Unlock Free Furniture and More: The Ultimate Tales of the Shire Friendship Guide

Building friendships in Tales of the Shire isn’t just about being neighborly—it’s your ticket to unlocking cool perks like free furniture, new fishing spots, shop upgrades, and even expanding your Hobbit-hole. If you want to make the most out of your time in Bywater, getting to know the 15 townsfolk is a must. Here’s a straightforward guide to becoming their best friend and reaping the rewards.

- How to increase friendship levels

Organizing Shared Meals and serving the right dishes
Tips for maximizing friendship points
Friendship rewards and milestone benefits

How to Boost Friendship Levels

Friendship levels in Tales of the Shire range from 1 to 10 and can be tracked in the Townsfolk menu. The key to improving your bond? Food. But not just handing over a plate—Hobbits prefer a Shared Meal. To set this up, head to your writing desk inside your Hobbit-hole, select “plan a shared meal,” and pick a venue.

Early in the game, you can choose between two locations:

Home: Your cozy dinner table, fitting two guests.
The Three-Farthing Stone: A spacious high rock area northeast on the map, perfect for four guests.

Once you’ve picked a venue, invite your Hobbit friends. The meal takes place the next day at any time you choose—morning, noon, or night—just show up with food and interact with the table.

Serving Meals the Right Way

At the Shared Meal, open your inventory, select “meals,” and assign one dish per guest. Placement matters! For example, to serve Crispy Fish Pie to Old Noakes, place it right in front of him. The tastier the dish (higher deliciousness rating), the more friendship points you earn. Use quality ingredients and aim for better cooking mini-game results to boost this rating.

Tips for Maximizing Friendship Gains

Don’t skip your own Shared Meal. If you invite Hobbits but don’t show, they get upset and won’t accept invites for a few days. No friendship points lost, though.
Pay attention to cravings and flavors. Each Hobbit has preferences shown in their profile or RSVP letter. Satisfying these can earn you gifts.
Serve meals daily. You can send new invites as soon as the previous Shared Meal is done to level up faster.
Fill every seat. Venues require maximum guests—so no half-empty tables.
Bring enough food. One dish per guest is mandatory, especially when eating outside your home.

One Hobbit worth focusing on is Willow. At friendship levels 3, 6, and 10, she’ll expand your Hobbit-hole, giving you more space to decorate!

Friendship Rewards You’ll Love

Hosting Shared Meals for 14 Hobbits and one Dwarf takes effort, but the rewards are worth it:

Basic gifts: Furniture pieces and recipes when you satisfy cravings or flavors.
Special gifts: Unique furniture for serving high-deliciousness meals that hit cravings.
Milestone rewards: Unlock trading, shop upgrades, or new fishing and foraging spots at friendship levels 3, 6, and 10.
Friendship Tales: Side quests unlocked at milestones, adding extra story depth.

Don’t forget to chat with your Hobbit friends after meals to claim your gifts. In Tales of the Shire, friendship truly is the best way to furnish your home!