Coral Island, developed by Stairway Games, is a tropical farming simulation game that aims to differentiate itself by emphasizing inclusiveness and diversity. The game also involves exploring a large map, underwater diving, and environmental cleanup to help regenerate Coral Island and eventually deal with the immediate threat from the Pufferfish Drilling Corporation, among others.
In the game, players can catch many varieties of fish. This guide will discuss finding the Sunflower Sea Star in Coral Island. Understanding the skill of fishing, identifying their habitats, and employing precise techniques are essential for pulling in these critters. The search for the Sunflower Sea Star amid teeming marine life and a diverse overall ecosystem ensures a great fishing expedition and the delight of finding these intriguing creatures in all their glory.
How to Find Sunflower Sea Stars
The player can find Sunflower Sea Stars, like the other fish, forageables, and crops in the game, in the proper and specific environmental settings. For this, the player can attempt to find them in the correct area, season, dates, weather, and time of day using the correct ability and tools. The requirements that the player must fulfill to find the Sunflower Sea Stars are as follows:
Ability
Although the Sunflower Sea Stars are, as the name implies, sea creatures, the player will not be able to use fishing to find them. The Sunflower Sea Star is one type of the many ocean critters that the player can discover in the game. This means that the player has to head underwater through the Diving ability.
The player can unlock the Diving ability after getting a letter in the mail from the Head of Starlet Laboratory named Ling. This letter will say that the lab is looking for a suitable diving candidate. Because of that, it will ask the player to head to the Diving Pier for an on-site test for compatibility. The player will receive this letter on the player’s first 8th day of the Spring season. Once at the Diving Pier, the player will get a Diving Suit for diving!
After unlocking it, the player can interact with the boat at the Diving Pier to begin their dive. The player can dive between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM (23:00).
The Diving Pier is located in the southernmost part of the map of Coral Island. From the player’s farm, the player must exit at the bottom of the player’s farm to head down to the beach. Next, on the beach, run across it to the right to reach a big wooden pathway.
After that, the player must then head up the stairs and continue on the path. Head to the edge of the pier after the Diving sign. Here, the player can interact with the ladder to dive underwater! The player can either return to the start point or where the player had previously left the anchor.
Skills
The player will be able to unlock a skill every two rises in the player’s Catching mastery level. There are a couple of Catching Skills that can help in finding Sunflower Sea Stars:
- Light Feet – with this skill, the ocean critters and insects will become aware of the player 10% slower.
- Double Catch – unlock this skill to gain an extra 5% chance for the player to catch double ocean critters and insects.
- Balanced Body – this skill will improve the player’s movement speed while using a Bug Net by 50%.
- Scent Duration – The player can unlock this skill to increase the effects of Scents by 25% when catching. This skill is the last skill that the player can unlock. However, players cannot unlock this skill by leveling up their Catching mastery. To unlock this skill, the player must reach the maximum level and use Catching Elixirs to get more skill points. The player can buy Catching Elixirs from the Community Center Shop. The player must spend Merit Points to purchase this and other elixirs.
Location
As mentioned above, the player has to dive under the sea to find some Sunflower Sea Stars. When diving, the player must explore a map different from the island’s. The player must head to Lima Pulu to find the Sunflower Sea Stars. Specifically, the player must go to the Unnamed Area 1 and Area 5 in Lima Pulu.
The areas the player can explore when diving are divided according to depth. The player must dive 50 to 60 meters deep to get to Lima Pulu. Lima Pulu is the deepest area the player can explore. This is located in the northwesternmost part of the map under the ocean.
The Lima Pulu area is also divided into five parts. As mentioned, the player can find Sunflower Sea Stars in the Unnamed Areas 1 and 5. Unnamed Area 1 is in the western part of Lima Pulu. On the other hand, the Unnamed Area is in the northern part of the area.
How to Reach
Under the sea, the different main areas are separated because of the black growth due to the oil spill. To progress and go deeper, the player must collect solar orbs and activate the beacons to restore and unlock the other areas. Once diving under the sea for the first time, the player will reach the shallowest section of the 10 to 20-meter zone. This area is the Se Pulu area.
As mentioned, the Lima Pulu area is the deepest area that the player can explore. This means that this area is the last one that the player can head to. From Se Pulu, the player must activate 20 beacons to get an upgraded Diving Suit and reach the second area, the Dua Pulu area. This is the 20 to 30-meter zone. After activating beacons in this area, the player can go to the Merfolk Kingdom. This is the 30 to 40-meter zone.
In the Merfolk Kingdom, the Merfolk will decide if they trust the player to go to the deeper parts of the ocean. Once they do and grant the player permission, the player can go right through to the fourth area, the Empat Pulu area. This area is the 40 to 50-meter zone. The player must activate beacons to proceed to the Lima Pulu area in this zone.
Season and Time of Day
The player will only be able to catch the Sunflower Sea Star during the Spring and Summer seasons in Coral Island. As for the time of day they appear, the player can attempt to catch some Sunflower Sea Stars for the whole day and dive underwater.
The game’s months are divided into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Spring is the very first season the player will encounter on Coral Island. During this season, the weather warms up, and plant life blooms. This season occurs right after the Winter season and before the Summer season.
The Summer season marks the player’s second in Coral Island. When summer comes in, most spring crops will have been wilted. This leaves the player with a new stock of crops. This season also introduces new types of things for players to scavenge. The summer season comes following the spring season but before the fall season.
As for the time of day, the entire day is divided in two. The Daytime is from 6:00 AM to 5:50 PM (or 06:00 to 17:50 if using the 24-hour format). On the other hand, the Nighttime is from 6:00 PM to 11:50 PM (or 18:00 to 23:50 if using the 24-hour format). As mentioned above, the player can only dive between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM (23:00). The player can attempt to find Sunflower Sea Stars for 17 in-game hours per day.
How to Change the Time Speed
Coral Island’s time is set at one in-game hour for every 45 real-world seconds at its default setting. This means that one full 24-hour in-game day equals 18 minutes or 1,080 seconds in the real world.
In the game, the player will have the ability to control the rate at which time passes. To accomplish this, the player must follow the steps below:
- First, the player must go to the pause menu. Here, click the ‘Settings’ option. This option appears below the ‘Feedback’ and ‘Return to Title’ options.
- Following that, in the Settings menu, the player must select the ‘Game’ tab at the top. This is the leftmost tab at the top of the screen.
- After that, the player must select the ‘Game Time Speed’ option within the ‘Game’ menu. This is found beneath the ‘Allow Usage Tracking’ feature and above the ‘Display Quest HUD’ feature.
- Next, the player can adjust the desired rate on the right side of the ‘Game Time Speed’ feature. The function’s minimum and maximum settings are 50% and 100%, respectively.
If the ‘Game Time Speed’ option is set to 50%, the duration of the day in the game will slow down. With this setting. one hour in the game will now equal 67.5 seconds in the real world, rather than the default 45 real-world seconds. This means that a full 24-hour day in the game now lasts 27 minutes or 1620 seconds in actual world time.
With this feature, the player will have additional time to complete tasks in one in-game day. This gives the player additional time to try to find Sunflower Sea Stars.
Tools
The player will use the Scythe as the main tool when diving underwater. Using this tool, the player can slice through kelp and seaweed patches and break up trash. However, to find the Sunflower Sea Stars and other ocean critters, the player can use a Bug Net or a Critter Trap to catch them.
Bug Net
The player can use the Bug Net to catch insects on the island and the critters in the ocean. To get the player’s first Bug Net, the player must take on the “Visit the Beach Shack” main quest. The player can take this main quest as early as the third day of the player’s first year. In this quest, the player will receive a Bug Net for free.
When successfully catching a bug or critter, the Bug Net will consume 20 points of the player’s energy. If the swing of the Bug Net fails to catch a bug or critter, it will only consume 1 point of energy. The player can increase their Catching mastery level to lower the energy used when utilizing the Bug Net.
At the first level, the player will have a 5% energy cost reduction when using the Bug Net. Every time the player’s Catching mastery level rises, the decrease in energy cost will get an extra 5%. This means that at level 10, the player will get 50% of decreased energy cost.
Another way to reduce the energy used when using the Bug Net is by taking consumables that give off the Catching Proficiency buff. This buff will increase the player’s Bug Net proficiency by 10%. Only two foods in the game give off the Catching Proficiency buff: Bug Jerky and Peyek.
The quality of the consumable taken dictates the duration that the buff will take effect. Base quality consumables will have two in-game hours; Silver consumables will have 2 hours and 18 minutes; Gold consumables will last for three in-game hours; and Osmium consumables will take up to 4 hours.
The Bug Net can have a larger catch radius and angle once upgraded. The most basic type of Bug Net has a radius of 200 and an angle of 35. Once it is upgraded to the Bronze Bug Net, it will improve the radius to 230 and 37. The player can then upgrade it to the Silver Bug Net with a radius of 260 and an angle of 39. The next level is the Gold Bug Net, which has a radius of 300 and an angle of 41.
The highest form of the Bug Net is the Osmium Bug Net, which has a radius of 400 and an angle of 45. Each of these upgrades has its requirements, which include several types of essence, a lot of wood or hardwood, and a lot of coral coins.
The Sunflower Sea Star is an uncommon ocean critter that is hard to find and catch. Because of this, it is recommended that the player upgrade their Bug Net to at least the Silver Bug Net. Upgrading it to the Gold Bug Net would be even better.
How to Catch Using the Bug Net
To capture an ocean critter using a Bug Net, the player must approach the critter and swing the Bug Net. The player has to aim the Bug Net so that the ocean critter is highlighted and captured within the catch area of the net. All ocean creatures will notice when the player approaches them. For this, the player can see an alertness indicator above the ocean critter.
When the player lets go of the button while the ocean critter is highlighted, the captured ocean critter is added to the player’s inventory. The ocean critter will quickly run away if the player fails to capture the ocean critter before the circle indicator fills up entirely.
The player will still be able to try to catch a critter as it runs away. However, the more difficult a critter is to catch, the more quickly it moves, the more easily it detects the player’s existence, and the faster its circle alertness indicator fills up.
Critter Trap
The player will be able to use a Critter Trap to catch well critters that the player can find in the ocean. To use Critter Traps, the player has to put them in an unoccupied 1×1 space located in an outdoor spot while diving. After it is set up, a Critter Trap can passively catch nearby critters.
The critters the player can capture with a Critter Trap depend on what is likely to be found naturally in the region where the player set the trap. A Critter Trap can also have a critter just appear inside it the next day.
The player can craft two ocean critter traps in the game: Crawler Trap and Float Trap. However, to find and catch the Sunflower Sea Stars, the player only needs to use the Crawler Trap. This item allows the player to only catch ocean critters that crawl on the sea floor, like the Sunflower Sea Stars.
The player, however, will not get this item right from the get-go and must first unlock it. To do that, the player must get their Catching level to 5. Once that is done, the player will get the crafting recipe for the Crawler Trap. To get one, the player must craft one and will not be able to buy one. To craft a Crawler Trap, the player must have one piece of Silver Bar, five pieces of Seaweed, and five pieces of Wood.
To find and catch a Sunflower Sea Star, the player can place multiple Crawler Traps in the abovementioned areas. Then, the player can now hope that at least one of these Crawler Traps will catch a Sunflower Sea Star.
Scents
The player can use Scents on the Critter Trap to help catch ocean critters and insects. With Scents in traps, the player can decrease the insect or ocean critter’s awareness for some time.
As previously mentioned, the Sunflower Sea Star is a crawling ocean critter, so the player can use the Crawler Trap to find and catch one. The player can use the Crawling Critter Scent for crawling ocean critters like the Sunflower Sea Star. This Scent will reduce the awareness of the crawling ocean critters by 4%. This will last for 3 hours and 8 minutes in the game.
Before the player can get a Crawling Critter Scent, the player must first unlock it. To do that, the player must get their Catching level to 4. Once that is done, the player will get the crafting recipe for the Crawling Critter Scent. Also, the player can now purchase some Crawler Critter Scents.
The player can purchase a Crawling Critter Scent from Sunny’s Beach Shack. This shop is located near the beach in the southeastern part of the map. The player can find Sunny’s Beach Shack northeast of the Diving Pier or south of 2 Parkview. Once in Sunny’s Beach Shack, the player can buy a piece of Crawling Critter Scent for 50 Coral Coins. The player can buy them during any season in the game.
To craft some Crawling Critter Scents, the player must have five pieces of Seaweed and one piece of any flower. With these exact crafting materials, the player will get two pieces of Crawling Critter Scents.
Related: How To Catch Yellow Moray Eels in Coral Island
Sunflower Sea Star
In Coral Island, the Sunflower Sea Star is described as a ruthless, predatory creature that consumes dead or alive prey. The Sunflower Sea Star is classified as an ocean critter with an Uncommon rarity. The Uncommon rarity is the second level of rarities in the game. Each rarity of ocean critters in the game has its rarity distribution for most of their spawn areas. The rarity distribution for ocean critters with an Uncommon rarity is 20%.
The Sunflower Sea Star is also classified as an ocean critter with a medium catch difficulty. The Medium difficulty is the second level of catching difficulties in the game. The player gains more Catching mastery experience when successfully catching ocean critters that are classified as more difficult to catch. When successfully catching an ocean critter of Medium difficulty, like the Sunflower Sea Star, the player will get 10 Catching mastery experience points. The player will also get bonus Catching mastery experience points for the quality of the critter that has been caught.
Uses
Now that the player has found and caught some Sunflower Sea Stars, what’s now? In Coral Island, the player can use the Sunflower Sea Star in various ways. Among these are to sell it, to offer it to Lake Temple, to give it to other characters, or to donate it to the museum.
Sell Them
The player can sell some Sunflower Sea Stars for Coral Coins, as was mentioned above. The quality of the caught Sunflower Sea Star determines the number of coral coins the player may get from selling it. The following are the selling prices for the Sunflower Sea Star: a Base quality Sunflower Sea Star sells for 95 Coral Coins, a Bronze quality sells for 109 Coral Coins, a Silver quality sells for 124 Coral Coins, a Gold quality sells for 143 Coral Coins, and an Osmium quality sells for 190 Coral Coins.
The player can use a Catching Skill to get slightly higher odds of catching Sunflower Sea Stars and other ocean critters and insects with better quality. This Catching Skill is the Quality Catch skill. With this skill, the player will have an extra 5% chance of catching ocean critters and insects of better quality.
Additionally, another Catching Skill affects the selling price of Sunflower Sea Stars. This Catching Skill is the Catch Price skill. The player can unlock this skill to increase the selling price of the player’s caught ocean critters and insects by 25%. With this Catching Skill, the selling price of a Sunflower Sea Star will change to the following: the Base quality Sunflower Sea Star will now sell for 119 Coral Coins, the Bronze quality will now sell for 137 Coral Coins, the Silver quality will now sell for 154 Coral Coins, the Gold quality will now sell for 178 Coral Coins, and the Osmium quality will now sell for 238 Coral Coins.
The player can sell items using the shipping bin on their farm or directly to the many shops all over the island. There is no difference between the money earned from selling products to a shop and selling items using the shipping bin. It is worth noting, however, that shops typically only purchase specific types of items. Additionally, the player receives the Coral Coins only at the end of the day for selling products through the shipping bin. This happens after the player goes to bed and sleeps.
Offer Them
The best use for the Sunflower Sea Star that the player can do is to offer them to Lake Temple. This temple, which acts as the Goddess’ dwelling place, is crucial in the game. To strengthen the town’s relationship with the Goddess and Giants, the player must make several offerings in the temple.
The player will be able to find the Lake Temple in the middle of the, well, lake, in the northeasternmost part of the map of Coral Island. This is east of the Wildlife Enthusiasts building and northeast of the Mayor’s House.
The player will have access to multiple altars within the Lake Temple. Each one of the altars requires six forms of offerings. The offerings they require are often made up of no fewer than five items in a single bundle. With that, the player has to get a range of materials via various means.
When completing a specified bundle at the Lake Temple, the player will get several kinds of rewards corresponding to the offering the player made. The following are the altars inside the Lake Temple: the Crop Altar, the Catch Altar, the Advanced Altar, and the Rare Altar.
The Sunflower Sea Star is one of the requirements for the Ocean Critters offering in the Catch Altar. Besides a piece of Sunflower Sea Star, the Ocean Critters offering requires one piece of Cannonball Jellyfish, one piece of Hermit Crab, one piece of Sexy Shrimp, and one piece of Pom-pom Crab. The player will receive one piece of Crawler Trap as a reward for fulfilling the Ocean Critters offering.
When the player completes two Catch Altar offerings, it will unlock the Hillside Waypoint. After finishing each of the six offerings for the Catch Altar, the player will gain access to the Dig Site and receive 40 Heritage Points. In addition, the Forest Sacred Tree will be healed.
Donate Them
The player’s next option for the Sunflower Sea Star is to donate it to the Museum. Here, the player can donate critters, insects, artifacts, fish, and gems. After doing so, the museum will then display the donated items. For each donation made, the player will receive 3 Museum Points. In addition, the player will receive 40 Museum Points for providing and finishing each complete set of ocean critters, insects, artifacts, fish, and fossils. The player can locate the Museum around the middle of the map. This is located west of the Community Center or southeast of the Carpenter.
With that, the player may donate a Sunflower Sea Star to get one step closer to finishing the Critters Collection. To fulfill the Critters Collection, the player must give each kind of Ocean Critter in Coral Island. The total amount of required items is 45 Ocean Critters. In addition to the 40 Museum Points, completing the Critters Collection in the Museum earns the player a Seafarer Suit and the Marine Observer badge. Again, the player will earn 3 Museum Points for donating an Ocean Critter like the Sunflower Sea Stars.
Gift Them
Another option for the Sunflower Sea Star is to present it as a gift to other characters on Coral Island. The player can form friendships with the townies and other characters in Coral Island. The more the player knows about the other characters, the more narratives and dialogues they will share. Friendships between the player and the other characters do not decrease as time goes on.
Gifting is the major way of accumulating Friendship Points with characters and conversing with them. However, the player must offer them items they like to accomplish this. The game allows each character to receive up to two gifts per week.
Besides that, the player can give an additional gift to a character on their birthday in the game. The player must first put an item in their inventory hotbar to give it as a gift. After that, the player must talk to the character to whom they want to give the item.
The player can present most of the game’s items as gifts. Each character has unique gift preferences. This implies that every character has distinct things they love, like, dislike, hate, or are indifferent to. Characters will engage with the player in various ways based on their liking for the item. The more the character enjoys the presented item, the greater the number of Friendship Points the player earns. Items that the character dislikes or hates, however, reduce Friendship Points.
If a character loves the gifted item, the player will earn 140 Friendship Points. If they only like it, the player will receive 70 Friendship Points. However, if the character is indifferent to the item, the player will receive 35 Friendship Points. On the other hand, if a character dislikes the item, the player loses 35 Friendship Points. The player will lose 70 Friendship Points if the character hates the present.
It is vital to note that even if the player’s Friendship Points for a character are deducted, they will never fall lower than the current heart level. This means that the heart level isn’t going to drop a level and will remain at the lowest Friendship Points for that heart level.
Furthermore, the player will get additional Friendship Points if the gifted item is higher quality. If the gifted item is of Bronze quality, the Friendship Points will have a multiplier of 1.15x. If the gifted item is Silver quality, the Friendship Points earned have a multiplier of 1.3x. The player will receive Friendship Points with a 1.5x multiplier for Gold quality items. Finally, the Friendship Points the player receives have a multiplier of 2x for Osmium quality gifted items.
As previously stated, the player can also give gifts to characters on their birthdays. With this, the player’s Friendship Points will have a multiplier of 5x.
As for the Sunflower Sea Stars, no characters in the game love, like, are neutral to, or hate them. However, the following characters dislike receiving Sunflower Sea Stars as gifts: Aaliyah, Alice, Anne, Antonio, Archie, Ben, Betty, Bree, Chaem, Charles, Chieftain, Connor, Dinda, Dippa, Eleanor, Emily, Emma, Erika, Eva, Frank, Giu, Gong, Grog, Groo, Jack, Jim, Joko, Kenny, Kira, Leah, Lily, Ling, Luke, Macy, Mark, Millie, Nina, Noah, Oliver, Pablo, Paul, Rafael, Raj, Randy, Ratih, Sam, Scott, Suki, Sunny, Surya, Theo, Valentina, Wakuu, Walter, Wataru, Yur, Zarah, and Zoe.
Conclusion
Navigating the depths of Coral Island to find the Sunflower Sea Star is an exciting and rewarding endeavor. Successfully finding and catching the Sunflower Sea Star opens up many possibilities, from selling it for Coral Coins, offering it at the Lake Temple, or donating it to the Museum.
Each choice carries its rewards and contributes to the game’s overall progression. Armed with the Diving ability, players can unlock the mysteries of Lima Pulu. The endeavor requires honing Catching skills, upgrading tools like the Bug Net, and utilizing various strategies, such as deploying Critter Traps and Scents.
Furthermore, the seasonal considerations add depth to the gameplay. Coral Island’s meticulous attention to detail and diverse gameplay elements ensure that every player’s journey to locate and utilize the Sunflower Sea Star is a unique and fulfilling experience.
