How to unlock new areas in Tales of the Shire

How do you unlock new areas of the map in Tales of the Shire? If you've been wandering around Bywater, you've probably noticed that a lot of areas are gated off by either, err… gates, or fallen trees, broken bridges, and so on. Well, you won't be able to access those areas just yet, but there are ways to unlock them.

If you're keen to explore more fishing spots or want to unlock foraging locations to find different mushrooms and fruit in Tales of the Shire, here's how to unlock areas of the map. You can also open up more of your home, including garden space and additional rooms, by completing missions for certain hobbits in the relaxing game.

How to unlock map locations

To adventure into more of the map, you need to progress the campaign. The first location unlocks when Delphi goes missing and Gandalf arrives to help you locate her. She's found in a gated spot in the forest, but it stays unlocked after you complete the tale.

Another way to access new areas, such as fishing and foraging spots, is by improving your friendship with certain villagers. By cooking meals for and spending time with your neighbors, you can increase your companion level and earn rewards. Here's each villager, the level that must be reached, and the location you unlock for doing so.

How to unlock rooms in your home

When you first arrive at your hobbit hole, it's in a less-than-ideal state. With a boarded-up front door and furniture placed against locked internal doors, you can't access the additional space just yet.

To do so, you need to improve your relationship with the village's carpenter, Willow Took. Willow owns a workshop just behind your home, and though trading is available, to unlock additional rooms you need to improve your friendship level to three, six, and ten, with each level achieved unlocking more space.

To unlock the garden space, you need to have advanced the main story campaign enough to unlock club missions. Part of the main campaign is proving that Bywater is a village, and to do this, you set up four clubs: fishing, foraging, gardening, and cooking.

Rosie Cotton is in charge of the gardening club, and she sets you all sorts of gardening-related tasks, such as planting a certain vegetable or growing a two-star version of a herb. The first four levels of the gardening club unlock extra garden space, with the fifth level rewarding a club decoration item.

That's how to unlock additional space. If you're wondering where to get the best fish, here's our Tales of the Shire fishing guide and a guide on how to avoid causing townsfolk to have grudges against you.