Money is the bread and butter of every Rune Factory game. There’s just so much to buy, from weapons and accessories to outfits and fish. There’s only one way to make money in these games, however, and that’s by shipping items and waiting for them to be deposited at 8am the following day. Anything you’ve shipped to the bin at least once can be bought in Rigbarth at some point. You might need an expansion or three from Studio Palmer, but they’ll be there.
Still, progress can feel a little slow, especially at the beginning. But we’re here to help! Here’s how you can make money fast in Rune Factory 5.
Ship high-leveled field materials
Whether it’s excess lumber or extra iron, high-leveled items always sell for much, much more. For example, when you’re mining for material stones or chopping for lumber, sell anything above level seven and deposit the rest. The same rule applies for other minerals you can mine, such as Amethysts and Bronze.
Raise your crops’ levels
Similarly, high-leveled crops ship for more money. Therefore, the very first thing you need to do in Rune Factory 5 is grow crops and keep using the Sickle so you can replant them at a higher level. The General Store will always sell seeds that match the level of the crops you’re shipping, too, which you can continue to plant. There are even crops, such as Pumpkins, that have be harvested more than once. Prioritize them!
Tame produce monsters early
By purchasing a Barn from Studio Palmo as soon as you have a Farm Dragon, you can now tame monsters. Certain monsters, such as the Buffamoo and Cluckadoodle, are what we call produce monsters. Produce monsters drop an item in your barn every 6am. The more you care for them, the higher their produce’s levels. If you tame them early, you can grow closer with them more quickly, leading to more quality (and free) items you can ship, cook, or even use for crafting.
Not every monster produces an item. However, those found in Phoros Woodlands and Lake Yumina almost all do. Buffamoos and Cluckadoodles should be your top priority, as they produce Eggs and Milk. At first, the one that they will produce will be small but they’ll eventually give you large ones. Besides, even small Eggs and Milk sell for a lot of money!
Ship food, not ingredients
Ship food. Food can be sold for so much more than raw ingredients. To give you can example: an Egg and Milk can sell for around 300G (or less) each, but Omelettes (which use an Egg and Milk) sell for nearly 900G. You can also fish and cook your catches. Fish are not worth much when shipped raw.
You can buy cooking equipment from Studio Palmo. To learn recipes, buy Cooking Bread from the bakery or the restaurant at Rigbarth.
Maximize your days
As long as you sleep before 1am, you’ll never get sick. So, maximize your days! If you have time left, mine for crystals, fish, or cook food. If you’re out of energy, warp to an area and cut a Runey Flower or smash a crystal to gain more RP.
For more help with Rune Factory 5, take a look at some of our other posts here at Pro Game Guides.
Bianca Versoza is Pro Game Guides' Weekend Editor. With over three years of experience in gaming journalism, she specializes in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Valkyria, and Honkai: Star Rail. Bianca is a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.