Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

Disney Dreamlight Valley beginner’s guide: 10 tips to get started

By

Fans of life-simulation games and the Magic Kingdom should find plenty to love about Disney Dreamlight Valley. This relaxing, town-building experience has plenty of quests to take on, familiar faces to meet, and a whole world to customize to your liking. Whether you’re a genre veteran taking a look at this new offering or simply a Disney enthusiast interested in seeing what the fuss is all about, we’ve got some tips for you to make the most of your time in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Further reading

Buy the first inventory upgrade early

Dreamlight Valley is overflowing with items to collect for use in crafting, cooking, quests, and more. Your inventory space is very limited by comparison. With only 21 slots to begin with, you’ll likely find yourself being forced to drop items frequently to make room for new ones. Because of this, it’s a good idea to save up 5,000 star coins — the game’s primary form of currency — and purchase the first inventory upgrade as soon as you can. Those extra seven slots may not seem like a lot (because they’re really not), but they’re better than nothing. Just be warned that the next upgrade costs a whopping 20,000 coins, so don’t expect to reasonably afford that one anytime soon.

Recommended Videos

Collect Dreamlight Duties rewards immediately

As you complete various tasks in Dreamlight Valley, you’ll be rewarded with Dreamlight, which is used to clear the thorns blocking new biomes and worlds where you can meet new characters. In your Dreamlight tab, take notice of Dreamlight Duties at the top of the list. Unlike the more expansive milestones, these are simple, straightforward requests that can generally be completed quickly and serve to offer you a constant influx of Dreamlight. As a matter of fact, you’re likely to knock these out pretty consistently by just playing the game.

There can be six Dreamlight Duties active at a time, but you’ll want to make sure that you accept the reward for completing one immediately so as to replace it with a new one. If you don’t, you may be missing out on easy new duties that could help you save up for unlocking areas you’re wanting to visit.

Start growing crops right away

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Food plays a huge part in the moment-to-moment gameplay in Dreamlight Valley, as you’ll need to consume it frequently to keep your energy levels up. Sometimes, you’ll even need to make some dishes for your villagers to complete quests and such. Because of this, you’ll need plenty of ingredients, many of which are acquired most conveniently by growing crops. You’ll obtain a lot of seeds during the opening hours of the game as you clear away night thorns, so be sure that you create a spot somewhere in your town — anywhere is fine, really — to plant them as soon as possible so that you’re not scrambling to get ingredients together later for some of the food-based quests.

Repair Goofy’s stalls any time you see one

You’ll first encounter one of Goofy’s stalls in the meadow beneath the main plaza as part of an early quest. You can rebuild it for 1,000 star coins and use it to sell your unwanted items or purchase ingredients and seeds. That stall isn’t the only one you’ll encounter, though. You’ll find more of Goofy’s stalls scattered around other biomes, and it’s always a good idea to repair them as soon as you can afford to do so. It’s much more convenient to merely jog over to a nearby stall while exploring a new area than it is to have to fast-travel to a different one.

Clean up unwanted clutter in your town

It’s easy to overlook just how much customization you can perform on your town, and it’s all available from the get-go. By entering into the Town editing mode via the Furniture tab, you can reposition or downright remove rocks, bushes, furniture, paths, and even homes — and it’s not a bad idea to go ahead and do some of this early on to clean up the clutter that can make it annoying to navigate to points of interest. And don’t fret too much about removing things, as they’ll go into your collection, so you can always place them elsewhere at another time.

Make gift-giving and daily discussions a habit

One of the main goals of Dreamlight Valley is to cultivate friendships with your villagers so that you can unlock more quests, themed cosmetics, and more. There are two primary ways to get big increases quickly. The first is to make sure that you engage in a “daily discussion” with each character once a day, and the second is to give the gifts that they desire. Their favorite gifts change every day and can vary from tasty dishes to shiny gems to random items you may need to harvest or craft. If you want to see your friendship levels skyrocket, go out of your way to be the best gift-giver possible!

Unlock Dream Castle characters as soon as possible

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the first few hours of the game, you’ll unlock access to the Dream Castle in the northern part of the Plaza biome. Inside, you’ll be able to use Dreamlight to clear night thorns and access new locations featuring beloved Disney characters who will join your village if you complete a handful of quests for them. It’s a good idea to use your Dreamlight to invite these characters to your island as soon as possible, as they can often provide boons or unlock useful features.

Remy is a wonderful cook worth having around, and WALL-E is a ridiculously cute buddy who can plant and harvest his own crops. And while both of them are immensely useful in their own ways, Moana and Maui are perhaps the best options in the opening hours of the game. Repairing Moana’s fishing boat gives her the ability to provide you with additional fish for cooking, while completing some of Maui’s quests will imbue your Royal Pickaxe with extra strength, which allows you to break open new obstacles on the beach.

Hang out with the appropriate character while doing tasks

One of Dreamlight Valley‘s best features is the ability to hang out with a villager. By interacting with one of your pals and asking them to hang out, you can have them follow you around while you complete tasks, during which time most of your actions will earn them friendship points. When a character reaches level 2, you can assign them something to specialize in — mining, fishing, foraging, etc. — so that they can assist you with that task while hanging out.

Make sure to bring along the appropriate character when you’re committed to doing something specific. For instance, if you’re spending some time mining, bring along someone who you’ve asked to specialize in that, and you’ll find that they occasionally help you uncover additional stones or gems. As they continue to level up, so will their proficiency in whatever task you’ve assigned them, making them more and more useful to your daily routines.

Keep at least a few of each gem handy

Due to their high selling price, it may be tempting to sell all of the gems you obtain from mining, but they come in handy for a variety of quests or can even sometimes be a character’s favorite gift. It’s in your best interest to store around five of each type for such occasions, as grinding them out all at once when a quest pops up can be a bit time-consuming. As long as you have a decent stock of each one you come across, though, you can feel safe selling the rest at Goofy’s stall to thicken up your wallet.

Check out the wardrobe customization

Dreamlight Valley may have an abundance of cool clothing to find and equip already, but if you’re the type to want to put your own spin on things, you have plenty of options for doing so. By going to your Wardrobe tab and choosing the Customize option, you’ll be able to enter the Touch of Magic feature, which allows you to create your very own articles of clothing. In addition to the myriad of colors available to choose from, you’ll also unlock tons of Disney-themed motifs as you play through the game, and these can be layered on the fabric to create some truly unique designs that showcase your creative prowess.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Billy Givens
Billy Givens
Gaming Writer
Billy Givens is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. His work can be…
Cities: Skylines II beginner’s guide: tips and tricks to get started
A screenshot from Cities: Skylines 2's cinematic reveal trailer.

The city-building genre has served a niche audience for the decades since the original Sim City popularized the idea of allowing players to design and manage their own little utopias. With that original franchise on ice, it fell to a newcomer, Cities: Skylines, to take up the mantle as the major player in the genre, and it managed to be a well-received replacement. That title got tons of support from the developers and community, but it finally came time for a sequel to freshen things up. Cities: Skylines II is building on the same foundation as city builders of the past, but it also brings in new features and mechanics that even seasoned city planners will need to wrap their heads around. Whether this is your first time raising a city from scratch or you've poured hundreds of hours into urban design, these are the essential tips and tricks you need to know when starting out in Cities: Skylines II.
Picking your plot

The first major choice you will need to make in Cities: Skylines II is where you want to actually go about building your dream society. At launch, the game comes with six maps to pick between, but this decision carries more weight than just aesthetic differences. Yes, each map has its own look that will determine how your buildings, homes, and even vehicles look, but there are deeper mechanical changes you want to plan for.

Read more
Disney Dreamlight Valley leaves early access in December, but won’t be free
Goofy, Donald, and the player complete making something in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Gameloft confirmed that its Disney life sim Disney Dreamlight Valley will finally leave early access on December 5 alongside the release of its A Rift in Time expansion. That said, Gameloft also confirmed one big change: Disney Dreamlight Valley will no longer be free-to-play when it comes out.

Disney Dreamlight Valley entered early access in September 2022 as a cozy life sim game inspired by games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It has received a steady stream of content updates since, and Gameloft finally decided that it's time for the game to leave early access. Disney Dreamlight Valley will finally do so this December.
The blog post announcing that date confirms that "existing players will keep their access to the game, their Moonstones, and their save game" when Disney Dreamlight Valley launches. One thing that won't be happening is Disney Dreamlight Valley going free-to-play.
When the game was announced, Gameloft's original intention was to have a paid early access period for what would then transition to a free-to-play game. Gameloft decided to reverse that decision, so Disney Dreamlight Valley's base game will remain priced at $30 after its December 5 launch. "This choice ensures that Disney Dreamlight Valley will be able to continue delivering on a premium game experience for all players," Gameloft explains in a blog post. "It's important to us that we maintain our promise to keep delivering free content updates that add new characters, realms, clothing, furniture, and more surprises to your Valley."
Microtransactions will remain in the game after launch despite the fact that Disney Dreamlight Valley is no longer a free-to-play game. Gameloft says in-game purchases "will remain optional, fair, and match the level of quality players have come to expect."
Disney Dreamlight Valley will exit early access across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on December 5.

Read more
Is Disney Dreamlight Valley free to play?
Donald Duck walks through a town in Disney Dreamlight Valley,

If you're a fan of Disney, the Animal Crossing games, or better yet, both, then you've no doubt at least heard about Disney Dreamlight Valley. This original title lets you create a custom character that can enter the titular valley to meet a wide range of your favorite Disney characters. The game launched into early access in 2022, but with a price tag of $30 to play. For those who would rather wait until the game is complete to join in on the fun of helping out all your favorite childhood characters, there's the question of whether you will also need to pay when the game fully launches. Here's what you need to know regarding Disney Dreamlight Valley and if it will be free to play.
Is Disney Dreamlight Valley free to play?

Disney Dreamlight Valley remains in early access for now, but the developers at Gameloft have made it clear from the start that the title will indeed be free to play upon its official release. There will still be microtransactions and expansions to purchase, but  the base experience will be free for everyone.

Read more