Stardew Valley tips for beginners: farming basics, romance, upgrades, and more

2 days ago

After springing from nan mind of Eric Barone (better known arsenic ConcernedApe), Stardew Valley became a monumental occurrence successful 2016 and is still wide played to this day. Inspired by nan beloved Harvest Moon series, Stardew Valley has you return complete your precocious grandfather’s workplace successful Pelican Town. Along nan way, you tin commencement a family pinch 1 of nan bachelors aliases bachelorettes, revitalize nan organization center, and move your humble workplace into a moneymaking machine.

Stardew Valley is simply a crippled wherever you tin play for hundreds of hours and still not observe everything it has to offer, particularly pinch nan latest big 1.6 update. Beginners whitethorn find it daunting and not cognize wherever to start, truthful we’ll guideline you on nan measurement pinch nan correct tips and tricks connected really to turn a successful workplace and life successful Pelican Town.

Farming crops

Your main root of income successful Stardew Valley will inevitably beryllium farming crops, and it will besides beryllium your first source. The measurement farming useful is that you first till nan ungraded pinch a Hoe, works nan seed into nan soil, past h2o nan works pinch a Watering Can.

You must guarantee that each of your crops are watered regular truthful they don’t wilt nan adjacent morning. If it rains 1 day, your crops will beryllium watered for you truthful you tin usage stamina different ways connected that day. Eventually, you’ll beryllium capable to make Sprinklers, which thief pinch watering immensely, truthful build them arsenic soon arsenic possible. Overall, nan champion moneymaking crops are:

Spring: Strawberry, Potato, Cauliflower, Green Bean
Summer: Melon, Hops, Blueberry, Starfruit
Fall: Artichoke, Cranberry, Pumpkin, Yam

It’s besides worthy noting that not each crops tin turn year-round. Each harvest tin beryllium grown during definite times of nan year, immoderate during 1 period and others successful two. Only immoderate seeds are multiseasonal, specified arsenic nan Ancient Seeds that nutrient Ancient Fruit each twelvemonth round. Also, each harvest takes a definite magnitude of days to grow, truthful support that successful mind erstwhile planting crops adjacent nan extremity of a season. If they don’t sprout successful time, they’ll wilt successful nan adjacent play and you’ll beryllium retired of that money.

Your main root of purchasing seeds is Pierre’s General Store. Some seeds will nutrient crops only once, and others will turn aft a definite magnitude of days and enactment there, increasing much nutrient each fewer days aft harvest. It’s besides bully to cognize that from outpouring to fall, crops tin beryllium grown outside, but successful nan winter, it’s intolerable to workplace unless you usage a Greenhouse (one of nan galore Community Center upgrades).

Keeping your crops safe is important, truthful trade a Scarecrow arsenic soon arsenic possible. Crows will destruct your crops if they’re not kept successful check. You should besides support Fertilizers successful mind erstwhile you person nan money aliases materials for them since they tin summation nan value of your crops. Although you tin acquisition Fertilizer from Pierre, it’s easiest to trade Basic Fertilizer yourself utilizing 2 Sap.

Animal care

Inside a chickenhearted coop successful Stardew Valley.

Having workplace animals is different awesome measurement to earn money, arsenic you tin trade materials and navigator ingredients you get from them. Although 1 of nan workplace types you tin commencement pinch comes pinch a Coop, different workplace types unit you to prevention up nan money and materials to build 1 yourself. The Coop tin location Chickens, Ducks, and Rabbits, while nan Barn holds Cows, Goats, Pigs, Sheep, and moreover Ostriches.

You tin build your first animal building, astir apt a Coop since it’s cheaper, astatine Robin’s Carpenter Shop. Once built, you tin past speak to Marnie to nan southbound of your workplace to acquisition animals. They’ll commencement disconnected arsenic babies, and yet turn into adults that nutrient equipment specified arsenic Eggs, Wool, Milk, Truffles, etc.

Keeping your animals happy is nan cardinal to bully value animal products. To make them happy, pet them each day, bring them extracurricular connected sunny days, but wrong connected rainy days, and provender them utilizing Hay. You tin get Hay by building a Silo (it requires Clay, which is annoying to get) to clasp nan Hay that you harvest aft utilizing your Scythe to clear distant gangly writer connected your farm. Make judge to banal up connected Hay earlier wintertime since caller writer won’t turn aft harvesting.

You’ll besides person to support your animals lukewarm pinch a Heater during nan winter, aliases other they won’t beryllium happy (you tin bargain 1 from Marnie). Otherwise, you tin breed animals alternatively of conscionable buying them. For this to happen, you must upgrade your Coop aliases Barn to a Big type (through Robin).

Also, make judge that you person room for much babies to fresh successful your buildings, and that you person 1 antheral and female type of nan aforesaid animal. Pregnancy is random, truthful you’ll conscionable person to hold for it to happen. But successful Coops, you tin usage nan incubator to turn Chickens aliases Ducks.

Artisan Goods

You should besides group up ways to create Artisan Goods connected your farm. Different types of machines and objects tin trade pricier equipment that return clip to make, but they usage nan items you already person connected your farm. The only instrumentality that does each nan activity for you is Bee Houses, which will nutrient Wild Honey each 4 days.

In summation to Bee Houses, processors for illustration Casks tin create Wine aliases Beer utilizing consequence and Wheat, Kegs usage fruits and vegetables to make a assortment of beverages, and Preserves Jars move vegetables into pickled equipment and fruits into jams. The champion equipment to make for nan astir magnitude of golden would beryllium Caviar, Wine, Pale Ale, and Dried Fruit.

Instead of conscionable trading your animal products arsenic is, you should move them into amended goods. Use nan Cheese Press to make Cheese from Milk, nan Mayonnaise Machine to make Mayonnaise utilizing Eggs, an Oil Maker to make Truffle Oil utilizing Truffles, and a Loom to move Wool into Cloth.

We besides urge choosing nan Mushroom cave alternatively of nan Fruit Bats erstwhile fixed nan prime from Demetrius aft earning 25,000 gold. This way, you tin move mushrooms into Dried Mushrooms utilizing a Dehydrator. You besides person a Dehydrator for free by choosing nan mushroom cave, which is simply a bonus.

The past bully accumulation instrumentality is nan Fish Smoker, which makes, you guessed it, Smoked Fish. Once you study how to fish, you’ll want to quickly bring them to nan Community Center aliases sel; them. If you for illustration to waste fish, putting them successful nan Fish Smoker doubles their trading price.

Gifts and romance

A wedding successful Stardew Valley. The subordinate characters is marrying Haley, who's successful a bridal gown. They're opinionated underneath an arch pinch each nan townsfolk watching.

Stardew Valley has a full formed of characters consenting to return your gifts, which will thief turn your narration pinch them. Only immoderate of nan residents are romanceable, but everyone is unfastened to gifts. Just clasp nan point you want to springiness them and interact pinch them.

The personification will respond successful a measurement to fto you cognize if they liked aliases hated nan item, arsenic each residents person definite likes and dislikes. Reading our gift guide tin thief you fig retired which villager likes what items, paving a quicker way to romance for you and 1 fortunate suitor.

To commencement a romanticist narration pinch someone, you request to person a full of 8 hearts pinch them, and you person to gift them a Bouquet (available astatine Pierre’s General Store). This will unlock nan ninth and 10th hearts. Once you scope 10 hearts, you tin gift them a Mermaid’s Pendant to commencement a marriage.

You tin acquisition this point from nan Old Mariner for 5,000 gold, and it will look connected nan formation successful nan area past nan surgery span that costs 300 wood to repair. He’ll besides show up astatine nan Night Market during nan wintertime season.

Upon marrying your spouse, they will travel unrecorded pinch you astatine your house. From there, their bosom metre opens up to 14 hearts, and you tin yet person children pinch them. To person a child, upgrade your Farmhouse doubly to person nan nursery and hold for your spouse to inquire for a child. Once your kid reaches nan Toddler stage, nan past shape of development, you tin moreover effort for a second.

Mining and combat

Fighting slimes successful nan mines of Stardew Valley.

You’ll often walk your days heavy wrong nan mines collecting ores, jewels, and monster drops aft slaying vulnerable creatures. On Spring 5 successful your first year, you’ll unlock nan Mines, which person a full of 120 floors. The deeper you go, nan much vulnerable nan monsters become.

Starting from nan first floor, excavation each nan rocks pinch your Pickaxe until a ladder appears to return you to nan adjacent level. You do this pinch each level unless you’ve crafted stairs that tin return you down a floor. The mines tin beryllium surgery down into 4 abstracted sections pinch unsocial themes.

The first section, floors 1-39, is wherever you tin get Copper, Amethyst, Quartz, and Topaz and has an earthy theme. Floors 40-79 are frozen-themed and incorporate Iron Ore Aquaramines, Frozen Tears, and Jade, while Diamonds commencement to look starting astatine level 50. Finally, floors 80-120 are lava-themed and commonly person Gold, while besides containing Rubies, Fire Quartz, and Emeralds.

Throughout each nan levels you’ll person nan chance to get Geodes from rocks; Normal Geodes successful nan first section, Frozen Geodes successful nan second, and Magma Geodes successful nan third. Once you’re retired of nan mines, return your Geodes to Clint astatine nan Blacksmith to unfastened them astatine nan costs of 25 gold. We urge you return each caller mineral recovered to nan Museum aliases Community Center, and past aft that, you tin commencement trading them.

Not only are you mining for items successful nan mines, but fighting disconnected monsters arsenic well. You’ll commencement pinch a Rusty Sword, but eventually, you tin find aliases acquisition amended weapons. On each mining trip, support immoderate farming items astatine location and only bring essentials: a Pickaxe, a weapon, a fewer torches, and nutrient for treatment yourself. Upgrading your Combat accomplishment is basal since you’ll commencement to unlock useful items for illustration nan Warrior Ring (increases your Attack) and Bug Steak (turns Bug Meat into food).

Community Center

Once you unlock nan Community Center, you tin commencement to put items successful bundles to unlock basal rewards. There are 2 different routes you tin return pinch nan Community Center: Revitalizing it aliases turning it into a JojaMart. We highly urge you debar turning it into a JojaMart; it’s nan worst way to return for Pelican Town.

Restoring nan Community Center makes Pierre’s General Store enactment unfastened each time of nan week (instead of closing each Wednesday), and going this way doesn’t make you deny nan adorable Junimos who person worked difficult to support nan building alive. If you do spell nan JojaMart route, each bundles tin beryllium unlocked utilizing gold, but it’s not worthy it.

Knowing which bundles to unlock first tin beryllium tricky, but present are arguably nan astir important donations to complete:

Pantry: The bundles successful nan Pantry room are important to unlock earlier your first winter. Once completed, you’ll unlock nan Greenhouse truthful you tin turn crops year-round.
Vault: After spending a full of 42,500 golden connected unlocking these 4 bundles, you get nan autobus repaired, allowing you to return trips to Calico Desert.
Boiler Room: This room will assistance you nan expertise to usage minecarts to easy recreation betwixt a fewer notable locations crossed Pelican Town.

Multiplayer

Four Stardew Valley players riding horses successful Winter.

The bully news is that you don’t person to play Stardew Valley alone! You tin commencement a co-op multiplayer workplace pinch up to 7 different friends online if you’re playing connected PC aliases console. Unfortunately, nan mobile type doesn’t support co-op. As a reminder, location is nary cross-platform support, truthful you must play pinch friends who are connected nan aforesaid strategy arsenic you.

From nan main menu, prime nan Co-op action and past whoever wants to beryllium nan big tin create a caller game. In nan characteristic creation menu, you’ll beryllium fixed nan action connected nan left-hand broadside to adhd cabins to your farm. Put capable cabins for each subordinate who will beryllium connected your game. If you want to commencement a co-op crippled connected a single-player prevention file, you tin still do that. Just conception a compartment done Robin’s Carpentry shop for 100 gold.

Mods

For those playing connected a PC, downloading mods is an action if you’re uncovering that nan normal gameplay is getting stale. Some of nan best Stardew Valley mods are Stardew Valley Expanded, Lookup Anything, and NPC Map Locations, among galore others.

But really tin you play this farming simulator pinch mods? It’s easier than you think, but you’ll request to download thing first:

Download nan astir caller type of SMAPI.
Once downloaded, extract nan ZIP file.
Inside nan file, unfastened nan installation record depending connected your Operating System (Windows/Mac/Linux).
Follow nan instructions fixed and hold for SMAPI to instal successful your Stardew Valley game.
Find nan SMAPI launcher successful your files (on Steam right-click Stardew Valley and prime Browse section files), right-click, and prime Create shortcut.

Now you tin easy entree your modded type of Stardew Valley arsenic a abstracted launcher from your normal game. The champion spot to download mods is from NexusMods. Once you find nan mods you want, you tin spot them successful their designated mods files successful nan aforesaid location arsenic nan SMAPI launcher (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley/Mods).

Once you’ve unzipped nan mod, resistance and driblet it into your mods files and that’s each it takes. Whenever you load SMAPI, it’ll fto you cognize if it cannot tally a definite mod and it will besides automatically update mods if it tin find them.