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Combat in Stardew Valley comes across as a relatively straightforward task compared to the other, more flushed out, activities in the game. Grab your sword, go in the mines, and slash everything that's between you and a precious Iridium ore. That works, until you are suddenly surrounded by three Serpents while a group of Slimes immobilizes you.

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When that happens, and it undoubtedly will sooner or later, your character will faint before you can eat or drink something to restore your health. In truth, fighting is either fairly easy or incredibly hard. Knowing what to do against a given monster makes the difference between losing your loot or walking safely away with it.

Updated on December 13, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: To give you a better chance against these monsters, we've included the stats for every single on and their variants. We've also added a couple other monsters you may be struggling with and tips to beat them!

14 Squid Kid

A squid kid in the mines of Stardew Valley

The Squid Kid accounts for easiest enemy to beat that can still significantly hurt you. Any one of these floating orbs has only one health point, so any weapon will work against them. However, they shoot fireballs that deal 18 damage.

Sometimes a Squid Kid might be surrounded by some rocks you have to break in order to move in to attack. You can destroy an incoming fireball by swinging your weapon at the right time, although you cannot block fireballs with a sword's secondary attack. The best way to safely kill a Squid Kid is to use a slingshot.

13 Crabs

A carb in the Stardew Valley mines

Since monsters are most prevalent in mines, keeping your eyes peeled while you dig is necessary to avoid receiving unnecessary damage. Crabs disguise themselves as common rocks, and attack you if you hit their shells with your pickaxe.

They are not as dangerous as they are bothersome. A bit of caution ensures you won't be harmed by them. If you suspect a rock might actually be a crab, simply swing your sword at it: a sound cue will trigger, and a damage indicator will pop up and show a zero. That's how you know you hit a crab shell. Use a cherry bomb to easily remove its shell and expose it to damage.

12 Mummy

Some mummies in the Skull Cavern

Mummies appear only in certain areas of the Skull Cavern. They are much slower compared to your regular walking speed, so you should avoid engaging them as much as possible and look for a shaft or staircase to the next level.

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These enemies are most dangerous in groups or tight hallways. Although slow, a mummy deals significant damage and crumbles into a pile of bandages when its health points run out. After 10 seconds, any downed mummy gets back on its feet unless you use a bomb to effectively dispatch it for good. Either avoid these monsters or try to down multiple ones, so you only need to use one bomb to kill them.

11 Grub

The mutant bug lair in Stardew Valley

These larvae are nearly harmless, at least at first. If you are spotted by one, they will eventually pupate and turn into a Cave Fly, a considerably more dangerous foe. Grubs can prove troublesome, especially if you don't have a powerful weapon in your inventory.

Generally, you should immediately rush any Grubs you stumble upon to prevent them from transforming. Flies are among the most dangerous enemies in the early-game, when food is scarcely available to restore your health. If you spot a large group of Grubs and already found a ladder, move onto the next level to avoid potential problems.

10 Shadow Brute

The mines in Stardew Valley

Once you get far enough in the mines next to the Adventurer's Guild, you will eventually run into the Shadow Brute. These monsters are frightening when you first run into them. They appear anywhere after level 80 and resist knockback, an invaluable effect that allows you to make some breathing room during battles.

Unfortunately, these enemies are tough to avoid, and unless you have a significantly powerful weapon, you have to get a little creative. You can use bombs or a slingshot with explosive ammo to safely deal damage from a distance. Otherwise, be parsimonious with your melee weapon: hit this monster once or twice, and then get away from it. Rinse and repeat for guaranteed success.

9 Hot Head

Stardew Valley Ginger Island - Entering the Volcano

The Hot Head is a variant of the Metal Head, but only appears in the Volcano Dungeon. Like its counterpart, it has an incredibly high defense, which means you're probably going to be fighting them longer than other enemies. It makes them particularly annoying when they're paired up with other enemies.

However, the real challenge of a Hot Head comes when you are at your weakest. If your health drops below 25, they enter a rage state. Their speed increases drastically and they begin to chase you! Little do you know that they're a ticking time bomg - after 2.4 seconds, they explode!

If you're having a lot of trouble with Hot Heads, we have two recommendations. First, carry a lot of food on you. That way, you don't have to worry about the worst. However, if the worst does happen, that's when our second recommendation is valuable: pick a weapon with a lot of knockback. The Weight stat affects knockback, and +5 is the best base Weight you can find, though higher Weight stats can be achieved through crafting weapons at the Forge.

8 Shadow Shaman

The shadow shaman in the mines

The Shadow Shaman is another monster that looks like a spooky bogeyman. Shamans use magic to torment you when you first battle against them. A circle of leaves appears around their sprite when they are about to cast a spell. They can either heal themselves and other monsters near, or shoot a small green fireball that lowers your defense by eight points, exposing you to critical damage.

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Prioritize targeting this enemy to prevent others from healing, and fall back if you get hit with a spell. Shamans don't always rush you to deal damage, but they can still hurt you if they touch you, so be careful and keep a distance.

7 Slimes

A view of the mines in the game

The most common enemy in Stardew Valley is, undoubtedly, the Slime. Like some other enemy types, Slimes have increasingly powerful variants, indicated by their colors, that are able to sustain and deal more damage. However, every Slime behaves in the same way. You'll know if it's a special version of a particular slime because it will have a star on the end of its antenna.

They either slowly bounce towards you or stand still to charge up a quick dash attack. Getting hit by a slime can induce the Slimed debuff that drastically lowers your movement speed for 2.5-5 seconds. If this happens, make sure you use your sword to parry incoming attacks or eat food to help you sustain damage while you slowly run away.

Slimes are severely affected by knockback, so you can repeatedly hit them into a wall to stun-lock them into place.

6 Lava Lurk

Stardew Valley Ginger Island Volcano Dungeon Lava Lurk

The Lava Lurk is a true pain because, unlike any other enemy, it swims around in the lava for which it is named. That means that you're a bit limited when fighting it because, of course, you can't walk into the lava. It attacks by popping its head up and shooting fireballs at you. A second annoyance is that you can only deal damage when its head is above the lava.

Some people just opt to ignore and/or evade this creature. If you really want to take it down, though, you'll need to master the slingshot. Attacking otherwise is usually so impractical it borders on inexcusable. You need to be good enough to aim and fire reliably and quickly; there's no point if you keep missing, but it needs to happen fast or else you're in danger from fireballs.

5 Magma Sparker

Magma Sparkers

Magma Sparkers are annoying flying flames that will cause trouble for you in the Volcano Dungeon. They ricochet towards you to deal a considerable chunk of damage but, even worse, leaving the Burnt debuff behind. Being Burnt means you'll get -3 to Attack, -3 to Defense, and -2 to Speed. Their little-brother variant, the Magma Sprites, are equally annoying but have much lower health and can't give you the Burnt debuff.

The real challenge here is that it's common for Magma Sparkers to appear with a group of Magma Sprites, so you quickly become overwhelmed. It's always good to have lots of food with you, but when these guys gang up you may not even get the chance to eat it. Bringing a strong weapon with a high attack is the simplest solution.

4 Pepper Rex

The pepper rex in the Skull Cavern

Although rare, these dinosaur-like beasts can drop incredibly valuables eggs when slain. They spawn on prehistoric floors in the Skull Cavern, or rarely in regular floors. Their health is quite high, even the Galaxy Sword takes a significant amount of time to kill a Pepper Rex.

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When you encounter one, begin circling its position. The dinosaur will try to keep up with you, facing different cardinal directions until it shoots a flame belch. When this happens, the Pepper Rex cannot move, allowing you to safely attack its sides or back.

3 Haunted Skull

Stardew Valley - player being attacked by Haunted Skulls

You undoubtedly remember the first time you encountered a Haunted Skull. Or, if you don't, you must remember the feeling you had at the time. These guys are truly terrifying, as they approach at high speeds and can quickly circle around to tackle you again.

A sword is your best option here. It has the widest angle of any other weapon, so you're not likely to miss the Haunted Skull while you're swinging. They often appear in groups (as seen above) so it's a good idea if you can stay calm and try to get them all to attack from the same direction so you can take out more with fewer swings of your weapon.

2 Serpent

Some serpents in the Skull Cavern

The most bothersome enemy in Stardew Valley is the cunning Serpent. These flying devils appear in the Skull Cavern, and are commonly found quite often around most floors. A sound cue plays when a Serpent is about to fly in from off the screen, giving you time to prepare a counterattack.

The trick to beating Serpents is to keep in mind that their hitbox is larger than the actual sprite. This means that you have to attack one before it's immediately in front of you, in order to repel its assault. Repeat the process to kill one. Keep in mind that Serpents are so common that they even appear in small groups, allowing them to easily swarm your position.

1 Iridium Bat

The iridium bat in the Skull Cavern

The Iridium variant of bats can prove extremely dangerous to face. These fiends have 300 health points and deal 30 damage. They fly either directly or erratically toward you, often attacking from an angle. A screech warns you of their imminent presence if you are unable to see them on your screen. Eat a savory recipe to boost your stats before the fight.

A sword is most effective at fighting these monsters, since it has the widest swing angle compared to the other weapons in the game. If one of these bats appears alongside another monster of any type, exercise caution and move in the opposite direction of the bat. This forces it to fly straight to you, allowing you to adjust your aim before swinging your sword.

NEXT: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough