My Time at Sandrock: the best gifts for every marriage candidate
It’s the tried and tested grind for all life sims; if you want to make friends, you’ve got to give lots of gifts. My Time at Sandrock is a little more generous on this front than most as it actually gives you solid numbers denoting how much a gift affects a character’s relationship with you. That said, it doesn’t help with sussing out every NPC’s unique tastes in gifts.
That’s why we’ve gone through all 21 marriage candidates in the game and picked out the best gifts you can give each of them, as well as what are the easiest gifts to obtain for each.
Before we start, there are some important things you need to know. Firstly, you can only give each character one gift per day, although there are no weekly limits like some other games. Also unlike most other life sims, a character’s birthday has no effect on how many relationship points you gain – although you will get unique dialogue.
Most important to note is that giving a character the same gift day after day will have diminishing returns, with you gaining fewer relationship points each time. This means it’s a good idea to prep a rota of a few different gifts to give a character every day for maximum efficiency.
Amirah
Amirah is the resident pottery expert and she likes carefully crafted things, as well as some finer goods.
The best gifts to give her are the Conch Shell Goddess Statue and the Springtime Rescue Team Hat, both offering 16RP.
Perhaps the most easy to replicate gift for Amirah is the Moonstone Pendant, offering 15RP. It can be crafted in the Intermediate Jewelry Processing Machine. However, she is also happy to receive most raw gemstones, with Diamond, Gold, and Opal being her favorites.
Arvio
Amirah’s brother and owner of the general store and that thankfully makes him quite easy to shop for if you have the resources spare.
Arvio loves weapons and tools of several different kinds. The following items will all get you 20RP with Arivio:
- Alloy Daggers
- Aluminum Axe
- Aluminum Prickhammer
- Chromium Axe
- Chromium Pickhammer
- Gemstone Dagger
- Titanium Dagger
If you’re looking for something a bit simpler in the early game, iron tools will also earn 10RP with him, but the easiest is the Wooden Storage box, getting 8RP for each one.
Burgess
Church official and waterkeeper, Burgess is all about playing by the rules, which means he’s not the most interesting of people.
Perhaps that’s why his most loved gift is the Large Storage Box, which will earn you 19RP if you give it to him. That’s not particularly practical though, as you can only get them by buying them from the Mysterious Man in My Time at Sandrock.
A more practical gift is the Large Desert Mudfish, which is worth 17RP if you’re good at fishing or Rib Meat, which occasionally drops from the low-level Yaks around Sandrock, as well as the higher-level Boxing Jacks further out.
Catori
The owner of Sandrock’s gaming area and curator of the local museum, Catori is as much a sucker for jewelry as she is for artifacts.
Diamond Earrings and Exhibition Strands both get you 19RP with her, which is good as Exhibition Stands can be crafted pretty cheaply on an Intermediate Workbench. In the same vein, Desk Clocks and Office Chairs will net you 15RP each and are cheap to craft, while other jewelry like the Amber Pendant and Orchid Earrings will also win her over.
Elsie
Elsie is an energetic person with a love of animals and adventure, which makes her a little difficult to shop for.
The Lung Fish King is her most loved item, but this can prove to be a difficult fish to catch, and even below that is the Camping Den and Pet Sofa – two uncraftable furniture items that cost 2,000 Gols each.
The best item you can consistently make for her is the Animal House which is worth 17RP, you just need to complete the ‘How to Tune Your Banjo’ quest first to get the recipe.
Ernest
Ernest is a not-so-humble writer who is looking for inspiration for his next big story, so he likes slightly classier things.
That said, his most loved gift isn’t too difficult to produce, as they’re Wind Chimes, getting you 17RP for each one you gift. They can be crafted on the Primary Jewelry Processing Machine, which isn’t too far down the research tree.
A lot of his other high-value gifts are harder to obtain, mostly taking the form of relics and uncraftable furniture.
Fang
Fang is a difficult character to romance, as he won’t accept any confession of love until you get far enough along their quest line. Still, there are some easy items to reach their heart.
If you’re a fishing pro then the Horned Adder King, Sand Snake King, and Sanacuda King will all earn you 20RP with Fang, but you might be better off going for slightly lower-value gifts like Anti-Cold Medicine or Dragon’s Blood for 14 and 13 RP respectively.
Still, if all else fails you can always give him a bunch of Wooden Storage boxes for 8RP a pop.
Grace
Blue Moon Saloon’s less-than-stellar cook, Grace has an interest in all the weird and dangerous things that happen in and around Sandrock.
While her most loved gifts are High-Speed Motors and Gravity Motors for 18 and 17RP respectively, those are quite late-game items, and you’re better off making her Frying Pans for 16RP instead, or even very simple Copper Pots for 15RP.
Heidi
The daughter of a blacksmith and a tailor, it’s not hard to predict what Heidi likes the most.
Like Arvio she has a list of tools that all give you 20RP with her:
- Aluminum Axe
- Aluminum Pickhammer
- Chromium Axe
- Chromium Pickhammer
- Iron Axe
If you want something a little easier then getting a reliable source of Moonstone is good to craft a bunch of Moonstone Pendants for 15RP with Heidi, but several different Alloy Plates will do the job too.
Jane
A teacher returning to Sandrock after some time away, Jane has rather cute taste.
Her most loved items are the various Toy Soldier relics, worth 19RP each with her, but you can also craft a Windproof Waist Bag for her if you have unlocked the Intermediate Jewelry Processing Machine. If you’re not quite at that stage yet then the tier below can craft Wind Chimes quite easily, which are worth 17RP with Jane.
Justice
Justice is one of the town’s chief protectors against the evildoers of the world, and it’s no surprise what he wants most – to sit down.
A Comfortable Chair is his most loved item, worth 19RP. This is good for us, as it’s pretty easy to craft on an Intermediate Workbench. Failing that weapons like the Alloy Heavy Sword and any one made of Titanium will make him happy for 16RP, so he’s not too difficult to win over.
Logan
Logan’s mysterious and possibly villainous nature doesn’t stop him from finding love – if you choose to give it to him.
He has by far the longest list of items he loves, most of which are weapons and gear. All of the following items will earn you 20RP with Logan:
- Alloy Daggers
- Allow Heavy Sword
- Alloy Spear
- Alloy Sword and Shield
- Chromium Spear
- Essential Heavy Sword
- Essential Spear
- Essential Sword and Shield
- Gemstone Daggers
- Magic Adventurer Bottoms
- Magic Adventurer Shirt
- Steel Daggers
- Steel Spears
- Titanium Daggers
- Titanium Heavy Sword
- Titanium Spear
- Titanium Sword and Shield
- Vintage Assault Rifle
If you want to go a little cheaper then Iron weapons are still worth 19RP with Logan, and he’s a bigger fan of Diamonds than most too, offering 17RP.
Mi-an
The very first person you encounter when arriving at Sandrock, Mi-an is a fellow builder and one of the easiest people to build a relationship with for that very reason.
Desert Mudfish King is her favorite gift, but tools like the Aluminum or Chromium Axes and Pickhammers are all worth 16RP too. She’s also one of the only citizens who loves raw materials, with Zinc, Silver, and Titanium Ore all earning you 12RP with her.
The Working Desk is one of the easiest items to make for her though, netting 16RP while using only basic materials.
Miguel
A Church of Light pastor, Miguel isn’t easily won over by material possessions, having some of the fewest loved gifts of any character.
His most loved item is the Concentrated Algae Apparatus, which has a rather complicated crafting recipe. A Diamond isn’t a bad bet if you have one or two spares, earning you 17RP for each one, but your best bet is you hunt down Dragon’s Blood from Dracaena trees on the Northern Plateau for 13RP a pop.
Nia
When Nia, your best friend from your home town finally comes to stay in Sandrock, you can start gifting her things, although she has refined taste and loves natural things the most.
Like Miguel, the Concentrated Algae Apparatus is what she loved the most, but it’s impractical to craft too many of those just to gift them to her. If you’re willing to grow some crops and cook some recipes, then you can use an Advanced Cooking Station to cook her a Sand Jujube Cake for 13RP.
Far more consistent, however, are Rhino Horn Cactus, which may only offer 8RP, but can be grown in your yard without much trouble.
Owen
Owen is the owner of the Blood Moon Saloon and cooking is his passion – as well as being big and buff.
He’s a fish fan with Sandacuda King and Sandfish King being his most loved gift, but there are far easier things to craft him, such as the Arm Stretcher and Barbell, both of which earn you 18RP with him. You can go even simpler though, as the incredibly cheap Copper Pot is worth 15RP with Owen.
Pablo
If you want to reach this hairdresser’s heart then you’ll need to invest in the finer things, as Pablo’s tastes are very expensive.
His two most loved gifts at the Sweet Adventurer Cloak and Wedding Clothes. While both offer 20RP they are expensive items that can only be bought at shops, not crafted. Even the craftable items Pablo likes are tough though, with Diamonds, Diamond Rings, and gold Rings all giving you 17RP.
If you’re willing to spend time grinding in the scrapyards, then the Golden Bull Head relic is pretty easy to obtain and will earn you 15RP, but perhaps more consistent in the Hair Dryer or Curling Iron, which only offer 8RP, but are much easier to craft.
Pen
Pen may be a bit in-your-face about his natural strength, but it makes him rather easy to win over.
His two most loved items, the Explorer Hat and Rescue Team Hat can both be crafted at a Level 1 Tailoring Machine for 19RP, but much easier is the Arm Stretcher and Barbell, which still offer a great 18RP. He’s also another person who likes a wide array of weaponry, with Alloy, Chromium, Essential, and Titanium weapons all getting you 16RP.
Qi
Technophile Qi is, predictably, hard to win over as the futuristic techs he likes the most are expensive and quite late-game items.
High-Speed Motors are what he loves the most, giving you 18RP if you gifted him one. The easiest item to obtain is the DNA Model relic, but even that requires a bit of luck while hunting in the scrapyards. Your best bet might honestly be Coffee Beans. While they only offer 6RP, they are one of the only items Qi likes that can be consistently reproduced.
Unsuur
Unsuur describes himself as a simple and content individual, and jerks like that are always the hardest to buy for.
Unsuur is no different, as the only gifts he isn’t neutral towards are minerals, and he isn’t even enthusiastic about many of those.
Diamonds are the best with 17RP, then Gold with 15RP, Rosestone with 14RP, and Opal with 13RP, and the numbers quickly drop from there. Zinc Titanium Alloy is worth 8RP, but it hardly seems worth the fuss when Zinc Ore and Titanium Ore both earn you 6RP with Unsuur.
Venti
Venti’s a scrapper by trade, which means she likes a lot of easy gifts. It’s time to break out your workbench again and get tool crafting.
Aluminum and Chromium Axes and Pickhammers are her most loved gifts at 20RP, but you could also use a Tailoring Machine to craft a Hemp Carpet instead as it’s a bit cheaper and worth 17RP.
Cheaper metal tools are still worth a decent amount, with Iron tools giving 10RP and Bronze tools giving 9RP, but if you want the truly easy route, she’s another one who loves a Wooden Storage box for 8RP.