Grow a Garden: How to Get and Use the Forger Pet Mutation Shard
Grow a Garden has steadily evolved from a simple farming simulator into a fully featured progression sandbox filled with crafting, exploration, pets, and even seasonal events. With every update, the game introduces new systems that add more depth to the player experience. One of the biggest recent expansions has been the crafting overhaul, which now includes dozens of recipes tied to pets, gear, Grow a Garden Items, and cosmetics. And among these additions, few items have generated as much excitement as the Forger Pet Mutation Shard—a new, foggy-white shard used to mutate pets into powerful smithing companions.
Designed to enhance your efficiency during the Smithing event, the Forger shard allows players to accelerate crafting times, making it an essential item for anyone looking to farm legendary materials, upgrade gear, or stockpile event resources. However, unlocking this shard requires planning, grinding, and a solid understanding of how the game’s crafting systems interact. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about how to obtain the Forger pet mutation shard, how to craft it, how to use it, and why it's one of the most valuable resources in Grow a Garden.
Understanding Pet Mutation Shards in Grow a Garden
Before diving into the specifics of the Forger shard, it’s helpful to understand the broader system it belongs to. Pet mutation shards were introduced to give players more control over customizing their companion creatures. Previously, pets were mostly cosmetic or offered small bonuses, but with the crafting overhaul, they can now be mutated into specialized forms.
Each mutation shard grants unique passive benefits—some increase harvesting speed, others improve fruit rarity drops, while others enhance crafting, combat, or movement. The Forger shard belongs to the crafting category and is specifically tied to the Smithing event.
Mutation shards are rare, high-value crafting items. They cannot be found randomly or earned through basic gameplay. Instead, players must collect specific ingredients and craft them through the new gear crafting station. This ensures that players feel like they’ve earned a true upgrade and allows the developers to keep the game’s progression meaningful and balanced.
What Makes the Forger Pet Mutation Shard Unique?
The Forger shard stands out from other mutation shards mainly because of its direct impact on crafting efficiency. During the Smithing event, players are tasked with creating high-tier gear and submitting legendary items to unlock exclusive rewards. The event runs on accelerated crafting timers, which makes time management a core part of the gameplay loop.
This is where the Forger shard becomes invaluable.
Benefits of the Forger Mutation:
Greatly reduces crafting time during the Smithing event
Increases efficiency when grinding for Legendary Coal
Allows players to maximize event rewards with less waiting
Synergizes with other crafting-related bonuses
While the shard itself does not serve as a universally applicable buff—since it shines primarily during the Smithing event—its benefits during that event are unmatched. Many players craft it solely to push through the event progression faster, enabling them to submit more gear, earn more currency, and unlock rare cosmetics or materials that are otherwise extremely difficult to farm.
How to Obtain the Forger Pet Mutation Shard
The Forger shard cannot be found in the wild or earned through random drops. The only way to get it is to craft it during the Smithing event. This is intentional design—tying the shard to a limited-time event ensures it remains rare, valuable, and meaningful. When the event isn’t active, the recipe disappears from the gear crafting station, so timing is everything.
Here are the exact ingredients you'll need to craft the Forger pet mutation shard:
### 1. Gem Egg
The first required item is a Gem Egg, an uncommon but attainable resource.
There are two ways to get one:
Craft it in the Pet Crafting Station
This requires basic pet materials and gems collected from harvesting high-tier plants or completing daily tasks.
Purchase it directly from the Pet Egg Shop
This option is faster but requires a bit of in-game currency.
Gem Eggs are a staple of late-game pet progression, so if you’ve been playing actively, you likely already have one or at least the materials to craft one.
2. Legendary Coal
This is the most important—and arguably the hardest—resource required for the Forger shard. Legendary Coal is exclusive to the Smithing event and is earned only through submissions.
To obtain Legendary Coal, you must submit legendary fruits, legendary pets, or legendary gear during the Smithing event. Each submission gives a chance to receive Legendary Coal, but submissions must be of legendary rarity. This makes Legendary Coal one of the rarest event resources and the main bottleneck for crafting high-end items like mutation shards.
Players often prepare for the Smithing event by stockpiling legendary items in advance. If you don’t already have legendary submissions ready, you may need to grind rare fruits or breed high-level pets to increase your chances.
3. Cleansing Pet Shard
The Cleansing Pet Shard is significantly easier to obtain than Legendary Coal and can be purchased at any time from the Gear Shop. The shard is used as a base material for multiple pet mutations, making it one of the most commonly bought items in the mid-to-late game.
You'll need at least one Cleansing Shard for the Forger mutation recipe.
4. 15 Million Sheckles
Yes, the cost is steep—but the value reflects that. You’ll need 15,000,000 Sheckles, which can be obtained by selling high-rarity fruits, processed materials, or surplus event items.
Here are some fast ways to farm Sheckles:
Sell Epic or Legendary fruits from high-level plant plots
Use pets with fruit-boosting passives to increase harvest yields
Complete daily Sheckle quests
Participate in side events that offer currency multipliers
With efficient harvesting setups, players can earn millions per hour, making the 15M requirement manageable for mid and late-game players.
Crafting the Forger Pet Mutation Shard
Once you gather all required ingredients, it’s time to craft the shard. Here’s the step-by-step breakdown:
Go to the Gear Crafting Area
This is usually located in your crafting district or hub area, depending on your map progression.
Press ‘E’ to Interact
This opens the crafting interface where recipes are listed.
Find the Forger Pet Mutation Shard
You may need to scroll or filter by “Pet Items.”
Click on the Forger Shard and Select “Craft”
A preview window will show your required ingredients.
Press ‘F’ to Submit All Materials at Once
This auto-loads your collected ingredients into the crafting slot.
Pay the 15 Million Shekels Fee
This confirms the crafting attempt and begins the timer.
Wait for the 1-Hour Crafting Time
Crafting cannot be rushed unless you use premium boosts (if available in your version of the game).
Return to Collect the Shard
After 1 hour, interact with the crafting station again to claim your new mutation shard.
The process is straightforward, but acquiring the ingredients is where most players will spend the majority of their time.
How to Use the Forger Pet Mutation Shard
Once crafted, using the shard is as easy as applying any other pet mutation item:
Open your pet menu
Select the pet you want to mutate
Choose the Mutation tab
Insert the Forger shard
Confirm the mutation
It’s important to note:
Mutation shards are consumed upon use
A mutation applies permanently unless reset with special items
Some pets may benefit more than others depending on your playstyle
If your goal is to maximize crafting efficiency during the Smithing event, make sure you apply the mutation to a pet you actively use during crafting sessions.
Is the Forger Shard Worth Crafting?
Absolutely—especially if you plan to participate in the Smithing event.
Here’s why:
Craft timers become much more manageable
You can complete more submissions in less time
You earn more Legendary Coal and event currency
You unlock top-tier gear faster
You increase your mastery of late-game crafting chains
Even players who aren’t focused on gearing can benefit, as the increased crafting output lets you generate far more resources to sell or trade cheap Grow a Garden Items. For many, the Forger shard becomes a must-have tool for long-term progression.
Final Thoughts
The Forger Pet Mutation Shard is one of the most impactful crafting additions to Grow a Garden’s expanding ecosystem. By combining challenging resource requirements with powerful crafting bonuses, the game encourages players to engage deeply with its seasonal content and progression systems. Whether you’re a veteran crafter, a competitive grinder, or simply someone who enjoys optimizing your garden and pets, the Forger shard provides meaningful value and a satisfying gameplay loop.
If you prepare ahead of the Smithing event, collect your legendary items in advance, and invest the time to farm the required currency, crafting the Forger shard becomes a rewarding accomplishment that will speed up your crafting journey for the rest of the event.
