You obviously want to be friends with the villagers for festivals and eventual marriage, but there are two fantastic reasons to make nice with the residents of the town. The first is that befriending villagers unlocks new story events, and the second lies in the friendship rewards you can receive from each villager.
Progression is largely tied to your relationships with your neighbors, so it pays to be sociable. This guide has very minor spoilers, so avoid if you want to go in blind.
There are two not-so-surprising ways to befriend your neighbors:
Talk to them Give them gifts
Talking to them will raise their fondness for you by just a bit, but gifting is the real relationship make-or-breaker.
As with other farming games, gifting villagers items they like or love will raise their fondness for you by a large (and larger, if it’s a loved item) amount. Neutral items will also raise your relationship with them, albeit less than liked items. Disliked items will lower their opinion of you, so gift with care.
This guide is incomplete but in progress. I have a bad habit of repeatedly restarting farming sims to optimize my first year, and I’ve been doing just that with Gleaner Heights, so my progress is a little behind. These are my findings during my time with the game so far, and they will be updated as I progress.
Adam
Birthday: ?
Likes and dislikes:
Likes: Mushroom, Strawberry Loves: Neutral: Cucumber Dislikes: Fat, Carrot, Yeast
Friendship rewards:
Angler Shorts ? ?
Agent Deacon Troopel
Birthday: Winter 4
Likes: Silver, Quartz Loves: Neutral: Wood, Stone, Carrot, Copper, Iron Dislikes: Meat, Turnip, Mushroom
Friendship rewards:
Fighting skill +1 Artichoke Broccoli Frittata ?
Alice
Birthday: Spring 14
Likes: Corn, Flour, Rice Loves: Neutral: Stone, Honey, Wood, Quartz, Copper, Iron, Sugar, Carrot Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Brewing Keg recipe, Wine recipe Mead recipe ?
Bernadette
Birthday: Summer 11
Likes: Egg (G), Quartz Loves: Diamond Neutral: Egg (S), Wood, Stone, Flour, Turnip, Yeast Dislikes: Fodder, Radish
Friendship rewards:
Mayo Maker recipe ? ?
Clarence
Birthday: ?
Likes: Hop, Yeast Loves: Neutral: Green Herb Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Honey-baked Pumpkin Risotto recipe
Denny
Birthday: Summer 17
Likes: Sugar, Zircon Loves: Diamond Neutral: Cucumber, Oil, Honey, Carrot, Green Herb, Copper Dislikes: Yeast
Friendship rewards:
Black Vest ? ?
Doctor Herbert
Likes: Milk, Black Herb Loves: Neutral: Carrot, Green Herb, Copper, Cucumber Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Emily (Marriage candidate)
Birthday: Spring 29
Likes: Yarn (M & L) Loves: Neutral: Cucumber, Rice, Turnip, Spaghetti Dislikes: Leek, Onion, Stone
Friendship rewards:
Baked Trout with Radish recipe ? ?
Fiona (Marriage candidate)
Birthday: Spring 6
Likes: Nightflower, Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Carrot, Copper, Stone, Wood, Flour, Sugar, Turnip, Cucumber Dislikes: Mushroom
Friendship rewards:
Potato Mash recipe Blender utensil ?
Gabriel (Marriage candidate)
Birthday: Fall 6
Likes: Brown Trout Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Milk, Copper, Carrot, Wood, Cucumber Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Pancakes recipe ? ?
Garry (Marriage candidate after befriending)
Birthday: Fall 5
Likes: Rice, Honey, Hop Loves: Neutral: Carrot, Green Herb, Sugar, Dislikes: Stone, Malachite
Friendship rewards:
Farming skill +1 ? ?
James
Birthday: ?
Likes: Strawberry, Apple Loves: Neutral: Cucumber, Wood, Stone, Green Herb Dislikes: Fish
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Jason
Birthday: Fall 18
Likes: Green Herb, Honey, Apple Loves: Carrot Neutral: Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Farming skill +1 Farmer Shoes, Hat, and Shirt
Joshua
Birthday: Fall 26
Likes: Loves: Neutral: Carrot Dislikes: Lettuce
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Jun
Birthday: Spring 23
Likes: Green Herb, Fat, Silver, Gold Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Cucumber, Lettuce, Nightflower Dislikes: Kohlrabi
Friendship rewards:
Spinach Seeds added to stock Watermelon Seeds added to stock ?
Kain
Birthday: Winter 22
Likes: Gold Loves: Neutral: Nightflower, Green Herb, Turnip, Wood, Spaghetti, Oil, Rice, Fat, Honey, Carrot Dislikes: Lettuce
Friendship rewards:
Wood Helment, Greaves, and Armor recipes ? ?
Ken (Marriage candidate)
Birthday: Winter 9
Likes: Apple, Gold, Nightflower Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Cucumber Dislikes: Milk, Wood
Friendship rewards:
Mining skill +1 ? ?
Lazarus
Birthday: Fall 20
Likes: Iron, Quartz, Zircon, Silver Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Stone, Turnip Dislikes: Flour, Cucumber
Friendship rewards:
Explosive Arrow recipe ? ?
Lee
Birthday: Summer 20
Likes: Mushroom Loves: Neutral: Stone, Flour, Sugar, Green Herb Dislikes: Wood, Eggs
Friendship rewards:
Pan Salmon recipe ? ?
Lily
Likes: Honey Loves: Lettuce Neutral: Hop, Nightflower, Cucumber Dislikes: Flour, Mushroom
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Martha
Birthday: Summer 26
Likes: Nightflower Loves: Neutral: Carrot, Green Herb, Wood, Sugar, Flour Dislikes: Fat
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Mathilda (Marriage candidate after befriending)
Birthday: Summer 28
Likes: Strawberry Loves: Neutral: Green Herb, Yeast, Carrot Dislikes: Stone, Flour, Wood
Friendship rewards:
Spring Vegetable Stew recipe ? ?
Mayor Otto
Birthday: ?
Likes: Loves: Neutral: Nightflower, Flour, Sugar, Iron, Cucumber, Yeast Dislikes: Oil
Friendship rewards:
? ? ?
Mei (Marriage candidate)
Birthday: Winter 20
Likes: Mushroom, Copper Loves: Emerald Neutral: Nightflower, Honey, Oil, Spaghetti, Rice Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Okra Stew recipe Inventory +1 ?
Michael (Marriage candidate after befriending)
Likes: Carrot, Boot, Mushroom, Iron, Flour, Sugar Loves: Neutral: Dislikes: Lettuce
Friendship rewards:
Octotium ? ?
Penny
Birthday: ?
Likes: Loves: Neutral: Iron, Green Herb, Carrot, Cucumber, Fat, every ingredient from the store Dislikes: Stone, Copper
Friendship rewards:
Cheese Maker recipe Butter recipe ?
Regina (Marriage candidate after befriending)
Birthday: ?
Likes: Strawberry Loves: Honey Neutral: Sugar, Carrot, Stone, Flour, Cucumber, Rice, Spaghetti, Oil, Turnip Dislikes: Iron
Friendship rewards:
Spaghetti Napolitana recipe ? ?
Renesco
Birthday: Summer 29
Likes: Honey Loves: Neutral: Flour, Carrot, Green Herb, Wood, Stone Dislikes: Sugar
Friendship rewards:
Fish and Chips recipe ? ?
Robert (Marriage candidate after befriending)
Birthday: Fall 1
Likes: Egg (L), Hop, Tomato Loves: Neutral: Egg (S), Yeast, Carrot, Green Herb, Nightflower Dislikes:
Friendship rewards:
Husbandry skill +1 Beer recipe Farming skill +1
Tobias
Birthday: Spring 30
Likes: Copper, Iron, Fat, Old Boot Loves: Gold Neutral: Green Herb, Black Herb, Mushroom Dislikes: Flour, Honey
Friendship rewards:
Bomb recipe ? ?
Valentina
Birthday: Summer 11
Likes: Hop Loves: Neutral: Carrot, Green Herb, Copper, Sugar, Honey Dislikes: Yeast, Stone
Friendship rewards:
Turnip Salad recipe ? ?
That’s it for my findings for now! This will be updated periodically as I test more gift items, learn about the final birthdays, and strengthen the relationships of my neighbors. Stay tuned for updates to this guide and further Gleaner Heights guides.