Introduction
Welcome to the wonderful world of Slime Rancher, a vibrant and engaging game where you explore a distant planet, build your own ranch, and care for adorable, bouncing slimes. The core of the game revolves around ranching these slimes, collecting their valuable plorts, and using those plorts to expand your ranch and unlock new areas. While exploration and ranch expansion are exciting, mastering the art of feeding your slimes is absolutely crucial for success.
Food, in Slime Rancher, isn’t just a matter of keeping your slimes alive; it’s the engine that drives your plort production, influences slime happiness, and ultimately determines the profitability of your entire operation. Underfed slimes are unhappy slimes, and unhappy slimes produce fewer plorts. Choosing the right food, knowing their favorite snacks, and efficiently managing your food supply are all vital skills for any aspiring rancher.
This comprehensive guide is designed to be your go-to resource for everything related to slime food. We’ll delve into the different food groups, explore the unique preferences of each slime type, reveal the best locations to find rare ingredients, and share proven strategies for maximizing your plort yields. So, whether you’re a seasoned rancher looking to optimize your operation or a newcomer just starting out, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to become a true slime food expert.
Are you tired of underperforming slimes and low plort sales in Slime Rancher? The secret isn’t always better enclosures; it’s often better food! Let’s dive in and discover the delicious secrets of the Far, Far Range.
Understanding Slime Diets
Slime diets are categorized into three distinct food groups: fruits, veggies, and meats. Each slime species has dietary preferences, with some preferring a specific food group or even a particular food item within that group. Understanding these preferences is key to optimizing your plort production.
The Three Food Groups
Fruits are generally sweet and colorful, often growing on trees or vines. They are readily available in many areas of the Far, Far Range and are a staple in the diets of many slimes. Veggies, on the other hand, are typically root vegetables or leafy greens, requiring a bit more effort to cultivate but offering valuable nutrition. Meats are the most specialized food group, sourced from chickens and other creatures. Meat-eating slimes often require more active management to ensure a stable food supply.
Food Preferences and Favorites
Every slime has a favorite food, and feeding a slime its favorite food doubles the number of plorts it produces. This is a massive boost to your plort income and should be a primary focus of your feeding strategy. Identifying a slime’s favorite is as easy as feeding it and seeing the hearts that appear over its head. Larger slimes, known as largos, inherit the dietary preferences of both parent slimes. Importantly, largos only produce plorts of the first slime type that made the largo, so careful planning is required when creating a large slime.
How to Feed Slimes
There are a few ways to feed slimes. Auto-feeders are incredibly useful devices that automatically dispense food into a corral, ensuring your slimes are consistently fed. Upgrading your auto-feeders allows them to hold more food and dispense it more frequently. You can also manually toss food into the corral.
However, be careful not to overfeed your slimes! Slimes can only eat a certain amount of food at once. Overfeeding them can lead to them exploding, which is detrimental to plort production and can also damage your ranch. Slimes indicate that they don’t want to eat by shaking their heads at food tossed at them.
Detailed Food Compendium: Fruits
Let’s explore some specific fruits.
- Apple: A common fruit found in many areas. Many slimes enjoy apples, making them a good general-purpose food. Pink Slimes have a fondness for apples.
- Cuberry: A small, cube-shaped berry found in the Indigo Quarry. Good for feeding Rock Slimes and Crystal Slimes.
- Heart Beet: A heart-shaped fruit that’s the favorite of the Rad Slime. These can be found in the Radiation area of the map.
- Mint Mango: A refreshing fruit that thrives in the Moss Blanket. Honey Slimes adore Mint Mangos, making them a lucrative combination.
- Oca-Oca: A long, green fruit found in the Ancient Ruins. Dervish Slimes savor Oca-Ocas.
- Phase Lemon: A peculiar fruit that appears and disappears. Quantum Slimes favor Phase Lemons, making their care a bit more challenging. Be aware of Quantum Slime’s dangerous ability to multiply!
Detailed Food Compendium: Veggies
Here are some vegetables that your slimes might be interested in.
- Carrot: The most basic vegetable, easily grown in gardens and found in the wild. Almost every slime will eat a carrot, making it a great starter food.
- Kubo Fruit: Found on trees in the Glass Desert, Fire Slimes eat this to not turn into ash.
- Odd Onion: A rare veggie that’s the favorite of the Boom Slime. Be careful when ranching Boom slimes!
- Pogofruit: A bouncy fruit loved by the Saber Slime.
- Prickle Pear: A veggie from the desert. Mosaic slimes have this as their favorite.
- Water Lettuce: An aquatic veggie that must be grown near water. Puddle Slimes need these!
Detailed Food Compendium: Meats
Let’s see the meats that slimes eat!
- Briar Hen: A common chicken found throughout the Far, Far Range. They can be found in the wild, and in your chicken coop.
- Stony Hen: A gray chicken found in the Indigo Quarry.
- Roostro: A male chicken, essential for breeding more chickens.
- Painted Hen: A colorful hen found in the Ancient Ruins.
- Elder Hen/Roostro: This is an older chicken, and produces plorts.
Tips for Chicken Farming: Use a chicken coop to keep the chickens safe from predator slimes. Be sure to let the chicken population grow, since carnivorous slimes like Hunter slimes require many chickens.
Food Production and Farming Strategies
To consistently feed your slimes, you’ll need to establish reliable food production methods. Gardens and Chicken Coops are your primary tools.
Gardens
Gardens allow you to cultivate fruits and veggies. You can plant a seed of your desired crop in the garden plot and then tend to it to maximize its yield. Garden upgrades increase the amount of food produced and decrease the amount of time required to harvest. Fertilizer improves crop growth, and different types of fertilizer can provide additional benefits.
Chicken Coops
Chicken Coops provide a safe haven for your chickens, allowing them to breed and lay eggs. Upgrading your coop protects your chickens from predator slimes and provides more space for them to roam. Managing your chicken population is crucial for meat-eating slimes.
Advanced Farming Techniques
Automated farming using drones can significantly streamline your food production. Drones can be programmed to harvest crops, collect eggs, and transport food to auto-feeders, freeing up your time to focus on other tasks. The Range Exchange offers opportunities to trade plorts for specific foods, allowing you to acquire rare ingredients or supplement your existing food supply. Balancing food production with slime needs is a constant balancing act. Monitor your slime population and adjust your farming practices accordingly to avoid food shortages.
Managing Food for Largo Slimes
Largo Slimes, created by feeding a plort to another slime, inherit the dietary preferences of both slimes they are made of. However, they only produce plorts from the *first* slime type they originate from.
Largo Diet Considerations
Largo slimes eat twice the amount of food as regular slimes, so efficient food production is even more critical. For example, do *not* combine a pink slime with a gold slime. Gold slimes only eat gilding ginger, meaning the slime will be nearly impossible to feed.
Strategically Feeding Largos
Prioritize feeding largos their favorite foods to maximize plort production. For example, if you have a surplus of Mint Mangos, creating Honey Largos (Honey Slime combined with another slime) would be a wise strategy. Similarly, if you have an abundance of chickens, creating Hunter Largos or Saber Largos would be beneficial.
Dealing with Problematic Slimes and Diets
Some slimes have unique dietary challenges.
Hunter Slimes and Meat
Hunter Slimes are carnivores, requiring a constant supply of meat. They can be difficult to manage due to their limited diet and aggressive nature. Building multiple chicken coops and using drones to automate meat collection is crucial for keeping Hunter Slimes happy.
Boom Slimes and Explosions
Boom Slimes have a volatile nature and can explode if agitated or hungry. Keep them well-fed to minimize their explosive tendencies. Keeping Boom Slimes well-fed is crucial to stopping their explosions.
Gold Slimes and Gilding Ginger
Gold Slimes are incredibly rare and only eat Gilding Ginger, a hard-to-find delicacy. Locate and harvest Gilding Ginger when it appears in the wild, and use it sparingly to maximize your Gold Plort production.
Lucky Slimes
Lucky slimes do not eat food, instead you can give them coins!
Advanced Food Strategies and Tips
Beyond the basics, several advanced strategies can further optimize your food management.
Using Drones for Automated Feeding
Drones are indispensable for automating food collection and distribution. Program drones to harvest crops, collect eggs, and transport food to auto-feeders, freeing up your time for other tasks. Configure your drones to prioritize specific foods or slimes based on your ranch’s needs.
Stockpiling Food
Having a large food stockpile is essential for weathering unexpected events, such as slime breakouts or crop failures. Build silos and use storage containers to store excess food.
Predicting Food Needs
Anticipating future food shortages allows you to proactively adjust your farming practices. Monitor your slime population, track your food consumption rates, and adjust your garden plantings and chicken coop management accordingly.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of slime food management is paramount to success in Slime Rancher. By understanding the different food groups, catering to slime preferences, optimizing food production, and employing advanced strategies, you can maximize your plort yields, build a thriving ranch, and unlock the full potential of the Far, Far Range. Experiment with different food combinations and farming techniques to discover what works best for your unique ranching style. The world of slime ranching is vast and full of surprises, so embrace the adventure and enjoy the delicious journey! Now get out there and feed those slimes!
