Continuing on from part 1, the next thing I decided was to rotate the manor 90-degrees. I was hoping that I would eventually be able to get the property where the 16×16 scarecrow farm (that was looking to expire a week later).
I spent the next few days gathering the raw stones, logs, and iron ores (3000 stone bricks, 1500 lumber, and 1500 iron ingots are needed along with 15 enchanted blueprints and 6 building management titles) so I could perform the miners farmhouse upgrade below (temporarily fencing it in).
Having two miners farmhouses in operation helped with supplying more raw stones (for the bricks) and iron ore (for the ingots) while having the farm space from three 24×24 properties helping to supply additional logs (I also did a lot of wild tree logging); so a few days later, I was able to upgrade the manor (below).
I temporarily placed fencing around the perimeter (though it was still disconnected from the miners farmhouse due to their being diagonally located); I was looking to try to get the farm plot that my character is running though (below) that was going to expire.
What ended up happening was that the cottage in the back (the one just in view below) ended up expiring a few days later and another built in its place being listed for 475 gold.
I made a snap decision to buy it since the border of the property lines up with my 24×24 properties. I also hadn’t noticed earlier but that empty spot in the above image was an open 8×8. So I dropped a private workbench on it (with plans to upgrade it into a storage silo). This would allow me to open up the fencing to give these three properties a connected look.
This is also where my decision to full kit demo the raised cottage in Lilyut Hills turned into a huge saver of having to farm up even more materials. I really did not anticipate that I would be making use of it for awhile but this is one of those cases where things were unexpectedly falling into place at this location. So I dropped the kit onto this property below (my tradesman manor is to the right) and redid the perimeter fencing.
The last piece fell into place when the 16×16 farm expired. So I now have nearly an entire 40×40 section of connected properties in Solzreed which absolutely goes way beyond my anticipated goals at this point. So what is next? Well that one is easy; stone bricks, iron ingots, and lumber are always going to be in demand since they are all core materials for upgrading properties or crafting most decor.
I was able to semi-downsize my Two Crowns property by eliminating two private workbenches (I left the smelter in order to hold onto that piece of land) in order to reduce the tax burden. That property is now just an outpost so that I can continue to maintain residency status in that zone for community center contribution purposes.
The above Solzreed location is now my main point of operations where I am currently in the process of interior redecorating (adding partitions, furnishing the interiors, crafting workbenches). Eventually, I plan to redo the fencing with the better looking (but way more expensive) walls and posts. I’m also not ruling out adding some of the surrounding properties if they end up becoming available (but that isn’t really on my radar at this time since what I now have exceeds where I thought I would be).
In the last 2-3 weeks, there have been an increase in the amount of expiring 24×24 properties (we’re talking about developed ones with upgraded manors or farmhouses) which again, is a sign that more players are just quitting (not surprising to me since I did mention before that I expected this to happen; it’s an ongoing process that still needs to play out for at least the next 2.5 months).
