Released way back in February of 2016, Stardew Valley is a much-loved game. It’s been ported to all current consoles as well as being available on PC. Even though it has been out for three years, the developer, Concerned Ape, has promised to keep working on the game to make it better and provide more content for it.
One such update is the addition of multiplayer capability. Not all platforms have gotten it yet, but now is a great time to get a friend or two into this game or pick it back up if you put it down for a while. So, whether you’re rusty or getting some newbies to play with you, here are ten tips and long term goals for beginners.
10 Take the Time to Meet the Townsfolk
It might seem like a wasted chore, but you need to go ahead and introduce yourself to everyone in tiny Pelican Town. Not only does this clear a quest from your list, but, once you do this, you can do quests for the townsfolk and be able to start making friends.
As you build your friendships, you can receive special gifts from people such as recipes that you won’t be able to get elsewhere. In addition, you’ll need to have introduced yourself to start laying the groundwork for wooing a potential spouse. Your choice of spouse is important and we’ll talk about it a bit later.
9 Complete Quests Given Directly To You
Sometimes, instead of putting up jobs on the board outside of Pierre’s shop, the townspeople will give them to you directly. This either happens through the mail, or the person will mention it while speaking to you.
It would behoove you to complete these quests, in particular, as they build a good deal of friendship with the quest giver, have a nice payout, and are, more often than not, fairly simple. There will be plenty of time as you play through the game to complete these quests, as they do not expire and you can complete them at any moment you have the time.
8 Stockpile Your Seasonal Foraging
Every season, there are different sets of four items that appear throughout the town, the surrounding woods, and your farm for you to forage. It might be tempting to throw them right into the bin to sell, but they aren’t worth enough to worry about.
It's also not really worth it to convert them into seasonal seeds either. Instead, you should be saving them. Given that you can find them in abundance, it’ll be relatively easy to harvest a good amount. Stash these away, as you can turn them into money-making products with the artisan equipment, a stack of snacks for going into the mines, and for use in the collections.
7 Start the Collections At the Community Center ASAP
Early on, you get access to the ruins of the community center, its mysterious plaques and inhabitants. As soon as you’re able to start bringing items to the center, do it! You might be wondering why, as this sort of seems like something to pursue deep into the gameplay experience. It could be, if you so choose, but the rewards for completing the pieces of the collections and then the finished collection itself are quite important and useful.
If you are diligent, it should take only a few seasons to complete the easier ones that give you a leg up by giving you extra items that are expensive to craft.
6 Upgrade Your Farming Tools In the Winter
As tempting as it might be to hurry over to Clint the Blacksmith to upgrade your tools as soon as you have the materials to do, but you should resist the urge! Spring, Summer, and Fall are the most productive times of the year for your hoe, watering can, scythe, and ax. It can take a couple of days to upgrade these tools and even a single day wasted can mean a large setback for your plans.
So, save up your materials and upgrade them during the winter when these tools get little to no use with a focus on your water can. This way they are shiny and ready to go by the time Spring rolls around.
5 Prioritize Upgrading Your Mining Tools in the Warmer Seasons
Spring, Summer, and Fall are the best times to upgrade your mining tools. These valuable tools—your pickaxe and sword that you take you with you into the depths of the mines—are crucial. They should be one of your top priorities for upgrades. These tools will keep you alive as you get into the deeper, more difficult floors of the mine and allow you to mine quicker and for longer.
This being the case, you’ll want to upgrade them as quickly as possible and make them a priority over your farming tools. You’ll need the materials gained from the mines to further your farm and make it the most productive that it can be.
4 Have Plenty of Artisan Equipment
Stardew Valley is all about setting long-term goals and working towards them. One such goal should be a focus on acquiring lots of Artisan Equipment for your farm. This term describes the mayonnaise machine, the bee house, the preserves jar, the cheese press, the loom, the keg, the oil maker, and the cask. The things that will make you rich in Stardew Valley are the products gained from these machines.
Cheeses, jams, pickled veggies, juices, wines, mead, and pale ale are all big-ticket items that bring in big money. This is what will carry you through the winter when you can’t farm anything.
3 Preparing Your Animals For Winter
In the last entry, it was recommended to have lots of Artisan Equipment. Obviously, to make use of many of those machines, you’ll need milk, eggs, truffles, and wool from your farm animals. You’re going to want the best materials from your animals, as this will then produce the best artisanal products, so you’ll need to keep your animals happy.
In the warm months, let the grass grow wild on your farm until it's absolutely covered. Then, in the fall, harvest it all for your silos. This way you’ll have plenty of hay for them to eat. Don’t forget to purchase a heater for all of the animals and pet them all every single day. This will keep them happy and give you the best products.
2 Get the Kitchen Expansion
Getting the kitchen expansion to your house might not seem like an important thing to put on your to-do list, but it plays a crucial role if you want to conquer the mines. The mines get far more dangerous the further you progress, and the mines out in the desert are even more treacherous and difficult.
As you fight stronger foes and expend energy to mine resources, you’ll need to keep your strength up. Recipes prepared in the kitchen provide far more health and energy than munching on forage. In addition, some dishes will grant you useful bonuses as well.
1 Getting Married
Last but not least, a goal that you always want to keep in mind as you go through the game is the spouse you’ll pick from the townsfolk. There are many eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in Pelican Town, and, if you’ve taken one as your spouse, they’ll perform various chores around your farm.
However, there is one that is better than the rest. Abigail, the rebellious daughter of Pierre, is the one to wed in this game. She not only waters your crops, but she feeds your animals, too. Her favorite things include amethyst, pumpkins, pufferfish, spicy eel, chocolate cake, and blackberry cobbler, so be sure to give her one of these when you see her to build your friendship and romance.