Indie darling Stardew Valley took the gaming globe by tempest when it was released in February 2016. Developed by a single man named Eric Barone, the game has managed to find its way onto several different consoles, including the PlayStation iv, Xbox I, and Nintendo Switch.

At face up value, it's a simple farming game where your character has inherited their grandfather's subcontract and must work to restore information technology to its original glory, with typical RPG elements like finding a romantic partner. But the gameplay is deeper than but planting seeds and waiting for them to grow — and this guide will aid anyone observe their basis in the Valley.

Updated February 17, 2022 past Marissa Lee: Stardew Valley can be played so many ways, and while this guide teaches you a lot almost how to optimize your playthrough, it's also cool to play the game however you lot want to play. Whether you're focused on completing the Community Center, earning Gilded, or just exploring Pelican Town for all it has to offer, we've made sure that this guide has tips for all kinds of new players.

11 Check The Traveling Cart

Stardew Valley Travelling Cart

Every Friday and Sunday, a Traveling Merchant and her sus scrofa will appear in the Cindersap Woods west of the entrance to your subcontract. This Merchant sells a random assortment of items from vi a.m. to 8 p.m. Here, you'll observe stuff you demand for the Community Center that'southward hard to come by, Rare Seeds that can exist planted to grow Sugariness Gem Berries, Java Beans, rare fish, cooked meals, furniture, and much more.

Virtually of the items carried in the Traveling Cart are things you can earn yourself eventually, but here are some things to definitely be on the await-out for

  • Rare Seeds - These can only exist purchased from the Traveling Merchant.
  • Cherry-red Cabbage - Before Summer of Year 2, y'all can just get Cherry Cabbage from the Traveling Merchant. It'due south used in the Dye Bundle in the Community Center.
  • Coffee Beans - one time you unlock Kegs, make Java and increment your speed.
  • Rare Fish , like Pufferfish or Sandfish - These can be hard to catch, so if you're not a fan of fishing, take hold of these for the Community Center.

It'south a cracking idea to check the Traveling Cart every Friday and every Dominicus — you never know what yous'll discover.

10 Plant Your Crops In 3x3 Squares

3x3 Grids Stardew Valley Farm

Stardew Valley allows players to take most-complete command over the layout of their farms, so you tin actually do whatsoever your eye desires. Merely, there are some advantages to planting your crops in certain formations.

When Cauliflower, Melon, and Pumpkin are planted in a 3x3 germination and immune to accomplish a full-grown state, there's a chance that the middle ingather volition combine with the eight adjacent ones to course a giant crop instead. Giant crops are harvested with an axe and provide double crops, and so yous'll get a total of 18 pieces of produce!

Planting things this mode looks not bad and organized, plus it makes using proximity-based items (like Sprinklers, Scarecrows, and Bee Houses) a lot easier. Information technology'due south especially helpful for the first two levels of sprinklers. The basic Sprinkler waters four side by side squares, while the Quality Sprinkler h2o the eight adjacent squares, pregnant both operate inside a 3x3 tile grid.

Additionally, upgrading your Watering Tin and Hoe will allow them to operate in 3x3 grids ,making this much more convenient. Copper Watering Cans and Hoes cover iii squares per use, steel ones cover five, and gilt ones cover 9 (in a 3x3 grid) at 1 fourth dimension.

9 Grow Equally Much Cauliflower As Possible

Stardew Valley Cauliflower Seeds on a pixel mountain background

Cauliflower is a slow-growing crop that takes a total of 12 days to become full-grown, and its seeds are 80g each at Pierre's, which is pretty pricey in comparison to other Spring crops. It is, however, worth it, because the payout is more double virtually other crops.

Even without the Tiller profession (which makes crops worth x% more Gold), a unmarried Cauliflower at basic quality is worth 175g, while silver ones are 218g and gold ones are 262g. It can be even more profitable if yous save some for when you're able to become your hands on a Preserves Jar to brand Pickled Cauliflower.

Be conscientious of crows, though; without a scarecrow, crows volition consume your crops, which means yous'll lose any chance of profit. On one manus, might be a good thought to wait until you have a Scarecrow to plant Cauliflower, so yous don't chance losing it to crows. On the other, though, information technology won't be ready to harvest until after the Egg Festival, and then if you're looking to buy Strawberries, exist wary of sinking too much Gold into Cauliflower that won't be fix until after the festival anyhow.

Coin-wise, it'due south a good idea to grow Cauliflower in addition to other crops, particularly Kale and Strawberries, but focusing on acquiring as much equally possible as early on every bit possible is definitely recommended! If you lot manage to plant them inside the first iv days of Spring, you can have two split harvests by the end of the season and rake in a considerable amount of gold. Just make sure you relieve 1 for the Community Center—and have at least one Green Bean, Potato, and Parsnip planted, too.

8 Buy Strawberry Seeds At The Egg Festival

Stardew Valley Standard Subcontract. 3x3 Plots of Crops, Flowers, and Honey

On the 13th day of each Jump flavor, the Egg Festival takes place. The town is decorated with cutesy pastels and in that location's an egg hunt where y'all can compete with your friends and villagers for an exclusive lid.

Nonetheless, what's truly important is the fact that the Egg festival is the only place where you can purchase Strawberry Seeds. Strawberries are a remarkably profitable ingather (a basic quality Strawberry sells for 120g, silver for 150g, and gold for 180g) that needs eight days to mature, and has a take a chance of giving multiple Strawberries each fourth dimension it'south harvested. Afterwards the first harvest, a found will continue to produce Strawberries every four days.

Some players merits that you should put them in a chest and exit them for the side by side year, while others think that you lot should plant them ASAP.

With no boosts, planting the seeds the day of or afterward the Egg Festival volition permit for ii harvests, while planting them the adjacent year will permit for five. It'southward up to y'all! Simply remember that with a Seed Maker, you lot tin always turn Strawberries into Strawberry Seeds to use adjacent leap.

Additionally, don't forget you tin employ Deluxe Speed-Gro to make the plants grow faster, giving you a higher number of harvests per season, but that isn't unlocked until y'all accomplish Level Eight of the farming skill. When planted the day subsequently the Egg Festival with Palatial Speed-Gro, y'all can squeeze in three Strawberry harvests. Regular Speed-Gro is unlocked at Level Iii, but it still only allows for two harvests, though, and then save information technology for something else.

seven Go Your Hands On Some Machines ASAP

Stardew Valley Cellar with Casks

At that place are a few unlike types of machines in the game. Seed Makers can turn produce into seeds, making it easier to access rarer crops, and Kegs can turn fruits and vegetables into Wine and Juice in seven days, making them worth 3x their base of operations value.

Getting those tools is important, obviously — just not nearly as important as a Preserves Jar.

A Preserves Jar is unlocked at Framing Level Four, and it turns fruits and vegetables into jelly or pickles. It only needs betwixt two and 3 days to do it, and it makes any crop worth 2x its base toll + 50g. The quality of the ingather doesn't make a divergence, and then it's a proficient way to clasp some extra gilded out of basic produce.

Preserves Jars are unlocked earlier than Kegs (which yous can craft afterwards reaching Farming Level Eight), so it's a slap-up way to make money during the early days. Even so, both tools are great; generally speaking, lower-value crops are better in Preserves Jars, and higher-value crops volition cyberspace you more than turn a profit when placed in Kegs.

6 Repair The Beach Bridge Earlier Summer

Stardew Valley beach Span

At the embankment, in that location's a broken bridge that tin be repaired using 300 pieces of forest. Beyond information technology, there are several tidal pools that contain an sectional forageable: Sea Urchins. A bones quality Sea Urchin is worth 160g, and one can be used for the Dye Packet at the Community Center.

Summer is also a cracking time to get extra forageables. After the Luau on Summer 11, the Television set Channel Livin' Off the Land will tell y'all that Crab Mating season has made the sea green. During this time, more forageables volition wash up on the beaches than usual. And then, fifty-fifty if y'all don't take the bridge by Summer 1, make sure you at to the lowest degree have information technology finished before the Luau.

As well, during rainy or stormy weather, the Onetime Mariner will appear at the border of the tidal pools, and y'all can buy a Mermaid'southward Necklace from him, which allows yous to propose to any villager that you lot have a 10-heart relationship with.

Each of these reasons to repair the bridge are important, so be sure to use some woods to practise it before on, rather than later.

5 Farming First, Foraging 2nd

Stardew Valley Standard Farm Opening Cutscene

Running out of energy leaves you lot unable to practise anything and staggering along at a snail'south pace. Cut downward trees, bully rocks, and cutting grass might seem tempting, especially when in the beginning stages of setting up, only it'southward of import to focus on what actually matters: farming.

Planting, watering, and harvesting crops should be the first matter you practise with your free energy in the mornings! Once y'all've done your watering, planting, and whatsoever else you demand to do for your crops, it's and so worthwhile to go foraging or socializing with the townspeople. Neither of these activities require whatsoever free energy, so it's a much meliorate way to spend the 2nd portion of the solar day, than it is to go to bed with a full energy bar.

4 Giving Out Random Gifts Might Make People Hate You

Stardew Valley Souvenir Giving Hayley Dialogue

Going around passing out gifts indiscriminately will make winning the villagers' friendship harder. Each villager has things that they honey and things that they hate, and they have a significant touch on on your relationships.

For case, Haley dislikes all fruit except for Coconuts, which are one of her favorite things. Taking the fourth dimension to wait into their gift preferences will brand playing the social side of the game a lot easier.

It'south important to be careful about what you're property in your hand when y'all talk to a villager, since it will automatically exist given to them as a gift!

Once yous've given someone something equally a gift, it'll bear witness up in the social tab with their preference for it. Use this to go on track of what people — and just as importantly, what they don't. In the early on game, though, it'southward easier to experiment with souvenir giving since you don't actually accept any hearts to lose.

Forageables tin can be great gifts in early game, since y'all don't have to spend whatsoever golden to gift them. Hayley likewise likes Daffodils—as do many of the villagers—which is smashing, since these will be all over Pelican Town during the Bound. Sweetness Peas are too adequately popular, and every bit abundant in the Summer.

iii Expect For A Greenhouse Before You Buy Fruit Trees

Stardew Valley greenhouse with fruit trees

Fruit trees are incredibly expensive, so it'south non likely that you'll exist in any blitz to sink thousands of gold into one, but fifty-fifty if you lot are, effort to resist that urge! After either completing all of the Pantry bundles in the Customs Center or purchasing it from the Joja Customs Development Projects, y'all'll take access to a Greenhouse.

Within the Greenhouse, y'all can grow crops regardless of their season. That's why information technology's the best possible place to found your fruit trees, only since it's currently not possible to relocate trees without a mod, it'due south a skillful idea to simply wait information technology out.

Fruit copse will grow in the Greenhouse if you plant them on the tiles effectually the plot of land where you can abound crops, even though it doesn't actually look similar it. They'll grow and produce fruit regardless of flavour, so it'south the best identify to get your coin's worth from them.

One thing worth noting is that multiple Community Center bundles use Apples and Pomegranates, so if you practice cull the Mushroom cave, these 2 saplings will be worth buying.

2 Think Wisely Before Investing In A Coop

Stardew Valley Coop and Animals (chickens, ducks, rabbits)

In the first handful of quests given by the game, y'all'll exist prompted to build a Coop. It seems similar a decent starting point for a farm, and it is for some people, but make sure to think it through!

Every morning, chickens volition lay eggs worth 50g each. One time they like yous, they'll lay large eggs worth 95g. A Mayonnaise Motorcar can make eggs worth 190g and large eggs worth 285g.

Building a Coop costs 4,000 gold, plus 300 forest and 100 rock. Each chicken volition cost 800g and they need to be fed hay, which tin be 50g a piece unless y'all've congenital a Silo. Simply put, it's a huge investment, and it takes a while to make your gilt back.

Nevertheless, Mayo tin be a great source of income early in the game, so it's up to y'all. Eventually, you'll exist able to build a few Coops if you want, but early, information technology's quite the investment. Don't feel pressured by the early quest to build a Coop — you have all the fourth dimension in the earth.

If you lot're prioritizing the Community Centre, building a Befouled is your better bet. This is considering Barns house Cows, Goats, and Pigs, which produce Milk, Goat's Milk, and Truffles, all of which y'all admittedly need to accept to consummate the Community Center. Fully upgrading your Barn volition price a total of 53,000g across all three buildings, plus a total of 19,500 for one of each animal. Yous also need to keep in mind that Pigs only produce Truffles when they are able to feed outside, and swallow the grass growing on your subcontract. It takes 10 days for Pigs to abound up, which is when they'll start finding you Truffles, so make sure that you buy a Hog at to the lowest degree 15 or and then days before Fall ends.

Stardew Valley Community Center Cutscene

After the 5th mean solar day of your starting time Spring, the Community Center will be unlocked past entering Town from the Bus Cease, on any Sunny twenty-four hours between 8 am and one pm. With the Community Heart is unlocked, and then are the starting time few bundles. Assuming that you choose this path instead of selling out to Joja, those bundles are going to exist an important part of your gameplay.

It'southward a good idea to immediately starting time saving upward at to the lowest degree ane of each type of Spring forageable, and then you lot can complete the Leap Foraging parcel as quickly as possible, which will go yous a collection of 30 Jump Seeds as a reward and bring yous 1 stride closer to one of the powerful rewards.

Brand sure to agree onto at least one Parsnip for the Spring Crops Bundle and wait into planting cauliflower, potatoes, and green beans ASAP. One of the bundles requires v gold-quality Parsnips, and then make sure you lot hang on to those to donate. If you cull the Remixed Bundles at the beginning of the game, stacks of five gold-quality Light-green Beans, Cauliflower, and/or Potatoes can also exist requested.

Other things to keep an eye out for are Quartz in the mines, different types of Mushrooms in Pelican Boondocks, the mountains, and Cindersap Forest, and a Sea Urchin on the beach (see above!). Side by side: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough