In the vibrant world of Moonstone Island, one of the most important—yet surprisingly easy-to-miss—mechanics is spirit taming. Many players dive deep into the game’s colorful progression only to realize, far too late, that they’ve been ignoring a fundamental system: capturing and keeping spirits. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about unlocking the Spirit Barn, building it, and advancing your taming skills so you don’t get stuck like many players do.

Unlocking the Spirit Barn: A Hidden Questline

Let’s start with the most crucial detail: you cannot capture and keep spirits without first unlocking the Spirit Barn. Unlike typical crafting recipes that show up randomly or progress with leveling, the Spirit Barn is locked behind a specific questline.

You’ll need to complete the quest called “Spirit Research: Taming Spirits 101”. This isn’t a simple catch-any-spirit quest—it specifically requires you to tame a level 5 or higher spirit. Note that you must catch one that is already level 5 or higher; leveling one up yourself doesn’t count. Even better, you don’t have to keep it. If your current team is full and you don’t want to swap anyone out, just catch a qualifying spirit and release it right after—it still counts toward completing the quest.

Once that’s done, visit the professor in his lab and present your findings. He’ll respond by sending you a letter the following in-game day. That letter unlocks the Spirit Barn and gives you the recipes for key spirit-related structures: nests for hatching eggs and stables for feeding spirits.

How to Build the Spirit Barn

Crafting the Spirit Barn isn’t too complex, but it does require a bit of setup. First, you’ll need to unlock the Moonstone Enchanter through your crafting interface. To make one, you’ll need:

• Moonstone Ingot
• Copper Ingot
• Iron Ingot

Each ingot can be crafted using the corresponding ore and coal as fuel. If you’ve been following your main quests steadily, you’ll already have access to the necessary mining and refining tools. Once the enchanter is built, use it to create the Spirit Barn. The ingredients include:

• Iron Ingot
• Moonstone Ingot
• Stone and Rock (basic materials)
• Cloth (crafted from fiber)

Once built, you’ll have your very first space to store captured spirits—a vital addition to your island life.

The Skill Tree Trap: Level Up Your Spirit Taming

Now here’s the part that can trip you up even if you have the Spirit Barn: you still won’t be able to catch high-level spirits unless your taming skills are leveled up. Spirit Taming is an actual progression system tied to a skill tree, and you won’t gain points in it just by battling. You only earn spirit XP by doing three things:

1. Catching spirits
2. Feeding them
3. Hatching them from eggs

If, like many players, you avoided catching new spirits to keep your original party intact, you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage. Without capturing and interacting with a variety of spirits, you’ll have very few points in the taming tree—leaving you unable to catch more powerful spirits later in the game.

The fix? Start catching spirits early, even if you plan to toss them away right after. Use items like flax flowers and other taming plants to make quick captures. The goal is not to build a massive team immediately, but to gain valuable XP and gradually unlock the skills you’ll need when higher-level spirits become available.

Upgrading the Spirit Barn: Planning for the Future

Once you’re more invested in spirit collecting, you’ll want to expand your storage. Head over to the furniture store(which deceptively looks like a repair shop). Talk to the merchant there—not to flirt, but to shop—and scroll to the bottom of his wares.

Here, you’ll find a recipe for the Large Spirit Barn, which allows you to store up to 90 spirits. Considering there are 66 standard creatures and several boss spirits in the game, this is a luxury worth saving for. Remember: you’re purchasing the recipe, not the structure itself, so you’ll still need to gather the materials and craft it later.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Skip This Quest

Many players go through a large portion of Moonstone Island without ever unlocking the Spirit Barn or investing in spirit taming. While technically optional, skipping this system severely limits your flexibility in battle and progression in spirit collecting. Don’t make that mistake.

Unlock the Spirit Barn as early as possible. Start catching spirits, feed them, hatch them, and earn your way up the taming tree. Your future self—standing at the gates of a massive boss fight with a deep roster of leveled spirits—will thank you.

And that’s it for this essential guide. Now go build your barn and start taming the wild world of Moonstone Island!