Rice cultivation is a major gameplay mechanic in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. The protagonist, Sakuna, draws her strength from the rice she grows throughout the game. It is the main way to grow Sakuna's statistics, learning new battle moves and a reliable source of food. It is a very complex and deep, with many actions affecting the outcome of the harvest and the derived stats of the rice.
Cultivation Steps[edit]
The cultivation of rice is separated into several steps.
Fertilizing[edit]
Can be done anytime, even before tilling the soil. You need to add poop from the latrines into the fertilizer basin, then add items to the fertilizer to add nutrients to it. After several hours, the fertilizer will be ready to be spread. You should fertilize to keep your nutrient triangle as full as possible to ensure your rice has a steady amount of nutrients. Do note that rice only absorbs nutrients during the day, so it should be done first thing in the morning.
Tilling[edit]
At the very end of Winter, you gain the option to till the soil to prepare it for planting. There will also be rocks that should be removed. It is beneficial to fertilize the soil before starting to till.
Seed Sorting[edit]
After the soil has been tilled, you get the option to sort through your rice seeds to weed out the bad ones. This is done by placing the seeds in water with a bit of amber, then pouring mud into the water. As you add mud, lesser quality seeds will begin to float. How many seeds float depend on the ratio of mud and water. The game suggests that a balanced quality is achieved when the amber floats to the surface, but it is possible be even more selective with your seeds if you want to. However do note that the yield of the harvest will be significantly reduced as a result.
Growing Seedlings[edit]
After the seeds have been sorted, the seeds that survived the process will be planted in the shed. This is to allow the seeds to grow a little before planting in the tilled soil. How long you choose to wait before planting them affects the outcome of the end result.
Planting[edit]
Once your seedlings are strong enough, you can plant them in the rice paddy. Depending on how close or far your seedlings have been planted, the result of the harvest will change.
Managing Water Levels[edit]
After planting, you can start playing with the water levels. The amount of water in your field will affect the temperature the rice plants are subjected to. Different growing stages require different amounts of water.
Harvesting[edit]
Once the rice is ready to be harvested, you can use your scythe to collect it. You can choose to wait before doing so for different results.
Drying[edit]
After the rice has been cut, you need to hang it to dry. You should make sure the rice had enough time to dry before moving it into the shed. Later in the game you can unlock the option to change the weather and also get forecasts. The rice must be moved in the shed before Winter arrives.
Threshing[edit]
Basically getting rid of the plant matter so you only have the grains in the end. It is a tedious process, but it must be done. Later you will get another option to accomplish the task.
Hulling[edit]
So now you have grains, but there is still the chaff around the grains. You basically need to pound the rice to your desired state. You can choose to keep brown rice, which is more nutritious in cooking (more stat bonuses) and requires less work. Or you can refine it to white rice, which yields more growth for Sakuna but takes much more time to achieve.