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Iridium is one of the most valuable crafting materials in Stardew Valley. Having a supply of it makes your life incredibly easier, since it allows you to begin automating your farm. The days in the game go by fast, so if you manage to set up an efficient sprinkler system, your crops never require you to waste precious time to water them.
Naturally, the best tool for this job is the Iridium sprinkler, which waters 24 tiles. Iridium is also invaluable when it comes to upgrading your tools and crafting some other high-end equipment, like the Crystalarium or Deluxe Fertilizer. Getting a hold of this rare material can prove rather difficult, especially during the first year of the game.
Updated on May 29, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: You can never have too much of a good thing, right? Whether you're looking for your first bit of Iridium or just a little extra to fill you pockets with, we've added more tips to help you get it - in year one and beyond!
15 Magma And Omni Geodes
Geodes are a great source of artifacts and ores. Specifically, Magma and Omni Geodes have a chance to drop Iridium ores. You can easily find Magma Geodes in the regular mine, anywhere after level 80. Omni Geodes are a bit harder to come by, but Sandy is guaranteed to sell three every Wednesday.
Notably, the geologist profession comes with a branching upgrade, Excavator, that doubles your chance to find geodes when you mine. Keep in mind that this upgrade prevents you from using the Miner profession.
14 We Must Go Deeper
Iridium is obtainable only after you encounter copper, iron, and gold. Each material functions as a prerequisite for the next: you can only mine Iridium ores with a golden pickaxe, or gold ores with a steel one, and so on.
If you have been playing Stardew Valley for a while, you know this mine has a 120 levels. It's impossible to get through them in a couple of days with the game's starting gear. So start digging — this mine will become your home away from home in your quest to get Iridium.
Furthermore, you also need to reach the bottom of the mine to find the Skull Key, which unlocks the Skull Cavern, the only place to find nodes of Iridium. In the mines, you can only get Iridium through obtaining Omni Geodes and Magma Geodes and cracking them open.
13 Upgrade Your Tools
Mining can quickly drain your stamina, especially in the beginning of the game. Upgrading your pickaxe has two important benefits: it breaks rocks and ores faster, and saves your energy. You should upgrade this tool as soon as you can if you plan to reach the Skull Cavern fast.
A good weapon also helps while mining, since you'll constantly run into bothersome monsters. The Adventurer's Guild has a shop that sells weapons, as well as a bulletin board with a list of monsters to slay for rewards. Dispatching 125 bugs unlocks a free Insect Head, which is basically a cheap sword that's better than the starting one.
12 Stock Up On Bombs
Bombs are essential elements that make mining significantly easier. They break multiple rocks with one detonation, allowing you to quickly get through a crowded area. They also help uncover staircases or shafts, the latter being essential to get far in the Skull Cavern and increase your chance at finding Iridium.
The standard bomb is the best out of the three available types, since its explosion is big enough to destroy a significant amount of rocks, but not big enough to deal damage if you get away in time. Buying bombs from the Dwarf is the best way to stack them up, but they also drop from Lava Crabs quite often.
11 Check The Traveling Cart
You might try your luck and check to see if the Traveling Cart sells any Iridium Ore. There is a slim chance that she might, so make sure to check the forest on Fridays and Sundays, when the cart shows up.
This is an unreliable way to obtain Iridium, however, since it's never guaranteed that an ore will be on sale. Nonetheless, the are plenty of Fridays and Sundays in one in-game year, so you will eventually be able to make a purchase if you keep checking the cart's stock whenever possible.
10 "An Explosion Was Heard In The Night..."
There are a number of possible random events that can occur when you go to sleep at night in Stardew Valley. It's literally a 1% chance, but you just might have a meteorite fall on your farm!
You'll see the words "An explosion was heard in the night..." just before waking up. Then, search the farm for an unusual purple rock with crystals poking out! Mine it with a golden pickaxe or better to earn yourself six Iridium Ores.
9 Keep That Super Cucumber
The best passive way to farm Iridium is to unlock the Statue Of Perfection, which produces 2-8 ores every day. However, it's impossible to do this before the beginning of Year 3. The next best alternative is to make a Super Cucumber pond.
Like most fish in the game, the Super Cucumber can be placed in a pond to produce roe. Once the population of the pond increases, the fish will ask you for certain objects. Bringing those to them will further increase the fish population, and once it reaches 9 there is a chance that they will produce 1-3 Iridium ores instead of roe.
8 Abuse Level 115
Once you reach level 115 of the Mines in the Valley, you don't necessarily need to go much further. Keep returning here with lots of bombs, as we mentioned earlier, and blow up everything in sight! There's a good likelihood at this level of getting the Geodes that might contain Iridium Ores.
Once you have them all (or several batches of them), take the Geodes to Clint, the Blacksmith, and crack them open! No need to worry about luck - your luck for the day doesn't affect your odds of getting better materials from the Geodes.
7 Plan Your Profession
Each skill in the game unlocks a profession at level 5 and an upgrade for that specific profession at level 10. Mining initially gives you these options:
- Miner, which gives you +1 ore per vein
- Geologist, which increases your chance to find gems in pairs
To ensure you gain the most amount of Iridium from an ore, you should definitely pick the Miner profession. Iridium is incredibly scarce when you first approach the Skull Cavern, and finding more ores per veins will make your life much easier. You can always change your professions at the Statue Of Uncertainty in the Sewers.
6 Prioritize Tasks
Obtaining Iridium before the end of Year 1 will require you to make some sacrifices. There simply isn't enough time for you to do every single possible thing in an in-game day. A wealth of activities is at your disposal, but if your goal is to get Iridium as fast as possible, avoid wasting time fishing or talking to every NPC.
You should primarily focus on anything that is mining related. A good way to organize your time is to spend the morning doing your regular farm chores, and then devote the rest of the day to specific objectives, like upgrading your pickaxe or finding geodes.
5 The Enemies That Drop It
As we mentioned, you can only find Iridium nodes in the Skull Cavern. However, don't lose hope if they seem few and far between! There are also a few monsters that have a chance of dropping Iridium for you:
|
Name |
Location |
Odds of Dropping Iridium |
|---|---|---|
|
Purple Slime (also called a Sludge) |
Skull Cavern (1% of spawning on every floor) |
8% |
|
Iridium Bat |
Skull Cavern levels 51+ (and prehistoric floors) |
97% (between 1-4) |
|
Iridium Crab |
Skull Cavern levels 26+ |
50% (between 1-3) |
4 Cook Savory Recipes
Food in Stardew Valley is the key to becoming the most efficient farmer ever. Eating is essential to restore your stamina in a pinch, and certain recipes can also boost specific skills. Once you reach the Skull Cavern, bringing the right combination of tasty meals proves invaluable to find Iridium.
You can mix and match a drink's and a cooked dish's boosts for maximum effect. The triple shot espresso gives you +1 speed, while the pumpkin soup gives +2 luck and +2 defense. Both of these items are easy to come by, provided you have the right ingredients: coffee beans, pumpkins, and milk. Alternatively, you can buy coffee at the Stardrop Saloon. The combined speed and luck boosts are important to quickly traverse the Skull Cavern and increase your chances to find Iridium.
3 Unlocking The Quarry
It will take you at least one year to accomplish this, but it will be worth it. If you finish the bundles in the Community Center's Craft Room, you'll be rewarded with access to the Quarry - an area in the Valley full of nodes to mine that slowly replenish over time.
New ores will spawn every day, so keep it clear! Admittedly, rarer ores and gems are much less common, but if you keep going back and clearing space you're sure to find some eventually!
2 Fishing Up Treasure
You may have noticed that fishing will occasionally reward you with treasure chests! The loot can range from mediocre to excellent. Indeed, occasionally, you may even earn Iridium!
You must cast your line as far away from shore as possible - it needs to be at least 5 tiles away. Only then is it possible to earn a treasure chest with Iridium Ore in it.
1 Exploit Luck
The single most important factor that helps you obtain Iridium quickly is luck.
Unlike the other abilities in the game, luck does not steadily increase over time, but rather fluctuates. Every morning, the Fortune Teller on your TV will tell you how the spirits are feeling on that particular day. When you see the message, "The spirits are very happy today! They will do their best to shower everyone with good fortune," it means you have good luck and it's time to get on the bus and go to the Skull Cavern.
Bring your best tools, your most valuable weapon, plenty of bombs, and foods that boost your speed and luck. Place bombs near large clusters of rocks, your maximized luck should help reveal a shaft or a staircase. Pay no attention to most of the enemies, only engage in combat if you absolutely must. Mine every possible rock as soon as you can. Your goal is not to gather materials, but to go deep. The deeper you go, the more you will increase your chances to find Iridium Ores.