This Virtual Villagers 5 – New Believers walkthrough will guide you through the entire game, allowing you to swiftly and successfully complete the game. This walkthrough is filled with awesome tips, tricks and even some cheats here and there. Of course we won’t cover Virtual Villagers 5 cheats in too much detail, since it’s just a really nice and fun game to actually play. So are you ready to explore the mysterious center of the beautiful Isola and convert those pesky heathens to join your tribe?
A good setup from the start and a well thought out strategy is essential in converting those heathens and building up your tribe. Remember not to ignore the most overlooked aspect of the game, the camera screen in the bottom right corner. It helps you find your villagers quickly, really handy when you’re trying to find the children somewhere on the map.
Virtual Villagers 5 New Believers Walkthrough
Contents
- Choosing your villagers
- Skills
- Technologies
- Food
- Godly Powers a.k.a. Spells
- Totems
- The Heathens
- Walkthrough
Choosing your villagers
A crucial part of your success begins even before you start playing, namely when selecting the first 5 villagers. As you may have noticed some villagers are more useful than others. So below you’ll find a few do’s and don’ts:
| Do | Don’t |
|---|---|
| Balance males and females | Avoid villagers that dislike work |
| Pick at least one male and female of 18yrs or older | Avoid villagers that dislike learning |
| Select villagers in their 20’s | Avoid villagers that dislike running |
| Choose at least one child (8-10 years old) | Avoid villagers that dislike wood |
| Be picky about likes and dislikes | Avoid villagers that dislike stone |
| Avoid villagers that dislike plants | |
| Avoid villagers that dislike herbs | |
| Avoid villagers that dislike fish | |
| Avoid villagers that dislike swimming | |
| Avoid villagers that dislike rest |
It’s also important to keep the following in mind:
- 1 hour in the game (Fast mode), is equal to a whole year in the lives of your villagers.
- Only children (under 14) can pick stuff up and gather collectibles. So make sure to have at least one around.
- Children between 14 and 18 can’t reproduce yet, but they can start working.
- Villagers can reproduce between the ages of 18 to 50.
- When a baby is born, the mother can’t work until her baby is 2 years old.
- Collect as much as you can. Collecting lots of mushrooms early on can mean the difference between life and death. You’ll notice faint white sparkles, which help make sure you spot them quickly.
- When actually playing the game, make sure it’s in “Fast mode”. But keep in mind when you leave the game, it continues. So it’s best to switch to “Normal” or “Slow”, or even “Pause” the game when necessary. That way you’ll avoid major issues with your villagers.
Make sure to set preferences for your villagers. If for example you want a villager to do some farming, set his/her preference to “Farming” (select a villager and click “Details” on the bottom right).
Villager detail screen
Navigate the map by left-clicking on and dragging the map, or for an even quicker way by using your keyboard’s numpad numbers 1 through 9. Each number corresponds to one of the 9 sections of the map:
The Overview Map
Skills
In Virtual Villagers 5 there are six different skills your villagers can master. Of course the more experienced they are in a particular skill, the more efficient they become. For each skill there are three levels: Apprentice, Adept and Master. The highest skill level will be shown at the bottom of the screen when you select a villager, and furthermore it will show you which level they are.
| Farming | Farming obviously is food collection, the more farming skills the more effectively you can harvest food. The farming skill can be improved by picking berries, harvesting crops from the farm and fishing. Make sure there’s at least one person collecting food. |
| Building | The building skill is useful for building structures faster and will increase with dismantling totems, working on the statue and doing repairs. It’s best to use male builders, as females might be occupied raising babies and therefore aren’t busy building. |
| Research | By acquiring research skills you gain tech points. You can improve your research skills by doing research in the lab. |
| Healing | Healing sick villagers increases your healing skills. Studying at the hospital has the same effect. Improving your healing skills means you can cure illnesses faster. |
| Parenting | Having good parenting skills means you can make babies easier. The best way to improve your parenting skills is to just simply have more children. Telling stories and doing some teaching at the nursery school also helps with increasing your parenting skills. |
| Devotion | The more devotion the more effectively you can instill faith in heathens. Devotion is increased by converting heathens with blue masks and honoring the statue. |
Technologies
Virtual Villagers 5 – New Believers has 6 technologies that can be researched: Science, Medicine, Learning, Construction, Food Mastery and Spirituality. The “Technologies” menu can be found by clicking “Tech” in the lower left corner of the screen. Each technology has 3 different levels, and all start at level 1. So in total there are 12 upgrades you can buy.
6 Various technologies that can be improved
Science
Level 2: Allows you to build the clothing hut and makes sure the lab is restored so the heathens with the purple mask can be converted. Tech points are also accumulated faster.
Level 3: You can upgrade another lab and get more tech points faster.
Medicine
Level 2: Villagers live longer, until their late 60’s. It also upgrades the hospital and increases fertility.
Level 3: Villagers live until their late 70’s and beyond and it increases fertility even more.
Learning
Level 2: Villagers learn tasks faster and therefore reach the master level faster.
Level 3: The nursery foundation school appears which is meant to train children.
Construction
Level 2: The second hut can be built, as well as the next level construction of the Hand Statue and the repair of the aqueduct for the farm.
Level 3: You get the third hut and the final level of the Hand Statue.
Food Mastery
The higher the level the more food you get from gathering food.
| Grey mushrooms | Red mushrooms | Noni fruit | Fish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 6 food points | 35 food points | 2 food points | 4 food points |
| Level 2 | 9 food points | 52 food points | 3 food points | 6 food points |
| Level 3 | 12 food points | 70 food points | 4 food points | 5 food points |
Spirituality
Level 2: Gives you more energy capacity and allows the statue upgrade (with construction level 2).
Level 3: Increases the energy capacity some more and allows the final statue upgrade (with construction level 3). It also makes you more efficient at converting heathens.
Food
In Virtual Villagers 5 there are 5 different types of food: Gray mushrooms, Red mushrooms, Crops, Noni fruit and Fish. Having enough food is necessary for building and sustaining a larger population of villagers.
Gray mushrooms
Mushrooms can only be gathered by children under the age of 14, so start gathering straight away. Make sure to check your map constantly in search of these mushrooms.
Red mushrooms
Red mushrooms give a lot more food than the regular gray ones, but they appear less often. However, it is possible to use a god power to make mushrooms bloom. This also increases the chance for red mushrooms.
Noni fruit
Before being able to gather noni fruits from the noni bush, you’ll need to build a granary (Puzzle #2) and you need to dismantle the Hungry Totem (Puzzle #3). The noni bush will appear in area 6 (just press number 6 on your numpad).
Crops
In area 8 there’s a farm that can be unlocked by completing Puzzle #5. The farm will give you crops as a food source. If you harvest all crops from the farm it’ll take roughly 2 hours before the crops grow back again. You can however use the Hand of Bloom spell to instantly have them ready for harvest.
Fish
After completing Puzzle #10 you’ll be able to start fishing in the lake in the south (area 3). Catching fish is as easy as dropping one of your villagers in the lake and being patient until the fish eventually bite.
Godly Powers a.k.a. Spells
God powers (or godly powers or spells) will become available when your energy level increases. These god powers enable you to affect the environment. The Virtual Villagers 5 god powers are limited to 2 things, your energy capacity and the actual amount of energy. As you can see in the image below on the left of the energy bar is the amount of energy, on the right the energy capacity.
The Energy Bar
The energy capacity can be increased by discovering new relics, by having children and by converting heathens to villagers. Of course the energy capacity can also be increased by buying levels 2 and 3 of the spirituality technology. Below are the 12 god powers and the capacity you need before they become available.
| God Power | Capacity | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Butterflies | 10 points | Draws all children into the area where you cast the spell. |
| Bees | 25 points | Used to distract guards away from totems. The bees can also be used to increase the number of noni fruit. |
| Sunshine | 50 points | Drives away fog and stops rain. |
| Lightning | 100 points | Drives people away and can be used to light fires or take out the Pain Totem. |
| Bloom | 150 points | Gives instant food. It can be applied to any spot to grow flowers and mushrooms, or on the farm to instantly make crops ready for harvest. |
| Tempest | 300 points | Causes a big storm that’ll scare guards away or fill the lake in the south. |
| Fog of Doom | 400 points | Causes a dense fog which your villagers can see through but the heathens can’t. You’ll need this to convert the last blue heathens that are surrounded by red and orange ones. |
| Time Warp | 500 points | Speeds the game up really fast. You’ll need it in the build-off competition (Puzzle #9). |
| Revive | 600 points | This spell will revive anything that died and is needed for Puzzle #10. |
| Grant Youth | 700 points | Turns any older villager into a child again. |
| Earthquake | 800 points | An earthquake can pull down buildings and is needed to convert the last orange and red heathens. |
Totems
There are 7 different Totems in Virtual Villagers 5, of which 6 will be destroyed eventually. The Totems are mostly guarded by orange and red heathens. By pulling these Totems down you’ll instill faith in heathens and be on your way to completing Virtual Villagers 5.
The Heathens
Heathens come in 5 different types, each with their own specialties, behavior and mask colors: Blue, Purple, Orange, Red and The Chief. The goal of these heathens is to make your life difficult by scaring your villagers.
Blue Mask Heathens
The Blue ones are the easiest. They don’t scare off villagers and are open to talk to. Drop your villagers on top of them to start a conversation. When the conversation is finished, you’ll see a light appear over their head. That means they are contemplating the conversation and aren’t open to another one yet. Once the light disappears drop another one of your villagers on them until you eventually convert them.
Orange Mask Heathens
The Orange ones scare your villagers away and chase them, making it harder to access certain areas or pull down Totems. Orange Mask Heathens also cause villagers to drop things they collected like food or other collectibles.
Red Mask Heathens
Red Mask Heathens are senior guards and scare off villagers. They won’t however, chase the villagers. The Red ones mostly guard Totems and other important areas. The Red and Orange Heathens can only be eventually converted by using Earthquake spells. When you cast an Earthquake, lights will appear over their heads. When they’re gone, use another Earthquake spell until they are converted.
Purple Mask Heathens
Purple Mask Heathens can only be converted by words and solving puzzles #1, #5, #9 and #13. They are skilled Heathens and each has their own skill: Doctor, Farmer, Scientist and Builder.
The Chief
The last of the Heathens is The Chief. You’ll only see him every now and then walking in and out of the forest to the north. The Chief can be converted by solving Puzzle #16.
Walkthrough
If you want to finish Virtual Villagers 5 – New Believers as fast and as efficiently as possible it’s best to follow the strategy below. You can check off each part of this Virtual Villagers 5 walkthrough and make sure you convert all Heathens as quickly as possible.
Selecting your villagers
Required: –
Puzzle: 1, 2, 14
As mentioned in the first paragraph, a good selection of villagers right from the start is the best way to quickly get you going. The best mix of villagers is as follows, of course keeping the suggestions in the first paragraph in mind (especially regarding likes and dislikes):
- One man with high building skill
- One woman with high building skill
- One man with high research skill
- One nursing female
- One child
When the game starts, drop every adult villager on the fence to start tearing it down and building a food bin. Once the fence is down, drop the villagers on the Knowing Totem in area 7, just below the hot springs. Of course use butterflies and bees to keep the hostile and scary Heathens away.
Then check the hospital in area 4 and drop one of your villagers on top of the sick Blue Heathen until you’ve treated his illness. That way he’ll join your tribe and give you a piece of the necklace.
It’s also good to start building the Tribute Statue right from the start. Make sure to drop some builders on it and just keep on improving it.
The Hungry Totem
Required: 1+ builder(s)
Puzzle: 3
The main objective at this first stage of the Virtual Villagers 5 walkthrough is getting a steady supply of food for your villagers. In order to do that, you’ll need to pull down the Hungry Totem in area 6. Use the Swarm of Bees spell to drive away the heathens and drop all of your adult villagers on the Hungry Totem. Right after that you can start to build the love shack and send some villagers to the west bank of the river to gather dry grass and wood from the woodpile. They’ll deposit the grass and wood in the fire pit. Once they’ve done that, drop a villager on the pit to start a fire. Then conceive 2 babies in the love shack, as you’ll need them later on.
The Hungry Totem
The Knowing Totem
Required: 1+ builder(s)
Puzzle: 4, 13
The Knowing Totem in area 7 is the second one to take down. Drive the red and orange heathens off with the Lightning Strike spell and destroy the totem. Once it’s taken down, the heathens will vacate the laboratory, and you should have at least half of all your villagers working on research. Then, in order to convert the Heathen Master Scientist, drop one of your Master Scientist’s in front of the drawing board. The board is situated on the left of the research facility.
The Knowing Totem
Repairing the Aqueduct
Required: 1+ builder(s), level 2 construction, 1 master scientist
Puzzle: 5
In order to repair the broken aqueduct in area 8 you need a Master Scientist. Just drop him on the broken aqueduct and he will supervise the repairs. Next you need at least one builder (preferably a few) and drop them on the aqueduct as well. Don’t forget to constantly drive off heathens using any of your spells. The repair of the broken aqueduct will convert the Master Farmer Heathen and will give you another piece of the necklace. Next you need to build some more houses and make a few babies.
The Aqueduct
The Pain Totem
Required: 1+ builder(s), 100 energy
Puzzle: 11
Breaking down the Pain Totem is fairly easy. Just use your Lightning Strike spell a few times to stun it. Once it’s stunned, drop all of your builders on it to take it apart. Do pay attention, because using the Lightning Strike once might not be enough. After demolishing the Pain Totem, upgrade your technologies to level 2 and complete the second modification of the statue.
The Pain Totem
The Rainbow Totem
Required: 2+ builder(s), clothing hut
Puzzle: 12
Once the clothing hut is completed, three pots of dye will appear near the farm. You’ll need to drop 2 builders on both the red and yellow dye almost simultaneously. The villagers will then carry the dye to the hot springs and pour them in. This will drive away the heathens and you can start destroying the Rainbow Totem. If the water starts to run clear, just drop 2 villagers on the dye again and carry on destroying.
The Rainbow Totem
The Blocking Totem
Required: all master builder(s), 500 energy
Puzzle: 6, 7, 9
Before taking apart the Blocking Totem, start the building contest first in order to convert the Heathen Master Builder. Use your most experienced builder and use the Time Warp spell on him. This will cause your builder to win the contest and convert the heathen. You then get the final piece of the necklace. After winning the contest, use the Lightning Strike to scare off all heathens surrounding the Blocking Totem. Then quickly drop all of your builders on the totem and take it apart.
The Blocking Totem
The Hollow Totem
Required: 6 children
Puzzle: 8
First scare off any heathens by either a Lightning Strike or a Swarm of Bees. Then drop all 6 children on the Hollow Totem. Let those kids work their magic and soon the totem will be demolished.
The Hollow Totem
Replenishing the Lake
Required: 600 energy
Puzzle: 10
Replenishing the Lake can only be done when you have enough energy. Start off with two Tempest spells right after each other. This will fill the lake in no time. Then, when you have replenished your energy, use the Revive spell to bring the fish back to life. Replenishing the Lake will give your villagers enough food for the remainder of Virtual Villagers 5.
The Lake
Restoring the Faith
Required: all necklace pieces, restored mausoleum, lit fire
Puzzle: 15, 16
Drop a villager on the pan by the Mausoleum in area 1 and he’ll take it to the river. Drop another villager on the pan once it’s next to the river to pan for gold. You need to keep trying a few times in order to start panning for gold. You’ll need to do this 3 times in total to fill the pot with gold. When it’s full, drop a villager on the pot and he’ll start smelting the gold above the lit fire. Once he’s finished, a sphere of gold will appear. Drop a villager on it to put this sphere in the eye of the Blind Totem in area 9.
Drop a villager on the necklace, once the Heathen Chief’s woodland is revealed. Once the necklace is completed, drop another villager on it to take it to the Heathen Chief. This is enough to convert the last Heathen and complete Virtual Villager 5 New Believers.
So, there you have it. You’ve just successfully completed Virtual Villagers 5 – New Believers by following our pretty extensive walkthrough filled with tips, some cheats and lots of puzzle solving :-)
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