Thanks for sharing your strategy - there were a couple items I couldn't find in other pre-created lots (e.g., namely, the dishwasher and gaming mat - so glad somebody found them!). Also, it's good that we could move lots because that was a part of Macguver's strategy
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Overall, Macguver aimed to be as efficient as possible in making the 25 upgrades, which was done in a couple of ways:
1. Raise handiness as quickly as possible because at L7 and L10, since it is 2x as fast to upgrade plumbing and kitchen objects respectively at those levels:
a. Macguver started with the cheeful, genius, and loves outdoors traits
b. For the first several upgrades, Macguver moved into 3 separate lots in Newcrest (it was cheaper), where the lot was set to Tiny Home, and the traits were Homey & Study Spot. Several focused objects were also purchased so that Macguver was always very focused.
c. Macguver hired a repairwoman, Reagan Sutherland, who was repeatedly asked to follow her and mentor her throughout (For some reason, Reagan decided that she had other things to do at some point, so this only worked about 75% of the time). Macguver started by crafting an item at the woodworking table, which got her to at least L2 under Reagan's mentorship.
d. After the first three Newcrest lots, Macguver (with Reagan in tow) also made upgrades in the three lots with Homey traits (Cecelia's, the Watson's, and McMillan/Moody household) in Henley-on-Bagford
2. Sequence the upgrades to only upgrade repair objects after L7 and kitchen objects after L10. This was not done perfectly, as Macguver completed both shower upgrades (and potentially some of the other bathroom upgrades) before reaching L7 since there was nothing else to upgrade.
3. Where possible, upgrade the smaller appliance versus the larger one (e.g., microwave instead of oven). I didn't rigorously test this, but it seemed faster
4. Generally, avoid going to large lots to limit time wasted walking. I picked a bunch of bars because they had a variety of upgradable objects that required relatively little walking.
6. For the other hard to find objects (the dishwasher, gaming mat, and microscope), Macguver got a job as a scientist (the microscope) and moved to three different Newcrest lots (the two dishwasher upgrades and gaming mat)
7. Macguver purchased all the necessary upgrade parts at the beginning. Macguver only earned enough aspiration points for 2 sleep replacement potions and was down to the last of her money by the sixth move in Newcrest.
I wasn't as diligent as recording the lots, upgrades, and timestamps - I basically crossed off the upgrades as I went along on my spreadsheet, but the lots visited and the order traveled was as follows: (Newcrest 1, Newcrest 2, Glimmbrook Bar, Newcrest 3, Municipal Museum in Willow Creek, Willow Creek Archive, Blue Velvet, McMillan/Moody Household, Cecelia's Household, Watson Household, Quad Manor Library, Old Quarter Bar, Newcrest 4, Shrieking Llama, 8 Balls, Laboratory (scientist job), The Gnome Arms, The Square Cafe, the Behr Household, the Landgrab Household, Specer-Kim Household, Partihouse, Pancakes, Newcrest 5, and Newcrest 6).
The rough order of upgrades was the two shower upgrades, the two fireplace upgrades; the rest of the bathroom upgrades (Macguver hit L7 sometime during this period), the electronics & microscope upgrades, and the kitchen upgrades.