Welcome to Elderfield Elderfield Tier Lists
What to plant, which difficulty to pick, and what can wait until you know the save system.
Welcome to Elderfield is not a PvP game. These ranks exist because new players still ask “what do I plant?” and “which difficulty is real?” This hub splits that into two lists. Crops are about gold, quests, and recipes. Combat is about whether you came for a story farm or a turn-based RPG. The full PC version is dated September 10, 2026. The Steam demo has been playable since October 2024, and these ranks are built from that slice plus store-facing systems that are not going away.
Pages in this hub
- Crop ranks — S-tier wheat and radish, A-tier pumpkin, Eyeleaf, and beans, plus cursed plants the Tax Man still notices.
- Combat ranks — Cozy for story, Normal for a real RPG, Nightmare only after you understand saves, baths, and AP.
Read crops before you fill every plot with cauliflower. Read combat before you pick Nightmare because a trailer looked mean. Then go back to Getting Started if you have not left the house yet.
How we rank
Crops weigh seed cost, nights to harvest, sell price, quest gates, and recipe density. A plant that feeds Hans, dough, and the Tax Man outranks a pretty 24-night luxury. Scarecrows, daily water, and tentacle clears are assumed; a crop that dies to crows is not S-tier in practice. Details and the full table live on crop ranks. The farming guide explains how to actually grow them.
Combat weighs difficulty presets, early food versus stick upgrades, mall bosses, rituals, bathing, and elemental-style weaknesses (Shoppers versus Insanity/Curse, Rats versus Curse/Light). Cozy is not “bad”; it is the correct rank if you came to befriend Tanner. Normal is the correct rank if you came to spend AP. Nightmare is a later unlock in your brain, not a badge. See combat ranks and the combat guide.
What is deliberately unranked here
Townsfolk are not a tier list. Hans is not “S-tier DPS.” He is the skeleton who wants wheat. For people, use the townsfolk hub and the gift guide. Tools are not a tier list either; the first-week planner is a calendar, and system requirements is a hardware page.
Old God offerings, fishing trophies, and late mall routes will shift after September 10, 2026. This hub will not pretend a demo vertical slice is the finished meta. If a patch changes seed prices or boss AP, we update the child pages, not this paragraph.
Quick picks if you only have a minute
- Plant wheat immediately. It is cheap, Hans asks for it, and it becomes dough.
- Plant radish beside it. Four nights, high sell, many recipes.
- Unlock pumpkin when Hans allows; pies pay, Sam still hates them as gifts.
- Pick Cozy if combat is in the way of mysteries. Pick Normal if you want the RPG.
- Do not fight the Hall Monitor on an empty stomach. Food outranks a prettier stick on day three.
- Bathe before a mall delve. Curses are cheaper to wash off than to heal through.
How this connects to the rest of the wiki
Crops feed cooking, gifts, and the Tax Man. Combat feeds the mall, the Administrator, and whether Nightmare is a joke or a wipe. Sleep luck rolls can bless or curse either loop; keep sleep and curses open if you are skipping nights to rush ranks.
If you are here from a search for “Elderfield tier list,” you are in the right building. Open a child page. Do not copy a generic farming-sim ranking that puts ancient grapes over wheat. Elderfield’s S-tier is the plant that lets you survive the week the Tax Man walks the path, not the plant that looks the most cursed on a thumbnail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
What is S-tier to plant first?
Wheat and radish. Wheat is cheap, feeds Hans, and becomes dough. Radish finishes in about four nights with strong sell value and recipes. Full table: crop ranks.
Which combat difficulty should I pick?
Cozy if you came for story and townsfolk. Normal if you want a real RPG. Skip Nightmare until you know how saves, baths, and AP work. See combat ranks.
Are townsfolk ranked on this hub?
No. People are not units. Use the townsfolk hub and gifts instead.
Does the Tax Man change crop ranks?
He does not change the S-tier picks, but he punishes empty fields. Keep wheat and radish in rotation so a tithe does not wipe your gold. Farming steps are in the farming guide.
Should I upgrade weapons or cook food first?
Cook. Early food outranks stick upgrades. Then fight Hall Monitor before Administrator. The mall walkthrough assumes you brought meals.