How to unlock tools in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town How to get the axe, the hammer, and the sickle How to get the hoe and the watering can How to get the bucket How to get the fishing rod How to get the camera How to get the leash How to use the Tool Bag in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Tool durability and upgrades in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
How to unlock tools in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
There are nine types of tool in Pioneers of Olive Town, but you don’t have access to them all straight away. Instead, each tool is gifted to you by one of the game’s NPCs at an appropriate story beat. On the plus side, this doesn’t require much effort on your part — especially since you receive all those tools for free. The only downside is that it’s not immediately obvious when or how to get some of these tools. Read on for full details of how to acquire each one.
How to get the axe, the hammer, and the sickle
When you first begin the game and arrive at your ancestral farm, you’ll get a visit from Victor. As Olive Town’s mayor and a friend of your late grandfather’s, he’s eager to welcome you to town. Upon seeing you taken aback at the farm’s overgrown state, Victor will helpfully gift you three tools: an axe for chopping trees, a hammer for breaking rocks, and a sickle for cutting grass.
So in practice, these will be available to you from the very start of the game, since they’ll be in your inventory by the time the opening cutscenes have wrapped up.
How to get the hoe and the watering can
Victor will return bright and early on the second morning of the game. Continuing on from yesterday’s tutorial, he’ll introduce you to a few more of the game’s systems.
He’ll also gift you a hoe for cultivating farmland, a watering can to water your crops with, and a handful of turnip seeds to get you started.
How to get the bucket
After a couple of days, you might notice puddles of water forming on the ground around your farm. However, you won’t be able to do anything about them until after your first rainy day. In my game this happened on Day 8, but I suspect there’s an element of randomness to it. The following morning, you’ll get a visit from local repairman Clemens. This helpful and regrettably-not-romanceable guy takes a few minutes off from repairing your busted motorbike for free to help you out with your farm’s drainage issues too. (Stop being so darned charming already!) To this end, he gives you a bucket.
You can use the bucket to clear away puddles of water around the farm. Not only does it make the place look tidier, but doing so gives you clay, a crafting material that’ll come in handy soon after you gain access to it. After you’ve unlocked more areas of your farm, you can also use the bucket to drain small ponds. These often have sunken treasure in them, so keep an eye out!
How to get the fishing rod
To unlock the fishing rod, you simply need to visit Marcos’ House, the fishing hut just off the beach in Olive Town. It seems like you can do this from the very start of the game if you wish. It’s best to drop by in the evening, when the family is more likely to be at home.
Marcos is one of the local fisherman. It’s clear that his wife, Manuela, is very keen to offload some of the old fishing gear cluttering up the house. You’re no sooner through the door than she’s pressed an old fishing rod into your hands and suggested you take up the hobby.
How to get the camera
Upon your first visit to Olive Museum during its hours of operation, the curator Gloria will quickly rush over to bend your ear. Gloria also happens to be the wife of Mayor Victor, in case you couldn’t tell from their shared personality trait of being super helpful and incredibly pushy at the same time.
You’ll probably notice that the old museum is entirely empty save for one exhibit. Gloria has a laundry list of things you can do to help improve the place. One request she makes is that you donate photographs of wildlife to be used as reference images for a series of sculptures. To this end, she’ll give you the camera.
How to get the leash
Before you can unlock the leash, you need to complete your first house upgrade. Visit the Hoof House Animal Shop during business hours anytime after the upgrade is completed. Owner Patricia will quickly corner you to gush about your expanded living space, and will suggest that now is a good time to get a pet dog or cat. She’ll give you a leash as a free gift to “celebrate your house renovations”.
This predatory marketing tactic absolutely works — or at least, it did on me. Though you do technically have the option of leaving without buying anything, and despite the fact that it cost 75% of my current bank balance, you’d better believe I left that pet shop the doting mama of a sweet-tempered American shorthair. “Free gift” indeed.
How to use the Tool Bag in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
Tools can’t be stored or placed in the world. Instead, they are kept in a separate inventory called the Tool Bag when not in use. All tools will be sent to your Tool Bag when you first receive them.
You move tools from the Tool Bag to your main inventory using the Bag tab of the Notebook. You can only use tools when they’re in your main Bag. Since you start the game with only 16 active inventory slots, it’s a good idea just to bring your tools out when you need them.
Tool durability and upgrades in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
Pioneers of Olive Town doesn’t feature tool durability in the classic sense. While your tools last forever, using them takes a toll on your character’s stamina. Higher-quality tools have a number of advantages. They have larger areas-of-effect, special abilities, and reduced stamina burn. To upgrade your tools, you’ll need certain metals, which you get by breaking rocks or hitting mine seams with the hammer.
Iron can be found in the vicinity of your farmhouse from the very start, and also in the nearby mines. Silver turns up in the second mine, after you’ve repaired the broken bridge and crossed to the second area of the farm. Pay a visit to Worker’s Base Tool Shop in Olive Town and ask Clemens to upgrade your tools to the better metal versions. Later on in the game, you can craft machines that perform the same tasks as your tools. These include sprinklers (which do the same job as the watering can) and the suction pump (which drains larger lakes far more efficiently than the bucket).
These machines aren’t technically “upgrades” as they don’t replace your tools. However, they do the same jobs more efficiently, and should definitely be used to supplement all your hard physical labour around the farm. For more on constructing machines to make your life in Olive Town easier, check out our guide to the Lumber Maker. Or if you’re wondering what to do with all those bronze medals you keep picking up, have a look at our Town Medals guide.
