Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Cecil Terwilliger has returned to Springfield to make amends…not almonds, despite what Homer thinks. And in an effort to save himself from being ridden out of Springfield on the back of a horse he’s convinced the town to let him build a Monsarno Research Campus right in Springfield! This way the residents of Springfield can benefit from all the advantages of GMO veggies!
So, now that you have the back story let’s talk about Monsarno Research. Monsarno is basically the key to the entire event. Once you build it you’ll unlock the event in Springfield, including the ability to craft items. To craft items you’ll need Corn and Fertilizer. One way you’ll get more Corn and Fertilizer is by sending characters on various tasks for these items. And the way to unlock these character tasks? Leveling up your Monsarno Research Center! Whew! I feel like that took a really long time to get to that point…
Now that Act 2 has arrived it’s opened up a TON of Leveling up options for Monsarno…an infinite number in fact! So we gave you a quick breakdown of what each level does in the Act 2 Rundown Post. But I know you guys are all about the bass details…so it’s time to get more specific (before the angry mob shows up at my door for not posting this any sooner!). So let’s take a closer look at what it takes and what happens when you Level Up Monsarno during Act 2…
Before I get into the Act 2 Level Up Details…let’s quickly recap the Leveling up basics for those that have may have forgotten…
How Do I Upgrade?
Well it’s pretty simple really. You have two ways to upgrade your Monsarno Research Center. You can either tap on the event menu (remember you access that via the Knife Trophy on the bottom right of your screen…icon looks like this: 
). And the last item listed is the Monsarno Upgrade screen:
See the Research Center Icon? That’s the one you’ll want to be on.
You can also upgrade by tapping on Monsarno Research and hit the upgrade button. This will take you right to the Event Guide and the Upgrade screen.
What’s Needed to Upgrade?
Fertilizer and Corn. The same stuff needed for Crafting. Different amounts are needed to upgrade to a new level. (we’ll get to that in a minute)
And now…let’s look at the new stuff….
What Happens When I Upgrade?
Well, at each upgrade point you’ll unlock more stuff. This stuff could be tasks to earn items, new craftable items or higher payouts on existing tasks. Here’s a look at what you’ll earn at each Level:
Remember for a list of who’s in which group check out Bunny’s post on Cecil’s Daily tasks.
For a recap of Levels 1-7 check out the Act 1 Level Up guide
Level 8 will unlock a task for High Rollers to get DNA
Level 9 will increase your Corn payout for tasks
Level 10 will unlock a job for Kooks to get Fertilizer
Level 11 will increase Fertilizer rewards
Level 12 will unlock a job for Brainiacs to get DNA AND award the Monsarno Library for free
Level 13 will increase DNA rewards from jobs
Level 14 will unlock a job for Civil Servants to get Corn AND award Monsarno Human Resources for free.
Level 15 will increase Corn Rewards from Jobs
Level 16 will Unlock a Job for Celebrities to get DNA
Level 17 will increase Fertilizer Rewards from Jobs
Level 18 will increase Corn Rewards from Jobs
Level 19 will increase DNA Rewards from Jobs
Level 20 + will increase Fertilizer, Corn and DNA Rewards from Jobs
There is no cap on level upgrades for Act 2…so you won’t reach the max.
How Much Does It Cost to Upgrade at Each Level?
Here’s the breakdown…
| Level | Fertilizer | Corn | Reward |
| 8 | 1050 | 175 | Highrollers for DNA |
| 9 | 1200 | 200 | Increases Corn Payout from jobs |
| 10 | 1350 | 225 | Kooks for Fertilizer |
| 11 | 1500 | 250 | Increases Fertilizer Payout from jobs |
| 12 | 1650 | 275 | Brainiacs for DNA + Library |
| 13 | 1800 | 300 | Increases DNA Payout from jobs |
| 14 | 1950 | 325 | Civil Servants for Corn + Human Resources |
| 15 | 2100 | 350 | Increases Corn Payout from jobs |
| 16 | 2250 | 375 | Celebrities for DNA |
| 17 | 2400 | 400 | Increases Fertilizer Payout from jobs |
| 18 | 2550 | 425 | Increases Corn Payout from jobs |
| 19 | 2700 | 450 | Increases DNA Payout from jobs |
| 20 | 2850 | 475 | Increases DNA, Fertilizer & Corn Payout from Jobs |
| 21+ | 150 Each lvl | 25 Each level | Increases DNA, Fertilizer & Corn Payout from Jobs |
What Are the Payouts for the Character Tasks?
Here’s the breakdown, broken out by item (otherwise the chart would be huge)
Fertilizer Tasks
| Task | Length | Earns Lvls 7-10 | Earns Lvls 11-16 | Earns Lvl 17-19 | Earns Lvl 20 | Earns Lvl 21 |
| Dimwits for Fertilizer | 8hrs | 14  |
18 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
| Pessimists for Fertilizer | 4hrs | 8 |
10 |
13 |
13 |
14 |
| Senions for Fertilizer | 2hrs | 5 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
| Kooks for Fertilizer | 1hr | 3 (unlocks Lvl 10) |
4 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
Corn Tasks
| Task | Length | Earns Lvls 7-8 | Earns Lvls 9-14 | Earns Lvls 15-17 | Earns Lvl 18-19 | Earns Lvl 20 | Earns Lvl 21 |
| Gluttons for Corn | 16hrs | 9  |
14 |
18 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
| Youngsters for Corn | 8hrs | 5 |
8 |
10 |
13 |
13 |
14 |
| Criminals for Corn | 4hrs | 3 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
| Civil Servants for Corn | 2hrs | n/a | 3 (unlocks Lvl 14) |
4 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
DNA Tasks
| Task | Length | Earns Lvls 7-12 | Earns Lvls 13-18 | Earns Lvl 19 | Earns Lvl 20 | Earns Lvl 21 |
| Highrollers for DNA | 12hrs | 5  |
8 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
| Brainiacs for DNA | 6hrs | 3 (Unlocks Lvl 12) | 5 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
| Celebrities for DNA | 3hrs | n/a | 3 (Unlocks Lvl 16) |
4 |
5 |
5 |
What Happens When I’ve Reached the Max Level?
There is no Max Level in this one…so be careful and don’t burn all your resources on upgrading to get to the Max, cause you won’t reach it.
If There’s No Max Level, When Should I Stop?
That’s really up to you. You’ve got to decide which tasks/payout upgrades you want & what’s worth it to you. However, I do recommend NOT upgrading past Level 19. As you can see the increase from 19 to 20 and 20 to 21 are pretty small, and IMO not worth the resources to upgrade there.
So Fertilizer and Corn Are Required for BOTH Crafting and Upgrading, Which Should We Focus On?
I’ve been saying it since Act 1…Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade! The more tasks/characters you have earning for you the better off you’ll be.
However, there was one exception to this…and it involved the Farmer’s Market. My advice was, if you were close to getting the Farmer’s Market (like a couple thousand away), I would continue working towards crafting that to get it out of your way and then you can focus on the new items. BUT that was just my opinion and what I would do. At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what you think is best for you.
What About the New Monsarno Buildings, How Do I Craft Those/What’s Up With Them?
As noted above Levels 12 and 14 will unlock new Monsarno Buildings.
At Level 12 you’ll unlock the Monsarno Library:
You’ll be given one for free once you reach Level 12…
And you can craft additional ones via the crafting Menu. Here’s what’s required to craft more Libraries…
1,600
200
At Level 14 you’ll unlock Monsarno Human Resources
You’ll also be given one for free once you reach Level 14…
And you can craft additional ones via the crafting Menu. Here’s what’s required to craft more HR Buildings…
4,250
2,100
So if you like them and want more than 1 you can continue to craft after you’ve gotten your free ones.
And that my friends concludes the info on the Monsarno Research Upgrades for Act Two!
What are your thoughts on upgrading? Have you upgraded yet? Thoughts on the character tasks associated with earning more fertilizer, DNA and corn? What are your thoughts on the event overall so far? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!
I could have sworn I had upgraded to Level 17 and last night I saw I dropped back down to Level 15. Now I’m wasting valuable resources getting back up there. Has anyone else experienced this or something similar?
Yeah. To me this has been one of the hardes events. Mostly cost the upgrade currency is the same as crafting, so they make you decide!
IGN: Dannyhppk
How come mare’s mom is not a senior?
That’s an excellent question…for EA. 😉
I’m also surprised that Don Vittorio isn’t a senior OR a criminal! And Freddy Quimby isn’t a high roller. I wonder if EA left some characters out so people couldn’t get all the currency they need so quickly.
The fact that princess Penelope is considered a civil servant befuddles me lol but who knows
Roastbeats – I was confused by that, too, until Alissa (or Bunny?) pointed out that she’s a real princess, so I guess that, as that makes her the head of some kind or part of government. So it actually does make sense! 🙂
After Act 1 I was not too far from Farmer’s market – but decided to upgrade instead. I’m at 16 now and I’ll probably go to 17 for increased fertiliser – then I’m going to start saving for the market. With research at level 17 I should have it in 6-7 days.
I think I’m going to upgrade to 17 then just go hell for leather on upgrading see what I get , by that point I should have enough corn to get most things and enough time to get fertiliser and DNS to match once Ivey celebs onboard. On a separate note, I didn’t manage to screen shot it, but I just saw a zombie dancing with a ghost!! Maud Flanders has really come out of her skin since dying!
Any one else go from earning 5 masks to 3? This started at some point yesterday
Yea it’s going around, we’re trying to figure out what happened…since no update hit that would have dropped it.
For me Fertiliser is still the hardest item to get, so I’m going to upgrade to Level 17 and leave it there, unless I find later that I have plenty of Fertiliser but need more of the other items, I which case I’ll have a rethink.
TBH now that I’ve seen the Gas Station I’m less bothered about getting the Farmers Market. I do think that this event is proving to be the hardest one I’ve played in terms of being able to get all the “free” prizes.
I stated playing during Clash Of The Clones and missed out on a couple of things simply because I wasn’t far enough into the game to have the required characters. However since Halloween 2014 I’ve been able to get all the event prizes and craft at least one of everything available in an event. This time I’m not so sure…
I upgraded and I am definitely happy I did. I can see a larger event income coming in, and some characters who got no event currency now do. It’s an investment, and like any investment, paying in early yields higher results.
Severely lacking fertiliser, still 5k short for the market, wondering if I should upgrade to level up, currently on upgrade level 8
upgrade. You’ll want the boosted fertilizer gains and the extra tasks to make it through the event.
I am at Monsarno lvl 18 and will upgrade to lvl 19, then concentrate on crafting items. Suppose I need to make a list of what I want and what I earn to properly distribute tasks so that I do not end up with too much of one thing and not enough of something else. I am happy with my choice and really appreciate all the info posted here.
WARNING: a few of my characters (as someone else noted) go directly to daily tasks and I have to scroll up to see the 2-hour Monsarno tasks.
Any suggestions on what’s the ideal level to stop upgrading the herbicide squirter?
Coming up. Keep an eye on the site 😉
What is meant by “human resources ” at level 14?
Scroll down further in the post…you’ll see it’s a Monsarno building you get.
Is it just me or is the Monsarno red walls crazy expensive to craft
Thanks so much guys! The payout tables are exactly what I’ve been waiting for. You guys are ace.
Just curious, is anyone experiencing constant crashing? I can’t even log into my game without ring shutout completely… Tried resetting and reinstalling and everything… Nada
This is a highly active game. Your device is being pushed to the limits. Help it out.
Make sure you are on a good, steady, stable WiFi signal. Make sure you got lots of room on your device. Close/Kill all other apps on your device before launching this one to make sure it is the only one running.
In game… Store items not in use, like NPC, buildings, decos. Keep the rest of the Characters inside as much as possible. The less going on when you enter your game, the less pixels your device has to try n piece together every time you access the game and move around within the game.
Thanks Alissa. Somehow I missed it. I’m almost there so should get it soon. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer all of our questions. You guys rock!
I am a lil more fluffy… so I may roll more than rock. 😉
When does Mr. Teeny’s additional task unlock? It’s associated with the upgrading as well right and does he earn anything for the quest?
Celebrities for DNA..
You must upgrade your Monsarno to lvl 16 to get quest for Mr. Teeny.
I know this has been talked to death already, but I am interested to ask what everyone’s strategy who doesn’t yet have the Farmer’s Market is in terms of leveling up the Monsaro building.
I upgraded to level 11 to unlock the fertilizer rewards but I am wondering if I should bite the bullet and upgrade to level 12 so I can collect more DNA as well. I am hesitant because it eats up more of my fertilizer without giving me a way to make it up faster (as level 11 did). But I did forget I should also be collecting DNA.
Short version, what is everyone’s strategy here? I am interested to hear! 🙂
Also, thank you so much to the addicts for giving us this information and answering hundreds of frantic comments over the last few days, we appreciate it! 🙂
I went ahead and upgraded to level 17 today. Was debating whether it was worth it, but I will earn fertilizer faster this way. Don’t plan on upgrading anymore. Also wanted to unlock all the buildings and max the job earnings. Haven’t crafted anything yet, but hope to craft the farmer’s market since it adds to consumerism which I’m still half a star short on. DNA is very slow to accumulate! I usually do pretty well on these events, but not being able to craft anything is frustrating. 🙁
Crafting to me is a “to do at the end” thing. You collect and collect to see what you can acquire and how fast, then decide what is worth it to YOU to make. Make a goal, when you hit it, buy that item. Then make another.
It’s all customizable play. No one has to follow a set rule when it comes to crafting. Just an added element of “if you want this… you need that”.
I upgraded this morning, I started at 12,000 fertilizer and went up to level 11. I didn’t get to check in every hour today but I did pretty good and managed to get back 1500 already. I’ll get that farmer’s market eventually!
I earned my farmers market this morning and around noon I earned the minimum security prison ( not sure why EA thought we needed another one). I’ve earned over 800 fertilizers since crafting market and I’ll be able to upgrade soon. I’m in good shape! I’ve also noticed I’m receiving much more seeds than I was a week ago, again….good shape!
Thank you for all your hard work in keeping everyone informed and answering so many questions. Your hard work is appreciated and if I could send you my famous carrot cake, I would!
Val
Finally got the farmers market today but after all that grinding away there is still a 24 hour build time. Boourns.
Beginning this afternoon, after I finished Cecil’s daily tasks I believe, the Mutant Sideshow Bob Veggies started awarding only 3 gas masks instead of 5. Anyone else notice this?
Yup it’s going around…we’re looking into it.
I am also experiencing this 3 instead of 5 ……. Thank u in advance Team for looking into it 👍🏼much appreciated …… #keeprocking 😉
Thanks for the Charts 🙂 though it going to be hard crafting anything between the upgardes and just getting time to play the game around.
Does upgrading the Monsarno Research decrease the payout of gas masks when tapping the sideshow bob clones?
I’ve just upgraded to level 11 and now I’m only getting 3 gas masks and some additional fertilizer/corn/dna..
before upgrading (level 7) i got 5 gas masks and I also read in the first post on act 2 that the payout should be 5
sorry if i’ve overlooked it in another post, but it’s just really frustrating that I’m now 9 gas masks short in getting the prison and I really have to sleep now!
Nope, you should be getting 5 no matter what level Monsarno is
I am also only getting 3 now, I was getting 5 earlier
Yup it’s going around…we’re looking into it.
I am also only earning 3 gas masks for the clones
I am seeing the same thing. I am only getting three gas masks per veggie. Should we contact EA?
Hold off tonight because you’ll only get overseas support. We’re seeing it too and looking into it as well..
Me Too!! 3 gas masks instead of 5 for a couple of hours now at lest – I’m using an Android version if that makes any difference
So can we confirm that it’s happening to some and not others? If it’s near universal then I wont bother trying to contact EA. Being non-US player, it’s an quite a chore to go through their help system, but if it’s only affecting some then I might have to.
I will be getting in touch with them when they open tomorrow to see what is going on and report back. 😉
the weird thing is we have got no update and the files still says 5. and it happened with Cecil’s tasks going to 150. no update. no change in the files. it just happened. what’s going on?
Looking into it. 😉
I’m only getting 3 as well. And not sure but the spawn rate seems to have slowed down too, but like I said not sure about that. Think they’re trying to slow us down because it seems like they were coming real fast in the beginning?
Yup it’s going around…we’re looking into it.
me too, i didn’t realize it until i came here
Im having the same issue. Started about 2 hours ago…
I’m Glad I upgraded and nixed the idea of the farmers market. More tasks to earn and I click in around 1000 fertilizer daily so I can make up for all I lost I believe
Thank-you you for taking the time and posting that for us, very nicely done.
I hope EA adds a row of land in the back & one on the side & soon, there’s been a ton of new content with these last few events & don’t mind the grind but I’m storing tons of items I previously grinded for just to fit this new stuff. -_-
Great article (Tappers should take note of the useful tips) 🙂
Now that I have Springfield Farmer’s Market? I can get right back into leveling up my Monsarno Research Center!
The more tasks/characters you have earning for you, the quicker yoi will earn more Fertilizer and Corn (and you need lots of these) …
I just saw Gil roaming around one my neighbors.. I haven’t seen any mention of Gil in this event.
Either it’s a glitch…or your neighbor is playing a hacked game
Hi Alissa think you make a great point – it’s not possible in this event to give a 100% successful strategy to everyone as it depends where we are in our games. It also depends on how we play them as well. For me, my most easy one was the Stonecutters – others found that difficult. However subsequent ones that others were racing ahead with I found alomst impossible. Also I’ve been playing for 18 months, have never house farmed, but have all off the large items and almost all land available with 13M cash to spare – and I’ve seen those who have farmed seeing the future v d daunting. Really appreciate your info and hugs from Newcastle in the UK 🙂
Well thank you for the kind words 🙂
Characters that doesnt belong to any group:
(Send then to 24hrs tasks!)
Marge, Carl, Kirk, dr. Monroe, mrs. Muntz, Sanjay, Smithers, Cocoa Beanie, Miss Hoover, Stampy, Zutroy, Mindy, Number one, Dr. Colossus, Radioactive Man, Fallout Boy, The Collider, Plopper, Petroleus Rex, BHL, Luan, Dewey Largo, Don Vittorio, Frank G., Mrs. Bouvier, Princess Kashimir, French waiter, Number 51, kumiko, matt G, King Winter, Francesca, Dame Underdunk
(Do you know about any other char ?)
then I ask EA:
Why dr. Monroe is not an Entrepreneur?
Why Mindy is not a Glutton?
Why BHL is not a High Roller?
Why Mrs. Bouvier is not a Senior?
Why Don Vittorio is not a Senior and a Criminal?
Why Dewey Largo is not a Senior ?
Why Number One is not a High Roller and a Senior?
Why Dr. Colossus is not a Criminal?
Why Petroleus Rex is not a Criminal?
Why Number 51 is not a Kook?
Why King Winter is not a Kook?
hehehe