Back when mobile gaming was still just gaining ground, there was that one title that almost everyone with a smartphone had heard of at least once: Candy Crush Saga. During those days, Candy Crush was like the FarmVille of its time as tons of mobile users played this colorful but challenging match-3. FarmVille, of course, was once that Facebook game that made eager players plant and harvest crops during their spare time, if they weren’t flooding their Facebook friends’ accounts with game-related notifications and requests.
These two powerhouse titles can be considered classics in their own right on the virtue of their popularity and longevity. So can you imagine what it would look like if they had a charming little lovechild that you can play with while waiting in line or when you want to end a long and tiring day on a good note?
That charming little lovechild would be none other than Farm Heroes Saga.
Released back in December 2013 by King, Farm Heroes Saga combines the familiar gameplay elements of Candy Crush Saga (which is basically its sibling or cousin, considering they come from the same developer) with FarmVille’s delightful farm theme. Nearing a decade since its release, Farm Heroes Saga remains a rather popular game that has over 100,000,000+ downloads in the Play Store alone and its available stages numbering up to the thousands.
Typical of the match-3 genre, you need to match 3 tiles called Cropsies in Farm Heroes Saga so you can collect them. Each level has a set of objectives that requires you to collect a certain amount of Cropsies within a limited number of moves. For instance, a simple objective would be to collect 5 apple Cropsies within 10 moves.
If you manage to collect all the required Cropsies within the allotted number of moves for that level, you can finish it with at least 1 star. But if you have extra moves left, you can enter Hero Mode (more on this later) and continue collecting Cropsies. This allows you to fill up your Growth Bar and complete the level with 2 or even 3 stars when you’ve spent all your available moves.
From the get-go, Farm Heroes Saga seems like an easy game with a relaxing vibe. But anyone who’s played a match-3 from King knows that it can get pretty challenging down the line.
Aside from having different Cropsies to collect, each level in Farm Heroes Saga also has a variety of board layouts, obstacles, special tiles, challenges, events, boosters, and a somewhat arbitrary way of filling up the Growth Bar. There are also other level types aside from “regular” levels, which have their own way of picking your brains.
Certainly, Farm Heroes Saga will charm you with its adorable visuals, making it easy for you to get hooked as the early levels tend to offer a sense of accomplishment. In these early levels, it can seem that the game is trying to make you feel how easy it is to win as you’re likely raking in those 3 stars without breaking a sweat.
But make no mistake, you’re going to need a handful of strategies up your sleeve if you want to continue your winning streak! Thus, with our beginner’s guide for Farm Heroes Saga, you can continuously 3-star those levels, know the best time to use boosters, overcome challenges, earn animal companions, and rack up your rewards with flying colors!
Never Lose Sight of Your Goals, Literally
Like many match-3 games, Farm Heroes Saga has a goal you need to fulfill. Upon entering a level, the game will flash you a set of goals for that particular level. You can also see this displayed next to your board during the game proper, just below the Growth Bar, and the number of moves you’re allowed to make to complete the said level. As a quick aside, the Growth Bar indicates how many stars you can earn by the end of the stage. As mentioned earlier, the goal is usually to collect Cropsies of a certain kind and amount.
Believe it or not, it’s easy to lose sight of what Cropsies you need to collect once you’ve entered a level. This is why it’s absolutely important to keep track of your goals list. Give it a glance from time to time just to make sure you’re not wasting precious moves on unnecessary matches.
Since the board varies every time you play, the game can trick you into thinking that you need to collect Cropsies that aren’t included in your goals and won’t fill up your Growth Bar. Now, the game isn’t pulling off some kind of magic juju that outright confuses you, rather, this has something to do with their arrangement on the board and how many there are present.
For instance, if you have 6 flowers (more on this tile later) on the board, you might automatically assume that you need to open up and collect all of them when, in fact, your goals only include 4 flowers. Similarly, if you have, say, lots of sun Cropsies, it might be easier for you to match them, but if they’re not included in your goals list, they won’t affect your Growth Bar or add to your points.
That said, check your goals from time to time to make sure you’re on the right track. Don’t just haphazardly match Cropsies that seemingly dominate the board. Check too if some tiles need to be collected or if they’re only there to serve as obstacles.
Plan Your Harvest
Planning your moves is a must for every match-3 game (that’s kind of a mouthful, we know). This is especially important in Farm Heroes Saga since you only have a limited number of moves per level. Available moves also vary from one stage to the next so, sometimes, you may have as many as 20+ moves or just 10.
To make every move count, there are a couple of things you need to consider when planning. Since the game has special tiles and boosters, we’ll be discussing those separately because they tend to be more situational. In this section, we’ll focus on some general strategies you can consider applying as you play regardless of the level’s difficulty or available Cropsies.
Use the Board’s Shape to Your Advantage
Let’s start with the board: in Farm Heroes Saga, this changes in shape and size at every level. As you can see from the example image above, the board is a diamond shape, but it only has a small number of Cropsies that you can play with. Other times, the board will be much larger, with more Cropsies available for matching, like this one:
As the board’s shape and layout vary, it pays to observe its appearance and contents. Smaller boards will limit your matching opportunities while bigger boards with more Cropsies may lead to more continuous matches and combos that result in bonuses (more on this later). Boards with “holes” may also force deadlocks as Cropsies right above a hole or space might not come down unless they are repositioned on another freer space. Below is an example image of this type of board:
How do you deal with boards like these or any kind of board for that matter? Here are 2 suggested approaches:
- Start from the lower half. This works best when doing horizontal matches and collecting Cropsies in a row. With horizontal matching from the bottom rows, you’re more likely to affect the arrangement of Cropsies on the top half of the board. This can lead to continuous matches that will cost just 1 or 2 moves. With continuous matches, more Cropsies will come down, affecting the board’s arrangement to your advantage.
By contrast, if you start matching from the top, you will only affect a limited number of Cropsies and leave the bottom part of the board virtually untouched. This can lead to deadlocks or fewer chances of making continuous matches.
The Tractor and Turbo Tractor boosters (more on these later) work particularly well for this kind of approach if you have limited matches or are running out of moves. This works best for large boards or those that have square or rectangular shapes.
- Match vertically at the longest columns. This strategy is a good way to deal with smaller boards or those that have a rather irregular shape, like diamonds. With this approach, you have more elbow room to affect more Cropsies from top to bottom, which can lead to more matches even in multiple rows.
Matching horizontally for smaller boards can be restrictive since the board’s shape and size might only limit you to matches that are only 3 in a row at most. The effect can be similar to simply matching at the top, which doesn’t change much of the board’s arrangement enough to get new Cropsies to fall. Going vertical, in this case, opens up the opportunity to make longer matches or even patterns.
Go for 4 or More
Speaking of patterns, we highly recommend matching more than 3 tiles, whether horizontally or vertically, so you can get higher bonuses. If you’re able to match 5 Cropsies in a straight line, you will be able to eliminate all Cropsies of the same type from the board. Additionally, matching more than just 3 Cropsies will allow you to replenish the board with more Cropsies, resulting in chain matches with a minimal amount of moves.
Aside from matching in a straight line, try to match Cropsies in patterns that are shaped like the following:
● L
● 7
● T
● Upside-down T
● + (cross)
Since the game has no time limit per level, observe the board and see where you can make straight or patterned matches. Since the objective of each level tends to focus on collecting Cropsies of a certain kind, it makes sense to try and match more than 3 Cropsies with each move so you can collect as many of them without having to spend multiple moves.
Additionally, matching more than 3 Cropsies will fill up your animal companion bar faster (more on this later). When you’ve successfully filled up this animal companion bar (which looks similar to the Growth Bar), you’ll be able to activate that animal’s special skill.
Some Simple Math Pays Off
You may have noticed that we mentioned bonuses, but how do these work exactly?
In Farm Heroes Saga, matching gives other Cropsies bonus points, provided these are Cropsies included in your goals list. Let’s take the image above for example: if we match the apples next to the strawberries, the latter, which are part of your objectives, will each get a +2 because they’re next to the successful match you made.
Basically, any Cropsies that are situated next to a successful match will get bonuses as seen in the image below.
Now, you will observe that the carrot and sun Cropsies on the right side of the strawberries only have a +1, while the onion Cropsies have no bonuses at all. Since onions aren’t part of the goals list for this particular level, they don’t get any bonuses no matter how many times you make matches next to them. The same goes for the water Cropsies.
For the carrot and sun Cropsies, they were originally located on top of the apples before these were matched, so they only get a +1 bonus.
So, the more matches you make, the higher the bonus for Cropsies located next to those successful matches. You can also get more bonuses when you have a board that has grass tiles, which will automatically give Cropsies a +2, as seen in the image below:
Cropsies on grass tiles will also get an increase in bonuses when matches are made next to them. If you encounter a board with grass tiles, take advantage of the higher bonuses by matching within those grass tiles to collect more Cropsies.
Sounds like a good plan, right?
Hold your horses! The thing about the bonus system in Farm Heroes Saga is that it has a caveat: bonuses disappear or lessen in the next turn.
Let’s take this image below as an example:
Here, we’ve highlighted all the Cropsies that have bonuses. In this turn, the choice is pretty obvious: match the 3 sun Cropsies with bonuses, which will allow you to collect 6 suns instead of 3. However, when you do this, the strawberry Cropsie with a +1 will lose its bonus in the next turn. Strawberry Cropsies beside the matched suns will gain bonuses instead.
That said, when you find yourself with multiple Cropsies that have bonuses, it pays to do a bit of simple math to see which match will allow you to collect Cropsies with the highest amount of bonuses for that current turn. Of course, it’s still a good move to match more than 3 Cropsies together, but if you manage to find just a match-3 that has the most bonuses, then consider making that match instead. Keep in mind that each Cropsie will have a max bonus of +9.
If you have Cropsies located on grass tiles, the bonuses will not disappear after a turn, but will, by default, remain at +2. Cropsies that have high bonuses, like a +7 or +8, will have their bonuses lessened to perhaps +2 or +3 in the next turn if they’re not matched.
In short, take advantage of your turn by matching high-bonus Cropsies as soon as you’re able. As always, check your goals list so you don’t unwittingly make matches for Cropsies that you’ve already completed collecting. While this can get your Growth Bar up, it’s better to finish collecting the required amount of Cropsies first so you can enter Hero Mode, provided you have extra moves to spare.
Hold Out for Hero Mode
As its name suggests, Hero Mode is sort of a special mode you can activate once you’ve collected all the required Cropsies for that level. We don’t exactly know why it’s called Hero Mode but you can probably say it’s the same thing as going Super Saiyan since this allows you to keep playing and continue collecting Cropsies to bring your Growth Bar up to 3 stars or just to get a higher score, provided you have extra moves to spare, even if it’s just 1 move left.
The best part about Hero Mode is that you get to keep all the bonus points for Cropsies instead of losing them in the next turn if you haven’t matched them. Additionally, the game throws you bonus points for random Cropsies.
A great way to maximize Hero Mode is if you have a couple of extra moves, you can first stack your bonuses up to +9 by making matches next to Cropsies. Since you’ve already completed your requirements, you’re freer to match any kind of Cropsie that will either stack up bonuses or allow you to collect the most number so you can shoot up the Growth Bar. If you only have 1 extra move left, make the best out of it by making a match with the highest bonuses.
The only thing that’s difficult to quantify is how the game calculates how much of the Growth Bar increases based on your matches, whether these matches have bonuses or not. Regardless, Hero Mode is one good reason to complete your required Cropsies with the least amount of moves so you can spare more for this mode.
Special Tiles and You
Obstacles and/or special tiles are a staple in match-3 games, and Farm Heroes Saga has its own set of these. But while other match-3 games might just throw some obstacles your way, those that you encounter in Farm Heroes Saga can also be collected and may be included as part of your goals list.
There are different ways to deal with these special tiles depending on their type and matching function. Let’s check out the most common you will see as a beginner:
Flower Tiles
● Type: Fixed
● Can be collected: Yes
● How to collect: Match Cropsies beside flowers to slowly open them up. Once they are fully opened, make a match beside them so they can be collected if they’re part of your goals list.
Flower tiles can’t be repositioned, which means Cropsies will have to sort of go around them when moving on the board. In some cases, flowers may leave empty spaces when Cropsies fall diagonally. Upon collecting flowers, you will free up the tile they’ve taken up.
Flowers can be considered a special tile since they’re usually part of the goals list whenever you encounter them at a level. However, they’re also somewhat of an obstruction since they can’t be moved. The appearance of flowers can often be tricky as you might not need to collect them all to complete your requirements. Additionally, flowers may be positioned in difficult areas so try to formulate your moves around them.
Your best bet with flowers is to try and collect them as soon as possible to free up more space on your board for Cropsies. The only downside to the flower tile is that they don’t incur bonuses, thus adding only a small percentage to your Growth Bar. In this case, try to match high-bonus Cropsies while also opening up as many flowers as you can.
Eggs and Ducklings
● Type: Movable
● Can be collected: Yes
● How to collect: First, match 3 whole eggs to get cracked eggs. Then, match 3 cracked eggs to collect 1 duckling.
Unlike flowers, eggs and cracked eggs can be easily moved around the board. On average, you will only have to collect about 2 to 5 ducklings per level (though this can be more depending on the level’s requirements). The challenge is that the game tends to give you more eggs and cracked eggs on the board even if you’ve already collected all the ducklings you need.
Moreover, even if you match more than 3 eggs or cracked eggs, this will not result in multiple ducklings. For instance, if you match 5 eggs, this will only result in 1 cracked egg. The same goes for cracked eggs: matching more than 3 will still just get you 1 duckling.
Like flowers, eggs and cracked eggs don’t get bonuses either so their effect on the Growth Bar is quite minimal.
One good way to approach eggs is to match Cropsies which will also result in egg matches. Since the board often gives an overabundance of egg tiles, matching Cropsies will eventually lead to multiple egg matches anyway. The upside is that egg matches will give Cropsies next to it bonuses so this approach can be a win-win.
Spiders
● Type: Fixed
● Can be collected: Yes
● How to collect: First, you will have to match webbed Cropsies to free them. These Cropsies will remain in the same place, which is usually around a spider. When you’ve freed up Cropsies and matched them next to the spider itself, the spider may either be collected or will transfer to an empty nest.
If a spider moves to a nest, it will cover the Cropsies next to it with webs and you need to repeat the process of freeing them again. When there are no more nests that the spider can transfer to, that’s the only time you can collect this critter.
As you can see, spiders are a very tricky tile to play with because of the webbed Cropsies. We recommend freeing up as many webbed Cropsies as you can early on in the level so more Cropsies can move around. If anything, make an effort to collect spiders first since these appear to be one of the most difficult obstacles to manage.
Fortunately, you will need to collect only an average of 1 to 2 spiders per level (again, the number can change depending on the level’s difficulty and requirements), making this task a little more bearable.
Water Buckets
● Type: Fixed
● Can be collected: No
For some levels, you may be asked to collect water Cropsies but you initially won’t find them present on the board. Instead, you may be able to get water Cropsies by making matches next to water buckets. With every match made beside these buckets, the water level inside them rises. When the water from the bucket overflows, this will generate water Cropsies, which will replace random Cropsies on the board.
Water buckets can sound a bit easy to work with since they operate quite similarly to flower tiles. However, unlike flowers, water buckets will remain in the same position throughout the level since they can’t be collected.
The challenge with water buckets is that since they will cause water Cropsies to replace random Cropsies on the board, so you may lose matches that you intend to make when other Cropsies are turned into water. We suggest prioritizing the collection of other Cropsies in your goals list as you’re likely to make matches along the way that will activate the water buckets. Once you manage to collect other Cropsies, you can focus on generating more water Cropsies to complete the level.
Frozen Tiles
● Type: Fixed
● Can be collected: No
Except for the flower and webbed tiles, most other playable tiles can be frozen. This includes any type of Cropsie and egg tiles. Frozen tiles are like an easier variant of webbed tiles since you need to match frozen tiles to break the ice. Once the ice has been broken, the frozen tiles will become regular tiles and can then be moved around the board.
Often, frozen tiles are already present on the level’s board. But like webbed tiles, they can be challenging to match if you intend to create 5 straight matches or patterns since frozen tiles will not be counted as part of that pattern. Try to quickly free up frozen tiles from the board so you can move more Cropsies around and get higher bonuses when matching.
River and Raft Tiles
● Type: Fixed
● Can be collected: No
You might not normally encounter river and raft tiles in the main game, but you will get to know them in levels from limited-time events. These tiles are “fixed” in the sense that their position on the board cannot be moved, but raft tiles can also act as a conveyor belt that moves Cropsies along the river.
Basically, during each turn, Cropsies that fall on the raft tiles will change position based on the direction of the river. If the Cropsie reaches the edge of the map, you will find it on the other end of the river as the tiles continuously loop on the rafts.
River and raft tiles can be a tad more difficult than dealing with spider tiles because of their shifting position. You can’t move a Cropsie out of a raft, but you can still match it with other surrounding tiles that are on a regular space on the board. If you manage to eliminate Cropsies on raft tiles, they will be replaced by Cropsies above those that have been matched.
The trick to dealing with raft tiles is all about timing and anticipating which Cropsies would align with potential matches once the raft tiles move in the next turn. One good advantage raft tiles can give is that you may have an easier time forming a linear match of 5 Cropsies, which will eliminate all Cropsies of that type from the board.
Give Your Cropsies a Boost
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “Isn’t there something to level the playing field? This sounds like a lot of work!”
Well, we’re glad you asked!
Farm Heroes Saga offers a handful of boosters that can help you should you find yourself in a pinch. With some careful planning and strategy, you normally don’t need boosters to complete a level with 3 stars. However, there are certain instances when you could use a helping hand, and spending at least 1 booster at the right moment can turn the tide of the game.
Boosters can be earned as rewards or bought in the market. Sometimes, the game is even generous enough to give you free boosters for certain levels. We generally don’t recommend buying boosters since you can earn them by continuously playing the main game and other events (more on this later).
At the beginning of each level, you may be able to select the boosters you want to use. However, you may find yourself with other available boosters during the level proper itself. Since boosters are more situational, it’s best to work with what’s available for that particular level instead of picking boosters pre-game.
Besides, even if you do pick boosters before entering a level, you really won’t know if it’s the right choice since how you progress in that specific stage will dictate whether or not it’s best to use a certain type of booster. Boosters also don’t spend your turns so you can use them and keep the bonuses for that turn.
We generally recommend using boosters when you’re about to run out of turns but are close to either completing the level or getting 3 stars in the Growth Bar. Depending on the number of available boosters you have, you may use just 1 or multiple boosters for each level.
So, what kind of boosters are there, and what’s the perfect time to activate them? Here are several that you will get to play with as a beginner and situations when you should consider using them:
Shovel
● Function: Removes 1 Cropsie from the board. You can select the specific Cropsie you want to be removed.
● Best times to use:
○ When you’re 1 move away from completing the level or from getting 3 stars (the latter is more preferred), and with only 1 move to spare. By activating the Shovel booster in this scenario, you will get to enter Hero Mode and make 1 more crucial move that has the highest bonus available.
○ When you’re 2 moves away from making a linear match of 5 Cropsies, which will help collect all the required number of Cropsies of that type.
○ When you need to collect 1 more special tile, like an open flower or a spider.
Tractor
● Function: Removes 1 selected row from the board.
● Best time to use:
○ When you have a single row that has a majority of high bonus Cropsies but no possible matches to collect them with.
○ When available matches are only at the top half of the board. Eliminating 1 row at the bottom half may give you a better chance of replenishing the board with Cropsies that can affect its arrangement to your advantage.
Turbo Tractor
● Function: Removes 3 selected rows from the board.
● Best time to use:
○ When you have 3 rows with a majority of high bonus Cropsies. There may be possible matches here but using the Turbo Tractor will allow you to collect much more than just matching, especially if you’re not yet in Hero Mode.
○ When there aren’t any matches on the bottom half of the board, similar to the scenario for the Tractor booster. But by using a Turbo Tractor, you will have a more significant effect on the board’s arrangement.
Color Collector
● Function: Collects all Cropsies of a single type.
● Best time to use:
○ When you still need to collect a lot of Cropsies of the same type but are running low on moves. This booster becomes even more effective when most of the Cropsies of the same type already have bonuses.
○ When the board is dominated by Cropsies that aren’t included in your goals list. Using this booster will take them out of the board immediately if you can’t find a linear match of 5 Cropsies to get rid of them. Hopefully, the board will be replenished with Cropsies you need to collect, but that would be solely based on your luck.
Amelia’s Airdrop
● Function: Adds 6 Cropsies of 1 type to the board.
● Best time to use:
○ This booster is a good alternative to the Color Collector, that is, if you’re lucky enough to have a Cropsie land on a potential linear match of 5 since the airdrops are at random places on the board. However, keep in mind that airdropping Cropsies will replace 6 random Cropsies that are already present.
○ When a certain type of Cropsie dominates the board but you aren’t able to find matches for them while they have high bonuses for the turn. But, again, the placement of the airdropped Cropsies will be at random so cross your fingers!
Super Fruit
● Function: Collects all nearby Cropsies and adds a +2 bonus to each. Cropsies that will be collected are those surrounding the Super Fruit booster within 1 tile, meaning the maximum number of Cropsies it can collect is 8 since the Super Fruit will be at the center.
● Best time to use: When tiles around the Super Fruit booster all have high bonuses but no possible matches.
Egg Cracker
● Function: Cracks all whole eggs on the board. This booster will not affect eggs that have already been cracked so you still need to make matches to collect ducklings.
● Best time to use:
○ When there are lots of whole eggs on the board. This will spare you the trouble of matching to collect ducklings if the eggs are aligned in a way that will match once cracked.
○ When there are several whole eggs on the board and you’re running low on turns to collect ducklings.
+1 Bonus
● Function: Adds a +1 bonus to all Cropsies included in your goals list. May be activated multiple times if you have more than 1 of these boosters.
● Best time to use:
○ When you’re low on turns and you have yet to reach 1 star or are a few matches away from getting 3 stars.
○ During Hero Mode so you can increase your bonuses, especially if the Growth Bar is still a few matches away from getting to 3 stars.
5 Extra Moves
● Function: Gives 5 extra moves at the start of the level.
● Best time to use: Since this booster can only be selected before entering a level, we recommend using this for Super Hard Levels or Rancid the Raccoon levels. However, we would suggest entering those levels first without this booster just to gauge their difficulty. If you’ve failed to complete the level, then consider using this booster on your retry.
To 3-Star or Not to 3-Star
If you’re already familiar with the match-3 genre, you’d know that it’s every player’s goal to achieve a 3-star completion rating for each stage. Of course, the same thing applies to Farm Heroes Saga. In this game, completing levels regardless of how many stars you get will earn you beans, which will prove to be useful down the line.
As a player, you may feel compelled to complete every level with a 3-star rating, but believe it or not, this isn’t necessary. Sure, you’ll get more beans and some other rewards (aside from a personal sense of accomplishment), but there may be instances when repeating levels over and over just to get 3 stars might make you spend more lives, gold, and even the beans you’ve previously earned. Unlike other match-3 games like, say, Match Land, you won’t get a special bonus when you complete all levels with 3 stars in Farm Heroes Saga.
So, which levels are worth the 3-star completion rate?
Aside from regular levels, you’ll encounter 3 other level types while playing the main game (as opposed to playing levels in time-limited events). Let’s take a look at these 3 other level types and which among them you should complete with 3 stars:
Rancid the Raccoon Levels
Playing this type of level only differs slightly from regular levels. You still have a goals list when it comes to Cropsies you need to collect, but there’s no required amount. Instead, you simply need to match the Cropsies in your goals list to decrease Rancid’s life bar down to 0.
You still have a limited number of turns, so you may consider spending beans to give your Cropsies either a +1 or +2 bonus when matching. Doing so will make it easier for you to defeat Rancid.
The only downside to playing the Rancid the Raccoon Levels is that you cannot enter Hero Mode even if you have extra moves to spare. The level will simply end with Rancid defeated, but even if you do, it’s not a guarantee that you will get 3 stars.
That said, you don’t necessarily have to complete this level with the highest star rating since you won’t get any beans for beating Rancid.
Super Hard Levels
Super Hard Levels play exactly like regular levels, but with the difficulty cranked up to 11. Is this a level you need to complete with 3 stars? Not all the time since you’ll be collecting the same amount of beans as you would if you had played a regular level. However, it does feel like a huge accomplishment when you do finish Super Hard Levels with 3 stars.
Join the Club Levels
Unlike the first 2 level types mentioned, we highly recommend making an effort to complete Join the Club levels with 3 stars. This is because, for every star you get, you will gain an animal companion. These animal companions will help you in later levels as unlocking them will allow you to access them and use their special skills. If you’ve failed to complete Join the Club levels with 3 stars, you can keep trying until you do.
Get Help from Your Farm Friends
There are a variety of animal companions you can unlock from winning Join the Club Levels, especially if you complete them with 3 stars. For each level, you may use 1 animal companion depending on what’s offered by the game. Of course, you can choose not to use an animal companion if you’re short on beans. But when you do have the chance to spend on them, it’ll be worth the small expense.
How can animal companions help? It depends on the type you choose and their special skill. Generally, you simply need to match 4 or more Cropsies to increase an animal companion’s skill bar during the level. When the skill bar is full, that animal companion will activate their skill. The skill bar will then reset and you need to fill it up again.
Each level will give you a set of animal companions to choose from (sometimes, though, it’ll only give you 1 choice depending on how many you’ve unlocked). Take note that each animal has different star levels, symbols, and types. Star levels indicate how fast their skill bars can be filled, while the symbols next to the stars tell you what kind of Cropsies they affect upon activating their skill.
Let’s take the image below as an example:
Here, you will see that the ostrich can affect strawberries and ice, the crocodile can affect suns and flowers, and the goat can affect water Cropsies. The effect they can have for certain Cropsies may include giving them bonuses, adding more of them to the board, breaking them open, and so on. This ties in with the type of animal companion they are, which is indicated below the animal’s picture.
What do these types mean? Here’s a quick rundown of the different types you may encounter as a beginner:
- Breaker: Breaks tiles out of being frozen.
- Cleaner: Cleans out obstacles.
- Cracker: Cracks whole eggs to turn them into hatchlings.
- Grower: Helps open up flowers.
- Filler: Fills up water buckets faster.
- Producer: Replaces Cropsies on the board with the specific Cropsie indicated on their card.
Though animal companions can be extremely useful, keep in mind that choosing which ones you want to spend beans on will happen before entering a level. With that, we can simply assume that the choices offered are related to the requirements for the level, even if you won’t know if you’re selecting the best kind.
Our recommendation, therefore, is to pick the animal with the most stars and the type/skill that can help with the most difficult obstacles. For instance, between a 3-star Grower and a 3-star Breaker, it may be better to go with the Grower since it opens up flowers, which take more matches to eliminate.
That said, don’t hesitate to spend beans on animals as the most you may spend are 90 beans for 3-star animals, which you can easily recoup in other levels if you win 250 beans from 3-starring a level.
Save Your Gold for Winning Moves
If you’ve been enjoying a winning streak thus far, the possibility of losing may escape your notice. After all, you’ve been 3-starring stages and, even if you haven’t, you’ve at least managed to complete them and move on to the next.
But what happens when you actually have to swallow the bitter taste of defeat?
If you fail to complete all the level’s requirements, the game will give you a chance to continue in exchange for gold. By spending this resource, you’ll get to pick up where you left off with 5 more moves to collect all the Cropsies you need to complete the level.
While spending 9 gold sounds like a small expense, it may be better to lose a life and start the level all over again instead of spending your gold.
In Farm Heroes Saga, you have a maximum of 5 lives. Regenerating 1 life only takes 15 minutes, which means getting your maximum number of lives back will only take an hour and 15 minutes. If you think about it, it’s a relatively short waiting time and doesn’t cost anything. Conversely, gold isn’t easy to come by as the game only gives a very small amount as a reward. If you want more gold, you’d have to purchase it with real money.
The only time we recommend spending gold to continue the level is if you’re just 1 or 2 moves away from completing your requirements. But even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to complete the level with 3 stars, which can render your gold expenditure moot.
After all, if you’d be spending a rare resource, you might as well get the maximum reward. In this case, it’s better to just save your gold for those times you can fairly gauge that you can complete a level with 3 stars after continuing. Otherwise, remember that patience is a virtue and you’ll eventually replenish your lost lives without costing anything.
Participate in Limited-Time Events
Back when it was still pretty much a new game, Farm Heroes Saga was a straight-up match-3 where you just go through each level linearly. However, as the years went by, they’ve added some other events and levels that you can access while you’re waiting for lives to replenish or if you simply want to gain more rewards.
In some cases, limited-time events have their own set of lives that you can use and replenish apart from what you already have in the main game. Other limited-time events may mean reaching and completing a certain level within a few hours to unlock a treasure chest. You can even get a chance to join a team and compete in a tournament.
Whatever the case may be, participate in limited-time events as much as you can. Not only are they fun and challenging, but they can yield a lot of rewards like beans and a variety of boosters, which are helpful for other levels.
Of course, don’t forget to have fun while playing! Farm Heroes Saga can surely be challenging, but it’s a delightful game that can pass the time while picking your brains. With it, you can improve your observation skills, strategize to get the best matches and make use of boosters and other bonuses in a way that takes advantage of their maximum functionality.
Hopefully, our guide has taught you how to do all those things and more! If you have more tips and tricks to share, don’t forget to write them down in our comment section below. Now go out there and collect those Cropsies and 3-star your way to victory!