20 Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Beginner Guide & Essential Tips

If you’re diving into Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, you’re in for a magical ride filled with farming, friendships, monster taming, and hidden surprises at every turn. But like many life sims, things can get overwhelming quickly — especially if you’re trying to juggle combat, romance, and crop rotations all at once. This guide pulls together the most essential tips and tricks you need to know to get the best possible start. Also check out our Ultimate Money Making Guide for Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma!

1. Focus on the Main Story First

The best early-game move is to stick with the main storyline until you unlock all four villages, especially the Winter Village. Many important game features — including access to key zones, heart events, and the four secret weapons — are locked behind story progress. Don’t stress about clearing every inch of the map at first. Advance the story, and the world will open up on its own.

2. Make Easy Money with Tsubame’s Exotic Medals

Whenever Tsubame from the Summer Village needs help, say yes. She rewards you with exotic medals that can be sold for 10,000 gold each. These medals serve no other purpose, so they’re a reliable income stream early on. Think of her as your unofficial farm sponsor.

3. Bonding with Villagers: Don’t Rush It

Once you unlock each village, you’ll gain access to bonding interactions with its residents. Start with low-tier hangout options that match your current bond level. Choosing higher-level options too early will actually make characters dislike you. You can build up bonds by chatting, giving gifts, and completing personal quests. Each hangout option gives different results depending on the character. As you learn what they like or dislike, icons will appear to help guide future choices.

4. Birthdays & Gifts – How to Get That Friendship Boost

Woolby will always remind you when a birthday is coming up. On that day, a special “Celebrate Birthday” option will appear — this is the only way to give someone a birthday gift and earn the bonus friendship boost. If you give a gift before using this option, it counts as a regular gift, and you’ll miss the bonus entirely.

5. Social Skills = Relationship Scenes

Many romantic bonding scenes — like cuddling, hugging, or holding hands — are locked behind the Social skill tree. If you’re into the relationship side of things, be sure to invest skill points here. No points = no romance. Dating and marriage are optional, but the game doesn’t penalize you for dating around. There’s no jealousy mechanic, so feel free to experience every heart event before choosing your favorite.

6. Rewoven Fates: Date Around Without Regrets

The Rewoven Fates system allows you to return to a point before marriage, so you can explore relationships with other characters without restarting your game. Each timeline keeps your progress, and your original partner will still be waiting in the other version. Perfect for experimenting.

7. Cook Together for Friendship & Unique Recipes

At Bond Level 6, you can cook with NPCs. Some characters can unlock unique recipes, marked by a special icon. Unlocking lots of base recipes and leveling up your relationships will help you discover these faster.

8. Swimsuits & Style Bonuses

Yes, swimsuit scenes still exist — hang out at a beach, river, or waterfall, and your crush will show up in swimwear. The swimsuit becomes unlockable afterward and can be set as their default outfit.

9. Party Members: Friends or Monsters?

Villagers in your party gain friendship passively — but they need good gear to survive in dungeons. If that sounds like too much micromanagement, you can tame monsters instead. Monsters don’t need equipment, some can be mounted, and higher-level monsters offer better daily drops. To recruit them:

1. Use the Plum Dance.
2. Defeat them.
3. Gift them something from their drop list.

10. Inventory & Storage Tips

• Inventory is auto-sorted — no more picking items up manually.
• If your bag is full, excess items go to storage automatically.
• Use campfires, your room, or the shipping shed to transfer items manually.
• Always clean out your bag before big fights to avoid running out of RP mid-battle.

11. Know Your Enemy: Weapon Weaknesses

You won’t know a monster’s weakness until you hit it with the correct weapon type. Once discovered, their weakness is displayed beside their name. Test out different weapons to make combat easier.

12. No More Status Ailment Stress

Debuffs like poison and paralysis wear off quickly, and there’s no fainting penalty. If you collapse in a dungeon, you’ll wake up at home with just a small XP penalty.

13. Map Mastery

The map now shows everything: foragables, mining spots, lumber, fishing locations, and more. Use it to plan your day and track progress across villages.

14. Explore with Purpose: Side Quests and Mini Events

Keep an eye out for:

• Jizo Statues: Weed them to get gifts.
• Frog Hunts: Collect rewards after catching them.
• Archery Challenges: One hidden per village.
• Onigiri Holes: Deliver specific onigiri types for small rewards.
• Red Shrines: Offer free crafting recipes.

All of these appear on the map (except archery), and many reward useful items.

15. Crafting & Forging Have Changed

No more freehand crafting — you now unlock recipes and commission items from blacksmiths or carpenters using gold. Better items cost more, and forging no longer consumes RP.

16. Use RP Before Bed

Before sleeping, spend leftover RP using secret weapons to gain skill-specific XP. You’ll unlock more skill tree nodes this way — and yes, you’ll eventually unlock every skill node, so don’t stress about being optimal.

17. Managing Villages Like a Pro

• Villages expand as you rank them up, giving more space for farming and building.
• Prioritize farming in Spring and Fall villages for larger plots.
• Summer and Winter are better for shops — especially Summer, which starts with a full shop layout.
• Optimize villager roles and fire underperformers (yes, really).
• Rescue new villagers by defeating possessed NPCs in the wild.

18. Don’t Miss the Overhead Build Mode

Overhead Build Mode (via Terra Tiller) is great for batch decorating, removing clutter, and efficient farming tasks like watering and harvesting. It’s especially helpful for players juggling a lot of tasks.

19. Secret Farming Exploits

• Use the Fire Sword to harvest crops without RP cost.
• Use the Secret Blade to get higher-level seeds.
• Ship high-level crops to unlock better seeds in stores.
• Villagers will only plant seeds suitable for their climate, so plan accordingly.

20. End-of-Day Shipping & Contest Events

Always check the shipping bin before bed — villagers might collect useful drops. Move what you need into storage for cooking or quests. Lastly, take advantage of the Contest system. You can create your own mini-festivals on any holiday. They raise village happiness, offer rewards, and strengthen relationships — all on your schedule.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is packed with depth and secrets, but once you understand its core systems, it becomes a deeply rewarding and charming experience. Follow this guide to make the most out of your early game and avoid some of the frustration many players face. Stay curious, experiment often, and don’t forget — your villagers can do the farming while you explore, romance, and conquer Azuma your way.