Fields of Mistria offers a surprisingly deep romance system, allowing for extensive relationship building with its 10 initial marriage candidates, plus two secret singles revealed later in the game. Players can foster these relationships through regular conversation, gift-giving, and completing quests, all of which contribute to friendship points. These points are visualized as a pink meter towards the next heart level, with only marriage candidates displaying heart symbols and progressing through distinct heart events.
Friendship can be earned through several actions: talking to NPCs daily grants seven points, while giving a 'loved' gift awards 20 points, a 'liked' gift 10, and a neutral gift three. Gifts that are disliked or hated yield no points. A birthday gift provides a modifier to these totals. Inviting characters on dates is also a significant way to earn friendship, with an approximation of 70 points per date.
Talking to characters multiple times a day is encouraged to uncover their unique storylines, which are further explored through heart events. These special cutscenes unlock at specific friendship thresholds: the first at two hearts (180 FP), the second at four hearts (390 FP), the third at six hearts (705 FP), and the fourth at eight hearts (1125 FP). Reaching ten hearts (1755 FP) allows for the possibility of marriage.
Progression is tied to in-game quests. For instance, completing Adeline's town upgrades is necessary to unlock the Shooting Star Festival date, a unique event that occurs at the end of summer. Furthermore, specific questlines, such as reaching level 100 in the mines, are prerequisites for proposing marriage.
Heart events allow players to engage with each character's personal arc through dialogue choices. While these choices do not affect friendship points, they offer a way to roleplay. Exceptions exist, such as Juniper's two-heart event, which begins at the request board rather than via a letter. The secret bachelor and bachelorette start with six hearts unlocked, limiting their heart events to the eighth level and subsequent proposal scenes.
Dating and Marriage
After reaching eight hearts with a marriage candidate, players can confess their feelings during their eighth heart event, unlocking the ability to date. Elsie provides a tutorial on dating, which can only occur on Saturdays and Sundays, with one date per character per weekend. Each successful date results in a commemorative photo and a small gift from the NPC. Various date types are available, ranging from an inn meal to a picnic or a trip to the bathhouse, unlocked through gameplay or purchase.
Fields of Mistria supports a permissive dating system, allowing players to date multiple characters simultaneously without any in-game jealousy or rivalries. Characters may comment on who you are dating, but they do not acknowledge multi-partner relationships. This continues even after marriage if break-up notifications are disabled in the game's settings.
To propose marriage, players must reach ten hearts with a chosen partner and craft an engagement ring. The recipe for the ring is provided by Elsie the morning after reaching ten hearts, but requires reaching level 100 in the mines. The proposal itself is a heart event, after which players can choose a wedding date. Wedding days are highly detailed, allowing customization of decorations, food, and attire. Unique furniture items are gifted by the spouse the morning after the wedding.
Breakups and Consequences
The game features an optional breakup system. By default, when a player proposes to one character, any other characters they are dating will send a breakup letter, transitioning their relationship status to 'best friends.' This process can be toggled off in the gameplay settings. If breakups are entirely disabled, players can continue dating and even marry one character while maintaining romantic relationships with others, a state the game describes as 'plausible deniability non-monogamy' rather than true polyamory.