Source
r/harrypotterwu•
wiithepiiple

Growing seeds in greenhouses is too much work for too little effect.

Complaint

For something that takes up an entire inventory page, seeds just don't do enough, especially for the work you have to put in. The whole planting mechanic is problematic:

  • You have to find a seed, plant a seed, water it, come back to get the ingredients, brew a potion, and use the potion, THEN you get a tangible benefit. It's too far removed from the benefits.
  • It is by far the most complicated mechanic in the game when you look at the steps you have to complete. Even challenges, which seem to be the main "endgame" content are "get runestone -> go to fortress -> defeat enemies -> profit". For seeds, it's more steps for much less benefit.
  • It's restrictive to who can plan do it, as it is extremely schedule dependent. Being able to plant a seed then come back to it in a 30 minute window in varied amounts of time is difficult if you have to go any distance to a greenhouse. You can plant it and hope someone else finds it useful, but you see no in game benefit for that.
  • Watering costs spell energy, the main limiting resource, and it is the only use of spell energy that doesn't grant experience. Unless you have several inns and greenhouses near so you don't ever worry about spell energy, it's not worth the initial energy investment.
  • It's one of the few ways you interact with other players in the game, and it's not enough of a reward to draw people to it.
  • It doesn't interact with any of the other goals of the game: the registry, XP, family XP, quests, or professions. Potions help you achieve those goals, but back to the first point.

Ultimately, I wish the whole greenhouse planting thing was more productive. I don't mind the idea of planting something, watering it, and coming back for a benefit, but that benefit's gotta be worth it and more consistent.

Posted Jul 7, 2019, 5:41 PM UTC

12431
nerevisigoth:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

Agreed. I might use the mechanic if I could build my own greenhouse somewhere instead of having them scattered about like inns.

But I'm not going to plant a seed somewhere in the city and actually return to get my plant at the right time, just to get part of a potion (which will probably just get wasted on something that departs immediately).

35
psi_overtake:Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff•

Honestly, this would solve a number of issues.

  1. It gives rural players a way to get some energy.
  2. It lets you set your schedule to pick up seeds in a much more convenient way.
  3. If customization is implemented, it gives players a way to have fun with another feature already very popular in other online games.
  4. (Edit) If you only have 1 nearby greenhouse that someone keeps occupied with plants you don't need, it gives you a chance to plant your own stuff.
3
lawlianne:Slytherin: Slytherin•

I'm just sowing the seeds of achievement.

25
Bbear11:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

Time restriction sucks. Very likely I will forget or the ingredient expires before I return to the green house.

17
CB-Thompson:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

7 hours is so awkward if it's not a desk greenhouse. It's not a full night sleep, cant plant in the morning and make it back in time after work, not enough time between getting home and going to bed.

21
Baftx:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

Absolutely!

I can manage easily (not happily...) planting and collecting in 1-hour window or a 24-hour window.

But 7 hours seem just to be impossible.

My work schedule does not allow for it during week days. I thought ok, let's do 7h seeds on the weekend then. Now second weekend in a row where I just can't go back to a place I have been 7 hours before!

5
zominous:Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw•

This. So much this.

2
TMT51:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

I wanna add another reason for the seeds to be not worth the effort: Ingredient inventory is too low. Most of the time players are already maxed out or nearly max out their slot. Planting a seed will produce more resources of ONE single ingredient in large quantity. Which means you can either only harvest a small portion of what you spent your time to OR prepare enough slots to harvest all of them and don't have enough of other ingredients for the potions later, which is also not an efficient choice.

Personally most of the time picking up ingredients from the ground and collecting it from Portkeys are enough for me to keep my cauldron working 24/7 .

15
stopstabbingstacy:Gryffindor: Gryffindor•

Some of those things you pick up off the ground come from seeds planted by other people.

2
ilah152:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

Yep. My entire toadstool inventory I happened to pick up from a greenhouse near my office.

1
HomeReckoner:Slytherin: Slytherin•

Yep. My entire toadstool inventory I happened to pick up from a greenhouse near my office.

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My GF and I, planted two sets of toadstools right next to each other. We used full energy and reaped 36 toadstools. Hopefully a few people benefited from it. We had an area Pokemon GO whatsapp group and then created a WU one but hardly anybody played.

2
va_wanderer:HornedSerpent: Horned Serpent•

Honestly, harvesting ground spawn ingredients should give energy like Greenhouses do. That way, you'd get some rebate from energy used AND give everyone else around at harvesting time a boost.

10
Rajjigator:Thunderbird: Thunderbird•

Change greenhouses to Apothecaries, either free or for a small gold fee (1-2) gold you could get potions brewed maybe at a faster rate/less ingredient cost. You would still have to come back to get them like plants and you can still pick plants & use the attached greenhouse as they are now.

9
YourDice:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

Great Idea!

2
mcscrunter:Slytherin: Slytherin•

I have no idea why we can't just grow a seed on the go. That would make the whole system fine for me.

I mean, sure, we don't have a greenhouse that we can carry around. But we're not carrying around a cauldron and fire to keep it bubbling are we? I can still start a potion brewing in one town and pick it up in the next.

I can't imagine very many people actually use the mechanic now, so hopefully they'll consider changing it.

9
zominous:Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw•

Carrying water is the biggest pain for growing. You have to use so much of it, and sometimes it's hard to find.

8
stopstabbingstacy:Gryffindor: Gryffindor•

I think of planting seeds as something I do for the benefit of the community, not myself. When I’m at an open greenhouse, I plant something good that’s going to mature at a high-traffic time for the area, and forget about it. I will benefit from seeds others plant, and the system works.

6
DejaV42:Gryffindor: Gryffindor•

But when I only have enough seeds/water to plant a 7hr plant at 10pm, I'm only doing it for the achievement. No one is ever going to get that.

1
Conflixxion:Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff•

Just act like Johnny Appleseed and sow the lands.

3
[deleted]•

Agreed... I planted toadstool at the beginning of my shift because I was working two days in a row. There are two greenhouses on my floor. I come back the next day at the same time and no one contributed to my toadstool, but the lovage was fully given energy (by other people). I got two toadstool for waiting 24 hours, and the other greenhouse spilled over with lovage. What’s the point? Especially the water consumption to start growing.

3
raindropsandrainbows:Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff•

Personally, I like the challenge. And I think the difficulty is reasonable because finding ingredients you need on the map can be rare. And if you do you'll only find a couple at a time. This way I can for example mass produce a bunch of snowdrop to make a bunch of potions and it feels like I actually worked hard for it which also helps me use my potions wisely because I know how much time and work it takes to make them.

So overall I like the system.

2
brennenderopa:Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff•

Yeah, not a fun feature unless you have a greenhouse easily available at work or where you live.

2
ultrasylt:Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw•

This is the only benefit of being in a ’rural’ area with not so many POIs and no other players. If you happen to have a greenhouse nearby, you have it more or less to yourself and can plant what you want.

For example, plant some 24h mushrooms each morning/night you walk the dog, and harvest them the next day and plant a new one.

24h is easier than the other planting times, if your daily schedule is quite similar each day.

2
PusheenBread:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

I just use them to dump items. I don’t even come back for the ingredients because my bag is too full!

2
xMayome:Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff•

I’ve seen someone else suggest this already (I can’t find that post now), but being sent the thing after it’s done growing would fix so many problems and actually incentivise using greenhouses for more than just “energy, hopefully”. Or even just, get sent a little, and if you want more, you actually have to go back.

2
OldWolf2:Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw•

I like it as you can fill in holes in your potion crafting due to RNG of ground drops. I would have far fewer Exstimulos available to use without this mechanic. (I often grow Snowdrops and Bitter Roots)

1
catcatdoggy:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

i ignore the feature unless i'm really hard up.

​

besides what you mention, it's not particularly fun.

1
Kasyee:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

It would be better to have your own greenhouse to do this - at least I wouldnt have to go back super far to collect things I planted.

Another change could be - if you planed the seed or boosted it over Xn threshold with energy, you get the results from far away - directly into your inventory - besides that everyone else can collect it on spot within 30 mins like right now.

1
Hermo1ne:Invitation: Search for Madam Malkin to get school robes•

I plant wormwood at greenhouses for the achievement. It only takes an hour so I'm not hogging the greenhouse. I rarely need anything I plant so I don't bother going back. If I do plant something I need which was only once I used 50 spell energy to max the crop.

1