A Shifting Player Base
Raw Garden was once a game boasting tens of millions of concurrent players, breaking records previously held by other titles. However, recent months have seen a dramatic drop in activity, with only a few hundred thousand active users remaining. Even newly released games like BL and R have surpassed Raw Garden in popularity. While some decline is natural due to players returning to school or simply losing interest, recent updates have also played a significant role in pushing longtime fans away.
Event Updates: From Monotony to Missed Opportunities
The “Steck” Update
The Steck update has been widely criticized among players. Its event loop is straightforward: buy seeds from the event shop, plant them in your garden store, and nurture them until they reach level four. Players can then exchange them with event NPCs for higher-tier seeds and rewards. While this seems simple, it became tedious quickly.
The main issues were:

1. Battle Boss Implementation: Previously, Raw Garden had a reputation for fair play, allowing dedicated players to succeed without heavy spending. The introduction of Battle Boss turned the update into a pay-to-win scenario, alienating many players.
2. Repetitive Gameplay: Unlike earlier events that encouraged creative interaction—like harvesting or cooperative mini-games—the Steck event required repetitive solo work and consumed excessive resources, particularly watering items.
3. Uninspiring Comet Skills: Event-specific creatures offered no new abilities, making their inclusion feel redundant.

Cooking Event
Another lackluster update was the Cooking Event. Players needed to combine various fruits in a kitchen oven to create dishes for a pig NPC, earning rewards based on rarity and size. However, preparing high-tier dishes could take up to an hour, leaving players with little engaging content to do in the meantime. AFK play became almost unavoidable.
Fairy Event
The Fairy Event tried to innovate by having players capture lost fairies to help crops mutate, producing special variants for collection. While the concept was promising, the Garden Ascension mechanic initially wiped all player progress upon rebirth, frustrating many. Although later patched to retain progress, the event’s rewards remained underwhelming, leading to minimal participation. Only a few creatures, like B Cai with mutation-focused skills, provided lasting value.
Strategies for Staying Engaged
For dedicated players, maximizing efficiency in Raw Garden’s events is crucial:

• Focus on high-value seeds and crops that can generate lasting benefits.
• Limit time spent on overly repetitive tasks like the Cooking Event to avoid burnout.
• Leverage rare creatures like B Cai strategically to boost crop mutations.
• Consider external resources for items or pets, especially if you want to expand quickly. Knowing where to buy Grow A Garden pets for sale can save significant time and help strengthen your garden store. Platforms like U4GM provide access to these resources.

Investing in quality seeds and pets ensures that even with monotonous updates, your garden can remain competitive and enjoyable.
Recent updates in Raw Garden demonstrate the challenges of maintaining player engagement in long-running games. Monotonous event loops, pay-to-win mechanics, and underwhelming rewards have contributed to the decline in active users. However, careful planning, strategic use of rare creatures, and knowing how to source resources can still make the game enjoyable. Players who grow a garden store efficiently and utilize available tools will remain ahead even as updates fluctuate in quality.