When it comes to playing My Time At Portia there are going to be plenty of characters that are introduced to you and while many of them will become candidates for marriage, there are some characters that are simply going to add varying amounts of utility to the game.
While many characters are introduced to the player very early on in My Time at Portia, there are going to be some characters that make their first appearance in the mid-to-late game. One of the biggest reveals in My Time at Portia is the addition of the character Ack. Though at first players will not be able to do a whole lot with Ack at first as they will need to progress through the story quite a bit before he becomes useful to the player.
Once Ack arrives he becomes fairly cozy with Arlo and Toby, spending the majority of his time in the Civil Corps until he ultimately joins the Portia community, spending a good amount of time on the Main Street, cooking on his grill. Although the story mentions that Ack was previously a chef, it is ultimately a foreshadow of tasks that he will be able to complete for players shortly.
The following guide is going to contain many spoilers when it comes to Ack and will take you through everything you need to know about what you can do with him as an ally.
DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH ACK
While in the early days players will only have access to Ack in the Civil Corps, they will be launched into a series of tasks they can complete in order to get to know Ack better. Some of these tasks will include trying to fix Ack and trying to ensure that Ack feels welcome in his arrival in Portia.
Though players will have these tasks at first to help bond with Ack, they will soon need to take matters into their own hands if they hope to develop strong relationship with him. I recommend that you think about boosting your relationship with Ack as soon as possible as it will not take too long before he becomes relatively useful to you.
If players want to be speedy with raising their relationship with Ack, I recommend the following items as they are quite easy to farm:
15 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Advanced Engine
Industrial Engine
Silicon Chipset
10 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Copper Coil
8 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Ruby
7 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Small Silicon Chip
5 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Aluminum Wire
4 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Copper Wire
Simple Circuits
Topaz
3 RELATIONSHIP POINTS
Old Parts
Powerstone
I honestly strongly recommend giving Ack Advanced Engines and Industrial Engines, because they’re going to be the most useful for advancing your relationship with him. Although they seem like they would be too “expensive” to give up, you’re going to get an overwhelming amount of them, especially if you spend a good amount of time in the Ruins and I personally never ran out of either.
HIRING ACK TO DO YOUR DIRTY WORK
When you have reached the Buddy state (2 Stars) with Ack you will be able to begin hiring him to do tasks, including:
Grabbing Wood from Tree Branches
Gathering Stone from Rocks
Completing items in Crafting Stations
Harvesting items from Plants, Trees or Farm Animals
Though players will not be informed, players will complete The Lonely Robot Mission when they have reached buddy status with Ack, and this is depicted by him visiting the Lara model that players build daily.
Although players may not want to actually place the Lara Model in their base, due to her not being the biggest looker, she is going to be required for Ack to be hired and to continue his work in your Workshop.
Ack costs players 1,200 Gols every month to hire and while this might seem like a bit of a steep price, if players know how to grind Gol efficiently, this won’t be a problem.
Players will need a Helper’s Storage Box in order to properly utilize Ack, though once hired Ack comes in and out of the Workshop as he will not spend the whole day there. Whatever Ack completes will always be put in the Delivery Chest next to the player’s mailbox, so make sure to check it regularly, though Ack will typically tell you that he’s completed a job.
DISCOUNTS FOR BEING A FRIEND WITH ACK
Players will begin receiving discounts with Ack when they become better friends with him, receiving the following discounts:
10% off hire price when Friends with Ack (4 Stars)
20% off hire price when Good Friends with Ack (6 Stars)
25% off hire price when Best Friends with Ack (8 Stars)
LET ACK COOK FOR YOU
As much as I understand that food is going to be one of the most important resources to have on hand in My Time at Portia, I have to admit that I hate actually making it.
I have to say, a lot of my disposition to cooking comes from the fact that I was spoiled in My Time at Portia by having most crafting recipes automatic, simply taking the items you need out of the chests you’ve maintained, but cooking is a bit different, acting similar to the Assembly Station and requiring players to throw each ingredient into the Cooking Set.
I have to admit, I ended up grabbing a mod for the Cooking Set because I couldn’t handle having to cook every recipe from scratch and instead wanted the Cooking Set to act like other Crafting Stations.
Ack will be able to cook new recipes that are unique to him, though he will also be able to cook anything that the player has learned to make using the Cooking Set. Ack’s special recipes will require players to look for Ack’s data chips, which are found in the Ruins. There are a total of 6 Cooking Recipe Data Chips and any extras can be sold as players are able to find duplicates.
The following are all the unique recipes that Ack will be able to make:
RECIPES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE A DATA CHIP
The following are the recipes that Ack can create without any data Chips:
SEAFOOD NOODLES
Seafood Noodles require the following ingredients:
1 Flour
1 Coriander
1 Cat Fish
When consumed, Seafood Noodles will provide the player with 5 Health per second for a maximum of 20 seconds.
SPECIAL SALMON FRIED RICE
Special Salmon Fried Rice requires the following ingredients:
1 Emperor Golden Salmon
1 Rice
1 Cinnamon
When consumed, Special Salmon Fried Rice will provide the player with 1 Stamina per second for a maximum of 35 seconds.
MEAT AND MUSHROOMS STEW
Meat and Mushrooms Stew require the following ingredients:
1 Red Mushroom
1 Meat
1 Salt
When consumed, Meat and Mushrooms Stew will provide the player with 50 Health and 8 Stamina. This is not a regen item and will only provide players with these stats as soon as it is consumed.
SPICY FISH SOUP
Spicy Fish Soup requires the following ingredients:
1 Emperor Banner Fish
1 Chili Pepper
1 Salt
When consumed, Spicy Fish Soup will provide the player with 5 Health per second for a maximum of 20 seconds 7% of their Maximum Stamina plus an additional 20 Stamina no matter what a player’s maximum Stamina is.
SPAGHETTI WITH HOT SAUCE
Spaghetti With Hot Sauce requires the following ingredients:
1 Chili Pepper
1 Flour
1 Meat
When consumed, Spaghetti With Hot Sauce will provide the player with 10 Attack Damage for 120 seconds
CLASSIC SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE
Classic Spaghetti with Meat Sauce requires the following ingredients:
1 Flour
1 Meat
1 Bamboo Papaya
When consumed, Classic Spaghetti with Meat Sauce will provide the player with 10 Attack Damage for 120 seconds.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #1
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #1 provides players with a single recipe, Smoked Ham.
Smoked Ham requires the following ingredients:
1 Meat
1 Charcoal
1 Cinnamon
1 Rock Salt
When consumed, Classic Spaghetti with Meat Sauce will provide the player with 1% Stamina regeneration per second for 15 seconds.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #2
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #2 provides players with a single recipe, Fried Rice with Radish.
Fried Rice with Radish requires the following ingredients:
1 Layered Carrot
1 Rice
1 Shaggy Mane
1 Salt
When consumed, Fried Rice and Radish will provide the player with 1.5% Health regeneration per second for 15 seconds.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #3
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #3 provides players with a single recipe, Roasted Chicken.
Roasted Chicken requires the following ingredients:
1 Chicken
1 Charcoal
1 Honkey
1 Ginger
When consumed, Roasted Chicken will provide the player with 30% Melee Critical Hit for 180 seconds.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #4
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #4 provides players with a single recipe, Steak with Coconut Juice.
Steak with Coconut Juice requires the following ingredients:
1 Coconut
2 Beef
1 Pine Cone
1 Chili Pepper
When consumed, Steam with Coconut Juice will provide the player with 30% Ranged Critical Damage for 180 seconds.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #5
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #5 provides players with a single recipe, King Salmon Fillet.
King Salmon Fillet requires the following ingredients:
1 Golden Salmon King
1 Mustard
1 Seaweed
1 Apricot
When consumed, King Salmon Fillet will provide the player with a permanent 1 HP.
RECIPE FROM DATA CHIP #6
The Cooking Data Recipe Chip #6 provides players with a single recipe, Sweet Fish King Soup.
King Salmon Fillet requires the following ingredients:
1 Bubblefish King
1 Royal Honey
1 Purple Resin
1 Cheese
When consumed, King Salmon Fillet will provide the player with a permanent 1 HP.
OTHER UPGRADES ACK HAS
Although players are probably going to want to focus on upgrading Ack’s cooking skills, they will also be able to gain some extra utility for him in other ways.
Similar to the Cooking Recipe Data Chips, players will have a chance to find specific upgrades for Ack while delving into the Ruins or by purchasing them from the Research Center Exchange. They will only be able to provide Ack with these after they have become Buddies with him and have chosen to hire him.
The following are all the Chips that are available to players:
METEOROLOGICAL DATA CHIP
The Meteorological Data Chip can be purchased at the Research Center for 10 Data Disks. This will allow Ack to tell what the Weather Forecast will be.
PRODUCTION DATA CHIP #1
The Production Data Chip #1 can be purchased at the Research Center for 10 Data Disks and will allow Ack to collect any Products.
PRODUCTION DATA CHIP #2
The second Production data Chip can be purchased at the Research Center for 30 Data Disks and will allow Ack to refuel Crafting Stations.
HUSBANDRY DATA CHIP #1
The Husbandry Data Chip #1 can be purchased from the Research Center for 20 Data Disks. This will allow Ack to Clean the Farm.
HUSBANDRY DATA CHIP #2
The Husbandry Data Chip will only be found in the Abandoned Ruins #1, Desert Abandoned Ruins and the Somber Marsh Abandoned Ruins. It allows Ack to Feed the Animals.
AGRICULTURAL DATA CHIP #1
The Agricultural Data Chip #1 can be purchased from the Research Center for 20 Data Disks. This will allow Ack to Harvest Crops.
AGRICULTURAL DATA CHIP #2
The Agricultural Data Chip #2 can be found by Mining in the Desert Abandoned Ruins or the Somber Marsh Abandoned Ruins. It will allow Ack to apply Fertilizer to the crops.
AUTOMATED PLANTING DATA CHIP
The Automated Planting Data Chip is found in the Desert Abandoned Ruins or the Somber Marsh Abandoned Ruins. This will allow Ack access to Automated Planting.
In reality, I can’t say that any of these chips are absolutely necessary. While it’s nice to have a helping hand in your Workshop, especially if you do not have a spouse who helps, I can’t say that I love the help I receive. This is highly going to depend on the player’s preference.
CONCLUSION
While having access to Ack and all of his utility is going to be optional, having the option to use him any time you need is going to be useful to a player. I mean, why wouldn’t it? If players are uncertain how much they’re going to use Ack I would strongly recommend taking it slow with him as there is really no rush.
Unlocking all elements of Ack does not progress the story in any way and all of his upgrades aren’t the most powerful, so you’re good!
But I’m curious, what are your thoughts on Ack? Let me know in the comments below!
