DeletedUser34548
Friends are even more important than I thought. Perhaps other newcomers will find some basic info useful. None of this was clear when I began play.
Neighbors come and go... at Inno's whim. You gain guildmates when you join their guild... and lose them when you leave. Friends are more durable. You may ask neighbors and guildmates to be your friends; they may ask you. You are limited to 80 friends; this includes outstanding friend requests.
Working with others is a key element of FoE. While the lone wolf may have a challenge in other games, I don't see he has any chance of progress here.
Aid everyone possible, daily. It would be better to visit your fellow player and motivate or polish directly but unless you know each of his buildings and understand his needs, he gains little over Aid. The Aid button motivates or polishes to a simple plan; it is not random. Aid is much faster than visitation. This counts when you have 200 neighbors, guildmates, and friends.
I'd rather you hit Aid on me daily, than you spent so much time thinking about which of my items to M/P that you skipped me when your teakettle whistled.
Aid gives you a few coins and, rarely, a blueprint... scarce and valuable. Aid gives the aided player many small benefits which add up to a big edge. So it's good for both, even if you are merely neighbors.
Why friends, then? As above, friends remain while neighborhoods change and you try out other guilds. But the big plus is the Friends Tavern.
You can sit only in Taverns of friends, not those of neighbors or guildmates (unless they are also friends). Only friends can sit in your Tavern.
When Alice sits in Bob's Tavern, Bob gets silver. Silver is yet another ingame currency; it does not interconvert with coins, supplies, goods, forge points, florins, etc. Silver can only be spent in the Tavern on upgrades or on boosts: powerful tools you're wise to study. You want those boosts available so you want silver.
At first, it seems Alice gives without getting. (I found it confusing to sit at table with neither meat nor drink whilst mine host profits.) But although Bob earns 50 silver, it costs Alice nothing. Alice has her own Tavern, she has a chance of getting some silver when sitting at Bob's; and it's still free. The payoff is when Bob returns the favor.
There are four classes of upgrade you can make on your Tavern, all paid for in silver. Table/chairs make it possible for more to sit at once. Trays improve your take per patron. Tablecloths give your sitting friends a chance at forge points. Floors improve your kickback when at others' Taverns.
Friends stay seated until you collect; and any benefit comes at once. So it's not rude to put them out as soon as they sit. You get slightly more silver per friend at a full table than you do if you collect often... but it's not a big bonus until you have a large table. Large tables themselves also increase the take, with or without more chairs. So there's some benefit to more chairs... and you needn't collect so often.
Tray upgrades are on the same order; you get a small silver bonus and friends get nothing. Floor upgrades also give your Tavern patrons nothing except to look at.
Tablecloths are another matter. If you're reading this, you know FPs are very valuable. The first tablecloth upgrade gives patrons a 1% chance of a 1 FP kickback. Sounds like not much but over even 50 Tavern calls a day, it's a fair chance at a bump. The finest tablecloth offers 8% for your friends' patronage. This is, however, an expensive item.
Why all this Tavern detail? Look back to the limit on friends. Invite as many neighbors and guildmates as you like... eventually you will hit the limit. Who do you cut?
So far, I have not cut any friends... but I will, soon. When you're new, you want every friend you can get, no matter who. Later, you need those 80 spots filled with people who benefit you the most. Everyone is making the same calculations. There is a complex relationship among Tavern and Aid, given and got; payoffs can be considerable.
I say, just as in real life: The best way to get and keep good friends is to be a good friend. So I put tablecloth upgrades first, and keep plenty of chairs. Meanwhile, I don't skip too many opportunities to Aid and sit with my friends.
When I see a Tavern with a huge, full table, beautiful tray, nice rug, and no tablecloth, I see a future cut. When I drop into an empty seat with good cloth; when I see that same friend is in my Tavern and Aiding me daily; I'll be sure to have a chair free.
Last note: I'm grateful to oldtimers who made friends and room for me in their fine establishments, although I could be of little use. One reason I concentrate on linen is to repay in part their trust. I hope I'm always able, cut as I must, to keep a few chairs for newcomers.
Neighbors come and go... at Inno's whim. You gain guildmates when you join their guild... and lose them when you leave. Friends are more durable. You may ask neighbors and guildmates to be your friends; they may ask you. You are limited to 80 friends; this includes outstanding friend requests.
Working with others is a key element of FoE. While the lone wolf may have a challenge in other games, I don't see he has any chance of progress here.
Aid everyone possible, daily. It would be better to visit your fellow player and motivate or polish directly but unless you know each of his buildings and understand his needs, he gains little over Aid. The Aid button motivates or polishes to a simple plan; it is not random. Aid is much faster than visitation. This counts when you have 200 neighbors, guildmates, and friends.
I'd rather you hit Aid on me daily, than you spent so much time thinking about which of my items to M/P that you skipped me when your teakettle whistled.
Aid gives you a few coins and, rarely, a blueprint... scarce and valuable. Aid gives the aided player many small benefits which add up to a big edge. So it's good for both, even if you are merely neighbors.
Why friends, then? As above, friends remain while neighborhoods change and you try out other guilds. But the big plus is the Friends Tavern.
You can sit only in Taverns of friends, not those of neighbors or guildmates (unless they are also friends). Only friends can sit in your Tavern.
When Alice sits in Bob's Tavern, Bob gets silver. Silver is yet another ingame currency; it does not interconvert with coins, supplies, goods, forge points, florins, etc. Silver can only be spent in the Tavern on upgrades or on boosts: powerful tools you're wise to study. You want those boosts available so you want silver.
At first, it seems Alice gives without getting. (I found it confusing to sit at table with neither meat nor drink whilst mine host profits.) But although Bob earns 50 silver, it costs Alice nothing. Alice has her own Tavern, she has a chance of getting some silver when sitting at Bob's; and it's still free. The payoff is when Bob returns the favor.
There are four classes of upgrade you can make on your Tavern, all paid for in silver. Table/chairs make it possible for more to sit at once. Trays improve your take per patron. Tablecloths give your sitting friends a chance at forge points. Floors improve your kickback when at others' Taverns.
Friends stay seated until you collect; and any benefit comes at once. So it's not rude to put them out as soon as they sit. You get slightly more silver per friend at a full table than you do if you collect often... but it's not a big bonus until you have a large table. Large tables themselves also increase the take, with or without more chairs. So there's some benefit to more chairs... and you needn't collect so often.
Tray upgrades are on the same order; you get a small silver bonus and friends get nothing. Floor upgrades also give your Tavern patrons nothing except to look at.
Tablecloths are another matter. If you're reading this, you know FPs are very valuable. The first tablecloth upgrade gives patrons a 1% chance of a 1 FP kickback. Sounds like not much but over even 50 Tavern calls a day, it's a fair chance at a bump. The finest tablecloth offers 8% for your friends' patronage. This is, however, an expensive item.
Why all this Tavern detail? Look back to the limit on friends. Invite as many neighbors and guildmates as you like... eventually you will hit the limit. Who do you cut?
So far, I have not cut any friends... but I will, soon. When you're new, you want every friend you can get, no matter who. Later, you need those 80 spots filled with people who benefit you the most. Everyone is making the same calculations. There is a complex relationship among Tavern and Aid, given and got; payoffs can be considerable.
I say, just as in real life: The best way to get and keep good friends is to be a good friend. So I put tablecloth upgrades first, and keep plenty of chairs. Meanwhile, I don't skip too many opportunities to Aid and sit with my friends.
When I see a Tavern with a huge, full table, beautiful tray, nice rug, and no tablecloth, I see a future cut. When I drop into an empty seat with good cloth; when I see that same friend is in my Tavern and Aiding me daily; I'll be sure to have a chair free.
Last note: I'm grateful to oldtimers who made friends and room for me in their fine establishments, although I could be of little use. One reason I concentrate on linen is to repay in part their trust. I hope I'm always able, cut as I must, to keep a few chairs for newcomers.
