One of the most important things that Disney Dreamlight Valley players can do is assign their villagers Companion Roles. There are five different Companion Roles, one for each of the main types of tasks in the game: Mining, Gardening, Digging, Fishing, and Foraging. Many of the Companion Roles are fairly straightforward with what they do, but the Foraging Companion Role can be a bit confusing. It can be hard to tell exactly what actions are covered by the Foraging Companion Role and whether it's worth having Foraging Companions at all.
Companion Roles are effectively specializations for villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Whenever the player is hanging out with a Villager, they'll receive bonus items when performing an action that aligns with their Companion Role. The villager will also level up faster when the player performs the actions. Companion Roles can be assigned to all villagers (except for Ariel at the start and Ursula) as soon as they reach Level 2 Friendship.
What Does the Foraging Companion Role Cover?
Although there are a lot of items listed under the Foraging tab in the Collection, not all of them count as Foraging as far as villagers are concerned. When hanging out with a Foraging villager, players will receive additional items whenever they use the "Harvest" command on wild crops and fruits. This includes spices like Oregano and Basil, ingredients like Mushrooms, and any Berry Bush or Fruit Tree like Blueberries, Lemons, and even Dreamlight Valley's new Dreamlight Fruit. Performing this action will also level up Foraging Villagers faster, and the higher their level, the more bonus items they will provide to the player.
What Doesn't Count For the Foraging Companion Role?
It's also worth noting what doesn't trigger the bonus items reward from a Foraging Companion. Most notably, any item that is obtained via the "Pick Up" command, like Flowers or Wood, will not give companions extra experience or the chance to get extra items. Likewise, using the upgraded Royal Shovel to break tree stumps or the upgraded Royal Watering Can to clear Giant Mushrooms also provides no additional reward. Foraging Companions are only useful for picking fruit and wild crops.
While Foraging Companions are admittedly of limited usefulness, it still is a good idea to have at least one or two villagers specialized in this role. If players want to change an already assigned villager into a Foraging villager, they can craft and use the Foraging Training Manual to do so.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is in early access now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.