10 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR A NEW STARDEW VALLEY PLAYER
It’s a big valley out there. Starting a whole new farm, especially for the first time, can be daunting. Here’s ten things I’ve learned from my time in Stardew!
1. Try to keep a few copies of every item. If you want to complete the game to 100%, there are a lot of things that you will need to do: crafting one of each DIY/Crafting item, cooking each dish at least once, catching every fish, completing the museum - and all that just to start. It is always handy to have some chests with a few of each item in storage, to save yourself from having to gather them again as you get further into the game.
2. Chests are such a valuable thing, but having chests surrounding a Workbench - purchased from Robin in the mountain - makes crafting items so much easier; because you don’t have to have the items in your inventory, just in the chests surrounding your bench. This can save valuable time when you are working on perfection.
3. Recycling can get you some useful items. Need some cloth? There is a chance that recycling a soggy newspaper can yield some.
4. Level-up your animal handling. Petting your animals makes them happier, which then means they produce better quality resources, which can either be sold for more money or improve the quality (and sale price) of finished artisan goods. Petting yours animals by hand gives a bigger boost to their mood, but if you go down the Joja route – or dive into the Skull Cavern or Dangerous Mines – you can come across Auto-Petters. Put one into a barn or coop and they will pet your animals every day, but with less of a boost. You can also get Auto-Grabbers from Marnie’s, so you don’t need to collect your animal’s produce every day. Fully upgraded coops and barns will also transfer hay from your silos to the feeding stalls automatically.
5. Don’t forget to give villagers gifts — this is the main way to improve your relationship with them. This is really helpful because, as you get closer to other villagers, they will sometimes send you items or recipes in the post, giving you access to new products and income streams. Giving a gift to a villager on their birthday will yield a bigger relationship boost — and doesn’t count towards your weekly limit of 2 gifts per villager! For an even bigger boost, consider giving them a Stardrop Tea from Mayor Lewis’ prize machine. And try to learn what each villager likes and dislikes — a Loved gift will get you further than one they aren’t so excited by.
6. You will find the traveling merchant in her cart in the Cindersap Forest twice a week on Fridays and Sundays. She is worth the visit because her (ever-changing) inventory often contains out-of-season items; things you can’t buy otherwise without waiting until their season. She also sells sundries like battery packs, meals, and furniture and other decorative items for your house. With luck, the traveling merchant makes it easier to complete the Community Centre in the first year, if that’s your goal. It is also worth grabbing the Rare Seed to grow the Sweet Gem Berry, for both shipping every item in the game and getting another Stardrop.
7. Wine and juice, from the produce you harvest from your farm, can both be very lucrative, but have pros and cons. Wine sells for 3 times the base sale price of the fruit you used to make it — compared to 2.25 times for juice — and can be aged for higher quality and greater sale price, but making wine takes longer than making juice. You will need to choose whether to focus on making a decent turnover on juice relatively quickly; taking a little longer for a higher profit margin with wine straight from the keg; or waiting a full season for your wine to age to its best quality and highest sale price.
8. Fishing is a great moneymaker in the early game. But, as your farm grows larger, with more crops and animals, and equipment like sprinklers and auto-grabbers to support them, you’ll find your revenue from fishing will decline. But if you have a fish smoker on your farm, it will double the sales value of the fish you catch and smoke. And some fish, like the Legend II, can sell for anything up to 15,000g once smoked, if your farmers levelling build has the Angler perk.
9. You don’t just have to sell all your products through the shipping bin at the end of each day: you can also sell items to Pierre, Clint and Willie with some limitations. Sometimes it is worth doing this to have instant access to the money — important in early game or on the first of each season as you’re setting up for the coming month. But don’t forget to keep one back, as only the products you sell through the shipping bin will count towards 100% completion!
10. The most important thing to remember about Stardew Valley is to enjoy it! I’ve put over a thousand hours into the game, and I still always enjoy starting a new farm and trying all the new things ConcernedApe is still adding. The joy of an open-ended game like this is that there’s no wrong way to play it. If you want to go for perfection, go for it. If you want a chilled farm that you can decorate to your heart’s content, amazing. If you want a farm filled with animals, have plenty of names picked out! Play the game you want to play — and have fun doing it!
Enjoy!
Jas.
