Some believe that, in our lust to obtain Elixir, we lost the simple pleasures of life. We no longer valued a comfortable home, a loving family, and good food. Perhaps we’ve been given the chance to rediscover these simple, fundamental joys.
The Farmer of Enshrouded, like your other artisans, put in a request for you to find a piece of equipment to make her life a little easier and provide you with snacks, a Kettle. However, that simple request is going to be one of the hardest challenges you’ll undertake up to this point.
The Big City: Pikemead’s Reach
You’re off to Pikemead’s Reach, the capital of Embervale. It’s far to the north and east of the Revelwood Spire. You will, unequivocally, want to be at least level 15 for this task. You’ll not only want full stacks of Bandages and Health Potions, along with your preferred meal and drink, but you’re going to want a few Shroud Survival Potions in the bargain. Because depending on how you make your traversal, you’re either going to be in very large Enshrouded areas for a long time, or you’re going to be ducking in and out of smaller areas and won’t want to be caught out at the wrong moment.
The “long” way involves launching yourself from the top of Revelwood Spire and flying due east. This is probably the biggest Enshrouded area you’ve encountered in the game up to this point. As such, you’ll want to get your Rested buff as high as you can and pop that Shroud Survival Potion before you take off. You’ll make your way roughly east, passing by the ruins of White Wind at some point. There’s a road leading east from White Wind which will eventually come to a crossroads where the road either continues east (to the ruined farmstead of Roostnook) or turns north. You’ll want to head north. When you’ve found a slightly damaged looking Return Beacon, you’ll know you’re on the right path. After you reach the eastern gate, near the Shanty Shacks portion of the city, it’s highly advisable to put down a Flame Altar, ideally in a spot on the eastern side of the road. At this point, you’re probably so far away from your main base that actually developing a secondary base here is probably a good idea. Give it the full treatment: enclosed structure, furniture, fireplace, get that Comfort Level as close to your main base as possible. It’s a good spot for resources, and you’re going to be coming back here pretty soon after you finish this quest.
Now there is an alternate path, of sorts, which is relatively safer than trying to brave the Enshrouded area, except towards the end. From the Revelwood Spire, go north past the Abandoned Hunter Camp where you found the Hand Spindle. Continue until you find the ruins of Glennwood’s End (the Hunter probably gave you a side quest earlier to dig up some loot around here). Instead of clearing the ruins, make your way east. Climb up into the hills as high as you can (there’s some really cool structures in the style of of the Spires). You’ll eventually reach the Ancient Bridge. This marks a boundary for the Early Access content, but the bridge itself is navigable. Cross the bridge, then head east. The geography will eventually force you south a little ways, and into Enshrouded areas, but you’ll reach the Huckster Square part of the city. It’s still recommended you make your way over to the east side of the city and set down a Flame Altar, along with developing a secondary base.
Pikemead’s Reach is big enough that its four districts are named on the map. The Shanty Shacks are on the east, Huckster’s Square roughly on the south side of town, Pike’s Port on the west side, and the Imperial Gardens on the north. Roughly in the center of town is a Flame Sanctum. If you need a little help, bring up your map, mark a spot just south of the map indicator for the city, and head there. You will encounter Shroud mutants, Shroud wizards, and bugs all at level 15. You’ll probably also find a couple of Shroud Roots hanging around, but don’t worry about them right now. Just get to the Flame Sanctum, step inside, and the Kettle will be waiting. Grab it and fast travel back to your main base.
Now You’re Cooking: Claiming The Kettle
Back at your base, talk to Emily Fray, The Farmer, and she’ll have a conversation option for you commending you for getting her Kettle back. She’ll prompt you to craft the Fireplace, then put it down. Do so at a spot close by to her, and you’ll have some interesting new food options available.
By this point, you’ve probably figured out the timing for cooking the various meats available, along with Red Mushrooms and Corncobs. Surprise! You can also cook Azure Russula mushrooms, and get a +3 boost to your Intelligence stat from eating Roasted Azure Russula. Definitely a boon if you’re playing a mage-type character. And it’ll free up the Red Mushrooms to be used for making Health Potions. With the Fireplace, you can cook up those raw ingredients without the risk of turning them into Tar. The catch: it takes longer to cook “safely” for each different ingredient, so a full stack of Raw Game will take an hour in real-time for you to turn into Grilled Game. The Chamomile Tea is definitely a new and potentially game-changing option. It’ll take up a food slot, much like Water would, but it grants you a health regeneration buff for 35 minutes. It’s a risk/reward scenario, but if you’re getting beat up significantly more than you’re burning stamina, it’s probably worth having a few cups on hand.
But the Farmer isn’t the only one with new recipes for you. Oswald Anders, The Blacksmith will now have a recipe for the Kettle available should you choose to create new facilities elsewhere for the Farmer to utilize. And it’s a lot easier to craft this bit of equipment than some of the others.
Farmer Recipes
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Popcorn – 5 Corncob, 1 Honey
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Vegetable Puree – 5 Forest Beets, 5 Water, 1 Salt
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Chamomile Tea – 1 Chamomile, 1 Water
Blacksmith Recipes
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Kettle – 5 Metal Sheets
At this point, everything is as upgraded as it’s going to get as far as your artisans. You have an appointment with something big and ugly in Pikemead’s Reach, and it’s going to take all of your wit, all of your skill, and not just a little luck to get through this challenge. Get yourself kitted out, make your base as comfy as possible, maybe call in some friends, and prepare for the biggest boss fight yet.
