Delightfully cozy MMO Palia’s new expansion, Elderwood, has some interesting new quests and areas to explore. This huge new zone is packed with new plants, critters, fish, and goodies to find, all in keeping with the mysterious and spooky vibe of the forest. However, before being able to gather all resources, you’ll need to complete the quest “The Nature of Shadows,” the third quest in the new main story arc.

The Elderwood introduces lots of new items and mechanics to Palia, such as stables to find and unlock, new ore nodes, and powerful new buffs in the form of relics. The new zone is open to all players, although fine quality tools will be needed to harvest within the Elderwood. There are plenty of new quests to keep you busy as well, with exploration, villagers, and awesome new main quests to complete.

How To Start The Nature Of Shadows

Subira Needs Help From Tamala

The start the quest “The Nature of Shadows,” you will first have to be eligible to start the new main story quests. To do this, you will need to have completed all the Vault quests and the main Palia questline up to “Rooted In Place.” Once they are done, the new Elderwood cinematic will play, and Einar will appear at your home plot, telling you to speak with Subira in the Night Sky Temple.

Following the questline, you and Subira will realize that there is a strange essence affecting some of the forage in the area. This can be seen with certain plants and insects looking like they have shadows clinging to them. Luckily, Tamala will arrive with a helpful solution, explaining that she has a potion that will allow you to interact with the affected forage for short periods of time.

Tamala Needs Four Potion Ingredients

Finding The Ingredients Helps Explore The Elderwood

Tamala’s potion requires four main ingredients, and she can be asked for clues on where to find some of the newer items. Tamala will need: one Cave Piksii, one Toadstool Floatfish, three Elderwood Orchids, and 10 Infected Essence. All of these are relatively straightforward to acquire and don’t have any special equipment beyond some tool upgrades that will need crafting, as a fine quality fishing rod, axe, and belt for bug catching are required.

Where To Find The Cave Piksii

The Cave Piksii is a new type of bug that can be caught using smoke bombs, and, like the name suggests, can be found in cave areas. They usually appear after collecting a Staircase Mushroom, with the pale blue butterfly fluttering around afterward. I found plenty in the Red Blossom Cave area, with some even flying around without needing to collect any mushrooms.

Sneaky Smoke Bombs can be crafted at your worktable at Bug Catching level two using one piece of fur, 1 piece of clay, and one Sundrop Lily.

The Cave Piksiis are not very fast but require three or four smoke bombs to stun. I used Sneaky Smoke bombs with my fine belt, and at only level nine Bug Catching, I had no problem catching more than I needed.

Where To Find The Toadstool Floatfish

The Toadstool Floatfish can be fished from the lake area of the Elderwood, and it’s important to to use no bait. While this thankfully saves you worms and glow worms, fishing is very much a waiting game in Palia. I traveled to the De Mer Dock area and started fishing off one of the piers.

Despite the name, the Toadstool Floatfish doesn’t actually look like a fish. Instead, it is a very distinctive-looking jellyfish with bright green tips on its tentacles. They don’t move around too much when being reeled in, although they can leap out of the water, so you should to stop reeling them in until they settle.

Where To Find Elderwood Orchids

Tamala will need three Elderwood Orchids, but thankfully the new gatherable is abundant in the Elderwood zone. The orchids can be spotted all over wooded areas and have bright purple petals with green leaves. I found the Deep Woods area the best place to grab lots of Elderwood Orchids to make sure you have more than you need to bring back to Tamala.

Where To Find Infected Essence

The final ingredient is 10 pieces of Infected Essence, which Tamala will give you special gloves to allow you to interact with. While 10 sounds like a lot, the Infected Essence can be found all over the Elderwood map, and you’ll be able to grab 10 easily while on your way to gather the other ingredients. The Infected Essence looks like little motes of purple energy and is very easy to spot at a distance.

Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, return to Tamala at the Central Stables, and she’ll craft an Elderwood Potion for you. With this potion, you'll be able to collect infected forage for 10 minutes, after which you'll need another potion. Completing “The Nature of Shadows” will unlock Tamala's new potion shop in the Central Stables, something Palia players have long been anticipating. At her shop, Tamala will sell various Elderwood-specific items in exchange for Infected Essence, including more Elderwood Potions.