A new currency was introduced when the Sakurajima Update came out, which is known as Dog Coin and these can be used to purchase valuable items.
Obtaining Dog Coins may be quite a challenge to some players as there are only a few ways for you to get them which requires more grinding and searching.
Once you have enough Dog Coins, a new NPC called the Medal Merchant will have some items that you may want to get your hands on.
A Mysterious Coin. Apparently there are people who collect these.
A Mimog will usually have them, but for some reason, they cannot be obtained by butchering it.
How To Get Dog Coins?
1) Defeating or Capturing Mimog
One of the fastest ways to get Dog Coins is by hunting Mimogs as these are not chests but are Pals that will quickly run away until you lose track of them.
A Mimog can be distinguished by its appearance, which looks like a chest but does not have a glow (chests usually glow purple, gold, or red) and this is a sign that it is a Mimog.
Mimogs will often be steady, which makes your first attack important or if you are sure you can capture it, tossing a good Sphere will capture it and give you loot, including Dog Coins.
2) Looting Junkyards
While this is not guaranteed all of the time, you may sometimes open up chests and they may end up having a few Dog Coins in them.
Roaming around Palpagos Island will end up with you finding multiple Junkyards, which you can interact with to get loot that may include Dog Coins.
When traveling around Sakurajima, players may often find Junkyards all over the area and the majority of these will have a good amount of this currency.
3) Opening Chests
While this is not guaranteed all of the time, you may sometimes open up chests and they may end up having a few Dog Coins in them.
Not all chests have a chest to give Dog Coins and this is randomly based on the loot tables, giving a small amount of this currency with a rare chance.
Making sure that you open chests whenever you can will end up with you finding a few Dog Coins from time to time as you explore Palpagos Island. (This includes around the island and in caves)
4) Defeating Humans
There are many factions on Palpagos Island and these are mainly humans that you will come across who are hostile towards you.
Defeating these humans often causes them to drop loot and there is a rare chance that they will drop Dog Coins when you defeat them.
This may not be the fastest way to get Dog Coins but it is still something to consider if you see enemies that you can defeat as you travel around the island.
Uses of Dog Coin
Dog Coins are used to purchase special items that are mostly available from the Medal Merchant, who only accepts this currency when you purchase from him.
Items sold by this merchant include the Mysterious Accessory Box and Box of Mystery Accessories, which allow you to increase the slots you have for accessories.
You can also purchase different hats that may be worn to change your appearance and even buy the Ring of Freight, which increases your carrying capacity.
One of the best items to purchase is the Multiclimate Undershirt, which is an accessory that helps balance your temperature so you can survive in hot or cold areas.
Elixirs are also available but one of the things to look out for are the Fruits (Life, Power, and Stout) as these can permanently raise a Pal’s stats and cannot be crafted.
The most expensive item that the Medal Merchant sells is the Concentrated All-Purpose Pal Extract, which instantly raises their rank by 1 when consumed.
Verdict
Dog Coins can be difficult to obtain during the earlier parts of the game since Mimogs often escape and getting around can take some time.
The best way to get Dog Coins appears to be searching Junkyards as these have a good chance of giving this currency and are more common than Mimogs.
A good plan for getting a lot of Dog Coins would be to roam around Sakurajima and loot Junkyards while keeping your eye out for Mimogs, Chests, and even human enemies to defeat.