Romance

Max dating Amirah - Kickstarter video — Max on a date with Amirah

Romance is a social gameplay mechanic that allows the player to date and eventually marry any eligible marriage candidate, regardless of gender. Not all characters can be romanced.

This feature is present in both My Time at Sandrock and My Time at Portia.

Romanceable characters[]

The romanceable characters have been confirmed during various points of the game's development. Developers stated that romance candidates in My Time at Sandrock will have their own stories to make them more individual.

Most romanceable characters can be recognized by having a relationship gauge denoted by hearts in the Social tab in the Menu.

The following characters are confirmed romance candidates:

Bachelors[]

Bachelorettes[]

Relationship levels[]

After a successful confession, a character's relationship status with the player changes to a romantic one, and their relationship gauge changes as well.

Level	Points	Bonuses
Boyfriend/Girlfriend ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠	150 – 600	Character's daily lines change to romantic ones Character can be invited to dates Guaranteed to receive a birthday gift from the character
Sweetheart ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠	600 – 900	The player can propose to the character
Lover ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠	900 – 1,100
Soulmate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠	1,100 – 1,200

Dating[]

Confession[]

“	The red rope is tied together to form a knot, representing two interwoven fates. Give this to someone if you want to take your relationship to the next level...	„
— Heart Knot description

Romance can only begin after the player confesses to a character by gifting them a Heart Knot. The player can confess after reaching Friend status ( or 400 points) with an eligible character. The Heart Knot for confessing can be purchased at By The Stairs.

If a character accepts the player's Heart Knot, the confession is successful, the player gets 24 relationship points with the character, and their relationship status changes. However, there is a chance the character will reject the player's confession; the higher their relationship with the player is the higher the chance of successful confession. The chance of success starts at 30% at the Friend level and maxes out at 70% at the BFF level._[ verify ]

Amirah, Arvio, Catori, Grace, Heidi, Jane, Logan, Nia, Qi, Unsuur and Venti will confess to the player during one of their friendship missions; in these cases the player will have the choice of rejecting or accepting the confession and initiating a romantic relationship.

Exceptions[]

Some characters will not accept a confession until some uniqe criteria is fufilled:

⁠

⁠Fang will only accept a confession after completing Eagles in the Oasis._[ verify ]

⁠

⁠Logan will only accept a confession after completing The Outpost.

⁠

⁠Nia will only accept a confession after completing Builder Cruise x Operation Flowergate and witnessed the post-conduct events that comes with it.

Dates[]

Main article: Play and Date

After a character accepts the player's confession they can be taken on romantic dates instead of platonic play dates once per week. In the current game build, the activities and rewards on platonic and romantic dates are identical; however, the starting and ending lines for romantic dates are different from the lines for playdates, and the player will hold hands with their partner while on a romantic date. Additionally, the player gets more Social Energy points on romantic dates. _[ verify ]

Jealousy[]

“	A bear that seems to melt even the coldest exteriors; it's warm, beaded eyes will make anyone you've wronged forget all about it. Please use responsibly.	„
— Apology Bear description

The player can romance several characters at once. They will not get a penalty unless they are caught by the character they are romancing while on a romantic date with another character. If the player is caught while on a date, the date ends immediately and both their date partner and the character who caught them give unique lines and get -50 relationship points penalty each.

The next part depends on the characters the player is dating.

Some characters will be willing to give the relationship a second chance. They will give the player unique jealous lines when chatted with and will not accept gifts, but can still be gifted an Apology Bear (purchased at Game Center Shop for 188 Tokens) to repair the relationship and return to normal. If the player fails to gift an Apology Bear within six days, their romantic relationship with that characters ends, the character sends them a breakup letter and drops down to a non-romantic status in the social list.

Other characters are less forgiving and will immediately end their romantic involvement with the player and drop down to non-romantic status in the player's social list. For several days they will give the player unique jealousy lines when chatted with and will not accept any gifts, including the Apology Bear. There is no way to reverse that penalty: the player will have to rebuild their relationship with that character from zero if they wish to once the character returns to their normal behavior.

Will accept Apology Bear:
⁠

⁠Arvio
⁠

⁠Burgess
⁠

⁠Heidi
⁠

⁠Jane
⁠

⁠Justice
⁠

⁠Mi-an
⁠

⁠Miguel
⁠

⁠Nia
⁠

⁠Owen
⁠

⁠Pen
⁠

⁠Qi
⁠

⁠Unsuur
⁠

⁠Venti

Will break up immediately:
⁠

⁠Amirah
⁠

⁠Catori
⁠

⁠Elsie
⁠

⁠Ernest
⁠

⁠Fang
⁠

⁠Grace
⁠

⁠Logan
⁠

⁠Pablo

Break up[]

“	A branch that has completely withered, symbolizing a relationship as dead as wood itself. It's a bit harsh, but giving one is the most direct way to break up with someone.	„
— Dead Branch description

The player can end their romantic involvement with a character anytime by gifting them a Dead Branch. The Branch can be purchased at By The Stairs.

A character the player is dating will never refuse a Dead Branch. Once they are gifted a Dead Branch, the romantic relationship ends and their status with the player goes down to Associate, Buddy, or Friend depending on the character; the character will still interact with the player normally and will be able to chat and accept gifts.

The player can confess to the character they were in a romantic relationship and broken up with before: that character will initially reject the player's confession and give a unique line for their rejection, and will keep refusing the Heart Knot with the same line for a week since the initial confession. After that week passes, the player can confess (and subsequently propose) to the character normally; the chances of them accepting the player's confession and/or proposal will be the same as if they have never been in a romantic relationship with the player before._[ verify ] However, most romance missions can only be done once and will not trigger again.

Marriage[]

Main article: Marriage

“	Under the refraction of light, it emits a dazzling light; this sparkling diamond ring would impress anyone, and helps one to make a successful marriage proposal.	„
— Engagement Ring description

In order to marry a character, the player first needs to expand their workshop yard to level 5 unless the player get proposed by their partner in that case workshop level requirement will be waived. The player can propose to any character they are Lovers with using an Engagement Ring either during a date or directly; the ring can be purchased from the Mysterious Man when he visits Sandrock on the 20th and 21st day of each season. The player can only marry one person; if they are dating more than one character and successfully propose to one of them, all their other romantic partners will lose relationship points and revert to a non-romantic status as if the player has given them a Dead Branch and they will send the player a break-up letter the next morning after the engagement.

After a successful proposal the player and the character they have proposed to are considered married. The player can choose to have a wedding ceremony at the Church of the Light for 3,000 Gols if they wish to. The ceremony can be held immediately or scheduled up to seven days in advance.

The character the player successfully proposes to immediately moves into the player's Workshop and will help them with chores if assigned any tasks. When marrying Catori or Logan, Alo respective Andy will move in as well. They will also refer the player as their parent.

Exceptions[]

Pen is the only romanceable character that cannot be married. Some other characters will not accept a proposal until some unique criteria is fufilled:

⁠

⁠Catori can be successfully proposed to only after Alo has moved to Sandrock. _[ verify ]

⁠

⁠Elsie can be successfully proposed to only after the player completes Chasing Elsie and waits until she returns to Sandrock.

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⁠Grace can be successfully proposed to only after the player completes Graceful Farewell and waits until she returns to Sandrock.

Divorce[]

“	A broken mirror, a broken promise, a broken heart. Give this to your spouse to end your marriage	„
— Broken Mirror description

If the player wishes to break off a marriage, they can gift their spouse a Broken Mirror to initiate a divorce. No character can refuse the Broken Mirror gifted to them. After divorcing, the ex-spouse's relationship level with the player will drastically lower, and they will move out from the workshop to their previous place.

The player can remarry the character they have divorced before after rebuilding the relationship back and successfully confessing.

Romance missions[]

Some characters have romance missions, which can only be triggered if the player romances them or confesses or proposes to them.

Note that some friendship missions for several characters offer one or more options to flirt with them; these missions are not included in the list. Neither is missions where the characters will confess to the player included.

*Also note that after the new update Nia, Logan, Amirah, Heidi, Grace, Ernest, and Qi have gotten new romance missions*