Sometimes, a game isn't over just because you've seen the credits roll. Many titles, such as Rune Factory 5, include extra content or goals available after you've completed the game. Post-game content can take the form of extra dungeons with added difficulty, boss rushes, or entire new areas to explore like in Pokemon.
Post-game content won't force you to start again from the beginning like a new game plus bonus, so you can continue to play with all the progress you've accrued over your playthrough. Rune Factory 5 offers several things for you to do to satisfy your inner completionist once you've wrapped up the main story.
7 Complete Your Collection
One of the most common self-imposed challenges a person takes on is acquiring at least one of every item. This isn't limited to Rune Factory 5, but it never hurts to be prepared for the other post-game content. Having ample amounts of money and items will help you tackle those goals. There's plenty of time to build up a good, solid harvest and get your affairs in order, especially if you've been focusing on completing story objectives.
If you've been toiling away on the main questline, you may finish it before the first year is over. Farming and life sims like Rune Factory 5, Stardew Valley, and Harvest Moon encourage this collection-oriented behavior by design, ensuring that you come back for more. Tweak the layout of your farm to make it as profitable and efficient as possible, or spend the time beautifying the layout.
6 Upgrade Your Gear
Getting the best tools for the job is its own reward, but the bonuses to efficiency aren't so bad, either. If you've been neglecting your tools or weapons, the postgame is the perfect time to rectify the problem. Maximizing your skills and keeping your equipment relevant helps you produce the best harvests and remain viable in battle.
The optimum gear isn't usually available for purchase, but you can acquire some decent weaponry through selling your excess crops and befriending NPCs. Upgrading your Blacksmithing will help you to make better equipment, so the skill can be well worth your while if you plan to take on other post-game content.
5 Tackle Endgame Dungeons
A hallmark of previous Rune Factory games, and indeed many games with RPG elements, is a difficult post-game dungeon that tests your mettle and your endurance. Rune Factory 5 is no exception, and you can gain access to the Rigbarth Maze once you've completed the main game.
The Rigbarth Maze provides 20 grueling floors of combat if you feel up to the challenge. Speak with St. Eliza to unlock it, though depending on your progress you may need to complete some other directives first.
4 Raise A Family
A big draw of Rune Factory 5 and other life sim games is the ability to court and marry an eligible bachelor or bachelorette. A late-2021 update for the Japanese version and the English release both allow players to select from any of the six bachelors or six bachelorettes regardless of your character's gender, a first for the series.
Pairing with a bachelor or bachelorette of the opposite sex allows the couple to have children, though they aren't required and only confer some inconsequential changes to events and dialogue. If you've been moving quickly through the plot, you may have forgotten to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. In the post-game, you can woo your potential spouse with all the time in the world.
3 Attend Festivals
Festivals are a big part of farming sim games, offering a break from the occasional monotony of your daily chores. There are several festivals that run each season with their own minigames, challenges, and rewards. For your inner completionist, it will behoove you to get into the spirit and go to the festivals at least once.
At the bare minimum, you can get some Seed Points for attending them and being a part of the community. Many are available right from the start, though some do require you to do some directives first in order to unlock them.
2 Max Out Your Skills
It's a gratifying sensation to look at a set of skills and see them maxed out. It's another popular self-imposed goal, as you'll have nothing but time on your hands after the main story. Maximizing your skills also allows you to craft whatever you need with impunity as long as you have the resources.
Rune Factory 5 has some real oddities, including Eating, Bathing, and Sleeping, but most of the skills make sense and improve over time with use. Skill levels also affect your stats, so it's to your benefit to improve as many skills as possible if you're struggling in combat.
1 Befriend Everyone
Rune Factory 5 continues the tradition of befriending the various townsfolk you meet. Talking to them each day builds a relationship with them, and you can befriend them faster by giving them gifts they like or love. Once you've attained Friendship level three, you can invite the character into your party and take them into dungeons. They'll fight alongside you and build a small amount of Friendship while doing so.
At Friendship level five, they'll send you birthday gifts. Raising your Friendship is necessary to begin dating a bachelor or bachelorette, so if you plan on finding a partner you'll need to keep in regular contact with them. Remember that you can't romance NPCs indicated by a smiley face, only the characters with heart icons.