Great Trick for XP - The Architect Ribbon

While going through the accomplishments needed to complete my ribbons today, I noticed that I was 6 buildings away from the Red Architect Ribbon. I looked through the Buildings section in FarmVille...but everything seemed to cost too much to be worth paying for to complete a ribbon.

Then, it occurred to me that I already had 2 Rest Tents (@ 1,000 coins apiece) and both were counting towards my building total. So, I went ahead and bought enough rest tents to complete my ribbon, and talk about value!! Take a look at these statistics for cost / XP were you to buy only rest tents to fulfill the Architect building requirement. Note that '# Tents' is how many more tents it will take to fulfill your requirement, not the total number of tents needed.

Yellow Ribbon
# Tents	Gross Cost	Total XP	Net Cost	XP / Coin
2 Tents	2000 Coins	120	-1500	0.08
White Ribbon
# Tents	Gross Cost	Total XP	Net Cost	XP / Coin
4 Tents	4000 Coins	290	-1500	0.193
Red Ribbon
# Tents	Gross Cost	Total XP	Net Cost	XP / Coin
9 Tents	9000 Coins	590	-4000	0.147
Blue Ribbon
# Tents	Gross Cost	Total XP	Net Cost	XP / Coin
15 Tents	15000 Coins	1150	-5000	0.23
Total
# Tents	Gross Cost	Total XP	Net Cost	XP / Coin
30 Tents	30000 Coins	2150	-12000	0.179

This may only be a one time XP boost...but for 12000 coins, you get 2150 XP! Thats .179 XP for every coin you spend, which is totally worth it! And, if you sell your rest tents after you finish your ribbon, you only spend 10500 coins on 2150 XP (.204 XP / coin)! And this little trick is pretty much an automatic level up (unless you are really high up there)!.

So today's moral: Buy 30 Rest Tents, sell them, and enjoy having a ton more XP than you did a few minutes ago!

Four Tips to Get XP and Level Up Fast

If you want to Level Up faster than you currently are, there are a number of different ways to do so aside from plowing plots and planting seeds. Your level growth doesn't have to be limited to the size of your farm! Some of these tips may seem simple, but combining them all together will help you to gain XP quicker!

1. Keep your gifts wrapped till Christmas - One of the ribbon tasks is entitled 'Not Spoiled, Gifted'. You receive ribbons (and in turn, XP and cash) for keeping your unique gifts wrapped. Once you reach 21 ribbons, you receive the blue ribbon, a very substantial gift of XP and cash, and you can now open all of your gifts at once.

2. Buy a few decorations each time you plant - The best decoration for your money is Hay Bales, which I discuss in detail here. Hay bales = 5 XP for 100 Coins = Awesome. In addition, for most other decorations you buy, XP is recieved in bulk quantities. If you make a conscious effort to add this at the end of your planting schedule, the little XP from each purchase adds up and helps you achieve your goals quicker.

3. Be a helper all day, every day - You receive 5 XP and 20 coins for each time you help your neighbor. This can be done at least once a day, and FarmVille will send you random alerts asking you to help your freinds. 5 XP may not seem like alot, but if you have 20 freinds, thats 100 XP every single day. Over a week, that equals 700 XP, which might actually be enough to level up in some lower levels. In any case, reward yourself for taking advantage of the social aspects of FarmVille.

4. Complete ribbon challenges - Each ribbon gives you a certain amount of XP, and most of the earlier ribbons are quite easy to achieve. Knock out the early ribbons ASAP, and focus on the easiest ribbons to achieve, which are 'Not Spoiled, Gifted' and 'Pack Rat'. Completing these will net you a ton of extra XP!

Just as in life, the little things can help your XP go sky high!

FarmVille Seed Calculator - What Seed Should I Plant?

Welcome to the FarmVille Seed Calculator! Now you can calculate how many coins and XP you will get from your seeds at the click of a button. Simply choose your seed, the number of plots you will plant on, and click 'Calculate Profit'! The 'Net Profit' field shows how many coins you will get for your seeds!

Number of Plots:
Seed	StrawberriesEggplantWheatSoybeansSquashPumpkinsArtichokesRiceRaspberriesCottonBell PeppersPeppersAloe VeraPineappleBlueberriesWatermelonGrapesTomatoesPotatoesCarrots

New Farmville Seeds: Grapes, Peas, and Asparagus

At around 11PM tonight, September 10, FarmVille did a few upgrade and added some new items, including 3 new seeds!

Grapes are available as of level 19, and are a fantastic addition to a diverse farm. They take 1 day to grow, cost 85 coins (100 with plow), and sell for a whopping 270 coins! They also give 2 XP, making them considerably better than the previous 1-day seed, Peppers. A must grow for anyone at Level 19 or more. Plant Grapes everyone! I know I will be!!

Peas is available at Level 32, while Asparagus is available at Level 37. It will be awhile before I'm there (currently @ Level 20)...but I can't wait to plant them!

What Should I Buy With Farm Cash?

Depending on whether or not you are willing to spend real hard earned dollars on FarmVille, deciding what to spend your Farm Cash on may be a bit of a tough decision.

Sure, if you have lots of Farm Cash, this doesn't matter. However, when you are just starting to get the hang of FarmVille, you may be wondering if you should spend the 7 or 8 Farm Cash that you have, or save it up for something nice.

My answer is, just as in real life, you should save your Farm Cash for something bigger down the road. Sure, that Water Trough might fit in perfectly right next to your animal pen, or a Garden Gnome would look oh so nice next to your Rest Tent. The problem is, after you spend your Farm Cash, its hard to get more without paying money or signing up for offers.

My solution is to save 20 Farm Cash for the Plantation Expansion on your farm. You must expand your farm in increments, and how cool would it be to go from a 16x16 farm, buy the 18x18 (Big Family Farm), and then spend 20 Farm Cash for the 20x20 (Plantation farm). You instantly have 144 more farm plots to make alot more coins with!

Regardless of what you spend your Farm Cash on, make sure you take time to spend it on something you like or really want, because it isn't the easiest thing to get back ones its gone.