What to know
- Essence of Life drops naturally from plants, animals, and exploration
- It’s abundant early-game and doesn’t require rare farming routes
- Its main purpose is trading with Rootling (Kweebec) merchants
- You’ll earn plenty just by gathering, fighting, and exploring
Hytale features several essence types, and Essence of Life is the one you’ll encounter almost immediately. You don’t need special tools or progression to start collecting it, which makes it an important early-game currency and progression aid.
Details of Essence of life in Hytale
| Topic | Info |
|---|---|
| What Essence of Life is | A common life-energy resource / currency in Hytale. |
| Where to find it | Everywhere there’s plant life or creatures – nature, forests, animals. |
| Best farming routes | Harvest plants, defeat animals, open chests during exploration. |
| How to use it | Trade with Rootling Merchants for consumables and items. |
| Best tips | Spend on useful items / check merchant stock cycles. |

Essence of Life location in Hytale: Where to find it
In the grasslands biome, the spawn island, find Wheat or mature Wheat plants. Maximum number of harvestable wheat is located in barren areas of the map. By barren we mean, where you cannot see any trees/vegetation on the map. Like the marked out areas.

How to find Essence of Life in Hytale
You don’t need a dedicated farm setup to build a good supply, but some methods are noticeably faster. Wheat fields are one of the fastest low-effort sources, especially early on when combat gear is limited.
Step 1: Explore for wheat
Explore open plains and grassland biomes where wheat spawns in clusters rather than single plants.

Step 2: Harvest wheat
Harvest wheat continuously while moving instead of clearing one spot completely. This keeps your collection speed high.

Step 3: Get Essence of Life
Ignore replanting early on if your goal is Essence accumulation rather than farming progression. Combine wheat harvesting with exploration so you also collect Essence from grass, bushes, and occasional chests along the way.

This method builds Essence rapidly without risk or tool requirements.
According to Hytale Update 1 – Corn now gives 1 Essence Of Life instead of 4 when exchanged in the Farming Bench as it was previously misconfigured making it better than higher tier crops.
How creature hunting adds up naturally
Animals drop Essence of Life on defeat, making routine hunting doubly rewarding. You’ll gain food materials and Essence at the same time, which is ideal during early exploration loops.
How to Use Essence of Life
Trading with the Rootling Merchant
Once you reach the Forgotten Temple and access the hub area, you’ll find an NPC known as the Rootling Merchant. This merchant uses Essence of Life as currency. You can purchase:
- Raw and cooked food items
- Ingredients and basic supplies
- Rotating inventory goods (refreshes periodically)
Rootling Merchants can also be found in Kweebec villages where you trade Essence of Life for useful supplies.
Crafting Farming & Animal Tools
At a Farmer’s Workbench, Essence of Life becomes an important ingredient in several utility items that help you manage farms and animals:
- Feed Bag: Attracts animals to an area; requires a mix of wheat, vegetables, fruit, and Essence of Life.
- Capture Crate: Lets you capture and relocate small animals; crafted using wood and a larger amount of Essence of Life.
- Seeds & Farm Items: Many seed bags and farming essentials can be purchased with Essence of Life, and using these seeds to grow crops yields more Essence of Life.
These tools don’t “tame” animals like in some games but let you control, move, and herd them more effectively.
Where to Spend Essence of Life
- Forgotten Temple HUB: Trade for food and survival supplies.
- Rootling Merchant in Kweebec Villages: Rotating stock of ingredients and consumables.
- Farmer’s Workbench: Craft seeds, Feed Bags, Capture Crates, and other farming tools.
Essence of Life is not typically used for weapons, armor, or high-end crafting—those rely on other materials like Essence of the Void or Voidhearts.
Farming Tips & Best Practices
- Plant & Harvest Crops Efficiently: Farming mature crops not only gives food but also generates Essence of Life, often more than you spend on seed bags.
- Mix Gathering Activities: Combine harvesting, tree cutting, and hunting animals in your routine to keep your Essence of Life stores steady without extra farming sessions.
- Spend Often: The Rootling Merchant’s inventory rotates, so spending Essence of Life frequently ensures you don’t miss useful items that might sell out.
Essence of Life is intended to be a flowing resource, earned naturally as part of regular gameplay and spent on life-supporting tools and supplies rather than hoarded like rare crafting materials.
Thanks for taking the time to go through this how to get and use Essence of Life guide for Hytale. If it helped you understand things better, do share your thoughts, impressions, or doubts in the comments section. We keep a close watch and try to respond promptly to ensure you always get the support you need.