Disney Dreamlight Valley Tips & Tricks

Disney Dreamlight Valley isn't a difficult game, and overall it teaches you all the important things you need to know. But there are some aspects and features the game didn't touch on that are quite useful! Now, after reaching 40+ hours, I feel confident in my knowledge that I may have some useful tips and tricks. Without further ado, here are some things to keep in mind while playing! 

1 — Overeating Gives You a Boost

If you want to move around the valley a little quicker or want to stop having to eat too often, there's a way to push the bar further than just full. If you eat any cooked meal after your energy is at max, you'll start to fill up a golden bar instead. Just like the other one, it dwindles away with actions that take up energy, but as long as you have it, you will walk faster! 

Bonus: You don't even need to make a big, complex meal — with just two Fruit Salads (using good fruit, like Apples and Blueberries), you'll fill the yellow bar up! 

2 — Upgrade Without Fear

Unlike in Animal Crossing where every upgrade takes a day or more, in Dreamlight Valley, you'll have access to the upgrades as soon as you pay for them. That means that, if you can, try to upgrade Scrooge's shop within your first day of playing, as you'll immediately get a bunch of new furniture to buy. 

3 — Save Items

I think this is a rule of thumb for most games with inventory, selling, and missions, but try to save up a few of everything you get. Although it might be a bit ugly to have a bunch of chests lying around, it is ideal to have some items handy just in case. This also includes things like Stone and Twigs — which are abundant — as you might need a lot of them if you want to craft paths and decorations.

Bonus: some items are always easily accessible (such as Blueberries, Apples, and Raspberries), so try to use those instead of other collectables that are harder to get (such as Mushrooms). 

4 — Collect Everything

Building on the previous point, in addition to saving a few items of everything, you should also continue to collect as you play. It might feel a bit tedious for some to forage constantly, but it's definitely recommended. Grab all the Twigs and Stone you can (especially if you're into decorating), as they're very important for crafting. I'd even go as far as to say you should build a daily routine around collecting some of the rarer items — such as Mushrooms — so you have a nice build up for whenever you might need them. 

5 — Always Take a Friend

This might be an obvious one, but for those that didn't realise, you should always have a friend with you. The bonus they offer is quite useful, especially if you have several characters with the same one (as it becomes stronger). In addition to always having a friend, mining, fishing, and foraging are the most important jobs you can give them, so try to have several of those. 

6 — Feed the Critters

Although the game doesn't explain this very well, you can feed all the Critters from the beginning of the game; it's just that they all have a different way of being approached. The reason you should feed them (especially their favourite foods) is that if you do, you can tame them and also get some motifs. Be careful, though, because you can only feed them once a day, so if you mess up the food, you'll have to wait until the next day! 

7 — Sell Gems

Although you should definitely save some in your chests, once you've had what you feel might be enough (in my case, it's 15 of both variants each) and have nothing you want to craft with them, it's definitely important to sell every gem you get. In fact, it is one of the best ways of getting money! 

8 — Money is Important!

Money is definitely one of the most crucial things to learn how to control in the game. It does everything from unlocking buildings and upgrading them to helping you with decoration. Although it sometimes feels a bit slow in the early game, there are definitely ways to farm it quickly — such as having a mining friend and mining every chance you get — and no real order you should spend it. The game isn't punishing if you use it all on unlocking, upgrading, or just decorating; you can choose what is important to prioritise. For some, it might be inventory; for others, Goofy's stalls. 

9 — Make Your Own Clothes

The game doesn't explain much about how to make your own clothes outside of the Avatar Maker you can access before purchasing the game (which I recommend, as you can take what you make into your game), but if you go into your clothes menu, you can select the option to make your own. Although it might sound difficult — or you might think it'll look lame — it's actually quite handy, and the motifs are super cute! 

10 — Some Items are for Crafting

The game bunches every item into categories, meaning that if you want to make a Fruit Salad, you don't have to use specific ingredients — anything that is considered fruit will do. This is useful because of creativity and roleplay, but also because you can then prioritise which items to sell and which to use for crafting. For example, the Bream and the Rainbow Trout can be used for cooking, but the former sells for 280 and the latter for 50. Keep that in mind so you can be fattening up the wallet and your character with the proper choices! 

That's it for our tips and tricks! Did you find anything useful? Have you enjoyed Disney Dreamlight Valley? Let us know in the comments below!