Valentine's Day 2015 goals report

Last week's update provided our first dedicated Valentine's Day theme of 2015, and included a new set of goals. At last I have completed them, and so now is as good a time as any to take a look at the content which was unlocked along the way.

We'll start with some thoughts on the goals themselves. The structure of this set was at times perplexing, courtesy of the two appliances being openly available to buy in the market from the start. At first I thought this was a customary error on TeamLava's part, but it seems it was very much intentional.

With the first recipe on each cooker being unlocked from the outset, this meant you could start preparing dishes ahead of time. However for the Love Potion Mixer this had limited appeal, as drinks prepared prior to reaching the related goal were not included in the count.

To be honest I'd prefer the appliances to be locked at the beginning. That way this confusion is avoided and at least it means there is more to earn along the way. Plus the obnoxious part of my soul isn't too keen on players being able to buy up the appliances without the effort of working through the goals, and presumably they can do this at any time, even after the goals have expired.

Looking at the parts required for the appliances, I was pleased that some of the existing components were put to use in addition to the brand new Heart Knob and Glass Heart. It does seem that two new parts is going to be the norm for every goal set from now on, and I do think that is too much, especially when they're unlikely to be used again (at least until next Valentine's).

 Valentine's Day 2015

 04/02/15 Goals

 04/02/15 Goals update

 28/01/15 Content removal announcement

Time to move on to the three floor decorations which can be unlocked via the goals. The first to lose its padlock is the Romantic Divider. We don't get a divider included in the goals too often so that's nice to see. Here the highlight is the top of the divider, which is covered in rose petals and topped with four candles. It's an impressive design, but I do think it is somewhat lost due to the minimal size. Unless you look really closely at the top, the details can easily be missed.

The next prize you'll come across in the goals is the Romantic Pond. In what I believe to be a first, we have a 4x4 sized item obtained in a goal set which isn't the final reward! It's a big one, with rose petals and candles floating around in a rocky pond. I should really love this piece, but instead I'm very disappointed. Why? Because the pond is actually out of focus! I don't know if it's as simple as it being of too low a resolution, but it is somewhat blurry, especially when you're zoomed in close. Either somebody at TeamLava Towers has made a cock-up or the gamemakers expected nobody to notice - nothing gets past me though!

Fortunately my criticism for the final goal prize is restricted to the way it's given to us. Usually you get given the final reward for free - and rightly so after completing all the goals - but in this case the Romantic Lounge is only unlocked by finishing the goals, and costs 80,000 coins. That's not very fair in my opinion, not least because lower level players who have had to bankrupt themselves to get through the goals are probably going to have to save up beyond Valentine's Day to purchase it.

With that off my chest, let's dissect the beauty of this decoration. I'm firmly against items which have two walled sides since this blocks the view of what is behind and thus limits where you can place such items. But the lounge avoids my wrath thanks to only having partial walls in the form of curtains pulled back. It's a great idea - the lounge becomes more imposing but at the same time doesn't really get in the way of stuff situated behind it.

Meanwhile the loving couple are tucking into a delicious meal which I don't think we've seen before! Usually it's an existing recipe rehashed, but here the food being consumed is completely original. With a bouquet of flowers on the table and rose petals and candles scattered around the ground, this prize has lots going for it. And I'm also grateful for the lack of an attached floor - we can choose where and how to implement this grand item for ourselves.

Time to turn to the six recipes which the goals uncover, starting with the three on the Romantic Stove.

Romantic Stove recipes

I'm torn on these designs. On one hand it's nice to have three dishes which are all related and only differ in their coverings. But on the other hand I can accuse the game's developers of recycling a template. Perhaps I'm being overly critical!

To the recipe ratings, and there are some interesting findings...

White Chocolate Berries
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	10	2	10	5	6.1

Dark Chocolate Berries
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	8	1	8	5	4.0

Almond Berries
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	8	1	10	5	4.2

The Dark Chocolate Berries and Almond Berries are both standard goal efforts, with a good XP gain let down my diabolical numbers for profit and portions.

It's the White Chocolate Berries which offer something very intriguing, and they do it on two accounts. First up, the 62 XP pips the Thick Cut Bacon (Old West Oven) by the narrowest of margins to make these berries the top XP food in the 1 hour duration. This also makes it the eighth best profit per hour recipe in the game's history, with only some of the very short dishes ahead of it.

The second eyebrow raiser is related to the profit per plate. The White Chocolate Berries earn 3.64 coins of profit per plate which is well ahead of the 2.89 the second placed dish manages, namely the Mustache Cupcake (Basic Oven). The reason for this is clearly not an outstanding profit score - it only scrambled a four on that factor. The reason is that the berries yield 5 coins per plate!

This is only the seventh time ever that a recipe has given more than 4 coins per plate, with the other six cases all involving food from the very early days. So if you really want to maximise your income this is an excellent dish to cook. The only problem is that the dreadful portions statistic mean you won't be able to sustain it, so you're best to stock up your counters with other dishes before preparing these berries.

The Love Potion Mixer has a further three recipes to enjoy.

Love Potion Mixer recipes

Initially I thought these drinks were all rather unimaginatively named, but having discovered that they are a nod to an old song (thanks to Creme for the tip-off!) I'm more than happy to let that go. Each of these potions is really detailed, and once again continues a pattern of exceptional design of goal recipes.

But will any of these drinks join the White Chocolate Berries in bucking the coins per plate trend?

Love Potion #3
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	7	3	4	5	4.1

Love Potion #5
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	3	3	4	5	2.9

Love Potion #9
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	9	4	1	5	4.6

The answer is actually yes. But not in a good way. They all provide only 2 coins per plate, which is bad news. This has the opposite effect of the berries in that these recipes will lower the maximum income you can attain every day. It turns out there really is no such thing as a love potion which is effective!

And with yellow and orange dominant in the scoring, these three drinks are generally not rescued in other departments. The Love Potion #5 fairs particularly poorly - overall it is the fifth worst 6 hour dish of all time, and the worst since the Braised Lamb (Spring Stove) almost two years ago. At least the Love Potion #3 has a respectable XP rating, although there are quite a number of recipes which still outstrip it on that front.

With four of the six new dishes offering unusual XP gains, it begs the question of whether this is something we can expect regularly. With the recent Kids Kitchen Set also providing something other than 4 coins per plate, there does seem to be sufficient evidence to suggest that this is the case. In truth I'd be okay with such variation so long as there are as many new recipes yielding more than 4 coins per plate as less. It all adds to the conundrum of what to cook!

So that concludes the report. All that remains is to wildly speculate on whether we'll see another Valentine's update on Wednesday. It's the last opportunity for romantic additions before Valentine's Day (not that that has perturbed TeamLava in the past!) and with the goals update being the only one specifically honed in on Valentine's it would be a tad disappointing if this is all we're going to get. We'll soon find out!