Ranch Simulator hands you a run down family homestead in a forested valley and a blueprint book, then leaves you to rebuild it board by board. You raise chickens, cattle, pigs and horses, grow crops, sell milk and eggs at the General Store, and take an axe or a rifle into the woods for deer, bears and wolves. PCGamesN called it House Flipper meets Red Dead Redemption 2, which is a fair description of a game where you can spend an hour nailing planks and the next hour dragging a deer carcass to a truck.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Your Homestead | Blueprint book building basics | Cattle and dairy | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | General Store | Livestock feeding and breeding mastery | Cattle and dairy | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Hardware Store | Hunting deer bears and wolves + gear | Chicken and egg operation or Cattle and dairy | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Gas Station | Build optimization | Chicken and egg operation | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | The Lake | Min-max | Chicken and egg operation or Hunter and trapper | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Your Homestead)
The derelict family ranch you inherit, complete with the attic chest that holds the tutorial handgun and the ground you will fill with coops and barns.
Level/Difficulty: Day 1 onward Key Rewards: Starter handgun, build space, animal pens
What to Do in Your Homestead
- Learn Blueprint book building. The radial menu opens a blueprint notebook you collect from the car shop during the tutorial. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Cattle and dairy as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Buy the axe, crowbar and table saw from the Hardware Store before anything else, because cutting your own planks removes the biggest early cash drain.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Crowbar or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Blueprint book building fundamentals
- Cattle and dairy selected and functional
- Your Homestead main content cleared
- Ready for General Store
Phase 2: Early Game (General Store)
Livestock, feed and ammunition in, eggs, milk, meat and horses out. Chickens are 50 dollars, roosters are 250 and handgun ammo is about 40 dollars a pack.
Level/Difficulty: Day 1 onward Key Rewards: Animals, feed, ammo, all produce sales
What to Do in General Store
- Work on Livestock feeding and breeding. Chickens, cows, pigs, goats and horses all need feed and water. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Crowbar if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Collect the blueprint book from the car shop during the tutorial, since every structure in the game is placed from that notebook through the radial menu.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Hardware Store.
- Consider whether Chicken and egg operation might suit your playstyle better than Cattle and dairy.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Livestock feeding and breeding integrated into gameplay
- Crowbar acquired
- General Store fully cleared
- Ready for Hardware Store
Phase 3: Mid Game (Hardware Store)
Tools, building materials and paint. The axe, crowbar and table saw all come from here, and it is the fallback when you run out of self cut planks.
Level/Difficulty: Day 1 onward Key Rewards: Axe, crowbar, table saw, planks, paint
What to Do in Hardware Store
- Master Hunting deer bears and wolves. The base game has three wild animals. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Axe. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Start with chickens at 50 dollars each rather than cattle. They lay once a day, usually in the evening, and pay back the outlay fastest.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Selling produce at the General Store for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Hunting deer bears and wolves mastered
- Axe acquired or in progress
- Hardware Store fully cleared
- Ready for Gas Station
Phase 4: Late Game (Gas Station)
The only refuelling point on the map for both vehicles and jerry cans. The stretch of road between here and the Hardware Store, near the bus stop, is a reliable wolf spot.
Level/Difficulty: Once you own a vehicle Key Rewards: Fuel, jerry can refills, wolf encounters
What to Do in Gas Station
- Finalize your build. You should be running Chicken and egg operation or Cattle and dairy with optimized gear.
- Axe should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Skip the small coop and build the big one. There are five sizes from Small to Expensive, and the small coop runs out of room almost immediately.
- Vehicles and fuel optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into The Lake.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Axe upgraded to max
- Gas Station fully cleared
- Ready for The Lake
Phase 5: Endgame (The Lake)
The flat open ground by the lake, between the neighbouring ranch and the Hardware Store, is where bears turn up most consistently.
Level/Difficulty: Once you own a rifle Key Rewards: Bear hunting, high value meat, pelts
What to Do in The Lake
- The Lake tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Add a granary once you have more than a handful of animals, because it refills feeders and troughs automatically instead of you doing laps with a bucket.
- The endgame loop: run The Lake, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Hunter and trapper for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Vehicles and fuel mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- The Lake fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Buying building materials from the Hardware Store when an axe and a table saw would have produced the same planks from your own trees for free.
- Building the small coop first and having to demolish and rebuild once the flock outgrows it inside a few in game days.
- Buying cows before owning a milk can, which leaves the milk uncollectable and the investment idle.
- Leaving barn and pen doors open so livestock escape onto the road and scatter across the valley.
- Charging a bear with the tutorial handgun instead of a rifle, which usually ends with a trip back to the farmhouse and nothing to show for it.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Buy the axe, crowbar and table saw from the Hardware Store before anything else, because cutting your own planks removes the biggest early cash drain.
- Collect the blueprint book from the car shop during the tutorial, since every structure in the game is placed from that notebook through the radial menu.
- Start with chickens at 50 dollars each rather than cattle. They lay once a day, usually in the evening, and pay back the outlay fastest.
- Skip the small coop and build the big one. There are five sizes from Small to Expensive, and the small coop runs out of room almost immediately.
- Add a granary once you have more than a handful of animals, because it refills feeders and troughs automatically instead of you doing laps with a bucket.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Guides
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Overview
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Best Builds
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Tier List
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Beginner's Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Tips & Tricks
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Weapons Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Combat Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Boss Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Maps & Locations
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Crafting Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Classes & Characters
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