Branching off from the Taonga: The Island Farm online game, Taonga Island Adventure is Volka Entertainment’s first mobile title which has arrived to both Android and iOS platforms. This is an adventure slash farm simulation game just like the original Taonga that has you exploring exotic islands and managing a farm back in your home village.
In Taonga Island Adventure you follow Samantha – a young woman who travels to a remote island archipelago after receiving a letter from her long lost uncle, an explorer who went missing 15 years ago. Once she arrives at the location she teams up with the friendly island inhabitants in order to trace her uncle’s Alan path and find out what really happened to him.
To drive the story forward, players will need to get busy and complete various quests which have you building new structures, as well as delivering goods which you’ll be producing back at your base camp.
Taonga Island Adventure is no different from the many adventure farm simulation games out there, so you should have no problem getting started with this one and understanding the mechanics underlying it. One issue that you might encounter along the way is that progress tends to slow down considerably as you make strides.
Not to worry, though, as we have your back with this Taonga Island Adventure beginner’s guide which includes some clever tips and tricks that should be allow you to speed up your pace considerably. The world of Taonga Island Adventure is an extensive one that includes many islands to explore, so hop aboard with us on this article as we explain what you can do to unlock new areas faster.
1. Maximize Your Energy Uptake And Reduce Expenditure (As Much as Possible)
In Taonga Island Adventure you depend on your energy reserve when it comes to exploring your surroundings. Large parts of the islands in the archipelago are covered in fog and in order to remove it and reveal what’s underneath you’ll have to carve yourself a path by cutting down the overgrown vegetation. This costs varying amounts of energy – depending on what you’re targeting. For instance, grass is cheaper energy-wise than removing a chunky tree trunk.
While you start off the game with abundant energy, it soon becomes a limiting factor in your gaming experience. Initially your energy reserve is quite low, of only 30 units, which won’t allow you move around a lot. The reservoir slowly gets larger, as you level up Samantha but the increase is quite minuscule (just 1 energy point per level). By level 10 your reserve will only be of 39 units, which is still insufficient considering that cutting down most plants or rocks on the island costs a minimum 10 energy points.
Fortunately, there are ways to boost your energy reserve so that you can prolong your gaming sessions. If you don’t, once you run out you’ll be forced to take a break from the game and wait until energy regenerates itself back up. This cycle won’t feel very satisfying, especially since you can easily spend your meager energy resources with just a few taps. And then you’ll go back taking a breather again until energy is once again available.
The alternative is to make sure you farm some energy from other sources. As you explore new territories across islands you’ll notice various treasure chests hidden among the vegetation. Whenever you spot one, make sure you go near it and crack it open. They usually contain big portions of energy, and perhaps other items as well. It’s true, this means sometimes you’ll have to spend quite a large amount of energy to gain access to these chests, but the reward inside is usually worth it.
It would be ideal if you could identify and open chests as you move throughout an island and explore. By doing so, you’ll be ensuring that you have the necessary juice to sustain your hikes into the wilderness.
While grabbing all the energy you can from the chests is key, you should pay very close attention when carving your paths. Remove expensive roadblocks only if you absolutely must. Otherwise just go around them and attempt removing the less costly one. Don’t just tap randomly when clearing paths, make it a point to select the cheaper element to remove in terms of energy expenditure so you can conserve as much energy as possible.
2. Prioritize Missions With Energy Rewards
Since energy is of the essence when playing Taonga Island Adventure, you should do everything in your power to collect as much as possible. Another good way of achieving this is by completing missions which offer energy prizes.
Check the Mission tab on the left part of the display and tap on each mission to see which rewards they provide. In most cases you’ll receive EXP, Gems and Gold coins for your efforts, but some of these quests come with more precious gifts attached. Whenever you spot one that yields energy don’t hesitate to make it your priority.
Obviously, the other resources you gain for completing missions are also extremely important. With enough EXP under you’ll belt you’ll get to upgrade Charlotte to a new level which will unlock, you’ve guessed it, an extra bundle of Energy for you, as well as new buildings and resources. Gems are also very useful, but we’ll talk more about that in one of the upcoming section.
Overall, the point to take home here is that you need to focus on doing the missions available for you, don’t just explore the islands at random, while putting a priority on those quests that can offer energy rewards.
3. Collect Energy From Other Places Too
The game offers you the chance to grab some extra energy points from various other sources. For example, once you’ve built the hammock you’ll be able to collect a small amount of energy every few hours.
The same goes for tapping on the crabs that roam on the beaches of the islands you visit. They can give you items, as well as chunks of energy. Another way to obtain tiny bits of energy is by consuming food. Go to your personal hut on your home island and drag and drop the indicated items to get your juice replenished.
The altar you discover behind your own hut can also yield energy, and some additional Gems as well. Just make an offering to the dark goddess to whom the monument is dedicated to and get your reward. You’ll have to put together a few food items in order for her to hear your prayer.
On top of energy, bringing offerings to the forest altar will also unlock some nice boosters. For example, you might be able to use the Early Harvest temporary effect which prompts your crops to grow 5% faster. It can be really useful. Again, this trick works only once a few hours.
A way to put the coins you’ve accumulated so far to good use is to buy bundles occasionally. Coins come from completing missions and orders, as well as from finding treasures during explorations. At some point you’ll put together a relatively nice sum as to be able to afford paying 900 coins for a bundle which contains 35 energy points as well as additional goodies including 6x Bread and 5x Sweet Potato and Egg pie.
4. Keep Production Running Back On Your Home Island
In order to complete various missions, you’ll need to craft and produce certain items and goods. You can do so back on your home island where you’ll set up your own little farm. Start planting crops including Wheat, Sweet potatoes and Pineapple. Moreover, make sure you harvest from the Mango trees nearby and also plant Banana trees and fruit making trees.
As you progress, you’ll be able to start building workshops around the island too. For example, the Carpenter shop which can produce Firewood, Lettice, Planks, Arrows and Buckets. These items will then be used to produce even more complex products at other workshops.
The more advanced an item is the longer it will take to produce it. So make sure you’re always crafting items in your shops. No breaks allowed. This strategy will ensure you have the necessary items prepared in advanced.
The same goes for crops. You have to stock up on them and place them in storage. Especially Wheat which is your cheapest crop and used for a variety of products including Chicken Feed, and Bread. A good strategy to ensure that you have the entire variety of produce at your disposal is to rotate your crops when planting. So if you planted Wheat, next you might want to sow Sweet Potato seeds and so on. When deciding what to plant next, make sure you take into consideration what your current missions are and the order board.
5. Complete Orders For Gold Coins, EXP And Sometimes Extra Energy
The order board is located next to your personal hut on your home island. Make sure you check it to see what customers are asking for. It’s important that you don’t neglect these orders as they can be a good source for cash. Gold coins can buy new crops, animals and shops, as well as decorations for your island (although we don’t quite encourage you to spend in that direction).
Completing orders can also unlock various other prizes. If you can deliver a certain number of goods, you’ll end up unlocking chests which are filled with all kinds of items and additional resources including the much coveted energy. Keep in mind that a minority of these orders will offer energy as reward, as well.
Orders can also help you gain more EXP, which is quite useful given that you need to level up Charlotte in order to access new features in the game. On top of that, hitting the next level also unlocks a nice energy prize. For this reason, make sure you prioritize those orders that come with heftier EXP rewards. Check how much each yields in the bottom right of the board.
Putting orders together might distract you from the game’s missions, as you’ll have to focus on planting and crafting specific items as requested by your customers, but that’s completely alright. The rewards certainly make doing this worth your while.
6. Collect All Kind Of Items, They Might Be Useful Later
So unlike most of the games of this kind we’ve played so far, in Taonga Island Adventure you won’t be storing “raw” items in your barn. For example, all your crops are considered raw ingredients, so harvesting Wheat or Sweet potatoes won’t take up room in your storage. The only products that are counted inside the barn are actually the goods produced from these raw materials. So while Sweet potatoes don’t go in the barn, the Sweet Potato and Egg dish does.
This makes everything a lot easier for you, as you won’t have to worry about upgrading your barn’s capacity all that often (you can if you want to, however). When products finally start piling up in your storage, it’s always possible to sell those you have no immediate use for, or at least some of them in exchange for a bit of money.
So overall, you’ll free to collect all kinds of items from the islands you’re exploring, and we encourage you to do so, because they might come in handy later.
For instance, you should gather the seashells scattered on the beach. You can use them once you visit the Island of Toru Kai Tangata and meet Watau the Carpenter. He takes these shells and crafts all kinds of goodies which you can use to complete quests and missions. Just give him the shells and he’ll know what to do.
On the other hand, some special items are needed to complete missions and actually move the story along, so don’t shy away from them. You don’t have to worry about not having where to put them. This is actually a very nice feature of Taonga Island Adventure, so take advantage of it as much as possible.
7. The Best Uses For Gems
Gems are a type of special resource in Taonga Island Adventure which means you won’t find them everywhere. They have many uses, including allowing you to purchase more energy.
However, given how hard it is to collect a decent amount, you should probably abstain from buying energy using this currency on a regular basis. Instead, we suggest you invest Gems into expanding the production capacity at your workshops.
For instance, a new slot (the fourth) at the Sun Dryer will cost you 50 Gems. Doing so will help you accelerate the pace of the game considerably, as you’ll be able to produce a lot more goods. Gems can also ramp up the speed of production at your factories for individual items. Depending on the product’s complexity this might cost you just one Gem or more.
In addition, Gems can also get you bundles at the in-game store, but we advise against this practice. The bundles are quite expensive and you’re not going to get THAT many goods in exchange. For instance, the Full Pantry bundle will take you back with 230 Gems and only consists of 15x Planks, 12x Lattice, 10x Reed mats and 8x Ropes.
Now that you know how to best spend Gems, the real question is how do get your hands on these precious stones? Well, the main way of doing so is by completing missions. Most quests in Taonga Island Adventure will yield a limited amount of Gems, so make sure you focus your efforts on completing as many as possible, as we previously advised you.
In addition, simply tapping on certain objects or doing small side quests for various island inhabitants can earn you Gems. For instance, tapping on the cute little crabs that are populating the beaches on the archipelago will get you a handful of Gems. Just make sure you take regular strolls down at the beach, there’s also seashells to be found and they also can prove quite useful.
8. Arrange Your Buildings In A Productive Fashion
As you make headway in the game, things will become more and more crowded on your home island. It’s where you will build all your workshops and small factories, and these obviously take a lot of space.
It’s a good idea to spend any leftover energy you might have on clearing land and making room for your production buildings. This way you’ll also stock up on the raw materials you need to produce entry-level items such as Firewood which is made of Logs and Rocks.
While at first you might be tempted to place a new building in any free space that you can find around the island, soon you’ll come to realize that’s not productive at all. Instead, we want you to consider creating a better layout for your village.
Group related buildings together for greater convenience and ease of collecting these products afterwards. For instance, place the Carpenter next to the Sun Dryer, which should sit next to the Weaver and then the Potter. You can place the Kitchen next to the crops and fruit trees and later on the Juice bar, in another part of the island.
While it’s not wrong if you choose to arrange your buildings otherwise or just opt to drop them at random, arranging them in clusters based on the items they use will help you work a lot more effectively.
9. Participate In Events
Taonga Island Adventure is home to various events which debut from time to time. These are special occasions which give you the opportunity to win more resources. However, this might come at a cost.
For instance, during the Island of the Gilded Palms you can unearth various treasures which are scattered around an island. Complete the missions and you’ll also be able to receive a Tree of Riches as reward which will provide a gift on a daily basis.
Even if you don’t feel like spending your hard won energy digging for treasures, that shouldn’t keep you from visiting this special event island. The adventurer who needs your help in restoring treasures also happens to produce a small amount of energy every few hours. So for the whole duration of the event (it usually spans over a few), you should regularly visit the event island, whether you’re interested in completing the missions or not.
10. Don’t Forget To Redeem The Gifts Sent To Your Inbox
Check your inbox from time to time, as some rewards might be waiting for you in there. Sometimes the developers of the game will send over a gift that might consists of Gems, gold or energy. Other time they will just dispatch instructions that can lead you to a reward. For example, we just received a message telling us to inspect the crevice, an award is waiting! By the looks of it, it should be a Gem bundle.
You don’t have to check your inbox often, just make sure you do so from time to time. You’ll find some much needed resources.
With this last tip we conclude our Taonga Island Adventure beginner’s guide in the hopes that the tips and strategies we’ve outlined will help you ramp up production on your island and finish missions with ease.
Eventually, you’ll get at the bottom of uncle’s Alan disappearance all these years ago, you just have to make sure to apply the tricks discussed in this article. Now if you happen to have knowledge of any other method for improving the overall gameplay, which we haven’t included in this article, don’t hesitate to share it with us through the comment section below!
