Heartopia Hobbies: Complete Unlock & Upgrade Guide

Heartopia gives you plenty of ways to spend your time in its charming world. Whether you’re casting a line into the river, tending your garden, or caring for adorable pets, hobbies form the backbone of your daily routine. They’re not just pleasant pastimes, they’re your main source of coins, experience points, and those valuable Contribution Badges that unlock new features and items.

Right now, the game offers seven distinct hobbies to master. Each one brings its own rewards and progression path, but there’s a catch: you’ll need special tickets to access them, and these tickets don’t grow on trees. Choosing which hobbies to prioritize matters, especially early on.

Here’s everything you need to know about unlocking and leveling up your hobbies in Heartopia.

Understanding the Hobby System

Before diving into specifics, you should know that every hobby requires a Hobby Expansion Ticket to unlock. The game hands these out gradually as you complete tutorial missions, raise your developer rank, and hit certain milestones. Since they’re limited resources, think carefully before spending them.

Once you’ve unlocked a hobby, you’ll gain proficiency by actively engaging with it. Catching fish improves your fishing skill. Watering plants boosts your gardening expertise. The more you do, the faster you progress—and discovering new items or completing collections grants bonus proficiency points.

When you hit the level cap for a hobby, you’ll need a Hobby Upgrade Ticket to push past it. These upgrades aren’t just number increases; they unlock better success rates, new recipes, and enhanced rewards that make your efforts more worthwhile.

Unlocking Every Hobby in Heartopia

Let’s break down all seven hobbies available in the game, when you can access them, and what you need to do.

Fishing

This is your gateway hobby. During the tutorial, Vanya (the Fishing Mentor) shows up at your doorstep with a fishing rod and a Hobby Expansion Ticket in hand. You’ll unlock fishing immediately as part of learning the ropes. It’s straightforward, relaxing, and a steady source of income once you learn how to sell your catches.

Fishing works well for beginners because it requires minimal setup and provides consistent returns. Plus, you’ll need fish for various cooking recipes down the line.

Gardening

Gardening unlocks alongside fishing during the tutorial sequence. Blanc, your Gardening Mentor, arrives with a watering can, some planters, tomato seeds, and another Hobby Expansion Ticket. You’ll activate this one right away too.

Gardening takes patience since crops need time to grow, but it pays off with ingredients for cooking and decent profit margins. As you expand your available space and unlock home plots, you can scale up your farming operation significantly.

The Level 6 Trio: Insect Catching, Bird Watching, and Cooking

Once you reach Developer Level 6, things get interesting. You’ll receive a Hobby Expansion Ticket, but this time you face a choice: Insect Catching, Bird Watching, or Cooking. You can only pick one initially, so consider what appeals to you most.

Insect Catching involves exploring different areas to find bugs. Head to Niawa’s garden near the river and chat with the mentors to learn the basics. If you decide this is your pick, return with your ticket to officially unlock it. Insect catching rewards exploration and gives you another collectible category to pursue.

Bird Watching takes a slightly different approach. Visit Bailey J upstairs at the pet store for the mentor introduction. This hobby rewards observation and patience, and it’s perfect if you enjoy the calmer side of the game.

Cooking opens up when you talk to Masimo outside his café in the town center. This hobby transforms all those fish and vegetables you’ve been collecting into valuable dishes. It’s tremendously useful if you’ve been stockpiling ingredients from fishing and gardening, and our cooking recipes guide can help you make the most of it.

Which should you choose first? If you’ve been fishing and gardening consistently, cooking makes immediate sense because you already have ingredients. If you prefer collection-based activities, insect catching or bird watching might suit you better.

Cat Care and Dog Care

Both pet hobbies unlock at Developer Level 12, but there’s a progression requirement: you must complete Cat Care before Dog Care becomes available.

For Cat Care, visit Mrs. Joan at the pet shop and purchase a kitten. Then use a Hobby Expansion Ticket to activate the hobby. Taking care of your cat involves feeding, playing, and keeping them happy—standard pet simulation fare, but done with charm.

Dog Care follows the same pattern. After you’ve got Cat Care up and running, buy a puppy from Mrs. Joan and spend another Hobby Expansion Ticket to unlock it. Managing both pets simultaneously adds a nice daily routine element to your gameplay.

Leveling Up Your Hobbies

Unlocking a hobby is just the beginning. The real depth comes from upgrading them over time.

Every action you take within a hobby generates proficiency points. Cast your line while fishing? You earn points. Harvest a crop? More points. The system rewards regular engagement, and it particularly loves when you discover something new or complete a collection set—those moments grant bonus proficiency.

Watch your proficiency bar carefully. When it fills up completely, you’ve hit the level cap for that hobby. Open your hobby menu, select the maxed hobby, and you’ll see the option to upgrade using a Hobby Upgrade Ticket (assuming you have one).

What do upgrades actually give you? Expect better success rates for your activities, access to advanced recipes or items, and generally more rewarding outcomes for the same amount of effort. A Level 3 fishing hobby might let you catch rarer fish more frequently, while an upgraded cooking hobby could unlock complex dishes that sell for premium prices.

Since Hobby Upgrade Tickets are precious, focus on upgrading the hobbies you use most frequently. If you fish every day but rarely watch birds, prioritize fishing upgrades to maximize your returns.

Strategic Tips for Hobby Management

Pace yourself with unlocks. You don’t need to rush into every hobby the moment it becomes available. Focus on mastering a few core hobbies before spreading yourself too thin.

Balance passive and active hobbies. Gardening works great as a passive hobby—plant crops, do other things, return when they’re ready. Fishing and insect catching require active engagement. Having one of each type gives you flexibility in how you play.

Connect hobbies together. Fishing feeds into cooking. Gardening provides cooking ingredients. Pet care might require items from other hobbies. Looking at these connections helps you build an efficient routine.

Don’t ignore collections. Completing collection sets grants significant proficiency bonuses. If you’re one fish away from finishing a collection, that extra effort could push you closer to your next level.

Check in with mentors. The game’s mentors often have helpful advice or quests that reward you with useful items or tickets. Don’t skip these interactions.

For more ways to optimize your Heartopia experience, check out our beginner’s guide and tips. And if you’re looking for bonus resources, our Heartopia codes page lists all active redemption codes.

Making the Most of Your Time

Heartopia doesn’t pressure you to min-max everything. The game’s relaxed pace means you can engage with hobbies on your own terms. That said, understanding the unlock requirements and upgrade paths helps you plan ahead.

If you’re playing with friends through the co-op features, coordinate which hobbies each person focuses on. Someone specializing in cooking can prepare meals for the group, while another player might focus on gathering ingredients through fishing and gardening.

You can also customize your character’s appearance as you progress—our guide on how to change hair covers the cosmetic options available.

Download Heartopia on Android or iOS and start building your hobby collection today.

Frequently Asked Questions