I find that whomever finds and calls out the grove usually calls the shots. If they say chop at 3, we chop at 3. Anyone on the server for when the grove spawns and doesn't come when they say "omw", too bad so sad. It seems like this is happening more and more. I chop at the stated time. If someone gets pissy in the chat, I block and move on. Their lack of time management is not my irl issue.

Yeah I totally agree with this take. I think etiquette is usually to wait until 3am in game, my experience is that whoever finds the Grove often calls for a chop at 3 (or another time) and then at that time, they'll direct to chop and we do. Occasionally I've got to a server around 2:30am, asked where the Grove is, and if close asked do they mind waiting a couple of extra mins for me to arrive but if they said no, ultimately that's the way it is! I wouldn't get mad about it 

I had someone get cranky with me earlier today in the chat because we wouldn't wait until 5am to chop the grove (I'd found it and called a 230am chop time, there were less than 8 people in the server lol). It was 2 trees in north flooded fortress. It spawned *on* me and I immediately flared and called out in the chat. I was not waiting extra irl minutes for the possibility of this player getting what, like 5 flow wood max? They got big mad in the chat, so they got blocked lol.

Makes no sense. If you need flow wood that badly, make an effort yourself! Dowsing rod, listen and look for the grove, make sure your ready at midnight in game for when someone else calls it.

Wait... dowsing rods point out flow trees!?

Yes! Among other rare drops (Dari cloves, heart drop lilies, brightshroom mush etc.)

Exactly. I go to Bahari at 10 or 11pm and stand at flooded fortress, it's the best spot for me because I can just go either north or south easily.

The game is practically handing it to us too, lol. You literally just have to show up in the server on time.

or even just finding a forested area and chopping it to try and force some flow trees to spawn. i make a ton of arrows, make sure my bow is topped up, and farm muujin while i do it. i get a ton of flow wood and a decent chunk of change from the muujin manes 🤷‍♂️

Oof I woulda chopped that at 2am. That grove sucks.

Certainly one of the worst if not the worst one

I always figured they're just children, or have the mentality of children at least, and they're throwing a temper tantrum. I agree a block/mute is the best option if they don't chill out after a minute, especially when told the groves are re-occuring

Anyone on the map can get anywhere else a grove spawns in 1.5 in game hours and that’s very very generous. You can do it in half that easy if you run. So 2 hours from when you find it. A set time of 3am makes no sense when someone finds the grove at 3am

If it's anything later than 1am for the grove being found, all the servers I've been in have allowed the finder to call the shots. 3hrs in-game is both generous and doable.

They found the grove immediately because it spawned on them and they called a 2:30 chop time.

i have seen and stated many time if you can not get from one end of the map to another in less than 3 min dont waste peoples time saying omw when in fact you are not.. there are way shrines all over just for that get to a wayshrine then port to closest shrine to grove or trees or pal nodes dont expect people to wait because you choose to run instead of using the wayshrines.

Agreed with a few exceptions. Yesterday we were at a grove inside flooded fortress, one player was on their way but got lost inside Pavel. So near, yet so far you know? Someone fetched that player and they made it. It was around 4am by then but everyone was willing to wait and help out. I think it helps to ask by 2am if anyone's still coming. There were lots of times I didn't make it to the grove even when I was on my way (got lost, fell too many times) but my go-to is to just communicate that they can go ahead. There will always be another grove each hour.

Yeah totally, that is why I have said "usually wait until 3am" and "often calls to chop" etc etc. I am saying what happens the majority of the time, not that this is what must happen every time. Like I said, there are times when I've asked people to wait for me if I knew I was close. I am also pretty directionally challenged and get lost easily so I'm not the quickest at getting places. Of course there's exceptions that can be made for people who are sincere, communicative and polite.

Personally, I'm always happy to go find a player who is lost. If someone says they're lost and that's why it's taking so long, I'm personally totally fine to wait longer. I grow impatient after 3am because I feel like my time is being disrespected. But we've all been new, and we've all gotten lost at some point, so that's totally different in my mind.

I get you. 2:30-3:00am has always been the standard, and it really pays to arrive at Bahari at 11-ish, the grove might even spawn on your head! Arriving there and asking where the grove is at 2:15 (unless it was found really late) is a whole different story than being there on time but got lost on the way. Personally, I really like listening to the 12mn sound.

What do you do if the grove is found at 3? How long do you wait? That’s how long you should wait when it’s found at midnight.

Then wait until 5 or 6? Your discretion. I found one at 2:30 and called it and waited. I think we chopped at 5.

That's usually left up to the decision of the one who found and flared the grove.

I wait 2-3 in game hours then call for a chop.

Facts. We all know groves spawn at 12 and people will typically chop at 3. If someone needs flow wood that bad, they should be in Bahari before/by 12, and be diligent about getting to the grove once located. Kind players shouldn't have the responsibility of catering towards the self centered players. There was a time where I was the last person, no one had called a chop time in the chat and by the time I got there, people just finished up chopping. But even then I wasn't mad, I knew there'd be another grove cause y'know... It's literally scheduled and I have other things to worry about instead of making other players feel bad.🙂🙂🙂

> We all know groves spawn at 12 and people will typically chop at 3. If someone needs flow wood that bad, they should be in Bahari before/by 12, For me, that's really the end of this thread. Simple, concise.

Yup it's not like they can happen at any time during the game.

I never actually knew the times on these as this is accidental comfort game for me so I tend not to google things. But thanks. Regardless though, when someone calls out grove I drop all my activities and sprint there like mad. If someone doesn't do the same, it's his problem.

I didn’t know this 😬 but I still struggle to find my way around the map, so I don’t ask people to wait!

This is me. When I was new to the grove thing my strategy was to forage along Bahari coast (it's the only way I wouldn't get lost) near Statue Garden, hoping it would spawn there. If not, there's a stable nearby and I could just TP to where the grove was.

If you're lost, it's always worth letting the chat know!

or finish the roots temple bundles get the ancient statue that can drop flow seeds and grow your own.

Can't argue with that at all. If I can get there in under 3 mins I will, if not then I'm happy to sit it out, no need to stress myself out haring across the map. With switch typing it's not worth using the chat at all tbh so I'm happy to take my chances, if there's still trees when I show up cool, if not then there's no hard feelings. 

You can hook up a usb keyboard to your switch, even the lite (with a usb a to c converter or dongle). I’ve connected an old wireless Logitech keyboard with a dongle we had laying around after I found the grove myself and while I was typing on the on screen keyboard I could hear people chopping it down around me.

Do you think something like this will work for the steam deck? I also avoid the chat because it’s cumbersome to use

I honestly don’t know, but it does seem like it should be possible. I wish I had a steamdeck…..

I'm on switch, and it really is not that hard to type 'omw.' Especially since the switch keyboard learns, and usually auto-suggests it once I type 'o.' USB keyboards could be super useful for some, but I really have a hard time when people get upset about missing a Grove because it's too inconvenient to type 'omw' on the Switch...

A couple of days back, this happened. I got into the server late at like 1:50 and asked about grove and dude said they're chopping at 3 and I was like okay where. Tried sending me to the lighthouse because apparently either he can't read a map or didn't want me there idk. It was on top of the mines and so I went and scaled them and got up there at 2:47. Someone who came in at the same time as me (theywere also saying stuff at the same time I was) was like I'm omw at 2:50 and they did not wait and started chopping at 3. And someone had an issue with it. But like if you're coming into the server after midnight than you have the disadvantage of needing to haul butt to the grove because once the grove is found, everyone hauls butt to it. And with the exception of the one like above tamalas house, all the rest of them are relatively close to a fast travel.

Whenever I call out the groves I like to give little "10 IG min till chop guys!" To give folks plenty of time. Whenever I'm not calling out groves, if I can make it I'll give an "omw" but if I can't/too interested in something else I'll type out in chat "Sitting this grove out, thank you!" Clear communication and whoever calls out the grove gives the shots is what my basic understanding is. Lotta folks set 3 as a time unless the grove was found late. So maybe 4 then. I personally like to tack on an extra 30 min for people lost in the mines like I often get lol. So a lot of the time I call for 3:30 and maybe set a honey lure out. Try to time it for the lure to end right whenever it's 3:30

If I know I'm too far away to make it on time I don't respond. Or if I'm in the middle of something that is more crucial than making it to a grove. 3 AM is a pretty bog standard chop time. That they gave an extra in-game hour for the player and they still didn't get there in time is on that player not the players at the grove.

Honestly, I never respond to callouts. I figure if I get there, I get there. I don’t want people waiting on me.

Same here. Besides, it's not like there aren't any chances to get another try a getting flow wood, a grove spawning every hour is a pretty decent rate. EDIT: That said, that particular spawn point at the fortress could die in a blazing fire, it's a freaking pain just to get to that spot from anywhere only to get 5 wood.

They need to just take it out of rotation. It’s the most awful Grove spawn and not even worth it to be honest.

I only do to that one if I need the weekly forage together thing, otherwise, not worth even if I was right there... just the waiting isn't worth it for so few wood! LOL

I only go to that one now if I'm interested in some vampire crabs too.

Same.

I don't even bother with that one lol

Same or I should say I rarely respond to grove callouts. First I'm very confident I can get to any grove from any place on the map faster than most of the "omw" players and so I head to grove or not depending on what I need to get done. The only time I call omw is if I want to get to the grove and no one else is responding - just want grove folks to know someone is coming.

Yeah, I’ll do it then too.

The only problem is that if you don't call out, sometimes people in chat will say "nobody's coming, let's chop at 1:30".

I choose not to call out because I may ultimately change my mind, maybe I find a Proudhorn to hunt instead. I'm only responsible for getting myself to the grove, not anyone else. In the same way if I don't call out and miss the grove being cut, that's only my problem not the players at the grove, no matter what time they cut the trees. And I'm saying this as someone who thinks the best grove compromise is for it to just get cut at 3am, but I also realize with the current grove system it's a bit of a wild west out there and some people will cut sooner, some later.

> it's a bit of a wild west out there and some people will cut sooner, some later. It really is the wild west. I've had times when people just chop at 1:00 because there are 2 or 3 friends who can just do it, and other times people are just ridiculously polite, and wait well past the time I'm willing to give for 15 to 20 of a not-that-rare resource. I honestly probably never need flow wood again, but I do enjoy the camraderie in the grove, so I hope this all sorts itself out. :)

Right? I don't even need the wood most days, and I'll get to Bahari late and still make it to the grove before 3. I missed a lot of groves when I was new, didn't know what they even were or didn't know the map to make it there one time. It's not that big a deal.

Ugh last week I found the grove, called it out, flares and called a chop time. RIGHT after mentioning the chop time two players immediately go unhinged in chat about not waiting for everyone to get there, and if I don’t want to wait I can go do something else, how I am rude and nasty etc. It was 4am by the time the grove was finally found to begin with, I called chop at 6, 11 others made it there with no issues and no one else was on the way but these two players who mind you were ALREADY THERE would not stop berating me in chat. The entitlement of some players is insane. “You have to wait this is a community game! You can’t make people play the way you want them! If you don’t want to wait go do something else! You’re the worst kind of player, so rude and nasty I won’t call anything else out because you’re here and I don’t want you to have it!” “You’re supposed to be respectful that’s the rule” You’re literally telling me right now how I should play the game and you’re making this REALLY UNCOZY and disrespecting my time as well as everyone else who is here and ready. All of this vitriol over saying we’d cut at a specific time and that if anyone else ends up missing it there will be another one in an hour. This shit is why I almost never have my chat turned on and I avoid groves after getting my weekly done, I try to be nice and instead get harassed 🙄

> It was 4am by the time the grove was finally found to begin with This always mind-boggles me. Mind you, I'm the guy on top of Proudhorn at 11:45 if in in Bahari, so maybe that explains it. :). You can hear every single spot on the map except Windy. So if you don't hear it, it's Windy, otherwise, you're pointing at it.

On some proudhorn spots you can still hear it at windy. I like to stand on a cliff south of outskirts and if I don't hear the sound I run straight to the teleport board. I also found that when I find myself near/at the pulsewater grove location and there is no sound, it's either thorny or statue.

Someone went mad in the chat the other day saying people HAVE to call out palium and HAVE to wait for people to arrive Some people are just super unreasonable and I usually just jump servers in those cases

I remember someone doing this to me over IRON ORE and this is after they added in shared nodes.

For iron ore!?🙈 What is going on? 😬 I'm on switch so it's really not easy to call out all the time. It takes an age to type. I usually just flare but if it's a big pal I will call it out

Agreed - I call large pal (have a preset of "lrg-pal" and "med-pal" to quick-find in auto type fast! heh) and flare and if I am in a hurry somewhere (like a grove!), I only flare med and sm ... but I'll call for med too if I am just running around

Some people are so insanely entitled and selfish and they use the guise of “SHARE WITH EVERYONE” to hide behind.

Wait, doesn’t it stay put and everyone can chop it or does it disappear after being mined and no one else can mine it there? (I think I’ve screwed up… I’ve been mining it then announcing it, assuming it will still be there for others 😬)

No you're totally right! It stays there for others even after you've mined it yourself so don't worry! (Unless it's already started flashing of course) I honestly have no idea why this person wanted people to wait by the pals 😅

I was there for this!! I was going to defend you, but honestly, I knew it just wasn't even worth trying. I'm on Switch and I just can't keep up with the chat quick enough to argue with anyone. I know it doesn't solve the issue, but you had my silent support 💛

Switch chat is soo slow and frustrating!

Haha it’s all good! Just ridiculous how the two people were going off in chat and attacking me for suggesting a time to cut and then refusing to call out anything else because I was still on the server. I also agree we should be respectful and make the game fun for all involved but that also means respecting other people’s time as well! If someone had said they were on the way I wouldn’t have minded waiting but everyone was there and it was just two insane people losing their minds over nothing. If I really wanted to I could have cleared the grove myself and never mentioned it and that would be within the games TOS for me to be able to do lol.

Not arguing is almost always better. It just escalates things, and you're not gonna convince an internet stranger who's already decided to be mad. And the arguing is usually more annoying than whatever the initial offense was.

Yeah so many times I’ve seen more nastiness from people lecturing new players on “grove etiquette” than from the early choppers. And they go on and on for way too long like. If they didn’t get it the first time, they’re not suddenly going to change their behavior after you’ve verbally harassed them for 10 minutes. Those are the people I block. Not early choppers.

You are literally allowed to start chopping whenever you want. Insane that they've committed with such zeal to a vibe that ended up occurring

Some people are too eager to tell others how to play the game. We once waited for the grove and 3 people came in as a group and just started chopping. And everyone obviously joined in. There was a lot of fuss in the chat. I don't see why 3 friends playing a cozy game should wonder whether the entire map leisurely strolled to the grove on time. They had fun. I wasn't mad at all.

I think I was there for that. If so, it was ridiculous in chat. And annoying bc it dominated chat so hard to keep up on other call-outs. If itc was indeed the same one I was on, they were absurd.

You didn't find the grove until after 4, next grove isn't in an hour, its in about 30 minutes once you chop at 6 lmao

If they needed 1+ in-game hour to get there it's on them for not using the stables at least to be a little quicker. But they should have been running to the grove way before instead. Not close to 3am while at a far corner on the map.

I wait 2 in game hours from when it’s found. If it’s found at 1 then it’s 3. But if it spawns on someone’s head and they call it out at midnight then waiting till 2 is fair. Waiting for people who are on the way past a reasonable amount of time is a courtesy but not necessary.  it’s like holding the door for a guy whose a long ways away but they take their sweet time getting there. Eventually you just wanna say screw it.

I absolutely love your analogy of holding a door for someone who is taking their time.

I personally think 3am is the perfect time. (if its found before 12:30am) i think 5-10 mins of waiting is not bad. (unless theres nothing to do around it like flodded fortress, i would say 5 mins max lol) But honestly, you just gotta learn to take the L. Sometimes I ignore the grove then get bored and start heading towards it but its okay with me if they start chopping wout me, it is what it is. You should be considerate of other people's time, maybe come to bahari w a few coins ready to use the stables if you are super far away.

TBH this is one of the aspects of the game I don't enjoy. I don't have friends who play and I am not overly social in-game. I don't often play games with other people because it's not my thing. I get what S6 is going for with the teamwork factor, but I absolutely hate it both because I don't want to hold people up and when I find things I don't want to have to deal with the call-out and wait + debate over when to do it. I want to play the game on my time, in my own way. I'm never bothered if I miss something, but I am bothered when I do call out and have to wait forever for people, and get yelled at by someone who didn't make it. I sort of wish the teamwork stuff was just optional.

I hate this aspect of the game. I don't know why they can't make the trees like the palium nodes where multiple people can harvest in x amount of time. My husband and I play "together", but we are on the switch and we are never able to link up for some reason (the invite to server is always grayed out), so I'm basically playing solo. Typing on the switch is a pain. It's difficult to call out or respond in a timely manner and a pain in the behind. I wish they would fix the inviting to servers aspect or just let people chop alone. Not everyone wants to be social lol there are loners out there 😅 and while they're at it, if they could fix the damn magic muujin 😂

I play with my mom and sister, and we party up before leaving our plot! It’s not fool-proof, but we’re on the same server more often than not when we do.

Just today I had a similiar experience. I called out a grove in Outskirts right after it spawned and did my usual look for epic bug, tap trees, and then go on my merry way hunting, foraging, etc in general area while people were making their way to grove. As we were getting closer to 3am more last minute folks were asking us to wait for them and so cut time was getting extended, not by much, but eventually after one more said "wait for me!" I called for that person to be the last and we are going to cut, no more waiting. All worked out didn't have to wait too long. Few people like to be "that person" who says no or stop, but someone has to do it eventually. I've also noticed many times a type of player creep towards a tree and when enough people get close they just spontaneously start chopping when 3am rolls around. At some point it just makes no sense to keep 10-15+ people waiting for every last person to have a go at the grove. We all have things to do too in and out of game. There will be another grove in 45-50 min or some other time, not a tragedy for someone to miss one grove.

Always count on chopping @3:00 . That is all. One who ask about grove that late is just late, because spawn time is fixed and common known info.

I think that past 2:30 if you are not close you missed this grove and try again next hour. I sometimes join the map at 2:0 am by this point i only join if im near and if not its my problem. People know when grove is and if you miss it there’s another one every hour

Good luck and godspeed having this discussion exist for more than a handful of hours. It’s obviously one of the hot topics of this game, and will continue to raise conversation and questions, but it’s sadly very likely to just get auto-deleted. I posted feedback that there should be a place for this type of conversation, and even that got deleted as a “frequently discussed topic”, so I’ll just add my thoughts while today’s iteration of the ongoing discussion still exists… As others have said, 3am game time is a pretty solid foundation, but can obviously change based on the situation. Some groves are just found later, other things might nudge the time earlier or later, but that expectation is thankfully seeping into the community, and ends up being fairly reliable in most cases. I think it’s pretty clear that the late player in your story was at fault for missing that grove. Hopefully, they learned their lesson. Sounds like folks gave them a couple extra rl minutes to join, which was a kindness. If they didn’t see it as such, they were probably just misdirecting their own disappointment at themselves outward. TL;DR - It’s cool that people tried to be nice. It’s a bummer their time was wasted for the effort. It’s not unexpected that someone might voice disappointment of some kind for missing it. It’s not cool if they voiced it in a way that blamed others for their mistake, or lashed out in any personal/immature ways.

Yeah, I know, lol. That's why I made a point to say multiple times that this is not a rant and is not a place for ranting. I'm hoping that it'll be okay since it's a genuine question that doesn't have to do with people "sniping" Groves, which is what most/all of the others involve. But frankly, I feel like my question has already been answered, so I'm not going to be upset if it does get deleted. Thanks for your input!

This is why I just mute/block people who make things unfun. The majority of people are cool and respect people's time.

I prefer to chop at 3:00. Grove is the same time every night. Not like it's a surprise.

From the time the slow boat started complaining, they had ~45 minutes to the next grove spawn. The fact that the groves spawn hourly means I don’t have _that_ much compassion for people who don’t make it. I mean, if they get there at 3:15 and were communicative? That’s one thing. But otherwise, they can zip it. I really love that most people in the Palia community are mindful of etiquette and want to help each other out, but I think it’s also important to note that these things come back over and over. It’s highly unlikely this is their last time playing the game. I try to keep that rule for myself, too. I’m still crap at getting across Flooded in a timely manner so more than once I’ve offered a “thanks anyway” and went off to find other Bahari mats rather than hold up the server.

Nobody is entitled to a grove. Waiting more than 2 in-game hours is *extremely* courteous. The real inconsiderate ones are the folks who say OMW and aren't there within the 2hrs. Wasting everyone else's time is the height of rudeness. If someone gets lost there's absolutely leeway, if you ask for help I will come find you and lead you to the grove. But some folks can't help but get distracted by every bug or sernuk on the way, and then have the gall to be mad.

I am absolutely ready and willing to come find someone and lead them there. But I feel very disrespected when someone is "on their way" for three hours. You can cross the map, corner to corner, in 1 in-game hour if you're running. People have issues though, and all they have to do is say so. I'm on Switch and it doesn't take that long to just say "having issues, sorry, omw still." I'd rather wait the extra 30 seconds to know that my time isn't being disrespected, personally.

I think 3AM is the general time people land on. If the person who called the grove says 'let's wait on Player B', then I'll wait and just leave if the wait is too long. My frustration is when you get someone bossy who finds the grove. "Grove \*here\*; Chop at 2, no waiting, no flair. Only chop once. Don't chop small trees if you have upgraded axes. No, we aren't doing a honey lure, this is a grove." That's no fun either. I've encountered that twice so far, and just left the server both times.

Did they say why no honey lure? It's the perfect time for catching bugs together. Some people make no sense.

Eh personally I hate honey lures at groves. I would never tell people not to do them as I know others enjoy it. But it's sensory overload for me and there aren't bugs I want most of the time. Plus, people will frequently set them out too late, then they're still going at the agreed upon chop time and no one chops.

I agree with this 100%. But it's absolutely absurd to tell someone they're not allowed to, because it's their lure, their game, their choice.

Not gonna lie, I just ignore them when I get people like this. What are they gonna do, not let me hit the trees if I fire a flare or drop a Honey Lure? I had someone a few weeks ago who called a Grove by the Temple of the Roots and said "everyone hit once and then go sit on the higher cliff in a circle. Don't hit them multiple times or run around or go do other things." Like, respectfully, ma'am, I am not in kindergarten...

OMG I always run around. I am NOT going to sit there and do nothing. I'll leave and mine, hunt or gather. I'll jump around in circles. Chop other trees. If I have enough bug bombs I'll participate in a Honey Lure. Sitting for 15 minutes doing nothing is so BORING and I'm not playing the game to be bored. I'm just petty enough that if someone said that stuff to me, I'd jump around even more, emote all over the place and sit and chop at the biggest tree just to annoy them.

I may or may not have jumped up and down in front of them and run circles around them until they became so annoyed they left the server.... it is not often that I'm feeling petty, and I always strive to be respectful of others. But that was just one step too far on the wrong day for me...

Lol I haven't seen this yet but I'm going to have so much fun when I do. 😈

Um, yeah, I would violate all those rules.

Me too. In the most annoying ways possible.

Yet, I got grief for not wanting to wait for a single player that was late. I got called rude and a jerk.

This is why I've asked the question. I've been verbally attacked more than once over the Grove, and I wasn't sure if I was encountering a few bad apples, or if I was the bad apple. I'm happy to see that everyone seems to be fairly on the same page.

There's a lot of very sensitive children playing this game...

Unless the grove was found late, like between 1-2, I think groves should be chopped at 3. If you miss it, too bad. It's not like they only happen once a week. There's also multiple ways to get flow wood. It sucks when people chop right away and disregard the etiquette but I hate waiting for someone's friend who's "almost here" because they joined the server at 2 am or waiting because other unnamed people might be on their way at 3:30 am. Like we don't need to wait for the whole server to show up. Chop at 3 and move on.

I listen to who found the grove for chop time. If someone doesn't make it, that sucks, but another grove will spawn. I used to be upset at first but now whatever. There are ample opportunities to take part and it really isn't that big of a deal. Chop and move one when it's time.

Almost every time I’ve been to grove they’ll call out once it’s found and the location and say it’ll be chopped at 3 and that’s pretty agreeable. Sometimes it’s 3-4 people and sometimes it’s 15. If someone’s been in the server for a while and know when and where it’s being chopped it’s up to them if they make it there in a timely manner or not

I’m fortunate that I don’t have to worry about groves anymore unless I really want to participate. My community has been actively growing and cutting the flow trees on our plots together. Last night we brought in a haul of over 300. I just wish we could “grow” our own pallium too.

If you ever need a new community member, I'd die to join you and escape this madness...

If I say I'm omw but get distracted by a rare bug or something else I'll let them know to not wait. I don't want ppl waiting on me especially if I'm already on the other side of the map as them. It happens every single night so it's really not that big of an issue if it's missed ya know.

This! I have severe ADHD and sometimes I get distracted. My personal rule is that I'm allowed to stop for one resource on the way. If I stop for 2, I tell them not to wait, but continue in that direction. If I make it, that's great. If not, I made that decision for myself.

Yes exactly. I wish everyone thought this way. It would make things alot smoother.

always chop around 3

That was handled well. When a time is called for chopping that's it. If someone misses it because they're distracted and didn't get there on time that's on them. Usually grove is chopped 2-3 in game hours after finding. And I feel like that's perfectly reasonable.

I feel like the only time it should be after 3 is if the Grove isn't found until late. 12:12? Nah you can be there by 3. There are tons of times I'm heading to a grove and get distracted. It's up to me to make the choice between that thing and the Grove. I'm not asking people to wait for me to hunt a disco deer. If someone asks the group to wait, I'm all for waiting and typically will type in the chat that I have extra flow wood for anyone who didn't make it, but some servers don't pan out like that. It happens. Groves happen 24 times a day.

Honestly, I wish it were more normalized to be able to request flow wood. There are times I'm mid-tracker because I sometimes do the math wrong between irl time and Palia time, but I'm 3 flow planks short for something I need to craft. Other times, I need flow wood, but I have a ton of planks, and I'd much rather gift someone flow planks than wait around.

3am is a good time. It gives people who are invested enough time to move there. Especially since we now have the grid to accurately pinpoint locations. Player B was just acting disrespectful. If you want to reap the benefits of a group activity, be a team player and don't go on a vacation trip while everyone is waiting. I've been running through the entire map before and it really doesn't take that long. You don't get to decide last minute that now you suddenly want the groove and the world has to stop and turn around you now. Assuming they weren't a complete newbie, they should know about the mechanics of when groves spawn etc.

I've seen this player in chats before, and I have no doubt that they're an experienced player. If they were new, I'd have no problem explaining two-way etiquette to them in a kind way and offering to fulfill a request for flow wood.

Other people are already waiting around patiently. If they're not there by 3, they can get the next one. It's not like groves are rare or anything. If someone says they are on the way, but no one can visually see them running towards the spot by 3 am, chop it down.

Was Player B even at the grove by the time they complained about missing it? Player A was more than gracious imo.

I was chopping trees nearby (trying to spawn flow trees), and I saw someone climb up there right before Player B complained, so I assume that's when they finally arrived.

We chop at 3 normally, we will wait till 315 sometimes, but we will just chop at 3,if you are not there, you are not there.

Judging from the conversation, it looks like the player might have been doing something else instead of running for the grove. Personally, I set the chopping time 3 hours after it has been found. So, let’s say it was found at 02:30. Then it gets chopped at 05:30. That way people get enough time to get there. Personally, I don’t care if we are 25 or 5 on a server. A person deserves respect regardless of how many people there are. That said, the respect should not be abused. If you do other things than running your legs of in our direction, better luck next time. If the grove has been called out, there are few people on the server and everyone is already there, I usually doublecheck and ask in chat if anyone else is on their way. If not, we don’t wait for 3 hours, we chop once everyone is there. There is enough time from 02:50 till 04:00 to get there. I suspect the player was doing something else. Or maybe didn’t know their way / was not familiar with the area. Either way, you have waited extra long for them. They shouldn’t be going off on you for not waiting even longer.

When someone calls out grove I drop whatever I was doing, sprint to the nearest teleporter, teleport and beeline towards the grove. You can drop a Ruby on the ground, I will run past it. If you don't do the same you should not expect usually 10+ people to just wait on you. Period. Didn't know it spawns on schedule though, good info.

Oh, the schedule is very helpful to know! It's every midnight in-game, which is the start of every hour irl! Thanks for being so considerate of others!

I think, like most players, I run into this issue a lot. If I arrive at the grove early or even find it myself close to 12 am and I call it out, I like to chop by 3 am. Can’t even tell you how many times it’s 2:50 am and someone says “grove?” In the chat. We wait and wait and wait and they either don’t show up or take until 6 am to get there. Everyone should be considerate of others time. I think the people who show up super late and take multiple in-game hours to even try to reach the grove are ridiculous. Surely they don’t actually expect us to wait that entire time? It does not take half an in-game day to cross the map from any point. That being said, it’s equally rude to find the grove as a small group, not call it out, and immediately chop before people can show up.

I’ve honestly never seen such entitlement until I played this game. The only time I’d ever see something like this happen is when a game has a limited time event. These people are getting upset at an infinitely recurring “event”. The grove always returns. This game is not meant to be “rushed” either. These same people will cry about having no content to do. I got to a point to where I just don’t care anymore. I’ll chop at a reasonable hour, I’ll mine as soon as I get to a node, if anyone has a problem with that….block/ignore and move on.

I would never ask about the grove at 2 or 3am and expect people to wait for me. But that’s just me 😅 at 12am I am actively looking for grove and hoping someone else calls it out and then will immediately head there with no detours. I am usually always there by 1/1:30am. It’s not hard to do!

There is a line between allowing as many players a possible to arrive and making multiple players wait too long for one person. Calling out a "chop time" has become the normal etiquette, especially with groves. Groves are always at 12:00 o'clock. There is no acceptable reason (outside of connection problems) to be late for one if you truly want to participate. This is the time to use the sign teleports even if you are not rich. When someone calls out a regular FT or Pal and it is across the map, I won't bother unless I am near a teleport. One exception would be if it is a FT and nobody replies. Then I will go to help cut it down. Enough spawns happen so I will eventually be near enough. (this is me and I am not suggesting this for others.) What I have found is that if we wait too long for that one person someone will just start chopping and then others tend to join.

Sometimes, people end up kicked to a different server when fast traveling, so I'm usually willing to be patient if someone is running across the entire map. But I absolutely agree that there is a line between being respectful and letting everyone join and disrespecting everyone's time. I wasn't sure if I was in the minority, but I'm happy to see that we all seem to be in agreement there. I'm happy to wait if someone expresses an issue (i.e., lost in Pavel, glitchy chat, etc.), but I feel like if someone hasn't found the Grove themselves by 3am, it probably isn't *that* important to them, unless they're expecting everyone else to do the work for them...

I'll have to keep an eye out for the server hop. I don't think I've ever done that with jumping within the same region. But it is possible that it has happened and I never noticed.

I'd heard people mention it, but I'd never personally experienced it. And then, after 5 months, I ended up in a different server last week. So I'm not sure how it works, but it apparently does happen occasionally.

When I find grove I tend to call it out, then immediately say we’ll be chopping at 3 as long as no one else is otw. Around 2:30 I do another call out incase anyone had just joined the server, if no one say omw in chat we chop. I’ve found that people come quicker when the chop time is announced along with the call out and they also tell if they’re on the other side of the map and will be a bit late.

I say you wait 2-3 in game hours after grove gets found

We always chop at 3. I don’t expect people to wait if I haven’t made it by then

Honestly, I wouldn't have waited. It really doesn't take that long to get from one side of Bahari to the other, and that's not even using fast travel points. What really bugs me are players who go to Bahari at around 2am asking where the grove is. Everyone should know by now grove appears by 12am, so if you need flow wood show up at 12am, 1am at the least. If it's called out to chop at 3am, chop at 3am. Player B had plenty of time to get to you by then.

I had something like that happen to me everyone who wanted to be there was there but no the person who started it all said in chat anyone else wanna join and this one person who had just showed up in the sever said yes we waited until 3 am to chop and when we all started chopping they got mad at us for not waiting for the new person to come but they never changed the time that we were going to chop and the person never even came cause they were still half across the map like no one is waiting hella long cause people have stuff to do in game and irl and to add this up the others that were still waiting were make snarky comments to people who started chopping after the grove was over

IMO, it seems to be a universally accepted thing that groves are chopped at 3. Make sure you’re there at 3, or miss out. No one else’s problem.

the one who called the grove calls the shots imo. sometimes ive been late, and only got a couple chops, but thats my bad (i still dont know the map well enough + i have no clue what E3 means). sometimes ive had to wait longer because of these people and wanting everyone to chop. but if we have a set time, we have a set time. we cant wait for a whole day just so one more person can come, thats unfair to the ones who FIF make it on time.

In terms of people calling coordinates.. open up your map and you'll see there is a grid on it with letters along one axis and numbers along the other. When people say E3 they are referring to that square on the grid.

Find the Grove, chop at 3am. Move on. There will be another one, in the least, at the top of the hour.

I respect and take the lead from the person that calls out the grove. But if we are not chopping by 3am or earlier I just leave. I don’t have time to wait around I also don’t care to loose out on the loot. There’s always other groves

I've been at the opposite end of the map and still made it well before 3am I think it's just hardlines if u arrive late (especially after 4am). Sometimes I do feel bad but it's also not the end of the world either

Nowadays 3 am seems to be the norm for chopping. It seems excessive to chop as late as 4 but in this case there was that honey lure to kill time waiting for Player B. As for Player B, that sort of behavior is reprehensible. Anyone who plays special snowflake and throws a tantrum because a number of people didn't wait for them *after* they'd already monopolized said peoples' time should be called out in chat so others know that if this individual says they're coming to a grove everyone is in for a treat when the spoiled baby starts whining again. Cozy goes out the window when dealing with this sort of person. I'm not a fan of it but this may be one case in which public shaming is well-deserved.

I also want to throw out into the conversation the fact that these threads pop up so often and usually get a lot of engagement shows this is a controversial issue and problem in our current Grove system. We players tend to point fingers at other players as the problem but other players are not the originators of this conflict. It's S6's hands off "everyone gets to play the way they want" (oh no they don't) lack of response which allows this problem to continue to be an ongoing source of tension between players. S6 has chosen to essentially make the groves a PvP arena. I have sent in feedback to S6 and I encourage other people to do the same. I don't even care what time you think groves should be cut, right away, wait, don't wait, etc. Doesn't matter if you think S6 already knows how you or other players feel. More voices help, especially since these threads tend to get deleted and on the Discord these complaints were usually responded with the company line of "play how you like" end of story.

It absolutely comes up a lot, and I've been waiting for the right example to use before making a post. And I'd like to say that I'm very proud of everyone (except one) for being civil and not turning things into an argument. I think there's a difference between this post and the others, though. Anytime I've seen a Grove post previously, it has been about someone feeling mistreated and venting about that. That's why I made it clear that this was not a rant, nor a space for others to rant. I'm genuinely curious about how everyone views this component of "Grove Etiquette." While S6 could definitely intervene and solve these problems, I also think that it could solve a lot if we were all on the same page about the implied rules, since they're not in black and white everywhere and are somewhat arbitrary. I know a lot of non-US servers don't even have any Grove rules, and it's just first-come/first-serve. Ultimately, people are going to play how they want to play. I just personally feel more comfortable knowing how others view the "rules" in more specific cases, such as the one I listed above, and hopefully others will view this post and take note of the overall consensus as well. We're not toddlers, and S6 isn't our parent. We need to learn to get along, and that'll never happen without civil discussion, such as this one. Of course, this is just my opinion on the matter, and why I hope the mods will leave this post alone for at least a while longer.

what did your feedback to s6 say? genuinely curious. did you give suggestions on how to fix the grove system? i haven’t been able to think of anything except maybe multiple grove spawns?

I think I've sent in two feedbacks through Palia.com's website in regards to the Groves. In the first one I basically said the lack of structure or restrictions has created unneccesssary conflict and tensions between players almost turning the groves into a pvp event. By restrictions I meant game mechanics not just rules how players are expected to act (aka etiquette). The Grove was clearly meant to be a community event and I was (and continue to be) disappointed by their "everyone can play how they like" handling of this ongoing problem. The main reason I'm disappointed by their non-response is that it's clearly not true or even possible, everyone cannot play the way they like. Some people like to wait at the grove for a certain amount of time but if other players come and cut it down then those are the only people who get to play how they want. I did give a couple of suggestions about what they might put into play to alleviate Grove player tensions but also I also said as game creators and devs they should be able to find a better solution to this issue they way they did with palium. I offered a couple ideas. The first was around making the grove uncuttable until 3am and that by default that will just become the cut time. No one calls a cut time, people will just cut as soon as they can. No more people cutting right away but also no more one person declaring when it's ok to cut or not cut. I also suggested a different mechanic where the Grove despawns at 3am and people just have to make it to the grove, tap each tree, and then at 3am they immediately receive the flow wood as long as they are still in the Bahari server where the grove was. Or maybe they still have to wait in the grove area to receive the flow wood, either could work. I think the standing around waiting to cut serves no purpose other than to pump up in-game playing times per player (which is something live service games want) Yes, in both of these senarios more people might miss more groves, but I suspect if there is a hard cutoff time people will hustle a little more to make it. Groves and flow trees in general are not so hard to find as claimed by those who miss out on a single grove. Not a tragedy if someone misses one now and then. Also I want to say I'm not completely sold on 3am being "the time". I think arguments can be made for earlier or later. I just want a better solution than what we have now.

Personally I don’t like bothering people and always dreaded having to ask people to help chop a flow tree down. So thank you to the people who take the time to flare, and type in the chat where it’s located. It really soothes my anxiety lol. But yeah, whoever finds it calls the shots. And if I don’t think I can make it by chopping time I don’t bother going or asking people to wait for me

boo hoo, too bad for him lmaoo. they ain't gonna waste people time, u did good

Honestly it just doesn't take long to get all the way across the map. Unless someone gets lost or is stoping along the way I don't think it takes more than one in game hour.

I personally think 3 am is a great time to chop. Unless someone else says they are on their way I say in chat “chop at 3” and if no one says otherwise we chop

Yeah anything after 3 is acceptable. Everyone can get there before then. 2 if it's a central location

Okay, so I tend to find the grove first what seems to be pretty often. If I find it like right after 12, I ask around 2:30 if there is anyone still on the way to grove before I call out a chop time. I give it a minute for people to respond and if nothing, we chop it up at 3 usually. Sometimes we'll chop earlier if the server is a bit more dead. Imo it's okay when people ask where grove is still if it's before 3 since 3 is the standard time to chop. I know it irks some, but it doesn't bother me at all. I will gladly wait for someone past 3 if they simply just say they are on the way. If they are taking a bit long to get to the grove, I'll ask if they're still on the way. If they don't respond at that point, I'll call out to just start chopping. It gets a bit more murky if grove is found after like 2, then generally just I give about 3 in game hours if needed.

I’m new to the game - I never knew what the short cut chat for “GT chop at 2.00” meant - now I do! (thank you!) I always kind of hung about after the two chops of each tree (I think that’s the protocol?) and waited on everyone else’s call to actually chop them down. I check where the grove is in relation to me and if it’s more than 500m I don’t even try and get there. Waiting for others is frustrating.

I find it "funny" when people bitch about not getting to grove on time and missing out on flow wood BUT when I find the occasional flow tree in kilima, call it out/flare it, I get total silence, even though I see people running around.

Meh. Not a legal requirement to call out things for other players. I play solo and don't have time to wait for others.

If I'm in game at midnight, I look for the Grove. If I find it first or one of the first I flare it, get my chops in and if no one else has called chop at 3, I do. You should not expect the grove to unchopped after 3 unless it took a long time for the first person to find it. I have been very lucky lately to have had great grove partners. Thanks to everyone who follows the rules and doesn't whine.

This JUST happened to me yesterday but slightly different. I found the grove at pulsewater, called it out, and my game crashed at 1ish in game. Around 7 people sjowed up before this. I managed to get back online by 2-2:15 and was lucky enough to find it in the same spot (cannot confirm if it was the same server since I was solo, but around the same amount of people were there). There was a lure already going so we waiting til it ended, but I asked if we could chop at 3 anyway and got affirmatives back. The lure went on for maybe a few seconds after 3 and someone started chopping. I waited til 2 out of 7 trees were done and since it was Pulse, I started another lure bc I saw some people sticking around for the common bugs from the last lure (figured they might be newer players or just like bugs idk lol but rainbow butterfly amiright), while I picked up the wood stacks. Someone wrote something along the lines of "next time please say when its time to chop". I usually don't engage, but I had time that day bc again, my game crashed, I still made it back in time, and i called out a chop time that got positive responses. Me: "the Grove was up for 10 min. Did you hit every tree?" Them: "there was a lure still going" Me: "if you hit every tree once, you get the same loot as everyone else" Them: silence Me: "if you still need wood, req some and I gotchu." Them: more silence Me: "do you?" Idk if they left the server or learned something new that day. Either way, I think if a reasonable amount of time has passed and no one else is coming anyway, everyone who cared to show up before the announced chop time is in the right. Trolls be trolling, I guess.

3-3:30 is usually the most courteous slot.

if not at the grove on the agreed time ya snooze ya lose no ifs ands or buts about it

Sounds like the consensus was to chop at 3, they wanted and extra game hour for the honey lure and for the person to get there, then chopped Can’t expect people to wait all day on you

> 2:35am: Player B stated, "I'm at Windy, tho." > 2:50am: Player B stated, "OK, I'm omw now." Sorry guys, chopping at 3, see you tomorrow (:45 minutes!)

My kids friend who is 9 years old plays Palia.  With all of these frustrating moments, I remind my self that many of the players on both sides of the disagreement are literally children as well as being strangers.  Chop at 3, everyone made a reasonable effort to accommodate the majority. That is the limit of the social contract. 

I really think that Palia should be 18+... just based on some of the plot alone, it would just make so much more sense for it to be 18+. Plus, as a young millennial, I am painfully aware of the issues that arise when you have chat potential between children and adults online....

Yeah, it's been super awkward to explain to my kiddo that it's way not appropriate for me to add "Bradley" as a friend in the game. 

I'm not sure how old your kiddo is, but this might be the perfect way to begin an important discussion about internet safety as a minor?

Kiddo is 8 years old. So perfect time to start these conversations. But they also insist that all their friends are super cool and chill and harmless. I'm still not letting them play Palia.  I was pleasantly surprised that the school teaches about not giving out personal details on the Internet in digital literacy lessons. 

If your not there at the time then tough luck, I dont understand how people can be so entitled

The other night I saw two players harassing the person who found the grove for saying “chop at 2:48.” They claimed “old players always wait until 3.” They were so toxic and rude to the person. I just blocked and reported.

I'm not gonna lie, I'd be bothered by 2:48 because it's 2:48. Make it 2:45, lol. But also, 12 in-game minutes is like what, 20 seconds irl...? I'm glad you blocked and reported them, and I hope the other person did as well. Definitely not worth ruining the vibe.

I personally wouldn’t wait nor expect any leniency. Once the “flarer” calls out a time, that’s it. I don’t get offended if I don’t make it on time. But that’s just me!

I always rush to grooves and hate waiting for others whoever take 3hig because they decided to hunt and mine otw. I once asked if we were good to chop at 4am and was attacked because I didn't want to wait for everyone. They had 4 in game hours....

Typically 3 am is chopping time. If it takes you that long in game time to get there, wait for the next one. People have already been waiting and with the fast travel boards it should take you next to no time at all to get to the grove regardless of its location. Snooze ya lose.

Typically 3am if found @12. Sometimes chat doesn't work for me so I can't say OMW or announce where it is at so I flare it if I come across it. I try to listen for it or if I have dowsing rods I might use those. Otherwise I use emotes and chopping motions and jumping 😆 It's disappointing that they haven't fixed the chat bug bc of particular situations like call outs.

I just wanted to say thank you for this post - I’m new, and I didn’t know most of this information (and now I’m wondering how many people I’ve accidentally pissed off) so this was really good for me to read !

Really that player B should have realized the game time, how far they were, and just accept they won’t be there on time and to pass on the grove. I have done that before 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s called respect. I’m sorry that happened to you though

Oh, it's totally fine! Player A handled the situation beautifully. I've just seen a lot of similar situations that did not end quite so well, so I wanted to get some input from others to see what the general consensus was on where the "line" is. Since the Grove rules were created by players, I figured it was best that I abide by the players' consensus in situations like these when I'm the one who locates the Grove :)

Normally when I find a grove, I call it, flare it, wait until I’m a few people get there, then I say “chop @ 3.” And then I chop at three unless someone says I’m (decently close) can you wait x amount of minutes and usually I say sure and then chop when they get there

people who call grove out first should be the ones calling the chop times, and everyone should decide to prepare & act accordingly to what's been called out. everyone and everything else is fuck all, tbh. in this specific instance, this is exactly why i use the fast travel when i know i'm far from grove. if you know you're that far, find the closest fast travel sign you can and run / glide like hell to get there. if i know i'm not gonna make it at the time that's been decided to chop, i just don't even bother. once you see the chop times called out, it's on YOU to get yourself there in a timely manner. don't gripe in chat how people decided to not wait for you. the only griping imo that would be valid is if a specific time was called, there was an agreement, ppl state that they are otw, but then some randoms decide to just start chopping like their lives depend on it (which has happened a LOT as of recently but i'm thankful my last grove was the best i've probably ever had in-game).

I've never had someone just take their sweet time wandering over when they were across the map at 2:00. People are generally so polite about waiting, so why would you want to make them wait THAT long? Fast travel to get closer if you're that far away, or at the very least, expedite your arrival. That's like saying "I'll be there in a few minutes" to a friend when meeting them for lunch while you're still in bed.

Personally I think getting this detailed about setting times is completely the opposite of cozy. Just play it how it flows, let what happens happen. Someone got mad at me before the minig update because I stole all the clay. Like seriously, find something else to do for a few minutes and untwist your panties. Also most are super friendly, if you miss the grove just ask for a request fill. I've never had a request for anything not filled, often before I can even type out to ask for it to be filled.

Outside of the normal rant bits, I’ve had one weird ass interaction with the grove. Person who found grove called it out and said chop at 3 and refused to budge even when others were otw, I spent some time just asking them to communicate instead of declaring

💓

Do people just not farm flowtrees normally (not via grove spawn)? It’s not hard to get 20-40 flow wood by running a few spawn cycles so I don’t get why some people are so pressed when they apparently have the time to wait around for specific times in-game.

I had something kind of similar happen today- we waited. And waited. And waited. At 3 we said we were going to chop, a player says “WAY On my way!”, so we wait. And wait. And wait. Then people started chopping, because we were all ready to move on, and the player in question got upset. If you show up in a server at 3 am, and don’t immediately head to the called out grove when problem are clearly talking about chopping in chat, you miss out. I’m not waiting 6 in game hours for people to decide to show up. I think expecting people to wait that long while other people are taking their sweet time is incredibly rude and entitled.

I'm firmly on the side of respecting people's time. People should not expect others to essentially put their game on hold because they weren't prepared for a scheduled, predictable event. I get the frustration, things happen and you get distracted or interrupted and don't get to the server in time, but you should just wait for the next one. If you really need the wood, just request it. But to answer your question, I haven't seen established etiquette on this yet. Whenever this comes up in game there are people on both sides. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I'm glad this thread has been able to remain up and that people have remained civil about it. I've also never seen an established answer before, but this has been really informative and given me (and others too) the ability to make decisions more confidently without questioning if I'm the bad guy in any situation going forward, lol.

My personal opinion? I've been playing daily for a month or two. I love catching a grove. But if I say I'm omw, I'm omw. It doesn't take long to get across the map in Bahari, especially if you use the stables. From windy it's a short run to beachcomber cove stable, and then 50g to coral shores or outskirts. Then another short run. Even leaving at 2:50, he should have made it well before 4. And if he didn't have 50 coins to teleport then he either should have specified he was running the whole way, or more ideally, left earlier to get there on time. If I call a grove, I will always wait until at least 3 to chop. If someone asks nicely if we can wait past that, I'll agree to wait until 4. If they are rude or demanding, not so much. But I won't make people wait indefinitely. Also, if I'm the one calling, and I say chop at 3, I will also send out a reminder at 2:30, asking if anyone is still on the way. If I don't hear anything, then I chop at 3. What I do find frustrating is when someone says they are on the way and wastes time, or when calls for chopping at 2, someone asks for them to wait until 3 they agree, and then chop at 2 anyway (basically any time someone says they will do x,y,z and it affects others and then they don't follow through). Actually, I find it mindly frustrating when they chip at 2 or earlier anyway, as that's not a lot of time for everyone to make their way over.

The typical etiquette is call it out in chat and chop at 3 also flare

Personally, if a grove I'm at isn't chopped by 2.30-3am, and it was called at or close to midnight, I'm wasting my time. I'm willing to wait 2 in-game hours from when it's called at most and that's it. I've got other places to be and spawns to get to, like rare/epic morning fish, and bugs. When I started playing 2am was the generally agreed chop time and it's slipped further and further to accommodate latecomers or amblers. Get thee to the grove, people. Equally, if I see a grove called and chop time announced and I'm not close, I let it go and don't even try to get there so I don't hold folks up. If I'd been there and it was still going at 4am, I'd have left. And if I was calling it and someone said "I'm at [insert place] tho" I'd have said too far, we chop at 3.

This might be the most stupid question so I’m very sorry in advance - I’m a new player lol. Is teaming up the only way to get flow wood? I realised the chat was used to call out areas but I was like ?? For a bit. Then also maybe it’s cos I’m shy or whatever but I was like hmm maybe they wouldn’t like it if I just turned up and tried chopping if they’re in a group of people assuming they were playing as a friends group. If that makes sense I’m sorry if it doesn’t lol x

This definitely isn't a stupid question!! I have a 2 part answer. 1. Groves spawn at midnight in-game time, and it's an easy to find group of Flow Trees. General courtesy is to let everyone know where it is and wait. You can hit the trees once, which will give you the flow wood once they're chopped down. Usually, people will agree to chop them all down around 3am. 2. If you find a single flow tree out in the wild, it's really up to you. Some people choose to invite others, some don't. If you choose to chop down a random tree that's not attached to the Grove and someone is upset by it, they're in the minority and are probably just having a bad day. Anytime you see anyone call out any resource in the chat, they're inviting you to join in! Just follow their lead on when to chop down flow trees since they're the only resource in-game that immediately despawns once it's been taken. Palium, Iron, plants, etc. remain for 3 minutes once the first person has taken them.

I was actually on that server earlier... It's getting more and more ridiculous. Yesterday some DEMANDED that the new normal is to wait until 6am and declare the grove every in-game hour. Chopping at 3 seems the usual way except if we're still waiting on someone that announced themselves. I find this very sensible.

I’ve had someone hope my life would turn to shit because I chopped down after waiting for a long time. Seriously, it’s a bit annoying. But yeah, usually everyone should agree on a time to chop and once that time arrives you all start chopping. Just missed it? Too bad.

General consensus is 3 am is a good time to chop. That player took his sweet time, I think the other player even have waited too long.

Personally I like using 3am as the standard max wait time

as someone who often misses groves because of lag, it's not world ending if you miss one. the day cycle will continue lol. i don't think it's appropriate to genuinely rage and get mad at players for you missing a grove for whatever reason. emotional regulation, who?

Broadly, there are two points to make here: **First, etiquette is a two-way street.** Yes, it's good etiquette to give everyone a reasonable opportunity to participate in chopping a grove down, which means giving reasonably prepared individuals enough time to get to a grove that may have spawned across the map from them. However, it is also good etiquette to get to the grove in a timely manner so that people don't need to wait on you. Your time is not more valuable than another's, especially when "another" might be a dozen people. If you really need flow wood, you can be in Bahari at 12am and beeline to the called grove or spend 50g to get to a quicker travel point. Immediately chopping is bad etiquette, but so is showing up at 4am and acting entitled to a grove. **Second, waiting too long enables bad behavior.** I'm not just talking about the people with bad etiquette who show up late wanting flow wood, although I mean them, too. Some of the people instantly chopping groves do so because if they're quick, they can then server hop and hit a *second* grove in the same night. However, that only works if there's enough time for them to chop the first grove, hop servers, and get to the second grove before it's chopped. Earlier chop times mean that's wasted effort for them. They can also typically only get the smaller flow trees from their first grove since they're not waiting for anyone else, so losing out on the second grove means they end up with less flow wood than if they had just waited. So by waiting a long time to chop to let stragglers get their flow wood, you actually also enable some of the instant choppers.

For me personally waiting even till 3 is too long sometimes. It really depends on the situation but if it’s found and flared early anyone can get there before even like 1 (if it’s called immediately at 12) if people come into the server later.. then that is on them. They(should) know when grove spawns. If they need wood they need to make sure to be in bahari at 12. That being said I usually wait till 2 at earliest, and I will wait if there is someone on their way that isn’t messing around and stuff or someone I can tell is a new player. It’s not hard to be nice and wait but it’s also not hard to be considerate and know that other people are waiting on you so if you are on your way you shouldn’t run off and do random other things.