---
title: "My Time at Portia: Complete Guide"
game: "My Time at Portia"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/my-time-at-portia"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds", "Farming", "Crafting", "Romance", "Skill trees"]
summary: "A practical guide to thriving as Portia's newest builder: your first weeks, crafting machines and commissions, mining the ruins, combat, farming, relationships and romance, and how to climb the workshop rankings.…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/my-time-at-portia-complete-guide-7bc907bb"
published: "2026-09-27T20:40:31.650Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T20:40:31.650Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# My Time at Portia: Complete Guide

A practical guide to thriving as Portia's newest builder: your first weeks, crafting machines and commissions, mining the ruins, combat, farming, relationships and romance, and how to climb the workshop rankings.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC version (the game is complete; Pathea's newer entries are My Time at Sandrock and the upcoming My Time at Evershine). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Your stamina is your day.** Chopping, mining and crafting cost stamina. Plan each day around the one or two things you most need.
2. **Kick trees and chop small trees early.** Kicking trees drops wood and sometimes fruit; you'll need huge amounts of wood for your first machines.
3. **Check the Commerce Guild board daily.** Commissions are your main income and reputation source early.
4. **Talk to everyone once a day** at the start. Relationships unlock discounts, gifts, help and story beats.
5. **Build the machines in your handbook** as soon as you can: a Worktable, Assembly Station, Stone Furnace, and later a Cutter Machine and more. Machines work while you do other things.
6. **Get into the ruins.** Mining in the Abandoned Ruins gives ore, stone, and the Data Discs and relics you'll trade for new blueprints.
7. **Visit the Research Center** with Data Discs. Research unlocks new diagrams (blueprints) for machines and items.
8. **Eat to recover.** Food restores health and stamina; cooking and fruit keep you going on long mining days.
9. **Upgrade your house and workshop** when you can; storage space and machine slots are a real bottleneck.
10. **Don't try to do everything on day one.** There's no failure state; progress at your pace.

## Your First Week: A Simple Plan

| Day(s) | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Follow the opening story, meet the key townsfolk, collect wood and stone near your workshop, craft your first basic items |
| Days 2–3 | Take easy commissions from the Commerce Guild; set up your furnace and keep it running |
| Days 3–5 | First trips into the Abandoned Ruins with the Relic Scanner; bring back ore and any Data Discs |
| Days 5–7 | Turn in discs at the Research Center, build the next machine the story asks for, upgrade a tool |

Every day: check the board, chat with a few villagers, and queue machines before bed. That habit alone keeps your progress moving.

## The Core Loop

1. **Gather**: wood (chopping/kicking trees), stone and ore (mining nodes and the ruins), plants and fibers.
2. **Refine**: turn raw materials into bars, planks, and components with your furnace and machines.
3. **Craft**: assemble larger items (machines, furniture, commission orders) at the Assembly Station or Worktable.
4. **Deliver**: complete commissions and main story missions for Gols (money), reputation and relationship points.
5. **Upgrade**: better machines and tools make every loop faster.

### Commissions

- The **Commerce Guild** posts commissions each day. Each has a deadline, a reward and a reputation bonus.
- Pick commissions you can finish with machines you already own. Missing a deadline is a lost opportunity (and reputation).
- Main story commissions from Presley at the Commerce Guild drive the plot and open up new areas and machines. Prioritize them.
- **Workshop ranking:** your workshop competes with Portia's other workshops (including your rival Higgins). Completing commissions raises your reputation and rank.

## Machines and Crafting

| Machine | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Worktable | Basic crafting (tools, early components) |
| Assembly Station | Build big multi-part projects (machines, commission builds) |
| Stone Furnace | Smelt ores into bars; needs fuel. Upgrade to better furnaces later |
| Cutter Machine | Turn wood and stone into planks, blocks and similar parts |
| Recycler | Break down junk from the ruins into useful materials |
| Grinder | Grind materials into powders and fine parts |

Tips:

- **Queue long jobs before bed.** Machines process overnight while you sleep.
- **Keep fuel stocked.** A furnace without fuel wastes a day. Wood and later better fuels power it.
- **Build duplicates** of bottleneck machines once you can afford them (two furnaces double smelting throughput).
- **Keep storage organized.** Put storage boxes near your machines and group by material.

## Mining and the Ruins

- **Abandoned Ruins** are mining areas. Enter with your pickaxe and the **Relic Scanner**, which points you to buried relics and Data Discs.
- **Dig down layer by layer.** Deeper layers hold better ore. Watch your stamina: carry food.
- **Data Discs** go to the Research Center to unlock diagrams. Relic pieces can be combined into complete relics for rewards and displays.
- **Upgrade your pickaxe** as soon as better bars are available; it speeds mining a lot.
- **Hazardous Ruins** are combat dungeons with enemies and bosses rather than mining sites. Go in with good armor, a strong weapon and healing food.

## Combat

- Combat is action-based: light attacks, dodging and consumables. Weapons include swords, blunt weapons and more, each crafted or bought.
- **Dodge** out of wind-ups; many enemies telegraph attacks.
- **Upgrade armor with your crafting**, not just weapons. Survivability matters most in Hazardous Ruins.
- **Carry healing food** and eat mid-fight.
- **Sparring**: many villagers will spar with you. It's good practice and raises friendship (and some reward items).

## Skill Tree

Leveling gives skill points in a tree with three branches:

| Branch | Focus |
|---|---|
| Fighting | Combat damage, defense, health |
| Gathering | Stamina efficiency, better yields from chopping/mining, extra drops |
| Social | Relationship gains, discounts, social activities |

**Early priority:** Gathering skills that reduce stamina costs and increase yields, because materials drive everything. Add Fighting before Hazardous Ruins; Social later or if you're romance-focused.

## Farming and Ranching

- My Time at Portia farms with **planter boxes** you place around your yard, plus semi-automatic irrigation systems you craft later.
- **Crops** give food, cooking ingredients and commission materials. Some seeds are seasonal.
- **Animals** (in a coop or barn) provide products such as eggs and milk. You can ride a **horse or llama** around town once you get one.
- Farming is optional income: don't let it eat all your stamina early in the game when commissions pay better.

## Relationships and Romance

- **Talk, gift, play and spar.** Daily chat, gifts they like, and activities (like Rock-Paper-Scissors and sparring) raise relationship levels.
- **Gift preferences** vary; villagers react differently to each item. Your handbook/social screens and trial-and-error reveal likes.
- **Birthdays** are the best days to gift.
- **Relationship rewards:** higher relationships can bring discounts, help, gifts and unique story events.
- **Romance:** several villagers are romanceable, including Emily, Alice, Ginger, Sam, Arlo, Remington and Gust. Date, propose, marry, and eventually start a family.
- **Social branch skills** boost relationship gains if you want to romance quickly.

## Money (Gols) Tips

- **Commissions** are the steadiest early income.
- **Sell refined goods**, not raw materials, when you have spare machine time.
- **Don't overspend on furniture early.** Furniture has stat bonuses, but machines pay back faster.
- **Upgrade tools** before cosmetic items.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Spending all stamina before noon** on low-value tasks.
- **Ignoring main story commissions.** They unlock new areas, machines and ruins.
- **Running out of storage** and leaving materials on the ground or selling things you'll need.
- **Leaving machines idle.** Always queue something before bed or before a long ruin trip.
- **Forgetting fuel** for furnaces.
- **Entering Hazardous Ruins underequipped.** Upgrade armor and bring food.
- **Neglecting relationships entirely.** Many conveniences and events depend on friendship.

## Advanced Tips

- **Batch production:** build multiple of your most-used machines and queue parts you'll need for upcoming commissions.
- **Stamina economy:** eat high-stamina food on mining days; use Gathering skills to cut stamina costs.
- **Plan the Research Center pipeline:** keep Data Discs flowing so research never stalls.
- **Complete relic sets** from the ruins for their rewards.
- **Keep an eye on seasonal events and festivals** in town; they often have minigames and unique rewards.
- **Save before big decisions** like dates or proposals if you want to try different outcomes.

## If You Enjoy Portia: The Series

- **My Time at Sandrock** (2023) is the full sequel with a desert setting; characters Gust and Ginger appear in the wider series (they later visit Starsand Island in a collaboration).
- **My Time at Evershine** is Pathea's next entry; a new trailer was shown at Summer Game Fest in June 2026.
- Pathea has run Steam bundles with Portia (a "My Time at Doloc" bundle with Doloc Town, and a "My Time at Starsand Island" bundle).

## FAQ

**Is My Time at Portia still getting updates?**
No new content is expected; the game is complete. Recent Steam posts are about sequels, collaborations and bundles.

**How long is it?**
Many players take dozens of hours to finish the main story; completionists (relationships, relics, rankings) spend much longer.

**Can I get married?**
Yes. Build a relationship to the right level, date, propose, and marry. Several villagers are romanceable.

**What should I build first?**
Worktable and Assembly Station basics, then a furnace for bars, then the Cutter Machine for planks and blocks. Follow the main story commissions; they guide you through machine tiers.

**How do I get more stamina?**
Level up, eat food, and invest in Gathering skills that reduce stamina costs.

**Is it like Stardew Valley?**
Partly (life sim, farming, romance), but Portia's core is crafting, construction commissions and mining ruins, in 3D.

## Sources

- [My Time at Portia on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/666140/)
- [Steam news: My Time at Evershine trailer, Starsand Island collaboration, Doloc bundle](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/666140)
- [My Time at Portia — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Time_at_Portia)