Rune Factory 4 Special – FAQ/Walkthrough

Copyright and Other Information

FAQ Version

About Rune Factory 4

Rune Factory is a fantasy simulation/role-playing video game series developed by Neverland Co. LTD and published by Marvelous AQL. The North American version of Rune Factory 4 was published by XSeed. Rune Factory 4 is a hybrid of the Harvest Moon series and action RPGs. The current Rune Factory 4 is the sixth installment in the Rune Factory franchise.

Main Character Profiles

Lest *Male Protagonist

	Birthday	Up to the player
	Voice Actor	Koki Uchiyama / Bryce Papenbrook
	Bio	The main protagonist of Rune Factory 4. A young man who suffers from memory loss after falling from the sky. The protagonist is saved by a dragon and given the role of Prince of Selphia.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	N/A
	Dislikes	N/A

Frey *Female Protagonist

	Birthday	Up to the player.
	Voice Actor	Chiwa Saito
	Bio	The main protagonist of Rune Factory 4. A young girl who suffers from memory loss after falling from the sky. The protagonist is saved by a dragon and given the role of Princess of Selphia.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	N/A
	Dislikes	N/A

Bachelorette Profiles

Margaret

	Birthday	Spring 21
	Voice Actor	Aoi Yuuki
	Bio	Margaret is an elf who works at the local diner by entertaining guests with beautiful music. She has a serious attitude and despite living at a high elevation at the edge of the city, she has a fear of heights.
	Weapon	Staff
	Favourite Gifts	Pink Melon, Pineapple Juice, golden vegetables
	Likes	Fruits, dishes made from fruits
	Dislikes	Squid

Amber

	Birthday	Spring 26
	Voice Actor	Satomi Sato
	Bio	Originally a monster taking the shape of a butterfly, Amber transforms into a girl after she is defeated by the protagonist. She has a naive and childish personality.
	Weapon	Watering pot
	Favourite Gifts	Mixed Smoothie
	Likes	Honey, flowers
	Dislikes	Fish

Forte

	Birthday	Summer 22
	Voice Actor	Sanae Kobayashi
	Bio	Forte works as a knight in the town of Selphia. She is a very strict character and tries not to display her gentle side. Forte is also overprotective to those close to her.
	Weapon	Two-Handed Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Union Stew, Omelet Rice, Chocolate Cake
	Likes	Cake, flowers, egg dishes
	Dislikes	Curry dishes

Xiao Pai

	Birthday	Summer 26
	Voice Actor	Hisako Kanemoto
	Bio	The daughter of Lin Fa, Xiao Pai works at the Bell Hotel along with her mother. Xiao Pai is very clumsy and strives each day to improve herself.
	Weapon	Axe
	Favourite Gifts	Crystal flowers, Emery Flower
	Likes	Flowers, Oriental cuisine
	Dislikes	Tomatoes
	Note	Xiao Pai is the only NPC who will randomly trip.

Clorica

	Birthday	Spring 12
	Voice Actor	Hitomi Nabatame
	Bio	An apprentice butler studying under Volkanon, she is a little slow and has a habit of falling asleep no matter where she is.
	Weapon	Spear
	Favourite Gifts	Apple Pie, Diamonds, Platinum, Orichalcum
	Likes	Apple recipes, jewelry, Gold, Silver
	Dislikes	Grapes, Grape dishes

Dolce

	Birthday	Winter 18
	Voice Actor	Ayana Taketatsu
	Bio	Dolce was originally a monster called Marionetta. After returning to her human form, she is taken in by Nancy and Jones and helps them out in the clinic.
	Weapon	Staff
	Favourite Gifts	Flan, Pumpkin Flan, cakes
	Likes	Medicine, hot drinks
	Dislikes	Vegetables, cold drinks

Bachelor Profiles

Vishnal

	Birthday	Fall 17
	Voice Actor	Daisuke Namikawa
	Bio	Vishnal is a butler in training. He is clumsy and a terrible chef, but has a very positive outlook on things and tries hard to be an excellent butler. At the same time, he is gullible and often the subject of pranks.
	Weapon	Twin Swords
	Favourite Gifts	Curry dishes, golden vegetables
	Likes	Sweets
	Dislikes	Turnips

Arthur

	Birthday	Summer 4
	Voice Actor	Tatsuhisa Suzuki
	Bio	A royal prince residing in Selphia. Arthur is highly respected and never exploits his noble authority to get others to do work for him.
	Weapon	Staff
	Favourite Gifts	Golden Turnip, Turnip Heaven, Salmon Rice Ball
	Likes	Glasses, Turnips, Rice Balls, Sandwiches
	Dislikes	Fried fish dishes

Doug

	Birthday	Fall 6
	Voice Actor	Toshiki Masuda
	Bio	A dwarf who works in the local general store. He has a very rash personality and is very competitive with his peers. Note: Doug's Friendship/Love Point is capped at 3 until you have finish the second story arc.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Tempura Bowl
	Likes	Rice dishes
	Dislikes	Bread dishes

Dylas

	Birthday	Fall 9
	Voice Actor	Tomokazu Sugita
	Bio	Dylas works at the restaurant, but due to his lack of social skills he is often misunderstood and sparks all sorts of weird rumors about him. Dylas also develops a very strong rivalry with Doug, and the two of them will do whatever it takes to beat each other in a contest.
	Weapon	Fists
	Favourite Gifts	Milk Porridge
	Likes	Carrots, fish, sashimi, milk, milk dishes
	Dislikes	Sweets

Leon

	Birthday	Summer 9
	Voice Actor	Kousuke Toriumi
	Bio	Leon is a man with a sharp personality. He is often a prankster in search of amusement; however, deep down he is a good friend to those close to him.
	Weapon	Spear
	Favourite Gifts	Grilled Lamp Squid, Grilled Poison Rainbow Trout
	Likes	Lamp Squid, Poison Rainbow Trout
	Dislikes	Milk and products that contain milk

Kiel

	Birthday	Winter 2
	Voice Actor	Hiro Shimono
	Bio	Forte's younger brother. Kiel is a kind young man who is very naive to his surroundings. He is very fond of books.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Chocolate Cake, boss drops (e.g. Lightning Mane, Puppetry Strings, etc.)
	Likes	Sweets
	Dislikes	Sashimi

Other Characters

Volkanon

	Birthday	Summer 6
	Voice Actor	Yukitoshi Hori
	Bio	Volkanon is the head butler who takes care of many matters of Selphia, He might seem overly dramatic on the outside, but he is also very compassionate to those around him.
	Weapon	Fist
	Favourite Gifts	Relax Tea
	Likes	Wood, Material Stone
	Dislikes	Disastrous Dish, Failed Dish

Porcoline

	Birthday	Winter 21
	Voice Actor	Takahiro Fujimoto
	Bio	The top chef living in Selphia. Porcoline comes from a family famous for their love of food. Porcoline is known to have a weird sense of humor, but has a kind soul and is always willing to help those in need.
	Weapon	Twin Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Any cooked food
	Likes	Vegetables, Mushrooms
	Dislikes	Any kind of medicine

Lin Fa

	Birthday	Spring 8
	Voice Actor	Yumi Sudou
	Bio	Xiao Pai's mother, owner of the Bell Hotel in Selphia. Lin Fa appears as a beautiful woman that overshadows her daughter. Lin Fa also appears to be a klutz which sparks all kinds of admirers.
	Weapon	Spear
	Favourite Gifts	Milk Porridge
	Likes	Oriental cuisine, Milk, milk dishes
	Dislike	Udon and udon dishes

Bado

	Birthday	Winter 10
	Voice Actor	Osamu Ryuutani
	Bio	The local blacksmith in town, Bado is a lousy blacksmith and most often resorts to cheap and unethical methods in his business dealings. Author's Note: This guy is so cheap, he'll give you exactly one gold for New Year's Day.
	Weapon	Two-Handed Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Udon and udon dishes
	Likes	Scrap Metal
	Dislikes	Anything with cheese

Illuminata

	Birthday	Spring 23
	Voice Actor	Yuka Saitou
	Bio	Illuminata runs the local flower store in Selphia. She loves to view every situation as a detective mystery which oftentimes causes a lot of misunderstandings with fellow villagers.
	Weapon	Watering Can
	Favourite Gifts	Relax Tea Leaves
	Likes	Flowers, jam, Bread, sweets
	Dislikes	Pickles

Blossom

	Birthday	Winter 21
	Voice Actor	Yuko Tsuga
	Bio	A sweet old woman who owns the general store. She has taken in Doug and treats him as her own grandson.
	Weapon	Fist
	Favourite Gifts	Risotto
	Likes	Vegetables
	Dislikes	Any kind of medicine

Jones

	Birthday	Winter 7
	Voice Actor	Shunzou Miyasaka
	Bio	The only doctor in the village of Selphia. Jones has a fear of blood and relies on his hardworking wife to overcome this anxiety.
	Weapon	Twin Swords
	Favourite Gifts	Fried Rice
	Likes	Oriental cusine
	Dislikes	Devil Blood and anything with tomatoes

Nancy

	Birthday	Fall 23
	Voice Actor	Umeka Shouji
	Bio	Nancy is Jones' wife who works as a nurse to aid her husband. Nancy enjoys striking up a conversation and doesn't mind visitors while she works.
	Weapon	Fist
	Favourite Gifts	Stew
	Likes	Omelet, Pudding, Cheese, cheese dishes
	Dislikes	Poison Rainbow Trout, Poison Rainbow Trout recipes

Pico

	Voice Actor	Saori Hayami
	Bio	Pico is a phantom who has known Dolce since she was little. She has a deep attachment to Dolce and won't leave her side.
	Note	Pico isn't displayed on the friend list, but will occasionally pop up in some of Dolce's conversations.

Ventuswill / Selzawill

	Birthday	Spring 4
	Voice Actor	Satomi Akesaka
	Bio	One of the four Dragon Gods, Ventuswill is the wind dragon and protects the city of Selphia.
	Weapon	N/A
	Favourite Gifts	Pancakes
	Likes	Vegetables, Mushrooms, Honey
	Dislikes	Dragon Fangs

Son (Noel)

	Birthday	Varies
	Voice Actor	???
	Bio	A child full of imagination and curiosity who is often playful with the people of Selphia.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Weapons and armor
	Likes	Fried items such as Pizza or curry dishes
	Dislikes	Salad, Vegetable Juice

Daughter (Luna)

	Birthday	Varies
	Voice Actor	???
	Bio	A child full of imagination and curiosity who is often playful with the people of Selphia.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Silver Pendant and jewel rings
	Likes	Fried items such as Fries or Stew
	Dislikes	???

Guest Characters

Barrett

	Birthday	Spring 5
	Voice Actor	Masaru Suzuki
	Bio	Barret is a cameo character from Rune Factory 2. He came to the town of Selphia to investigate the Rune Factory Gates. Barrett can examine your items and will show you the materials upgrading your equipment.
	Weapon	Twin Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Salmon Sashimi, Skipjack Sashimi
	Likes	Metal ore, Scrap Metal
	Dislikes	Eggplants

Raven / Toona

	Birthday	Spring 29
	Voice Actor	Emiri Katou
	Bio	Raven/Toona is a guest character from Rune Factory 3. She is currently visiting Selphia to find rare ore. Raven will sell monster loot similar to Sakuya's shop in Rune Factory 3.
	Weapon	Sword
	Favourite Gifts	Crystal Pendant
	Likes	Crystal, simple flowers and pendants
	Dislikes	Hood, Skulls

Basic Gameplay

Controls

Information and Terminology

Options available at higher Love/Friend Points

Combat

Basic combat is done by equipping a weapon to the tool slot. Every type of equipment in the tool slot can be used to attack, including farming tools. Actual weapons have advantages such as allowing you to use Rune Abilities or special attacks with the right command.

Status Condition
When going to battle, there is a chance of being inflicted with a status ailment.

These status conditions can be recovered by using the correct medicine or by speaking to Jones or Nancy at the clinic. The fatigue condition can be cured by sleeping. If you are ever KO'd in combat, you will be brought back to the clinic and forced to pay a fee based on your level (with a cap of 10,000 G on Easy, 50,000 G on Normal, and none whatsoever on Hard). If your significant other, spouse, and/or child is in the party Jones will only charge half as much, but if Nancy is the one who nurses you back to health, she will always let you go free of charge.

Skills

Higher skill level with weapons will increase damage output and allows the protagonist to develop new abilities. For example, when your skill level reach level 5, you will learn a dash attack. Then at level 10, you can charge your weapon and finally at level 20 you can perform a special attack combo which is done by pressing the tool button after you have finished the final hit of your combo.

Farming

The basic way to farm is to till the soil with your hoe, plant seeds, and water them each day until they're ready to harvest. Doing this is enough to get you through the game, but if you want to be the richest farmer-prince(ss) in all of Norad, you'll need to pay close attention to soil attributes. The soil on your farm has two sets of values, base stats and temporary stats. As you harvest crops, the soil will gain experience and level up, increasing its base stats. Temporary stats are the values you'll see and notice most often, but when the land is allowed to lie fallow it will gradually revert to its base stats. To check the condition of the soil you'll need to purchase a Magnifying Glass from the general store, which you can use to upgrade a weapon or tool to give it the same soil-examining property. Looking at the soil will display the following numbers:

When you examine soil where crops are planted, some additional information will be displayed.

To raise the soil's base stats, you'll need to harvest plenty of crops to level up the soil. Harvesting crops will raise the soil's base stats and lower its temporary stats, creating a "soil fatigue" effect. Allowing the soil to rest will cause it to gradually revert to its base stats, but you can also utilize chemicals and fertilizer to offset this loss. Keeping the Fertilizer Bin stocked with Weeds, Withered Grass, Medicinal Herbs, Antidote Grass, or coloured grasses will automatically dispense these to keep the soil on your farm from dropping below its base level. One Fertilizer Bin will affect all your fields no matter where it's placed, and tilling Withered Grass, Corn, or 4-Leaf Clovers into a plot of soil will also restore its health. Once you accumulate enough cash to purchase chemicals, these items will raise the soil's temporary values at the expense of lower its health. It's okay if the soil reaches zero Health while you're adding chemicals as long as you remember to restore it after you're finished. Chemicals can be purchased from the flower shop and are occasionally given to you by Amber as return gifts.

Base Soil Parameters by Level

Crop Levels

Higher level crops ship for much more money than Level 1 crops, so in order to really rake in the dough you'll need to raise your crops' levels to 10. If you use your scythe on a mature crop instead of harvesting it, this will transform the crop into a seed bag, often of a higher level than the crop itself was. Crop levels will rise easily at first and slow down as they approach the maximum, so you will need to add Greenifier to the soil and use higher quality scythes to reach Level 10.

Rune Orbs and Runeys

Sometimes when you harvest a crop, you may notice a shining ball of light or a tiny glowing spirit. These are Rune Orbs and Runeys, and touching them will replenish your RP and award experience to a randomly chosen skill. Collecting Runeys is a great way to level up skills that would otherwise be tedious to raise, such as cold and faint resistance.

Plant Enlargement

One of the new features in Rune Factory 4 is the ability to grow giant-sized crops, used as crafting materials and to tame certain boss monsters. To do this, you will need to plant four of the same seed types within a single 2x2 square of soil. Next you will need to buy or otherwise acquire Giantizer to raise the secondary Sz. parameter of the soil. Since it affects the soil and not the crops, Giantizer can be used at any point in these steps. Once the four plants reach maturity, they should be somewhat larger than normal; if they aren't, you'll need to add more Giantizer to the soil and wait. Do NOT harvest them yet! Continue watering the four mature crops for a few more days until they merge into a single giant crop taking up all four spaces. If your plant does not become giant after a few days, double-check that they are planted within a single 2x2 square and that they are larger than normal. If you don't plant the four crops within a single square or they aren't larger than normal, they will never merge into a giant crop no matter how long you wait.

A Helping Hand

Any monster you tame can also be recruited to work on your farm if you like. Talk to them while they're in the barn and select the option "Assign field chores," then pick which section of the field you want them to work. Optionally, you can also pay the monster to sow seeds for you, but you cannot select what crops the monster will plant. Starting the next morning, the monster will work in their assigned section, removing debris from the field, watering, and harvesting mature crops. Branches, stumps, rocks, and boulders will be turned into Wood and Material Stone and placed in the material bin, while all grass and weeds will be placed in the Fertilizer Bin. Harvested crops will be placed in the shipping bin (or the fodder bin in the case of fodder grass) and can be collected by you later if you prefer not to sell them. Monsters who are working in the fields need more fodder per day and will gradually lose HP. If the monster's HP falls too low, it will stop working and rest until its health goes back up. Keep an eye on your monsters and either give them time off or heal them when their health starts to plummet.

Tips

• Crops can be planted in any season, but grow faster when planted in a preferred season and more slowly if planted in a non-preferred season.
• Speak to Arthur when he's in his office or examine the bookshelf to look at the Harvest Report. This will give you a heads-up on which crops will produce more or less crops than usual.
• Growing yams and turning them into Baked Sweet Potatoes will be your best source of income early in the game. Later in the game, growing pineapples to make Pineapple Juice will make you millions of gold each day. But once you've shipped a Level 10 Golden Turnip, Cabbage, Pumpkin, Potato, and Emery Flower, you can buy them from the general store and flower shop to make Gold Juice for massive profit. Each Level 10 Gold Juice is worth 2.4 million gold, and shipping bin full of Level 10 Gold Juice is worth ~750,000,000 G.
• When planting crops for soil experience, apple trees will give the most experience and can be harvested every day no matter what the soil's Grw. parameter is.
• When planting for Rune Orbs and Runeys, Pineapples are your best choice even when not in season. With a 5.0x growth parameter they will regrow every day during Summer and every other day during other seasons. Remember that you will need to harvest them yourself; if you leave it up to your monsters, Rune Orbs and Runeys won't appear.

Main Walkthrough

Prologue

When you start a new game, you will see the following two choices.

"I'm flyin' high, baby!" Male Protagonist

"Goodness, I'm so high up!" Female Protagonist

This choice will determine the gender of the protagonist. Watch the event scene and a group of soldiers will break out of the barrels, forcing you into combat.

Now defeat the two soldiers and resume the game.

After the event scene, Volkanon (the butler) will demonstrate the basics of the game. When Volkanon brings you to your room, he will have you examine the diary beside the bed, used for saving your file. Close the save menu and then examine the bed to sleep.

The next morning, another butler named Clorica will wake you up. Eat the Apple Pie and take the north exit. Vishnal will teach you the basic of farming and provide you with a hoe, watering pot, and some Turnip seeds. Equip the Hoe and till the fields, then plant all of the seeds. You can sow four seeds at once if you hold the button and then release it. Use the watering pot at the well to fill it and then use it to water the seeds.

Speak to Ventuswill (the green dragon) and meet Arthur. After the conversation is done, go outside and examine the red mail box (Eliza).

Take the first request from Eliza, then go back to the Palace entrance (Dragon Room) and check the gold sign post on the right.

This is the Order Sign board, a new function added to the Rune Factory series. The "ORDER" command uses your nobility to expand and change the environment of Selphia Village. Now use the Order function to open the Cooking Contest festival. Each Order requires Prince/Princess Points (PP) to perform, gained from every basic action in the game. Now leave and examine the red mail box to claim your reward.

Leave the village and Forte will speak to you. Here you can adjust the difficulty setting from Easy to Hard. Select whichever difficulty setting you are most comfortable with. If you do not like the current the difficulty setting, you can change it by heading to the trophy room in your basement.

Exit the village and head to right side of the field map, where you will find the entrance to a forest.

Before you go to the next area, it is highly recommended you talk to all of the villagers living in Selphia Village. Not only will you build a stronger relationship between them, but you can also trigger Town Events. Town Events have a large influence on the game, as certain portions will require a special Town Event to trigger. They're also side stories for certain characters, and I highly recommend doing them. For those who seek to marry one of the characters, you must finish all Town Events relating to that character before the game will let you marry them.

Yokmir Forest

A fairly straightforward dungeon, you can beat this area by reaching the northeast exit. In the third area, you will be trapped by a blue force field. For these kind of situations, you must defeat all the monsters within the room to remove the force field.

After defeating Ambrosia, go visit the clinic and speak to Jones and Nancy. Leave the clinic and then head to the palace to speak with Ventuswill. Go to bed and then on the next day, visit the clinic and speak to Amber (Ambrosia's human form), then watch the event. For the next event to trigger, you will need to wait a few days. The first event begins when the protagonist starts to hear noises during his/her sleep. Confront Ventuswill about the noises and watch the event. Wait another two days and go to the Dragon Room to see an event with Ventuswill. You will receive Venti's Charm. Leave the village and head south. Volkanon will break the block of trees that prevented you from going to the south area. Now head to the southeast area until you find the Water Ruins.

Water Ruins

As you enter the Water Ruins, Doug will show up and give you the Fire Ball Spell. You can equip Rune Ability and Magic on the X and Y button.

Now take the north exit to the next area, then travel to the east side to reach the next room. Keep moving right until you see an exit on the north. Take the north exit out. Cross through the other side by using the pillar on the right. Press the red switch, which will remove the red pillar on the center. Take the center path and exit out from the west. From here you can go north or south, and each path has a dead end with a yellow switch. Go press the yellow switch on the north and south path. This will create a bridge on the center. Go to the center exit to fight the next boss.

Return to the town and visit the clinic, then head to the Dragon Room to speak to Ventuswill. Rest and go to the clinic the next day. Watch the event with Dylas (Thunderbolt's human form) and speak to him. After a few days, when you start to hear the villagers mentioning ghosts, head to the housing area of Selphia (the west side of town) to see a ghost-like figure is teleporting around the town. Now go to the east side of Town (Melody Street) to see another event. Next go the center of Airship Way to see a third event. After that, speak to the pink figure near the town exit, who will reveal herself as Pico. Speak to Pico, then leave the town and head west. Volkanon will create a bridge allowing you to travel to the west side of Selphia Plains.

Go west until you see a dark mansion.

Obsidian Mansion

First examine the paintings around the room; each examinable spot is highlighted with a blue arrow. One of them contains a diary. Read the whole diary and then examine the painting on the northeast end. This should unlock the central door. Head to the next room, and from here onward the dungeon is pretty straightforward. If you find any door that is locked, you can unlock it by opening them from the other side. Beware of traps, though. The traps in Obsidian Mansion can instantly kill you with falling ceilings and dolls traps. Once you find the save point, you are one room away from the boss room.

Once Marionetta has been defeated, you will find Dolce. Bring Dolce back to Ventuswill and watch the event scene. Chase the Chloe who stole your Dragon Amulet, and you will end up in Yokmir Forest. Keep following it and eventually you will fall off a cliff.

Yokmir Cave

This will be the first long dungeon you encounter. From now on, newer dungeons will be as big as this or even larger. The key to clearing these dungeons is to find checkpoints and make multiple trips to finish them.

Keep on heading east until you find the stairs. Then continue on by going south, then west. Once you reach the west corner, go up and take the next set of stairs. The east side will be blocked by a yellow pillar, so continue on north and take the stairs to go down to the next floor. Keep going down until you see a yellow switch. Press it, and this should remove the yellow pillar we saw earlier. Go back to the area with the yellow pillar and continue on from that path. The path will split into three ways, so first take the north path and press the blue switch. Then go back to the previous area and take the east path. After that, keep heading south until you find a red switch. Press it and return back to the north area, where the red pillar should be removed. Keep continuing on the north path, and at end of the dungeon you will find the same Chloe again. Follow it and it will lead you outside of Yokmir Forest. Enter the boss room.

Defeat it and watch the event with Doug. If you have been exploring, you might have recall a blue orb object that you can't do anything with it. Now it's time for you to revisit those locations.