Focus is a unique mechanic for games like Palia. You can see Focus in the top left corner. At first glance, it seems like your average energy bar. However, this isn’t the case.
What is Focus?
The Focus bar in Palia is simpler than an energy bar. There won’t be anyone passing out in this game. Instead, it’s an experience boost.
If your Focus is full, you’ll gain more experience when you’re working on your skills. This experience boost varies depending on how much Renown you have spent at alters.
This is an exciting mechanic, especially when doing something that’s hard to level up, like gardening, crafting, or cooking. Since these skills aren’t used as often, this extra experience boost is nice to have when you’re trying to level up those skills.
This is also nicer than an energy bar because you can keep playing whether you have food to restore it or not. You don’t have to stop what you’re doing to find something to keep going.
How do you refill Focus?
Refilling Focus is straightforward. All you need to do is eat any sort of consumable. This can be anything from a meal made at the stove to a gatherable that you found while foraging. Each food will restore a different amount of Focus.
For example, a gatherable will only fill between 5 and 20, while a full meal can refill up to 250. You can see how much focus you have and your maximum in the inventory menu.
What should you use Focus on?
I recommend using Focus on gardening, crafting, and cooking. These skills are used the least since they can only be done at your housing plot and are used very little. Having that little extra experience boost helps a lot with progressing and being able to make more gifts and complete more quests.
I wouldn’t worry about having a full Focus bar if you’re in Kilima Valley or Bahari Bay because you’ll naturally be doing a lot of foraging, fishing, and bug-catching as you play. These skills are more necessary since you must gather crafting materials and make money to progress the game.
With that being said, if you have some Focus, it will be used on whatever skill you’re working on.