Tips to enjoy Summer in Mara

Have you been enjoying Summer in Mara? Over at LadiesGamers we sure have!

When you play a lot of simulation games, you expect that farming, mining, taking care of animals and such is pretty much the same as in the games we have come to love, like Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons. Only to find out that it doesn’t. Every new game is unique, as is Summer in Mara.

We have already made several guides to help you out (find our collection here), now let’s look at some tips that will make you enjoy Summer in Mara even more!

And if you like our work on LadiesGamers, consider supporting us! [kofi]

The Shrine on Home Island

In the intro of the game, Yaya Haku was teaching Koa all she needed to know. I felt it was a bit jarring that when the game started for real, she was gone. Later on I realised the shrine that is now next to the Guardians Doors is for her. 

Standing next to it you can press Remember. When you do that the first time you get the Chrystalis that goes in the Guardians Door.

The flowers are the shrine feature in a quest as well, set to you by Sami. You have to harvest the Haku flowers at the shrine, which you can only do when you have made a better hoe. It’s a part of the sequence of the first series quests on Qälis: After Sami tells you she needs Haku’s flower to prove Koa is indeed related to Yaya, talk to Caleb down at the pier before you get on your boat and Caleb will give you this quest:  bring him 2 x carrots and 3 x lettuce seeds. Plant and return with crops required to Caleb, he’ll give you the recipe for the upgraded hoe.

Making Manure and Coal

After spending time on Qälis, I found three bags of manure at the little signpost next to the house. You use manure in the same way as  you do water: pick it up with Y and pore it out over the plots. Only put it on a plot that you just seeded, as it won’t do any good otherwise. 

There are only three bags, but eventually you’ll get a quest on Qälis to deliver a bag of manure for someone to the Banker. (don’t worry if you’ve used yours, you get one for the delivery). After that, you’ll learn the recipe: You need 1x Herb, 1x Coal and 1x Cork. All of these can be purchased on the market. But herbs are a fern-like plant that can be found the Home Island. And you can get coal from setting fire to trees using a Campfire and a torch! 

Didn’t know you could do that? Well, even in Mara you can burn things! Make a campfire and make a torch. Light the torch on the campfire and hold it to a tree. After about 20-30 seconds the tree will be completely destroyed and you will get Coal.

Symbols on the sea map: diving and fishing 

When Saimi in the Lighthouse on Qälis finally finishes the sea map, your world gets bigger. More exploration fun! Before sailing off though remember to buy diving goggles at the fishing shop Noho has in the harbour. And be sure to buy a few, because you’ll only get one use out of it. 

Several quests will centre on you diving up stuff, aside from that some nice treasure can be found on the bottom of the sea. Koa only has a certain amount of air to stay underwater, but when she swims through the big blue bubbles air is added to your bar on the top of the screen. When the air is up, Koa automatically goes up to the surface. Plus, when you swim near the white and red lifesaver you also go up.

The sea maps have several symbols. There’s the blue flag on there for a diving spot. And then there’s a blue fish for a fishing spot.  Of course, you can find fishing spots on the islands too. Note that every spot needs different bait, and that they all produce a different kind of fish or sea creature. For instance, squid can be caught close to Qälis island. Octopus on the Home Island on the left side of the beach. Bass can be caught near Puni Cave and Catfish is found near the Iron Island. 

Not all fish is easily caught, I’ve found myself with a broken thread more then once. But then, I had huge trouble fishing in Stardew Valley too, must be my coordination! 

Lastly, there’s a pirate symbol near the Puni Cave. You can take him up on his offer yet for a race! 

Animals on Home Island

As in any good farming game, you can take care of several sorts of animals on Home Island. Once you have repaired their homes, you will meet them in the strangest ways. The first for me were the chicken: a yellow star appeared on the sea map while I was out and about. Navigating there I found a little chick floating in a cage. The game asks if you want to rescue it: of course I did! (in fact, I feel so sorry for the critters that I now have four chickens already!)

Once you near Home Island again, you get the notification that there’s now a chicken living on your island. You feed them corn, you can pet them, and when they are mature, they produce an egg for you! 

After the chickens you can also find sheep and probable more sorts of animals still to come. 

One critter that is still a bit of a mystery to me is the Queen Bee. When you destroy that bee nest hanging from a tree outside the Lighthouse chances are you get a little Queen Bee in your pocket. I should think you can use her to build yourself a bee hive, but I haven’t managed it yet. 

Trees of all sorts

Like in Animal Crossing you can have a large variety of trees on your Home Island. You start our with pine and oranges, but pretty soon you will find Apples and Cherries on Qälis. When you come home to your island, you can plant them in a spot you like and they will give you produce. 

Later on Peaches and Pomegranate are found, which you can both plant on higher ground. On one of the other island I also found Bananas and Coconut, both of which I planted on the beach. 

Aside from he Pine, Acorns are also added to the collection. All of this means you have a way to harvest fruit and seed for money, but the island also looks pretty amazing! 

Don’t worry about watering them once you’ve planted a tree, there’s no need to. Come the next rain a tree will quickly sprout. 

A few loose ends

Inventory Screen
In the inventory screen when you’re buying items from any shop, the game tells you if you have the item already in your inventory. Below where it shows the total of what you’re buying and the Y buy button icon….there’s a teeny tiny number. Might need your reading glasses! 

Paying extra  for items
When you’re at a merchant selling items the merchant will pay more then other merchants for some items in your inventory. This is indicated with a star on the corner of the items icon. It varies from merchant to merchant, so be clever and make the most for your crops and produce! 

Shortcut to Qälis
While sailing the seas after you got the sea map, you can get back to Qälis quickly by pressing right on your DPad. It does cost you 40 coins. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found making money in this game a challenge….so I will just chug along without paying. 

Adding structures to Home Island
Over time you can add items to your island, like this statue, or a cooker. Some have their uses, for some we are still wondering why they are there (yes, we mean you, Cooker! ). But, all serve to make your Home Island the most beautiful home around!