Palia is a relaxing MMORPG with an emphasis on social interaction, farming, and casual exploration. It's essentially a life-sim that players can explore together, build their own house, and create their dream farm layout. One of the most rewarding aspects is the friendships that players can build with their fellow villagers. Friendship levels can be increased by gifting items that each villager likes, as well as giving them specifically requested items from their weekly wants.
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Players will need to build these friendships with certain villagers in order to unlock specific items for one, but some friendships will need to be prioritized in order for players to level up their skills. There are also many romance options that can be developed with some villagers, and players will need to build their friendship levels first before focusing on this. With that being said, these are the most important friendships to focus on near the beginning of the game.
8 Ashura
Helps Players Progress Their Foraging Skill
- Ashura can be gifted most food and gatherable items.
- Weekly Wants - Congee, Stickleback, Stalking Catfish, Apple Pie.
Ashura is the local innkeeper who is always friendly and acts as one of the player's first points of contact in the world of Palia. He's one of the older Majiri out of all the villagers, but it's extremely important to start building a friendship with him from the start of the game as he serves the players as a Foraging mentor.
Ashura will guide the player along in unlocking new tools such as axe upgrades, as well as construction upgrades that will make farms look a lot nicer. He's an easy character to give gifts to, and it's well worth building up that friendship early on.
7 Tish
Helps Players Progress Their Furniture Making Skill
- Tish can be gifted Treasure Chests, flowers, and shells.
- Weekly Wants - Ship Fragments, Acorn, Petit Fives, Blueberry Pie.
Tish is a talented carpenter who is worth befriending if players want to make their farm plot feel like home. Building a friendship with Tish will unlock new craftable furniture items that will be sure to spruce up any tent, house, or farm. After the initial furniture introduction quest, players will be able to unlock various decorative items.
The more players befriend Tish, the better items they can unlock. Tish is also a romanceable character, so if players are looking for a carpenter to share a home with, then look no further. She's cute and charming and has quite an interesting backstory alongside her brother, Reth.
6 Auni
Helps Players Progress Their Bug Catching Skill
- Auni can be gifted any Bugs, any Smoke Bombs, Apple Jam, and Blueberry Jam.
- Weekly Wants - Common Bark Cicada, Garden Millipede, Spotted Mantis, Applie Pie.
Auni is an enthusiastic, younger Majiri who absolutely loves catching bugs and insects. He introduces characters to the Bug Catching mechanic, gifting the player a number of smoke bombs to get started on their Bug Catching journey. Increasing the player's friendship with Auni leads to unlocking better Bug Catching tools and accessories - meaning better bugs can be caught.
Bug Catching is a skill seen in lots of life-sim games, but can prove useful in Palia as it can be a great money-making method, not to mention it's actually pretty fun too. Befriending and gifting bugs to Auni is worth it alone due to his pure excitement and funny reactions, and any Bug Catching enthusiast will want to befriend this character early on.
5 Badruu
Helps Players Progress Their Gardening Skill
- Badruu can be gifted Crops, Fertilizer, and any Pickles.
- Weekly Wants - Wagon Wheel, Wheat Seed, Loaded Potato Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Badruu is an interesting character with a definite humorous undertone. He's incredibly friendly and will make the player feel right at home with some of his awful yet heartwarming puns. Badruu is the local farming expert who will guide players along their journey of planting and harvesting the best crops in the game.
His iconic straw hat is instantly recognizable and most players will always have a smile on their faces when they interact with him. It's good to build an early friendship with Badruu as players can unlock better farming and gardening tools, which can lead to growing better crops and plants - a great money-making method.
4 Einar
Helps Players Progress Their Fishing Skill
- Einar can be gifted Fish, Vegetables, Shiny Pebbles, and fished up trinkets.
- Weekly Wants - Silver Salmon, PrismTrout, Shimmerfin, Fisherman's Brew.
The first interaction that players have with Einar will immediately send them on a fishing quest, gifting them with a fishing rod to get started. This is a great skill to level up near the start of the game, as it's an easy way to make meals, which can be gifted or consumed for Focus, as well as a great way to make some money.
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Einar is a Galdur which is a type of robot-like creature made by humans many years ago. He's romanceable and interesting to talk to, but the main benefits of developing a friendship with Einar are to gain better fishing rods and better bait in order to catch more valuable fish.
3 Hassian
Helps Players Progress Their Hunting Skill
- Hassian can be gifted Arrows, Fireworks, Fish, or any Savory Dish.
- Weekly Wants - Leather, Sernuk Noodle Stew, Proudhorned Sernuk Antlers, Dispel Arrow.
Hassian is a romanceable hunter who should be befriended early in the game if players want to focus on their Hunting skill. Befriending Hassian will unlock various advantages, including better bows and stronger arrows, which will aid players in hunting and obtaining more valuable meat and loot from wild animals.
Hunting is also one of the more fun skills to level as it's the only form of combat in the game and provides a welcome break from all the socializing. Hassian always travels with his canine companion, Tau, who can also be befriended by gifting themmeat every day - and it's great to give him a cuddle.
2 Hodari
Helps Players Progress Their Mining Skill
- Hodari can be gifted Fertilizer, Seeds, and Pickles.
- Weekly Wants - Paper Lantern Bug, Elder Sernuk Antlers, Stonefish, Steak Dinner.
Hodari is the resident Mining expert in Palia and proves invaluable in befriending early on as Mining is one of the best skills to level near the start of the game. Mining is a great way to obtain valuable items and will prove essential when it comes to constructing and upgrading the house.
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Befriending Hodari will allow players to unlock better mining equipment such as stronger pickaxes, as well as recipes for construction-based items like copper bars or clay bricks. Hodari might seem a little grumpy at first, but once players put in the effort to befriend him, Hodari proves a great companion.
1 Reth
Helps Players Progress Their Cooking Skill
- Reth can be gifted any Fish, Steak Dinner, Carrot, and Sernuk Meat.
- Weekly Wants - Sweet Leaf, Heat Root, Blueberry, Dari Cloves.
Cooking is one of the best skills to focus on in Palia, so players should definitely start befriending Reth straight away. Any type of food, especially cooked meals and puddings, can be extremely useful for gifting and will help players raise their friendship with all villagers throughout the game.
Befriending Reth will help unlock new cooking appliances, which are required to make better dishes, as well as new recipes that are only unlockable through Reth. Cooking is also one of the most satisfying parts of the game, and it's just great to feel like a true chef.
