What changed with Eco 9.0 : new XP champion

 I have been waiting so long for the 9.0 version of Eco by Strange Loop Games and it's a real pleasure to see it happen. At last, my favourite profession, farmer, will be appreciated. Wait, why is there food everywhere ?

I began to write this post about 24 hours after the release of 9.0. Obviously, the new world has not reached industrialisation yet and there will be more to discover. However, I can already see some important changes to the game dynamics that need to be adressed by older players in order to have a smooth start. So if you plan to get back to this game, here is one observation you need to consider.

Chef is now the early XP champion

Previous to Eco 9.0, XP bonus was paramount, especially on competitive servers. Taking hewing from the start was the easiest way since you could build 8 rooms equipped with furniture quickly. You could even ignore the other players and get your own charred papaya and meat to get a decent 39 XP by food. 

With Eco 9.0 and from what I observed so far, those who pick campfire cooking first get the most interesting boost to their XP bonus. At the same time, high house bonus are more difficult to get. This is why chefs are the new XP powerhouse during the first days.

Food everywhere...for a while

A striking fact about Eco 9.0 when you first log is the abundance of food. It is everywhere ! Predators even try to bite you and are easy target for meat. Short 10 minutes gathering quests yield large reserves of crops, so chef have all they need to mass produce cooked food from the start.

Now looking at major servers on day 3, wild crops are still available easily. This is surprising as these worlds hosted more that 40 active player during the first day. Additionnally these worlds had communities of players who consumed a lot of calories to make hewn (although houses really downsized). This is because chef provided high calories meals, but things will change fast after one week if there are no farmers.

Impact of food abundance and chef skill in Eco 9.0

While most players survive on charred food for a 20 to 30 XP bonus, chefs can get a confortable 40 to 65 XP right from the start. Therefore, instead of waiting 14 hours and more for the second star, I estimate chefs can cut this time by half (about). A group of players working with a chef can go easily over 50 XP after level 3 is reached. The high caloric content of meals is also a bonus. Carpenters and masons alone just can't bring this much XP this fast with their basic furniture.

I calculated how much crop I could get from a 10 minutes gathering quest. My first test yielded about 850 useful crops for advanced campfire recipies. With a similar run for meat, I had enough to reach level 3 easily. I achieved this without gathering or hunting skills. I should have invested in a shop earlier...

Additionally, only 3 crops (or tallow) are needed to complete advanced campfire recipies. This means chef can trade their best food from the start. Previous to Eco 9.0, I always felt that chefs kept fiddlehead salads and bannocks for themselves during the first days simply because recipes required a lot of ingredients and they consumed the meals as they were produced. In fact, taking butchery first was a better choice to contribute to the community.

How you can adapt to Eco 9.0

It is great to see that campfire skill got additional value in Eco 9.0. For a better start, chefs could stay close to rainforest and wet lands because ingredients harvested there are great in first days recipes.

Also, it is a bit more difficult to balance a diet in Eco 9.0 (remember the duo charred papaya and meat). Putting a sign near the store to show the ideal meal combination would help even more now. Communication between  farmers and chefs is still very important. Hopefully, chef can now use the new "work party" feature to clearly communicate their need.

Dedicated farmers have an even harder job now that crops are everywhere in high amount. The general strategy remains the same : focus on gathering wild crops to get a decent first harvest and make the most out of the precious ingredients. So far in my tests, these high value ingredients seems to be papaya, camas bulb, taro root, fiddlehead and huckleberries.

Lastly, efficient communities prior to Eco 9.0 gave priority to hewn production at the start and the first store was meant to exchange logs vs hewn and furniture. This is still important, but given the chef abilities, I would say the first items to exchange are now meals and crops.