a separate space from Kilima Valley, similar to how your home plot functions.
The Ranch has open spaces for your animals to roam, as well as a help guide to get you started compiled by the whole Daiya family. You’ll find a breeding pen and barns to house your animals in comfort and increase your herd easily. There are multiple storage boxes littered throughout the area, as you need to have the actual item you want to feed your livestock in your inventory to give it to them.
When you arrive, speak with Delaila to get two Pekis and two ears of Corn. You want to interact with each Peki, name them, feed them, and give them a good pet. After you’ve inspected both birds, return to Delaila to complete Ranching 101. She’ll give you Corn x2 and a Crab Pot Pie for you to munch on. You’ll also have increased your Ranching skill to level 2.
Ranching is similar in speed to Gardening. You’ll do multiple small activities per day, with the skill increasing when you gather the different resources your animals provide. To start, you’ll be able to to buy a Peki and keep a maximum of 10 animals at the Ranch. As you increase your skill level you’ll unlock the Trufflet, Ormuu, and Bumble and increase your max flock size to 30.
Each species has different requirements when it comes to raising them: Happiness and Focus. Keeping your animals happy speeds up item production. It decays over time, so petting them often and ensuring they are well fed will keep the resources coming. Focus also deals with how well fed your herd is. If your animals are very hungry they will produce items much slower. Focus drains over time, as well.
You’ll get all your animals as babies, and unless you give them a Never-Grow Cookie, they’ll mature into Adults. Baby animals can gain new traits while they explore your ranch and interact with other members of the herd. Adult animals come with three sub-ages: Young Adult, Adult, and Elder. This is when you animals give you resources and can be bred. After being an Elder Adult an animal will become Venerated. They won’t give you any resources and can’t be bred, so you’ll want to donate them if you’re in need of space for item producing animals.
When you donate a Venerated creature you’ll get a Treat bag in return. If the animal is well cared for you may get a treat, the Divine Doughnut, that allows you to reincarnate your beloved creature as a baby, complete with the same traits.
You can access the Ranching store by talking to Delilah directly or interacting with the cash register on your Ranch. The register is found near to the left of the Peki barn area, but before the table with the Ranching guide book.
Along with the Ranching Store, you can gain unique snacks from Treat Bags. These include: PalSnax, Feel Good Cookie, and Divine Doughnut. Treat Packss are rewarded for completing some of the County Fair bulletin board bundles and when donating a Venerated animal. There are three varieties you can obtain: Common, Epic, and Legendary, each with a different variety of treats inside.
As soon as Delaila leaves the Ranch, Nai’o will appear to give you another quest, Ranching 102. While you were petting Pekis, he was busy building the breeding area. Follow him to the Nursery Pen down the path to the west. Speak with him inside the pen to learn how to breed animals.
Adult animals of the same species can be brought to the Nursery Pen to make a baby animal. You’ll save gold while increasing your herd size. Each baby has a chance to inherit traits from the parents. You want to breed your best animals together to increase the chances of having a Blue Ribbon winner in the future.
After speaking with Nai’o, it’s your turn to get your Pekis breeding. To select the parents, head over to the Cozy Coop, the decorated station in the back center area of the pen. Select the animals you want and choose to breed. A baby will instantly appear and wait for you to name it. After the baby is born, the parents will have a cooldown period to revitalize themselves before they can be bred again.
That finishes Ranching 102. Unlike the first quest, you don’t gain any additional items upon completion.
Each of your animals can have up to six traits, letting them become an individual among the herd. Some traits are cosmetic focused, while others effect how the animal behaves. When you first purchase an animal you’ll be able to see what traits they have. New traits can be learned while they are a baby and if bred, the baby will gain a combination of the parents’ traits or possibly something new.
