Here is our massive walkthrough guide for Virtual Villagers 5: New Believers! Everything you need to get through the game is here, including a lot of spoilers, so proceed at your own risk.
is below.
This walkthrough for Virtual Villagers 5 is broken up into five sections:
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A step-by-step strategy guide through the game, from beginning to end
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A technical section devoted collectibles, totems, food points, "godly powers" and the like
Actual solutions will be hidden by spoilers.
I. General Information
If you've played any of the Virtual Villagers games before, some things are the same and some have changed.
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Learn the controls! They are basically the same as Virtual Villagers 4 with the addition of the energy bar and the "godly" powers icons. The most useful control to learn is the detail "camera" located at the bottom right of the screen. You can use this to quickly locate any individual on the island. Click on the right arrow (when the screen is blank) and it goes to the youngest tribe member. Continue to click the right arrow and you will scroll through your villagers from youngest to oldest. As each one comes up in the "camera", the game will zoom to that person. This is especially helpful when trying to find children quickly. Click on the left arrow (when the screen is blank) and you will go to the oldest person in the tribe. Continue to click and you will cycle from oldest to youngest.
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Watch your levels closely! At the top of the screen are the totals of your population, your food supply, your current tech points, your faith energy, and what "godly" powers you can access. Screenshot.
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Plan carefully! Choose your beginning villagers wisely, the success of your tribe depends on it. Make sure you have a balance of male and female, and one (or preferably 2) children to collect mushrooms and collectibles. Avoid any villager who dislikes "work", "learning" or "running" as they will be fairly useless. Also avoid those who dislike wood or stone (they make bad builders), dislike plants or herbs (bad farmers and bad doctors), dislike fish or swimming (bad farmers), dislike lifting (bad builders) or things of that nature. Examine the likes and dislikes of your prospective villager carefully. Also avoid villagers who like "rest" as they won't do a lot of work. Screenshot.
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Your energy bar shows two things, how much energy you can have and how much energy you do have. Your ability to have more energy increases with the size of your population and the level of spirituality tech, as well as your conversion efforts. When you start you will only have the capacity for about 35 energy. At the end it will be over 800. Just because you have the capacity doesn't mean you have the energy, using your "godly" powers uses that energy and it takes a while for it to accumulate again. Just having living villagers will slowly increase the energy, but you can gain more if you convert a heathen or in collecting duplicate artifacts.
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Learn the double collect trick! To double collect an item with children do as follows: once you spot a collectible or mushroom, find the nearest child. Pick the child up and pause the game (with the space bar). Drop the child on the collectible and go find a second child. Pick up the second child and go back to the object. Once you are hovering over the object (and the first dropped child) hit the space bar to unpause and quickly drop the second child right next to the first. If done properly and the timing is right, both children will run away with the same object. This is invaluable in bolstering food supplies when collecting mushrooms, and in gaining tech points or energy when collecting other collectibles. WARNING: do not drop a child directly onto the other, this will cause them to drop the item and go off for a jumping contest. Make sure that the children are side-by-side. Screenshot.
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Collect Ruthlessly! Mushrooms can mean the difference between life and death to your tribe in the early stages, and the boost in tech points from collectibles allows you to purchase necessary second stage technology quickly. Collecting relics helps fill up your energy bar quickly, and also helps extend it the more relics you find.
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Watch for sparkles! Mushrooms and collectibles produce faint white sparkles, which enable them to be spotted more easily.
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Cross Train Ruthlessly! Some tasks will require villagers with more than one skill, and it is helpful to be able to quickly shift your workforce from one task to another if necessary.
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Learn to Navigate! You can move around the area in several different ways. (1) Left click on the ground and drag, this will move the visible area around. (2) Use the number keypad: the area is broken into roughly 9 grids, corresponding to the numbers on the keypad of your keyboard. The bottom row of numbers (1, 2, and 3) cover the "south" area, the middle row of numbers (4, 5, and 6) cover the "middle" area, and the top row of numbers (7, 8, 9) cover the "north" area. The number keypad is an easy way to quickly look for collectibles. (3) Use the detail "camera". Use the right and left arrows of the camera to select a villager and the screen will zoom to where they are. The detail "camera" will not work if the game is paused. (4) Use the overall map. Use the map button on the controls to get a bird's eye overall view of the area. From the map click on the area you wish to go and it will zoom to that area.
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Don't pick up a villager that is busy unless it is absolutely necessary! If you pick up a villager that is in the process of a task or is carrying something, they will drop the item and it will be lost. They will also "forget" what it is they were doing.
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Children under the age of 14 will not work, except for picking up mushrooms and collectibles! Once they reach age 14 you can put them to work, but they won't be fully "adult" until age 18. That means if a story time for the children is going on, the 14-17 year olds will drop work and attend. Villagers cannot have children until fully "adult", i.e. the age of 18.
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Based on their parentage, some children will be born with a little bit of skill in some areas. Children can also be "trained" somewhat by using the nursery school.
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Nursing mothers will not work until the baby is 2 years old! So be careful about getting the women pregnant. With no one farming a tribe can easily starve.
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Don't forget to take off the parenting preference if you are going to leave the game! If you forget and leave a male villager on parenting, you may wake up to a tribe that has doubled or more in size, or one that has starved from too many people and not enough food.
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The game continues even when it is turned off! Virtual Villagers 5 plays in "real time", which means things will still happen even when the game is closed. Remember this if you're going to be away for a while. Move your game to the "slow" or "pause" option depending on how long you will be away.
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Choose your time settings wisely! Playing in "fast" mode live is fun, but if you're going to be gone for a while consider switching to "Normal", "Slow", or even "Pause". If something goes wrong, you can come back to a dead village and have to start over again.
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Do not mess with your computer clock to "fast forward" the game! Not only can this mess up other things on your computer, it can create havoc within the game. Trying this can result in a dead tribe, or problems with regenerating crops.
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The weather is your friend! Yes, rain and fog are annoying and tend to hide things, but they are extremely useful. When it rains, mushrooms pop out at a much faster rate, allowing more food collection. The heathens in the run-down village don't like rain, and will flee to the forest which can be helpful or hurtful, as they often take a route that crosses the path of your farmers or builders, causing work to stop as they chase your villagers. You can create rain, lightning, sunshine, and fog from your "godly" powers. The Fog of Doom is especially helpful as the heathens cannot see through it and your villagers can.
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Fire is your friend! A fire not only keeps your villagers warm and cuts down on illness, it boosts your ability to gain tech points. You will need both wood and dry grass to start a fire, and usually only adults can start a fire. However, you can light the fire using your lightning power.
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Don't forget to set work preferences for your villagers! For instance, if you want someone farming, make sure to check the farming preference. Villagers without preferences set will often wander around and do their own thing. Screenshot.
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You can choose the hut locations! When the foundation for a hut shows up, you can pick it up and move it to a place of your choosing (within reason). Look closely at the outline of the foundation, green means an area that the hut can be built in, red means you can't build there. Choose locations wisely: try not to impede frequently used paths, and especially watch out for areas that the orange guards like to walk through.
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Use children as temporary healers! If a villager becomes sick before you have access to the hospital to train doctors, find the nearest child, set their preference to healing, and drop them on the ill individual. Keep doing this until they heal the villager.
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Keep an eye on the blue-mask heathens! Drop a villager on them to talk to them and a light will appear above their head. This means that they are thinking about what you've said. Make sure all of the blue-mask heathens have lights. When the lights go out, drop a villager on them again to talk. Eventually they will convert to your tribe. WARNING: Don't try to talk to the ones with a light, they are already thinking about it and don't want to talk right now. They will run away from your villager if you try. Screenshot.
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Avoid the orange-mask heathens! They will chase your villagers and make them drop whatever they are carrying, especially disrupting food gathering and building tasks. If you are dropping children onto collectibles first check to make sure no orange-mask heathen is in the area.
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Use distractions! Orange mask heathens can be drawn away from an area with an adult or child. They will give chase, leaving the area temporarily clear. They will come back quickly, so use a child or children to keep them away until you've done what you need to do. Red mask heathens will not give chase, and will scare your people away, so you will need to use your "godly" powers to move them from an area. Bees or lightning will cause them to run away for a short while.
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All the heathens can be converted, but each has a different method. See the technical section (section 3) for details on each and how to convert them.
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Watch where people go! Children (and adults) will often wander off to look at "interesting" areas of the island. These areas are usually important.
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Fly around the island! Pick up a child and hover him/her over various interesting areas and watch the text that shows up in the control screen. Do this with adults as well, to identify certain items and hotspots that are important to the game.
II. Strategy Guide
Getting Started (basic food and shelter)
Choose Your Team
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You will pick the five members of your new village from a large pool of hopefuls.
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A good basic strategy is to pick a balance of men and women, with at least one child.
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If you are going to be playing with the tutorial on, it's better to not choose a nursing mother, as the tutorial has you produce a baby. Nursing mothers do not work, so be careful about breeding early on. However, each new person in your village increases your ability for "godly" powers.
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Try for a mix of talents. It's good to have one person with building skills, one with farming skills, and one with research skills.
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This strategy guide is based on three adults (one a nursing mother) and two children.
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Don't pick all of one gender. With no way to produce children, your village will die of old age.
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Experienced players might like to go with something more challenging, like all children.
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Younger is better. Until you can afford third level medicine, your villagers will start becoming elderly in their 50's or early 60's and die earlier.
In the Camp
Puzzle 2
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Your villagers will appear inside a flimsy bamboo enclosure. Set your adults to building and drop them on the bamboo and they will start tearing it down to build a food bin. While they are doing that, scan around with your kids and collect mushrooms and relics if they appear. Don't forget to avoid the orange mask heathens. Screenshot.
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While the food bin is being built, grab one adult and start dropping them on blue mask villagers to talk to them. Be persistent, eventually you will see a yellow light appear above their (the blue mask) head showing that they are thinking about it. Don't bother with the heathen "mommy" blue mask, she will not talk to your villager.
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Once the food bin is finished concentrate on finding mushrooms with the children. You will need the food.
Puzzle 1
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To the left of the enclosure, across the stream, is the science lab. Just below the lab (south) is the hospital, guarded by the pain totem.
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In the hospital are some blue mask heathens, and a purple mask heathen who is sick.
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Set one of your children (or adults) to healing, then drop them on the purple mask heathen until he/she is healed. Screenshot.
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Once the purple mask heathen is healed he/she will convert and join your village. You now have an extra adult to work, and one who is also an experienced doctor.
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When the heathen converts, they will drop a small article on the ground. Have a child pick it up and they will run it over to the stone statue just north of the enclosure. This is the first part of the necklace. Each purple mask heathen has a part. Screenshot.
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If at this point the food bin isn't finished, set two adults to finish it and continue talking to the blues with the third.
Puzzle 3
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At this point you need to make a decision, food or tech points. If you go for food it will be more difficult to open the lab. This walkthrough presumes that food is more important.
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Above and to the right of the enclosure is a noni bush. There is a Hungry Totem in front of it. Screenshot.
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In order to get food from the bush, you need to get the guards away and tear down the totem.
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Use the bee power on the bush. This will do two things: (1) Increase the number of noni berries, and (2) temporarily drive away the red mask heathen.
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Once the heathens near the bush run away use a child to distract any orange masks in the area, then drop your adults on the totem to tear it down.
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Keep the orange guards away and keep your adults on it until the totem collapses. This will happen fairly quickly.
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Once the totem is gone the red mask and the orange mask will go elsewhere. There will still be two orange masks nearby, guarding the wood pile.
Food and Fire
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Once the Hungry Totem is down you can start to harvest noni berries. Set your adults to farming and drop them on the bush. Keep dropping them until they start harvesting. Keep them at it, then go searching for mushrooms and relics with the kids. If you happen to spot a blue mask that doesn't have a light, grab one of the adults and drop them on the blue mask to talk.
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Another food source will appear when your energy reaches 150, the instant bloom godly power. Activate it, and mushrooms will spring from the ground, including red ones. If you have the kids standing by, you can top up your food reserves with this.
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If the bush runs out of fruit before you get the farm fixed, you can use the bees on the bush to create a few more berries.
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Eventually, when you get over 300 food, the adults will stop worrying. Now it's time to start a fire. But the wood pile is being guarded still.
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Above (north) of your enclosure is a large stone statue, at least a rough one. Once you have enough food, grab two of your adults, set them to building, and drop them on the statue. They will carve a crude hand. Screenshot.
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Once the hand is carved, the guards will flee away from the wood pile. Your maximum energy will also go up.
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When the guards have left, have one adult get wood from the pile. Drop another adult on the dry grass, which is to the left, across the stream. Screenshot.
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When both the wood and dry grass are in the fire pit, drop an adult on it to light the fire. You can also light the fire with the lightning power if you have that.
Construction
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Once the statue is done, find the foundations for your honeymoon hut and first hut, they will be below your enclosure. Screenshot.
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These foundations are movable. Pick them up and move them around. As long as their outline is green you can build there.
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Move your honeymoon hut to where you want it, then set one villager to building and drop them on to start the project.
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Keep the other villagers on the noni bush and stockpile food.
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When the honeymoon hut is done you can get a female pregnant, if you came with a nursing mother this is not a good idea to have two women out of the workforce at the same time.
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Move the builder over to the hut and start him/her on that project.
Puzzle 4
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Once you've got some decent food reserves and the honeymoon hut, it's time to take down the Knowing Totem that is blocking the science lab.
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The totem is guarded by this time by one or two orange masks and a red mask. The red masks will not chase your villagers, so you need something that will distract both types of guards.
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The easiest for doing this is the lightning power, which is 100 energy. If you have this ability by this time, then use it.
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If you don't, then you can use the bees.
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Hit the totem with lightning and the guards will run off. As soon as they are far enough away drop every adult you have on the totem to dismantle it.
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Orange guards may come back early or come out of the lab. If they do, distract them with children while your adults are tearing down the totem.
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If the red guard comes back before you finish, just move your adults back to farming/building and let your energy build up again. You can accelerate this process by double collecting relics.
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Hit the totem with lightning again if necessary, then finish pulling down the totem.
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Once the totem is gone the guards will leave and you can access the lab. Screenshot
Research
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Now that the lab is clear, move most of your adults over to research in their preferences then drop them on the lab table.
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Ignore the purple mask heathen, he/she won't bother you.
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You need to get second level construction to get the farm, but you won't be able to fix it unless you have both a master scientist and a master builder.
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Keep one person on building the hut until they hit master, put everyone else on research.
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Once you open the lab science collectibles will start showing up, collect them with your children.
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When you get 3000 tech points use them to buy 2nd level food production, which will increase your yield from the noni bush and mushrooms.
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Then keep researching until you have the 5,000 points needed for second level construction.
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Continue to collect mushrooms and collectibles with your children.
Keeping Your Tribe Alive
Puzzle 5
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To get the farm you need 2nd level construction, as well as a master scientist and a master builder. If you don't have a master builder, start on the second hut with one builder until they become a master.
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Once you have all of those, turn your attention to the farm and the broken aqueduct above (north) of the lab. Screenshot.
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Drop your master scientist on the aqueduct and they will start to supervise the work.
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Drop a master builder to start construction, then any other builders you have as well.
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Once the aqueduct is repaired the farm will be ready to go.
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At this point the purple masked farmer will convert to your tribe and drop a piece of the necklace. Have a child pick up the piece.
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It will take 2 hours (in fast speed) for food to grow, but you can make it bloom instantly if you have the instant bloom "godly" power.
Growing Your Tribe
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After you've secured the second food source you can grow your tribe. The food is a finite resource, but using the instant bloom power you can make it grow instantly rather than wait. With this ability, you can grow your village slowly but surely.
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Don't keep too many women nursing at once or you risk the labor supply. You still need to earn tech points for the rest of the level 2 technologies, and you need farmers to bring in the crops.
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Have your builders finish the second hut as soon as possible, then switch them to farming or research.
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After food mastery and construction, buy the level 2 technologies in this order: science, learning, medicine, spirituality.
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Once you have level 2 science, the clothing hut foundations will appear. Go ahead and build this when you want to train some builders. You will need the clothing hut for a later puzzle.
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When you have level 2 construction and spirituality, drop builders on the statue and they will refine it again, boosting your maximum energy bar.
Middle Puzzles
Puzzle 11
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This requires that you have lightning power and a few builders.
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The pain totem has no guards, but it gives off electricity so no one can touch it. Screenshot.
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Hit the pain totem with the lightning power, then drop your builders on it to take it apart.
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If its power comes back, hit it with lightning again and finish demolishing it.
Puzzle 7
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This requires lightning power (or the bees) and at least two (preferably more) master builders.
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Puzzle 7 is to take down the blocking totem, which guards the entrance to the mausoleum. Screenshot.
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Drop a master builder (or several) on the totem to start taking it apart.
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Once you start to work on this totem, the guards and others from the mausoleum will come and try to rebuild it.
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Your builders will run away, make sure they don't go far.
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Once the totem is surrounded by the guards, hit it with lightning.
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When they run away, drop your builders back on to tear it down.
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If any orange guards come back early, you need to keep them distracted with a child.
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When the red and blue masks come back and start repairing the totem, hit them with lightning again.
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When they leave bring back your builders and keep tearing down.
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Repeat as necessary until the totem is gone.
Puzzle 6
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Requires destruction of the Blocking Totem.
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Once the Blocking Totem (puzzle 7) is gone, wait and the heathens will drift away to other places. Screenshot.
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You can then drop builders on the mausoleum to clear the blockage.
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Towards the end, the purple mask heathen who sits by the mausoleum may try to put the blockage back. Don't worry about it, just make sure that there are three or more builders clearing the rubble.
Puzzle 8
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Requires six children.
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This is the Hollow Totem that sits beside the dry lake. Screenshot.
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Your builders can't take this one down, you need to stuff it with children.
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Notice the holes, there are five of them.
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Five children can fit comfortably in the totem. A sixth will cause it to collapse.
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Drop children on the totem and wait until they go in. When the holes are filled with eyes, drop the sixth and the totem will collapse.
Puzzle 12
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Requires the clothing hut be built, several builders, two random adults.
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This is the Rainbow Totem that guards the hot springs pools. Screenshot.
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After the clothing hut is complete, three dye pots will appear at the top of the screen, to the right of the pool and above the farm. Screenshot.
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You can use these to drive all of the heathens out of the pool long enough to take down the totem.
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You need two adults to take dye to the pool. Drop the first adult on the yellow pot and wait until he/she picks it up and starts towards the pool.
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Then drop the second adult on the red pot. Do not wait for the first one to reach the pool, if you do the yellow dye will wash away before the red can get there.
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Watch as the adults drop first the yellow, then the red dye into the pool. The water will turn a nasty orange color and the heathens will leap out.
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When they do, drop your builders on the totem to take it down. Repeat with the dyes if the heathens come back before you can get the totem down.
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This will clear the heathens out of the pool. At this point, the only place they can go is the broken down village in the south east corner of the map.
Puzzle 13
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Requires 2nd level science, at least one master scientist.
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After you purchase 2nd level science, the lab cleans up a bit and there is a large "blackboard" on the back wall made of animal skins.
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Drop a master scientist on this board and they will proceed to write out a mathematical proof. Screenshot.
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If they are correct, the purple masked master scientist will celebrate, then walk over to the mat and sit down, thinking.
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You can tell they are thinking due to the light over their head. Wait for the light to go out (an hour or two depending on what speed you are playing the game at).
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When they are no longer thinking repeat the process with a master scientist. Wait again and repeat a third time. After the third time the heathen will convert.
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The heathen will drop a piece of the necklace, have a child pick it up.
Puzzle 15
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Requires that the mausoleum be cleared, a fire in the fire pit.
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When you have finished clearing the mausoleum, a shallow pan will appear on the steps. Drop an adult to pick it up. Screenshot.
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The adult will take the pan up the stream and drop it near the mysterious pot, halfway between the food bin and the science lab. Screenshot.
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Drop an adult on the shallow pan and they will start to pan for gold. If they are successful, they will fill the pot 1/3 full of gold.
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Keep dropping adults on the pan and panning until the pot is full.
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When the pot is full drop an adult on it and they will take it to the fire. Screenshot.
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Wait a bit, and the gold will turn into a large orb. When it does, drop an adult on it and they will take it to the Blind Totem at the edge of the forest. Screenshot.
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When they put the eye in the totem, the hidden section of the forest will clear and you will see the chief. Screenshot.
Puzzle 17 (The Extra Puzzle)
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This puzzle is only in games sold in the first few weeks through Last Day of Work.
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Requires 3 nursing mothers, some children for distraction.
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You may have noticed the heathen "mommy" sitting in the ruined village in the southeast corner of the map.
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Mommy is almost never alone, the guards are always there except when they are drawn away, or when it rains.
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Distract the guards away and drop a nursing mother onto "Mommy" to talk to her.
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Wait until the "Mommy" is listening, then drop another nursing mother to talk.
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Again wait, then drop a third nursing mother.
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Basically you want all three mommies to be talking to the heathen "mommy" at the same time. At this point she will convert.
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And then you will learn the secret.
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"Mommy" is a guy.
Gearing Up for the Finish
Long Term Goals
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As long as you have the blooming godly power and enough energy to use it, that farm can support a village of 50 without much strain, so getting the final source of food is not the major necessity it was in earlier games.
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So now you need to come up with a strategy of which technologies to push for while growing your village.
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You're going to need a lot of scientists, so put at least three women at parenting and let them go.
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Also, continue to try and convert the blue masked heathens, they will add to your workforce.
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To get the final food source, you need the Revive godly power, which is 600 energy. This means you need to either have a large village or have completed the statue in the center of the village.
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Completing the statue requires both 3rd level construction and spirituality.
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You need 3rd level construction to get the third hut, and you need the third hut to grow your village past 35 people.
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3rd level science will enable you to rack up tech points more quickly.
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3rd level medicine will keep your villagers healthy longer.
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3rd level food mastery means you will yield more from your farm and from collected mushrooms.
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3rd level learning means your villagers will learn more quickly, and you will get the foundations for the nursery school with which to train the kids.
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My personal preference for 3rd level technology order: science, construction, spirituality, medicine, learning, food mastery.
Conversions
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Towards the end of the game, you will eventually convert the last blue masked heathen. You will convert the purple ones as part of the puzzles, as well as the chief. That will leave the orange and red masked folks still hanging around, and causing problems as the lake (a major food source) is near their broken down village.
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You can convert them, but it requires you to have at least 800 energy.
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At 800 energy you will get the power of causing an earthquake.
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Center the earthquake on their village and trigger it. When it is over they will light up, thinking.
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Wait for an hour or two until the lights above their heads go out, then trigger another earthquake.
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Keep doing this and eventually they will convert.
Later Puzzles
Puzzle 9
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Requires a master builder, 500 energy, the purple master builder to be in the area, and the time warp godly power.
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To the right of the blocking totem are two small areas that look like building supplies. Screenshot.
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To convert the purple mask master builder, you need to beat him/her at a building contest.
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The purple mask master is very fast, however.
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The purple mask master also tends to wander, so you can't do the challenge until he/she is sitting below the challenge area.
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Bring your master builder to the area.
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Use the time warp powers on him/her, and she will speed up.
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Drop the builder immediately on the left pile of supplies, and he/she will quickly build an object.
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If they finish, the purple mask will convert to your tribe.
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The necklace piece will actually drop near the statue, near where the other three pieces of the necklace are.
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Drop a child on the piece and they will bring it to the rest and assemble the necklace.
Puzzle 10
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Requires tempest godly power (300 energy twice) and revive godly power (600 energy). It is usually best to do this in stages, and perhaps wait until you have completed puzzle 14 (the hand statue).
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Go to the dry lake area and trigger a tempest (storm). Then trigger a second (you must trigger the second while there are still puddles in the dry lake).
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After two storms the lake will fill up. Screenshot.
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NOTE: If you don't have the capacity to do two storms in a row, you can still do this. Just wait until after it rains and there are puddles in the dry lake, then trigger a tempest.
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Now you need to recharge to 600 energy to use the revive godly power.
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When you have the energy, use the revive godly power on the lake and the fish will come to life.
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Now your farmers can fish. Unfortunately, until you convert the orange and red masked heathens, they will interfere with your farmers as they pass by their village.
Puzzle 14
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Requires level 3 construction, level 3 spirituality, lots of builders.
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Once you have the levels of technology, start dropping your builders on the statue and they will complete it.
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Once the statue is completed it will increase your maximum energy level.
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You can also drop builders on the completed statue to polish it. This will give them building experience.
Puzzle 16
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Requires that you have converted all of the purple masked masters and gathered their pieces of the necklace (puzzle 1, puzzle 5, puzzle 9, and puzzle 13).
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This necklace belonged to the chief's daughter.
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Once the necklace is complete, drop someone (adult, child, it doesn't matter) on it to take it to the chief.
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The chief will convert and join your tribe. The former chief is a master in all six specialties.
III. Technologies, Collectibles, and Stuff
Technologies
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You begin with level 1 in all technologies.
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Level 2 science allows the clothing hut to be built and the lab to be restored enough to convert the purple mask science master. You will also accumulate tech points more quickly. Level 3 science allows for another lab upgrade, and you accumulate points more quickly.
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Level 2 medicine allows your villagers to live to their late 60s (they will get elderly in their early 60s). It also increases fertility and upgrades the hospital. Level 3 medicine allows your villagers to live into their 70s and beyond (they will get elderly in their late 60s). Again, it increases fertility.
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Level 2 learning makes your villagers learn their tasks more quickly, and means they will reach master status sooner. Level 3 learning causes the nursery school foundation to appear. Once it is built you can train the children in there (you need someone who is adept in at least 3 areas to teach).
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Level 2 construction allows for the second hut, the repair of the aqueduct for the farm, and the next level construction of the hand statue. Level 3 construction gets you the third hut and the final level of construction of the hand statue.
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Level 2 spirituality gets you more energy capacity, and allows the statue upgrade (in combination with construction level 2). Level 3 spirituality gets you more energy capacity, you are more efficient at converting the heathens, and you can do the final statue upgrade (in combination with construction level 3).
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Food mastery doesn't open up a supply of food, it merely increases the amount of food you can get from your source and improves your storage methods so it disappears more slowly. At level 1 you get a base amount of food, at level 2 you yield 50% more, and at level 3 you double your yield. Therefore, for foods that you gather in the game:
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Gray mushrooms: level 1 = 6 food points, level 2 = 9 food points, level 3 = 12 food points.
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Red mushrooms: level 1 = 35 food points, level 2 = 52 food points, level 3 = 70 food points.
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Noni fruit: level 1 = 2 food points, level 2 = 3 food points, level 4 = 4 food points.
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Fish: level 1 = 4 food points, level 2 = 6 food points, level 3 = 8 food points.
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Collectibles
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Collectibles are a bit different this time around. There are three types: Relics, Science collectibles, and necklace pieces.
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There are 24 relics and 24 science collectibles. Each collection has 8 common, 8 uncommon and 8 rare pieces.
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Each new relic you collect increases your potential energy. Each duplicate relic you collect increases your energy, common pieces give you 10 energy, uncommon give you 50, and rare give you 150.
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However, you cannot collect more energy than your capacity. If you have a capacity of 75 energy and you have 75 energy, collecting duplicate relics won't give you more energy at all. You need to increase your capacity first.
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Each new science collectible allows your researchers to get tech points faster. Each duplicate collectible gives you tech points, common items 100, uncommon 250 and rare are worth 1,000 tech points.
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Each piece of the necklace is guarded by one of the purple masked heathens. Each of them is actually an adept or master in their field as well. When you convert them, they will drop a necklace piece. You can pick it up with any of your villagers but kids are faster. The necklace pieces will go to a spot to the left of the hand statue until all four are accumulated. At that point they will assemble the necklace. Drop a villager (a kid is faster) on the completed necklace to solve puzzle 16.
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Relics will begin showing up as soon as you start the game. Science collectibles will not appear until you have torn down the Knowing Totem and taken over the science lab.
Godly Powers
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Godly powers are things that you, as the "power" in the game, can use to affect the environment. Your powers are limited to two things: your energy capacity and your actual energy.
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The energy bar at the top right of your screen shows you your energy capacity and power. Icons for the powers will appear across the top of the screen as you accumulate the energy to activate them.
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You can increase your capacity by finding new relics, by converting heathens to your tribe, and by having children. Every time you add a new person to your tribe you increase your energy capacity. You can also increase the capacity by purchasing level 2 and 3 of spirituality.
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You can increase your energy by collecting duplicate relics, by talking to the blue mask heathens, and by performing certain tasks. Energy also comes from your villagers (your "followers") and will slowly replenish over time even without any collecting or talking.
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The godly powers (and their energy requirements) are as follows:
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Butterflies - 10 points. Triggering the butterflies will draw all of the children (including the heathens) into the area where you placed them. This is a great distraction for keeping the kids in one place or away from another.
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Bees - 25 points. Triggering the bees can cause mayhem as the bees attack nearby villagers and heathens alike, so they can be used as distractions to get guards away from totems. They can also be beneficial, when applied to the noni bush it will pollinate it and produce a little more fruit.
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Sunshine - 50 points. Triggering this will drive away fog and stop rain. There is a trophy for actually using the sun to stop a storm (tempest) that you created.
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Lightning - 100 points. This will drive people away from totems or any other area you aim it at. You can also use it to light the fire and cancel out the Pain Totem.
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Bloom - 150 points. When applied to the ground it will cause a bunch of flowers and mushrooms to suddenly sprout. When applied to the farm it will cause the crops to instantly grow. Either way, it's a great way to stretch food supplies.
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Tempest - 300 points. As advertised, this is a big storm you can unleash to scare the guards away from their village or to fill in the dry lake bed.
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Fog of Doom - 400 points. This creates a really dense fog which the heathens cannot see through, but which your villagers can. Towards the end of the game, when you are trying to convert the last blue heathens, they will be in the village surrounded by red and orange heathens. Difficult to get near them without the fog. Trigger the fog, then start dropping your villagers on the blue masks to talk to them.
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Time Warp - 500 points. This causes a villager to speed up to supersonic speeds. This is necessary to beat the purple masked master builder build-off competition (puzzle 9).
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Revive - 600 points. As advertised, this will revive any dead thing, be it a villager or fish in the lake. This is necessary for puzzle 10, the lake.
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Grant Youth - 700 points. This one will de-age a villager back to a child. Can be used on any older villager.
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Earthquake - 800 points. Yes, you can cause earthquakes. You need this power to finally convert the orange and red masked heathens. You can also use this to pull down a building project and start over.
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The Heathens
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There are five types of heathens in the game, and you will hopefully convert them all to your village.
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Some of the heathens will ignore your people, some are actively hostile, and some are too scary to approach.
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Types of Heathens:
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Blue Masks: These are friendly folk who are not scary and who will not chase your villagers. Drop one of your villagers on them to talk about conversion. When the conversation is over you will see a light over their head, indicating that they are thinking about it. Don't bother them again while that light is on, they will run away. You will eventually convert all of the blue heathens by talking to them (even the "mommy" heathen in puzzle 17).
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Purple Masks: These are adepts or masters in their field, and there are four of them. A doctor, a farmer, a scientist, and a builder. They can only be converted by actions, not words. See puzzles 1, 5, 9 and 13 for details.
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Orange Masks: These are aggressive guards, who try to keep your villagers away from certain areas and also the blue heathens. If one of your villagers gets close to these guys they will chase them away. Even when they end up confined to their broken down village towards the end of the game, they can cause problems for fishermen passing too close on their way back from the lake. One of the orange masked guards is also a child, and will wander all over in the game, showing up when you least expect it to interfere with food gathering, building, and collectible gathering. A villager will drop what they are carrying when chased by an orange mask, and you will lose the food or the collectible they were carrying.
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Red Masks: These are senior guards. They won't chase your villagers, but they are so scary your villagers will run away if they get too close. You will find these guarding totems and major sites, and eventually they will congregate in the broken down village with the rest of the orange masks. Red and orange masked guards can only be converted with earthquakes. You need 800 energy to trigger an earthquake in their village, and they will start to think (you will see the lights over their heads). When the lights go out, hit them with another earthquake. Keep doing this until they are converted.
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The Chief: You will occasionally see the chief wander in and out of the forest area to the north with the Blind Totem. He will ignore your villagers and doesn't want to talk. See puzzle 16 for the solution on how to convert the chief.
The Totems
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There are seven totems in the game, and you will end up destroying six of them.
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Most totems are a focus for the orange and red masks guarding the useful spaces, the pool, the science lab, the mausoleum, the dry lake, and the noni bush. Two totems don't have guards: the pain totem (which shoots off electricity) and the blind totem.
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The totems and their methods of destruction are:
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Hungry Totem: Guards the noni bush. Distract the guards with bees or children to allow your builders to pull this one down (puzzle 3).
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Knowing Totem: Guards the science lab. Distract the guards with bees or lightning (and children to distract the orange guards) to tear this one down (puzzle 4).
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The Pain Totem: Keeps everyone away from the hospital. You must use lightning to neutralize this totem to pull it down (puzzle 11).
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The Hollow Totem: Stands near the dry lake. Guards don't stand by this totem, they stand in the lake bed itself. This can only be destroyed with the help of six children (puzzle 8).
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The Blocking Totem: Focal point for the mausoleum guards. This one can only be brought down by master builders, and requires a lot of distractions in the form of lightning and children to accomplish (puzzle 7).
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The Rainbow Totem: Controls access to the hot springs pools. You need to have completed building the clothing hut to tear down this totem (puzzle 12).
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The Blind Totem: This is the only totem you don't have to destroy but rather to activate. There is a long complicated solution to this in puzzle 15.
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IV. Puzzles
Puzzle 1 - Physician, Heal Thyself
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Requires: One villager (adult or child).
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To the left of the enclosure, across the stream, is the science lab. Just below the lab (south) is the hospital, guarded by the pain totem.
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In the hospital are some blue mask heathens, and a purple mask heathen who is sick.
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Set one of your children (or adults) to healing, then drop them on the purple mask heathen until he/she is healed. Screenshot.
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Once the purple mask heathen is healed he/she will convert and join your village. You now have an extra adult to work, and one who is also an experienced doctor.
Puzzle 2 - Food, Glorious Food
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Requires: One adult villager (at a minimum).
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Your villagers will appear inside a flimsy bamboo enclosure. Set your adults to building and drop them on the bamboo and they will start tearing it down to build a food bin. Screenshot.
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When the food bin is finished you have solved the puzzle.
Puzzle 3 - The Hungry, Hungry Totem
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Requires: Bees, adult builder, child for distraction.
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Above and to the right of the enclosure is a noni bush. There is a Hungry Totem in front of it. Screenshot.
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In order to get food from the bush, you need to get the guards away and tear down the totem.
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Use the bee power on the bush. This will do two things: (1) Increase the number of noni berries, and (2) temporarily drive away the red mask heathen.
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Once the heathens near the bush run away use a child to distract any orange masks in the area, then drop your adults on the totem to tear it down.
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Keep the orange guards away and keep your adults on it until the totem collapses. This will happen fairly quickly.
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Once the totem is gone the red mask and the orange mask will go elsewhere. Now you can harvest food.
Puzzle 4 - A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
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Requires: Bees or Lightning power, adult builders, children for distraction.
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The totem is guarded by this time by one or two orange masks and a red mask. The red masks will not chase your villagers, so you need something that will distract both types of guards.
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The easiest for doing this is the lightning power, which is 100 energy. If you have this ability by this time, then use it.
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If you don't, then you can use the bees.
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Hit the totem with lightning and the guards will run off. As soon as they are far enough away drop every adult you have on the totem to dismantle it.
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Orange guards may come back early or come out of the lab. If they do, distract them with children while your adults are tearing down the totem.
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If the red guard comes back before you finish, just move your adults back to farming/building and let your energy build up again. You can accelerate this process by double collecting relics.
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Hit the totem with lightning again if necessary, then finish pulling down the totem.
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Once the totem is gone the guards will leave and you can access the lab. Screenshot
Puzzle 5 - Organic Farming
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Requires: Construction level 2, 1 master scientist, 1 master builder, other builders.
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Once you have all of those, turn your attention to the farm and the broken aqueduct above (north) of the lab. Screenshot.
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Drop your master scientist on the aqueduct and they will start to supervise the work.
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Drop a master builder to start construction, then any other builders you have as well.
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Once the aqueduct is repaired the farm will be ready to go.
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Supposedly you need a master builder, but I have found that as long as you have the master scientist, any builder will do.
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At this point the purple masked farmer will convert to your tribe and drop a piece of the necklace. Have a child pick up the piece.
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It will take 2 hours (in fast speed) for food to grow, but you can make it bloom instantly if you have the instant bloom "godly" power.
Puzzle 6 - Dem Bones
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Requires: Puzzle 7 solved, several builders.
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Once the Blocking Totem (puzzle 7) is gone, wait and the heathens will drift away to other places. Screenshot.
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You can then drop builders on the mausoleum to clear the blockage.
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Towards the end, the purple mask heathen who sits by the mausoleum may try to put the blockage back. Don't worry about it, just make sure that there are three or more builders clearing the rubble.
Puzzle 7 - The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall
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Requires: Master Builders (preferably 3 or more), Lightning power, children for distraction.
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Puzzle 7 is to take down the blocking totem, which guards the entrance to the mausoleum. Screenshot.
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Drop a master builder (or several) on the totem to start taking it apart.
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Once you start to work on this totem, the guards and others from the mausoleum will come and try to rebuild it.
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Your builders will run away, make sure they don't go far.
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Once the totem is surrounded by the guards, hit it with lightning.
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When they run away, drop your builders back on to tear it down.
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If any orange guards come back early, you need to keep them distracted with a child.
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When the red and blue masks come back and start repairing the totem, hit them with lightning again.
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When they leave bring back your builders and keep tearing down.
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Repeat as necessary until the totem is gone.
Puzzle 8 - Kids Do the Darndest Things
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Requires: Six children under the age of 14.
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This is the Hollow Totem that sits beside the dry lake. Screenshot.
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Your builders can't take this one down, you need to stuff it with children.
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Notice the holes, there are five of them.
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Five children can fit comfortably in the totem. A sixth will cause it to collapse.
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Drop children on the totem and wait until they go in. When the holes are filled with eyes, drop the sixth and the totem will collapse.
Puzzle 9 - Go Speed Racer, Go!
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Requires: A builder (adept or master), time warp power, 500 energy, and the purple masked master builder to be sitting in the area.
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To the right of the blocking totem are two small areas that look like building supplies. Screenshot.
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To convert the purple mask master builder, you need to beat him/her at a building contest.
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The purple mask master is very fast, however.
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The purple mask master also tends to wander, so you can't do the challenge until he/she is sitting below the challenge area.
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Bring your master builder to the area.
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Use the time warp powers on him/her, and they will speed up.
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Drop the builder immediately on the left pile of supplies, and he/she will quickly build an object.
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If you finish first, the purple mask will convert to your tribe.
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The necklace piece will actually drop near the statue, near where the other three pieces of the necklace are.
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Drop a child on the piece and they will bring it to the rest and assemble the necklace.
Puzzle 10 - The Lady in the Lake
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Requires: Energy of 1,200 (you'll need to do it in stages), tempest power, revive power.
-
Go to the dry lake area and trigger a tempest (storm). Then trigger a second (you must trigger the second while there are still puddles in the dry lake).
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After two storms the lake will fill up. Screenshot.
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NOTE: If you don't have the capacity to do two storms in a row, you can still do this. Just wait until after it rains and there are puddles in the dry lake, then trigger a tempest.
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Now you need to recharge to 600 energy to use the revive godly power.
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When you have the energy, use the revive godly power on the lake and the fish will come to life.
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Now your farmers can fish. Unfortunately, until you convert the orange and red masked heathens, they will interfere with your farmers as they pass by their village.
Puzzle 11 - Pain, I Can't Get Enough
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Requires: Lightning power, at least 100 energy (preferably 300), several builders.
-
The pain totem has no guards, but it gives off electricity so no one can touch it. Screenshot.
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Hit the pain totem with the lightning power, then drop your builders on it to take it apart.
-
If its power comes back, hit it with lightning again and finish demolishing it.
Puzzle 12 - Over the Rainbow
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Requires: Clothing hut built (level 2 science), 2 or 3 random adults, several builders.
-
This is the Rainbow Totem that guards the hot springs pools. Screenshot.
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After the clothing hut is complete, three dye pots will appear at the top of the screen, to the right of the pool and above the farm. Screenshot.
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You can use these to drive all of the heathens out of the pool long enough to take down the totem.
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You need two or three adults to take dye to the pool. Drop the first adult on the yellow pot and wait until he/she picks it up and starts towards the pool.
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Then drop the second adult on the red pot. Do not wait for the first one to reach the pool, if you do the yellow dye will wash away before the red can get there.
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Watch as the adults drop first the yellow, then the red dye into the pool. The water will turn a nasty orange color and the heathens will leap out.
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This also works with the colors in the order of the totem, red, yellow blue (requires 3 adults).
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When they do, drop your builders on the totem to take it down. Repeat with the dyes if the heathens come back before you can get the totem down.
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This will clear the heathens out of the pool. At this point, the only place they can go is the broken down village in the south east corner of the map.
Puzzle 13 - The Proof is in the Pudding
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Requires: Level 2 science (the back of the lab must be rebuilt), a master scientist.
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After you purchase 2nd level science, the lab cleans up a bit and there is a large "blackboard" on the back wall made of animal skins.
-
Drop a master scientist on this board and they will proceed to write out a mathematical proof. Screenshot.
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If they are correct, the purple masked master scientist will celebrate, then walk over to the mat and sit down, thinking.
-
You can tell they are thinking due to the light over their head. Wait for the light to go out (an hour or two depending on what speed you are playing the game at).
-
When they are no longer thinking repeat the process with a master scientist. Wait again and repeat a third time. After the third time the heathen will convert.
-
The heathen will drop a piece of the necklace, have a child pick it up.
Puzzle 14 - Talk to the Hand
-
Requires: Level 3 construction, level 3 spirituality, builders.
-
Once you have the levels of technology, start dropping your builders on the statue and they will complete it.
-
Once the statue is completed it will increase your maximum energy level.
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You can also drop builders on the completed statue to polish it. This will give them building experience.
Puzzle 15 - There Are None So Blind...
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Requires: The mausoleum to be completely cleared (puzzle 6 and 7), random adults, fire in the fire pit.
-
When you have finished clearing the mausoleum, a shallow pan will appear on the steps. Drop an adult to pick it up. Screenshot.
-
The adult will take the pan up the stream and drop it near the mysterious pot, halfway between the food bin and the science lab. Screenshot.
-
Drop an adult on the shallow pan and they will start to pan for gold. If they are successful, they will fill the pot 1/3 full of gold.
-
Keep dropping adults on the pan and panning until the pot is full.
-
When the pot is full drop an adult on it and they will take it to the fire. Screenshot.
-
Wait a bit, and the gold will turn into a large orb. When it does, drop an adult on it and they will take it to the Blind Totem at the edge of the forest. Screenshot.
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When they put the eye in the totem, the hidden section of the forest will clear and you will see the chief. Screenshot.
Puzzle 16 - The Big Kahuna
-
Requires: Conversion of all of the purple masked masters (puzzles 1, 5, 9, and 13), all pieces of the necklace, several children.
-
After each of the purple mask conversions, you should have a child take the piece of the necklace that they dropped to the statue.
-
The child who brings the last piece will assemble the necklace.
-
This necklace belonged to the chief's daughter.
-
Once the necklace is complete, drop someone (adult, child, it doesn't matter) on it to take it to the chief.
-
The chief will convert and join your tribe. The former chief is a master in all six specialties.
Puzzle 17 - My Mommy is Stranger Than Your Mommy
-
This is an extra puzzle that will only appear in games sold in the first few weeks directly through Last Day of Work.
-
Requires: at least 3 nursing mothers, children to distract the orange guards.
-
You may have noticed the heathen "mommy" sitting in the ruined village in the southeast corner of the map.
-
Mommy is almost never alone, the guards are always there except when they are drawn away, or when it rains.
-
Distract the guards away and drop a nursing mother onto "Mommy" to talk to her.
-
Wait until the "Mommy" is listening, then drop another nursing mother to talk.
-
Again wait, then drop a third nursing mother.
-
Basically you want all three mommies to be talking to the heathen "mommy" at the same time. At this point she will convert.
-
And then you will learn the secret.
-
"Mommy" is a guy.
V. Frequently Asked Questions
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Where do I find relics?
-
Relics show up on the ground from south near the mausoleum all the way north to the stairs to the forest. They also show up in the stream that divides the map. They do not show up on the dry lake bed.
-
Why are there no science collectibles showing up?
-
Science collectibles only show up once you've solved puzzle 4 (The Knowing Totem) and taken over the lab.
-
How do I solve puzzle 1? or Puzzle 3? or puzzle 12?
-
Please check the section above the FAQ, section IV, which lists all of the puzzles in order.
-
What's with that extra puzzle tucked into the lower right side of the puzzle screen?
-
That is an extra puzzle that will only be included in games purchased from Last Day of Work in the first few weeks of release. The solution to the puzzle is in our puzzle section.
-
My tribe is starving, how do I get food?
-
There are more ways than ever to stretch the food in VV5. If the noni bush is exhausted, hit it with the power of Bees. This will generate 20 or 30 more fruit. If you have 150 energy, then use the Bloom power on a bare patch of grass and have lots of kids standing by to collect the red mushrooms. If you've built the farm but have to wait 2 hours for the crops, use the Bloom power on the farm and it will sprout instantly. See puzzle 5 on how to repair the farm and puzzle 10 for fishing.
-
Are there Esteemed Elders like in the previous game?
-
There are indeed, and villagers get that title when they master in 3 disciplines. There is also a jack of all trades designation, for a villager who has mastered all six disciplines.
-
Wait, hold up a minute, you mean there's a new discipline?
-
Yes, it's called Devotion. The way to increase devotion is to have the person (it needs to be an adult) talk to the blue mask heathens, trying to convert them. Once they have some skill at devotion they will worship at the statue of the hand.
-
Well, I filled the lake, why are there no fish?
-
That lake is dead, baby. Filling it with water doesn't change that. To get fish you will also need the revive power, which takes 600 energy. Use the revive power to bring the fish back to life.
-
How can I train builders after all the construction projects are done?
-
There are a couple of ways. First, drop a builder onto the completed statue and they will polish it, which will earn them building points, and earn you more godly energy. Second, drop a builder onto the huts (not the clothing hut) and they will repair them. It takes longer, but they can achieve mastery that way. Third, trigger an earthquake underneath one of your huts (if it is incomplete). This will reset the construction back to the beginning.
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Okay, I've converted all of the blue masks, the purple masks, and the chief. What do I do with these annoying orange and red masked people?
-
They, too, can be converted, but not by talking. You need the Earthquake power (800 energy) to convert them. Trigger an earthquake under their village and you will see lights go on above their heads (they're thinking). In an hour or two when the lights go off hit them with another earthquake. Keep doing this until they convert.
-
Well, I've solved all of the puzzles, is there anything else to do?
-
Lots. It's possible to solve all of the puzzles without converting the orange or red heathens, so you can still do that. You can finish up the collections of relics and science collectibles. There are a bunch of trophies to be won as well, so check out the trophy page.
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Oh no, I have a villager who is nearly a jack of all trades, but they're old and about to die! How can I get them to complete all six disciplines?
-
It is possible to make a jack of all trades before a villager dies, but it is difficult and they are pretty old when they finish, especially now that there's a sixth discipline. The best thing to do is use the restore youth power on them, taking them back to childhood. When they become 14 and ready to work again, it will be easy to complete their learning.
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My kids are all dumb! How can I make training them easier?
-
Once the nursery school is built you can train children to have some skill before they hit working age. Children of extremely talented villagers (masters in their crafts) are also born with a little of that skill.
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I want to teach my kids, but the villager I'm dropping on the school won't teach! What's the deal?
-
In order to teach at the school an adult must be at least adept in three different subjects. If they are only master of one subject they can't teach. It's best to teach with esteemed elders or a jack of all trades (if you have one).
-
I thought this game was supposed to come with a strategy guide?
-
Yes, the game can be bought in a bundle with a strategy guide from Last Day of Work. If you didn't get your strategy guide you should contact them or you can post in their technical support forums.
Windows:
Mac OS X:
