A useful place to go is the Official Wiki, here: http://stardewvalleywiki.com

This guide does not aim to replace the wiki, but instead add detail, observations, and tips & tricks on how to play efficiently and find out all there is to explore in the game!

• Step-By-Step Process:
  
  1. Till Soil
     
  2. Fertilize (if desired)
     
  3. Plant Seeds
     
  4. Water daily
     
  5. Wait for growth
     
  6. Harvest
  
  
• At the end of each season, ALL crops will die, (except corn and Ancient Fruit). ALL will die at the beginning of Winter. Plan carefully, so you don't have crops that will not be harvestable before the change of season.
  
  
• Growing numbers:
  
  • You have 28 days in each season. Take 28 and subtract the current date, (ex. 23). 28-23=5. This means you can grow a crop that takes 5 days, according to the seed packet. This is helpful when shopping at Pierre's.
  
  
• Fertilizer (other than Speed-Gro) must be laid down BEFORE planting.
  
  
• Planting: placing the cursor at your feet, hold down the left mouse button and run over your tilled areas -- the seeds will be planted on your run path.
  
  
• Harvesting & Replanting can be done with a single action. Select the seeds in your inventory, then right click as you wave your cursor over the ripened crops. You can quick-harvest every tile around you, and plant new seeds at the same time.
  
  
• Trellised crops create an impenetrable "fence" where they are planted. Make sure to leave room to pass between them.
  
  
  
  
  
• Planting a 3x3 area solid with Cauliflower, Pumpkins, or Melons may result in a Super plant! (Harvest with the Pickaxe).
  
  
  
  
  
• To get a good start with the game, I recommend planting the most profitable crops the first year, then getting the "Ship 15 of each" achievement the second year. Thus for Spring: Potatoes, Summer: Blueberries, Fall: Cranberries, and Winter: Wild Seeds. (The 2nd year, you will also have access to new crops as well as ones from the Desert, if you unlock the Bus).
  
  
• Also, by planting one type of crop over your entire farm, you reduce a lot of the "busy-work" that tending multiple types of crops entails. The harvest, replanting, etc. can be very time-consuming.
  
  
• Randomly, the Crop Fairy may visit you and bless your crops!
  
  
  Yay, the Crop Fairy!

• To plan the perfect farm, use the Interactive Farm Planner[stardew.info].
  
  
• Your horse is 2 tiles wide when running in an up/down direction, so plan (vertical) pathways with that in mind. Otherwise, you will not be able to pass. Running in a horizonal direction, it uses only 1 tile.
  
  
• Locate similar items near each other -- plant fruit trees together so they can be harvested at the same time, etc.
  
  
• Use barns to hold large numbers of kegs & other machinery, (See Artisan Goods section for images & barn sizes).
  
  
• Make efficient use of sprinklers & Scarecrows. (Check the Interactive Farm Planner to see effective radius -- see image below).
  
  
• Place both sprinklers and scarecrows on a floor tile of some sort. This will allow you to plow the entire land without uprooting them!
  
  
  I placed only a few Iridium sprinkers on the plan so the scarecrow radius would be more visible. From your initial scarecrow, scarecrows on the same level should be 16 spaces apart. (16 blank squares in-between). To place the lower area ones, count 8 to the left of the first scarecrow, then 12 down from there. Place the scarecrow on the 13th square.
  
  By placing them in a zig-zag, you will be able to cover all crops effectively.

• The Quality Sprinkler is useful for most of the game. It can severely impact your life, freeing you from the energy- and time-heavy task of watering your crops daily. The Basic Sprinkler is not terribly useful; better to save your iron bars for the Quality version.
  
  
• Iridium Sprinklers are good replacements, easily bought from the Caravan and/or Krobus.
  
  
  The Caravan -- Southwest of your Farm. It arrives on Fridays and Sundays.
  
  
• Upgrading your tools is essential -- they save you energy, and even better, charge up to water/hoe larger and larger areas with each upgrade. At max an Iridium hoe/watering can can affect a 3x6 area!
  
  
• Example -- a basic Watering Can will water 1 tile. A copper Watering Can can charge, with a longer hold of the left mouse button, and water 3 tiles at once.
  
  
• Upgrade your tools at the Blacksmith for 5 bars of current ore, (Copper, Iron, Gold, Iridium) + gold fee.
  
  
• The blacksmith takes 2 days to finish his work, so take care of any business before that time, (shopping with him, cracking geodes, etc.) E.g. If you give him the tool on Friday, it will be ready on Sunday.
  
  
• Upgrading the watering can is tricky if you don't have sprinklers. However, no time will be lost if you water your crops, then give it to Clint (the blacksmith) on the day before rain. (Check the weather forecast in the upper right corner). Then pick it up on the day after the rainstorm, and you can water your crops again.
  
  
• The Seedmaker is VERY useful for Ancient Fruit and multi-harvest crops. On most other crops, it's not worth the risk, since the Seed Maker can drop 1-4 seeds, and usually the fruit selling price is much higher than the seed price.
  
  
• The quality of fruits you put in the Seed Maker doesn't matter. In a test of Cranberries:
  
  
  Cranberries

  Total Seeds

  10 No Star

  23

  10 Silver Star

  22

  10 Gold Star

  20
  
  
  
• End-game farming consists of planting an entire greenhouse with Ancient Fruit, then making the produce into wine. (See the section on Artisan Goods).

• Before you acquire any animals, make sure to build a Silo first. This will allow you to collect hut grass as Hay when you use the scythe out in the wilds of your farm.
  
  
• Build Coops & Barns to house animals.
  
  
• Grab Hay at the receptacle in the building, and place it on the bench to feed the animals.
  
  
• Animals each eat 1 hay per day.
  
  
• Animals can also be let outdoors to eat wild grass. (Open their doors from outside). Pens can keep them from wandering too far.
  
  
• If you let your animals out during the day, close the door at night... otherwise, they will not produce as well.
  
  
• Animals will produce better produce when they are cared for. Right click to pat them daily and raise their heart level.
  
  
• Gather milk with the Bucket, and wool (sheep) with the Shears. Place a Heater in their structure for Winter. (Items buyable from Marnie).
  
  
• Baby animals do not produce until they grow up.
  
  
• To upgrade the barn/coop, choose the "Big Barn/Coop" option. It isn't a separate building -- it just makes your current building larger/have more features
  
  
• A Big Barn/Coop allows you to increase your stock by breeding animals, and hatching eggs.
  
  
• A Deluxe version has an auto-feeder which saves you time by sutomatically putting the hay on the bench.
  
  
• Buildings CANNOT be moved. You have two options as regards animals:
  
  • Transfer the animals to a second building that is already constructed. Then demolish the old building, build a new one, transfer them back again. (Use the Change Home option on the animal dialogue).
    
    
  • Sell all animals & start over again.
    
    
  • Make sure there is NOTHING in the building -- no animals, furniture, etc. -- or it will not allow you to destroy the building.
  
  
• Each upgrade provides you with more animal spaces and unlocks more variety of animals for purchase at Marnie's.
  
  
• Rabbits (Coop) require much less tending than Sheep for Wool production.
  
  
• Void eggs can be hatched into Void Chickens. Similarly, Dino eggs can be hatched into dinosaurs...
  
  
  Snasper the chicken & friends

All items have their values raised when they are converted into Artisan Goods. (Cooking is an exception here, where values remain relatively equal).

The most efficient Farming perk: Tiller @ Level 10 is Artisan, which gives you +50% sell price on Artsian Goods.


As you level up:

• Construct Mayo machines to convert your eggs, cheese machines for milk
  
  
• Preserves jars to convert fruit/vegetables until you can make the Keg.
  
  
• The Keg will make you rich beyond the wildest dreams of avarice!
  
  
• Preserves takes 46-54 hours and add 50g + 2x the fruit value. Wine (fruit) takes 6 days and is 3x the fruit value.
  
  
• Keg/Preserves machines don't care about the quality of the crop put in. They apply a standard multiplier to the base sell price of the fruit/veg. Therefore: in an abundance of harvest, sell all gold and silver star, convert the rest.
  
  
• Mayo/Cheese Machines DO care about the quality of the base product, so put in your best stuff! (Save the regular Milk for Pumpkin Soup).
  
  
• Cheese is an excellent and cheap food for mining.
  
  
• Hops plants produce every day, and Pale Ale conversion via the Keg also takes one day. This can be massively profitable!
  
  
• End-game farming consists of planting an entire greenhouse with Ancient Fruit, then making the produce into wine.
  
  
  
  
• If you run out of space, or simply want to "hide" unsightly masses of kegs, build a barn! You can fit huge number of kegs inside these structures! (Using interdimensional physics, these buildings are bigger on the inside than the outside!)
  
  
• Barn Sizes:
  
  • Barn: 11 H x 15 W
    
  • Big Barn: 11 H x 20 W
    
  • Deluxe Barn: 11 H x 23 W
  
  Unfinished to let Robin work on the next upgrade, this layout is none-the-less very efficient for storing manifold kegs.
  
  
  
• Honey can be "flavored", and different flower types increase its value! Prices here[stardewvalleywiki.com]
  
  
• Plant flowers within 5 tiles to gain their benefit. (Use the Interactive Farm Planner[stardew.info] to see the radius)
  
  
  
  

There are two types of trees: "regular/wood" trees, and fruit trees.

• They MUST be planted on untilled soil. The soil around them must ALSO be untilled. (Use the Pickaxe to remove tilling).
  
  
• For a fruit tree to grow, the 8 tiles surrounding it MUST be clear of everything: rocks, grass, etc. The closest distance they can be spaced is 1-space tile in between trees.
  
  
• Wood trees can be planted immediately adjacent to each other, HOWEVER... When you have a cluster of normal trees, only 1 in a 3x3 area will grow, so for fastest growth of a tree farm, seeds should be planted with the same considerations as fruit trees: free spaces all around.
  
  
• This also allows for the (wood) trees to create saplings in the free tiles on their own. Fruit trees do not spawn saplings/seeds.
  
  
• Fruit trees take a FULL 28 days to grow, so plant them at least 1 season early, on the first day of the month.
  
  
• Fruit Trees produce 1 fruit per day, and can hold 3 fruits. Thus, you only need to harvest once every three days to save time.
  
  
• Only Fruit trees grow in winter... Wood Trees do not.

Fruit Trees

• Trees may be replanted with their respective seeds. (These drop when you cut them down).
  
  
• Cut down only the largest, as it has the most wood/energy usage.
  
  
• Cut down the stump too! Trees do NOT grow back from the stump, despite rumors. This has been tested extensively.
  
  
• Saplings must be allowed to grow to replenish your tree supply, so cut down as few as possible, only to permit movement in your tree farm.
  
  
• Seed trees as above, with spaces around them for quickest growth. Each type of tree has identical sap/wood drop rates.
  
  
• Trees outside your farm will regrow on their own, no need to replant.
  
  
• An Iridium Axe takes only 3 hits to cut down tree + stump.
  
  
• Trees will fall on the opposite side you are standing. E.g. a tree will fall left if you stand on its right side. This is helpful to avoid downed trees falling outside the farm, or into lakes...

For recipes, etc. I have three trees of each type in my tapper farm. Use the appropriate seeds to generate each type of tree.

• Pines: evergreens, which are planted with the pinecone; produce Pine Tar
  
• Maple: friendly looking deciduous trees, planted with the winged seed; produce Maple Syrup
  
• Oak: more solid looking deciduous trees, acorns; produce Oak Resin

Required for house upgrades and certain crafted items, you can find hardwood in the large downed trees and the giant stumps scattered around your property.

Additional Hardwood can be gathered once a day in the Enchanted Forest, (12 pieces/day).

Foraging skill can be built in multiple ways:

• Collecting wild plants outdoors, as well as shells on the beach and crystals in the mines
  
• Chopping Trees
  
• Farming wild plants**

• This is probably the most overpowered way to quickly build Forage skill.
  
  
• Collect the various plant types you need for each seasonal seed packet. Craft the Packet.
  
  
• Plant the seeds on your farm.
  
  
• They take approximately 8 days to grow.
  
  
• Harvest, then craft more packets!
  
  
• Keep planting as you collect more seeds. Stop only at the end of the season.
  
  
• Give yourself a buffer of seeds (say 100 packets), then sell the rest at the end of the season, keeping a few items left for cooking[stardewvalleywiki.com].

Wild seeds are the only plantable things in Winter, so make use of them!


Foraging is a useful skill to build, since it gives you the Lightning Rod item (L6), which is needed to create batteries. You will also be able to build Warp Totems as you level up.

• Inventory management -- take as little as possible to the mine -- sword, pickaxe, and food.
  
  
• Food is necessary at the beginning of the game, when you run out of energy quickly. (Grab some berries in Spring/Fall).
  
  
• Upgrading your pickaxe will allow you to conserve your energy.
  
  
• If you run out of space, you can trash things you don't need. Never trash: coal, ores, clay, artifacts, (unless you have them). Feel free to trash: Fiber, wood, stone.
  
  
• Foraging skill can be upgraded by harvesting crystals. No room? Trash a previous stack.
  
  
• Ore Levels:
  
  • Copper Ore - Levels 1-39
    
  • Iron Ore - Levels 40-79
    
  • Gold Ore - Levels 80-120
    
  • Iridium Ore -- See Skull Mine below.
  
  
• Use your hoe in the mines in sandy areas -- you can dig up rare artifacts! Levels 90-93 are perfect for this!
  
  
• Break boxes with your sword, as it uses no energy.
  
  
• If you die and lose your sword (in early-game), use your scythe instead!
  
  
• Mine floors are at the same layout each run through. Thus you can remember your favored farming spots.
  
  
• Note the midnight hour; Zzzs will appear above your head. Leave the mine immediately if you don't have the Mine Carts yet. If you do, you can leave at 1:00 and still make it home.
  
  
• Complete the Mine Carts bundle, (or buy from Joja), to have super-fast access to the mines, and eliminate the possibility of falling asleep outside.
  
  
• Crabs from the shelled organisms in the mines count for the seafood bundle.

• WARNING -- using bombs will destroy any special materials (ores, gems, etc.), and you will get only plain stone.
  
  
• The area refreshes its special rocks over time.
  
  
• All nodes, even iridium, gem nodes, etc. can be found in the Quarry.
  
  
  Not much in the Quarry today!

It can be a challenge to get deep into the Skull Mine, but it is easily possible. Iridium nodes gain spawn rate every 10 levels.

• Go on a Lucky day. (Consult the TV Fortune Teller).
  
  
• A Lucky day will increase your chances of finding exits, node spawn, and in the event you die, will reduce your losses.
  
  
• Bring LOTS of bombs. The Dwarf can sell them to you if you need them.
  
  
• After you've explored a while, you'll have masses of gold ore -- craft into Mega Bombs (4 gold ore, 1 Void Essence, 1 Solar Essence). This speeds exploring immensely.
  
  
• Bring stacks of stone for staircases. One stack (of 999) will move you 10 floors down.
  
  
• Spicy Eel is a good choice of food: it gives +1 Luck, +1 Speed. Pumpkin Soup is also great: +2 Luck, +2 Defense. Combine that with Coffee for a speed boost.
  
  
• If you get hurt a lot, don't waste "special" food -- bring cheese instead! Gold star Cheese heals 90 HP in one meal. (Made with Big Milk).
  
  
• Use bombs to destroy clusters of rock to find exits to the next level.
  
  
• Jump down holes to skip multiple floors. (Holes are ALWAYS superior to ladders, which only take you one floor down).
  
  
• Bring additional food to heal yourself. Jumping hurts! (And enemies are dangerous too).
  
  
• Watch out for the flying dragon things -- they will charge at you as soon as you enter a new floor.
  
  
• Run through without spending time to kill enemies
  
  
• Use staircases ALWAYS on:
  
  1. "Infested" areas. Killing all monsters takes time.
     
  2. The Spiral map. The way around is always too long.
  
  
  Sometimes you get lucky!

• Crack open your geodes on Lucky days -- you'll have a better chance of getting high-quality items like iridium ore and rare minerals.
  
  
• Coal continues to be important throughout the game. The best ways of farming it:
  
  • Farm Floors 40-79 in the Mine for Dust Sprites, which drop coal
    
    
  • Follow tracks or a pathway on floors that have them, at the end, check for a minecart filled with coal -- right click and it will spill out. (The same applies to sacks on the floor.)
    
    
  • Wear your Burglar's Ring -- it doubles loot from monsters
    
    
  • Farm purple slimes in the Skull Mine -- Giant slimes break into tinier ones, and these hordes can give you a LOT of coal in one run.
    
    
  • Recycle Trash & Driftwood (from fishing/crab pots) for a chance at Coal.

• It is best to learn to dodge/back-up when monsters get too close, then move toward them again to get a hit.
  
  
• When you get a sword that swings fast enough, you can keep swinging at mobs so they get knocked back slightly, enabling you to stand in one place and spam click them.
  
  
• Slimes will "hunker down" in preparation for a jump attack. This attack covers several squares and will hit you if you are close. When they "hug the ground", get in a hit! The hit interrupts the jump sequence.
  
  
  A slime preparing for its jump attack.
  
  
  
• Take care where you point your cursor. Directional facing in this game is a bit inexact, so point the cursor in the direction yhou want to strike.
  
  
• The sword has a nice arc that covers three sides of you. To hit an enemy at max distance, make sure the enemy is in front of you.
  
  
• Some flying enemies don't like to attack when you are facing them. Therefore, turn away, and turn toward them when they have aggroed you.
  
  
• Put food on your hotbar to save you if your HP gets too low.
  
  
• Use the mouse wheel to quickly switch between items on the hotbar.
  
  
• You can use "special moves" on your weapon by clicking the right mouse button. I find swords to be the most useful weapon. The rt. click action is a Block, which mitigate hp loss, and also slightly damages your enemy.m
  
  
• BEWARE dying in the Mines.... you can lose stacks and stacks of items, including your sword. (I have lost as many as 23 stacks on one run). DO NOT DIE. Going on a Lucky Day minimizes death losses.

There is a change of music, and a green or red haze/wavy lines appear all over the screen. Get ready for a bat/flying creature attack! If you are ill-prepared, run for the exit ladder. Otherwise, get out your sword and defend yourself -- multiple bats will come at you, though the effect will end in a short time.


Early on, go for:

• Glow Ring - Provides light in mid-level floors. (This or the small version can be found by killing slimes)
  
  
• Magnet Ring - saves time in picking up items. (Drops from enemies in levels 40-80). The Magnet ring is also highly useful for picking up lumber on the farm.

These are the rings I use for end-game:

• Iridium Band -- having the glow & 10% damage increase is already fantastic, but the magnetic draw alone will save you masses of time. Crafted.
  
  
• Burglar's Ring -- greatly increases monster loot drops. Gotten by killing 500 Dust Sprites. These are found in levels 40-79 of the mines.

• Buy weapons sparingly. You will often find something better in the mines.
  
  
• The Forest Sword is excellent. (Found in breakable boxes). The Lead Rod (Starred Slimes) is tempting to use, but the swing rate is VERY low.
  
  
• The buyable rings are not terribly useful. Instead, the ones earned from the monster kills can be VERY good.
  
  
• Don't try to grind the kills unless you want a specific prize. The only two I would recommend are the Slime Ring -- prevents all damage from slimes, and the Burglar's Ring -- (info above). Slime ring is obtained through killing 1k slimes.
  
  
• All of the monsters (from the Wanted Poster) must be killed in the regular mines except slimes. (Slimes are the only monsters found in both the regular mine and the Skull mine).
  
  
• Feel free to buy the Lava Katana when you can. It is the best weapon until you can get the Galaxy Sword, for which is required a Prismatic Shard, (can be difficult to find).

• Slimes -- found everywhere
  
  
• Void Spirits - Levels 80-119. (Wiki picture is incorrect at present writing). These are the shadowy black guys that don't take knockback. (They are not the shaman/masked ones). Drop Void Essences.
  
  
• Bats - found everywhere
  
  
• Skeletons - Levels 70-79
  
  
• Cave Insects - Levels 1-29. Easiest to kill are the bi-directional ones that ignore you. Random flying ones and worms count too. Drop Bug Meat.
  
  
• Duggies - Levels 1-30. They hide in soft dirt. Drop Earth Crystals
  
  
• Dust Sprites - Levels 40-79. (The bouncy, squeaking black fuzzy balls). They drop coal!

Two Cave Flies and a Duggy.

A lot of people complain that fishing is difficult -- they're right... it is. It's meant to be. Fishing is designed to be a skill that the gamer actually can become good at with practice!

First of all, you are NOT meant to catch the most difficult fish when you have a Fishing Skill of 1. The most "bouncy" and hard-to-catch fish are best caught when you are at level 10, and buffed.

To improve your fishing skill, first fish in the rivers -- those are the easiest-to-catch fish, especially in Spring.


At level 10, the Fishing Bar becomes enormous, making it easier to catch even the most difficult of fish.


At Level 3, you are able to craft Crab Pots. If you are terrible at fishing, these handy little things will provide you with:

• XP each time you harvest them
  
• Trash (which can be recycled into various materials[stardewvalleywiki.com])
  
• Special fish (needed for the bundle, or cookable into Sushimi, etc., a cheap food to take to the mines).

The best Resource is the Official Wiki, which lists seasons, weather, and times where the fish can be found, as well as difficulty graphs, etc. Also shown are the best places to get Gold Star fish. Here: http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Fish

• Be Level 10 in Fishing Skill.
  
  
• Check the wiki (http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Fish) for specific locations, and weather conditions, of where the legendary fish can be found.
  
  
• "Lucky" days make the fish more "calm". Consult the Fortune Teller on your television.
  
  
• Use a buff food, such as Dish O' the Sea for a +3 Fishing buff. Alternatively, eat a dish with a +3 Luck buff. The Fishing buff makes the bar slightly larger; Luck makes the fish calmer.
  
  
• Use a Cork Bobber (larger bar), or a Trap Bobber (fish progress goes down more slowly)
  
  
• To catch the Legend, you do NOT need to have caught all other legendary fish.

• There are also legendary fish in the Mine, Floors:
  
  • 20
    
  • 60
    
  • 100
  
  
• These fish ignore time & weather constraints.
  
  
• Make sure you also fish Green Algae, White Algae, and the Ghostfish from the mines! (Getting these items from mobs/crates doesn't count!)
  
  Level 100, where the Lava Eel dwells.
  
  
  
  Miscellaneous
  • Especially at low skill levels of Fishing, make sure to go out on a Lucky day -- this will help with the fish being calmer.
    
    
  • Where there are bubbles, fish bite faster! Note that these locations often require less than Max cast. You know you are successful if you get blue sparkles when the bobber lands.
    
    
  • Plan ahead: leave a chest at your favorite fishing spot, and put the extra catch in there if your inventory is too full to take it home. Keep some extra bait inside too!
    
    
  • Planning on going Fisher/Angler? You can keep your fish until you reach these level 5 and 10 skill perks, then sell your fish for more money. Note that the perks do NOT stack. Angler adjusts your fish sale price to +50%. (See Skill Choices & Perks Section).
    
    
  • Some people find it easier to fish while using a controller. The rumble helps with the timing of the initial hooking Hit.
    
    
  • Tackle doesn't stack, so instead of bringing several with you when you go out, bring the materials of your favorite one instead.
    
    
    One stack of gold bars will give you all the tackle you need for a day's worth of treasure hunting via fishing.

• Leveling up skills reduces the energy needed to perform each task. (e.g. +1 Hoe Proficiency will reduce the energy needed to perform the hoeing action)
  
  
• Leveling in the Farming skill appears to result in a higher ratio of silver- and gold-starred produce, even without using fertilizer. Foraging is also comparable.
  
  
• High Fishing skill increases the size of your fishing bar.

A lot of the choices in Stardew Valley depend on play style... these are my recommendations with the reasoning behind them. The full list can be found here: http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Skills

L5

• Rancher - Animal Products worth 10% more
  
• Tiller - Crops worth 10% more

Tiller -- an easy choice, since the vast majority of products are crops. Also, the L10 Perks are superior to the Rancher upgrades.

L10 - Tiller

• Artisan - Artisan Goods (wine, cheese, oil, etc.) worth 50% more.
  
• Agriculturist - All crops grow 10% faster

Artisan -- Another easy choice. Even though testing on Agriculturalist shows that the time savings is greater than 10%, it doesn't stack with Speed-Gro fertilizers, and it doesn't impact multi-harvest plants' growth times. Unless you hate processing goods, Artisan is by far the best choice here, and the most efficient way to make money in the game.


L5

• Miner - +1 ore per vein
  
• Geologist - Chance for Gems to appear in pairs.

Miner -- the less time I have to gather ores, the better. The + ores also counts for Iridium.

Geologist is also an excellent path, depending on your proclivities.

L10 - Miner

• Blacksmith - Metal Bars worth 25% more
  
• Prospector - Coal find doubled.

Prospector -- There's so much coal needed in the game -- for smelting, crafting into beehives, etc. Also, I never sell bars, only use them for crafting.

L10 - Geologist

• Excavator - Geode find doubled
  
• Gemologist - Gems worth 30% more

Excavator -- Geodes can have rare artifacts, gems, and are a decent source for Iridium. Unless you want to specialize in making money from mining, Excavator should be the choice for a Geologist.


L5

• Forester - Wood worth 50% more
  
• Gatherer - Chance for double harvest of Foraged Items

Gatherer -- This provides a huge benefit, especially when you farm Wild Seeds. With Forester, wood goes up to a whopping 3g each... The L10 perk of "occasionally dropping hardwood" from normal trees is not needed -- there's plenty of hardwood in the world.

L10 - Gatherer

• Botanist - Foraged Items are always Gold quality
  
• Tracker - Locations of foragable items are revealed.

Botanist -- This is an amazing perk, not only because it works on farmed wild seeds, but also helps you de-clutter your inventory... no more keeping several qualities of foraged items! Unless you cannot remember a single location of wild stuff, Tracker isn't the best choice here.


L5

• Fisher - Fish worth 25% more.
  
• Trapper - Resources required to craft crab pots reduced

Either choice is good here. Most importantly it depends on your play style. If you love the fishing mini-game, go Fisher. If not, but you still want to level, go Trapper. A horde of crab pots will allow you to level your fishing skill without taking out your pole.

L10 - Fisher

• Angler - Fish worth 50% more
  
• Pirate - Chance to find Treasure doubled.

Again, choice. If you primarily make money from fishing, Angler is amazing in that regard. (Do note that Fisher & Angler do NOT stack. If Angler is chosen, it is a flat sales increase of +50%). However, Pirate is great since many rare artifacts can be fished from treasure boxes, as well as gems, minerals, etc.

L10 - Trapper

• Mariner - Crab Pots never catch trash
  
• Luremaster - Crab Pots no longer need to be baited.

Luremaster -- Trash is actually very useful[stardewvalleywiki.com], converting into coal, and refined quartz, (among other things), which you need masses of. There is a definite convenience in not having to carry around bait every day.


L5

• Fighter - All attacks deal 10% more damage. +15 HP
  
• Scout - Critical strike chance increased by 50%.

Fighter -- the Scout's increase on Crit chance does NOT mean you will have a crit hit every other blow. Since there is no data at present to determine what the actual chance is, Fighter provides a much more reliable and concrete choice for damage. Also, the L10 perks for Scout pale in comparison to Figher's.

L10 - Fighter

• Brute - Damage is increased by 15%
  
• Defender - HP is increased by 25.

Brute -- the HP buff on Defender is minimal at best. The damage increase is much more likely to increase your survivability.

It's very important to keep a tidy cache of items, so you can easily find what you need.

One of the first items you should craft when you begin the game is a Chest. You'll want to keep your inventory relatively clear so you can gather as many materials as possible, especially with limited backpack space.

• Store all unneeded items in a chest -- that includes tools as well. When you go to the mines, or out foraging, every space counts.
  
  
• As soon as possible, upgrade to the 24 slot backpack. You can play pretty well with this for a good chunk of the game.
  
  
• Around the time you are getting to the Skull Mine is a good time to upgrade to the 36 slot pack, if you haven't done so already.
  
  
• As you go along in a mine, trash items that are minimally useful to make room for more valuable items.

• Create a categorization system for items that makes sense to YOU, and which you will remember. I use a chest for each, aligned in a row outside the house:
  
  • Plant stuff: Forage, wood, sap
    
  • Rock stuff: ores, gems, bars
    
  • Fish
    
  • Monster stuff: slime, bug meat, bat wings, etc., tree saps, batteries
    
  • Seeds & extra sprinklers/paths
    
    
  • Inside each crafting area: 1 chest holding fruits for wine making, etc.
    
  • Inside the barn: 1 chest with shears & milking pail.
    
  • In the house: 1 chest for mining food, 2 chests + fridge for holding fruit & veg, etc. for cooking.
    
  • By the Greenhouse: 3 chests to store seeds, (one for each season).
  
  From house stairs, going right to left: Plants, Rocks, Fish, Monster Stuff, Seeds. Chest near the crops is for Adventurer's Guild items. It's no accident that I place Plants & Rocks next to each other -- the most used chests in the game.
  
  
  
• Don't keep every single quality (star rating) of every single item. Just take the largest number stack, and sell the rest. E.g. You have 3 regular blueberries, 2 silver star, and 7 gold star. Keep the 7, sell the others.
  
  
• Do keep ingredients for cooking your mining food, and also the Cooking Achievements.
  
  
• Wondering how many of which crops to keep for the Cooking achievement? Here's a spreadsheet[docs.google.com] I created to calculate how many you'll need to make each dish once.
  
  
• Consider keeping relevant items near their processing machines. E.g. Have a chest near your crab pots to store Bait, so you don't forget to bring it.
  
  
• Keeping a memorable system is useful for multiple farms; (different characters/play-throughs).
  
  
• You can place chests in Community areas, such as outside of people's homes to store their favorite gifts, etc.
  
  

Falling-over sleepy...

Sometimes you will wake up with only half energy. This is caused by:

1. The Exhaustion debuff.
   
2. Random chance.

This has been tested, and falling asleep outside the house, inside, luck, seems to make no difference, nor does bedtime.

Exhaustion can be removed with a medicine sold at the Doctor's office.

You can replenish energy with:

• Food
  
• The Baths in the northernmost part of the map.

Relaxing/Replenishing Energy in the Baths

Some people have complained that movement speed in the game is too slow.... to me it feels just right.

There are a number of ways to increase your speed:

• Turn Auto-Run ON in the Options menu.
  
  
• Buy a horse! (Does not need tending/feeding).
  
  
• Eat Speed Boost foods like Coffee, and Spicy Eel.
  
  
• Fix the Mine Carts -- this is a huge time-saver because it zaps you instantly across the map.
  
  
• Totems are also insta-zap to where you want to be.
  
  
• Remember, this is a Time Management game -- plan your routes effectively to save hours in the day.
  
  
• Note that Coffee does not work after 12:00 midnight, so don't plan on using it for a speed boost to get you home!

Corwyn & Sinana, the best of friends

• Love Interests are marked as (Single) in the relationship window. (You cannot marry anyone who is not marked in this way).
  
  
• Relationships only go up to 8/10 hearts unless you indicate your romantic interest by giving your intended a bouquet, (bought from Pierre's).
  
  
• At 10 hearts, you can give your sweetheart the Mermaid Pendant, bought from the Mariner on the Eastern Beach on a rainy day. This proposes marriage and has the NPC move in with you to be your spouse. (You must have repaired the Beach Bridge to get to the Mariner. Note: he does not spawn in winter, as snow isn't counted as rain.)
  
  
• Gay or Straight marriage are both options. Any Single NPC is capable of loving your character!
  
  
  
  The Heart Panel tells you who is Single, (Harvey in this selection), your affection status (number of hearts), and how many gifts you've given them this week (green checked boxes).

• Your Spouse will move in with you after the wedding, which is 3 days after you propose.
  
  
• Your spouse will gain 2 extra hearts for a total of 12.
  
  
• When you overcap that and get them to 13/12 hearts, they will give you a Stardrop!
  
  
• To have a baby, your house MUST be fully upgraded to have the child's room/nursery.
  
  
• To produce a child, go to bed just before your spouse does, and they will ask you if you want to have a baby.
  
  
• Your spouse will: complain, water crops, kiss you, water your pet, fix fences, etc.
  
  
• When he/she moves in, their personal space will be added as an extra room to your home.

• Gift them their favorite item on their birthday, and the relationship will go up by 3 hearts!
  
  
• Talking to them raises the relationship as well, and so do gifts. For best results, give a gift and talk to them as well to get the benefit of both.
  
  
• Villagers have favorites, but if you don't desire to carry around a dozen items or more, use universal favorites like salad & fruit. (Wiki Guide to Villagers[stardewvalleywiki.com])
  
  
• Flowers are also well-loved gifts. Blue Jazz in Spring, Spangles in Summer, and Fairy Roses in Fall.
  
  
  Flowers make fabulous gifts!
  
  
  
• You can give people 2 gifts per week. (This does NOT include the Bulletin Board requests).
  
  
• Relationships do decay, so make sure to talk to each person at least once per week to offset this decline.
  
  
• Can't find a specific person? The Wiki[stardewvalleywiki.com] includes scheduling information... very useful for introverts like Sebastian who stays in his (inaccessible) room most of the time.
  
  
• Hangouts: (Where you can find a lot of people at once).
  
  • Tuesday mornings/afternoons at Pierre's - Women's exercise class
    
  • Friday nights at the saloon - most of the gang is here then
    
  • Festivals - an opportunity to talk to everyone
  
  
• At 2 hearts, you are permitted to enter their bedrooms. It makes talking to people much easier if they "hide" a lot in their rooms.
  
  
• At 3 hearts, most NPCs will start to send you recipes. These recipes can ONLY be gotten from them. (TV recipes never include the NPC recipes). At 7 hearts, they often send another recipe.
  
  
• At specified heart levels, most NPCs have a cut scene that you witness/participate in.
  
  
• Buy a Calendar from Robin, so you can place it in your home, and check birthdays. That way, you can bring their favorite gift when you go into town!
  
  
  Having a calendar at home can be a big time-saver!

Cooking is important because in the mines you will need decent food in order to survive. Early on, you really don't need to cook -- the berries, etc. that you forage will carry you forward. But in the Skull Mine, the enemies hit a lot harder!

• To cook you NEED a kitchen: the first house upgrade, which costs 10k gold and 450 wood.
  
  
• Watch TV every day to see if there is a Queen of Sauce episode -- it will teach you new recipes!
  
  
• Reaching 3 heart relationship levels, most NPCs will start to send you recipes. These recipes can ONLY be gotten from them. (TV recipes never include the NPC recipes). At 7 hearts, they often send another recipe.
  
  
• Note that dishes which give skill buffs do NOT stack if they share stats. The most recently eaten meal will cancel out the previous buff. E.g. If you eat Dish o' The Sea (+3 Fishing) and then Trout Soup (+1 Fishing), you will have +1 Fishing.
  
  
• If meals do NOT share a stat, as in Pumpkin Soup (+2 Luck, +2 Defense), and Coffee (+1 Speed), all effects will apply.
  
  
• Make sure you collect special fish & crops in season, including Fiddlehead Fern, Hazelnuts, etc.
  
  
  The kitchen -- where cooking gets done!

• Sushimi -- Early on, this easy-to make improvement to regular fish is a cheap alternative to buying food. Craft with crab pot fish + the recipe from Linus (3 hearts).
  
  
• Spicy Eel -- Best gotten as a drop from the flying dragon things in the Skull Mine, it gives you +1 Luck and +1 Speed. The tricky part is catching all the eels.... (Don't bother!)
  
  
• Pumpkin Soup -- +2 Luck, +2 Defense. An amazing recipe from Robin (7 hearts), which can be eaten in combination with Coffee (Saloon) for the +1 Speed boost as well.
  
  
• Cheese (Gold Star) -- made with Large Milk, this cheap product will boost your hp & energy by miles, allowing you to save on your Pumpkin Soup.

• Lobster Bisque is by far the easiest to make, requiring 1 milk and 1 Lobster, which gives +3 fishing skill.
  
  
• Pumpkin Soup has +2 Luck (if you prefer Luck instead of Fishing Skill), and only needs 1 milk and 1 pumpkin.

I've calculated all the ingredients needed to make each dish once for the achievement. The spreadsheet is way too big to fit here, so here's the link on Google Docs[docs.google.com].

I'm hoping this will assist with inventory control, and taking the guess work out of how many of which crop you will need to keep..

The Stardew Valley Fair!


Some of the most fun & cohesive moments of the game come from events! The Calendar of events can be found here: http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Festivals

• Bring money. Nearly every event sells special items, Rarecrows, or decor.
  
  
• Bring what they tell you for best success.
  
  
• The mail will (generally) notify you the day before the event takes place so you have some time to prepare and plan.
  
  
• Mayor Lewis starts all of the events, so look for him and keep clicking for his dialogue.

• Gather 9 colored eggs to win! Prize is a Straw Hat and 1,000 gold. Plan your route carefully: there are Youtube videos that show the best routes.
  
  
• Buy as many Strawberry Seeds as you can afford. Plant them immediately, or the next year.

• Unless you worked REALLY hard on relationships, you will be unable to dance with anyone. You need a minimum relationship level of 4 hearts.

• Bring gold star produce/fish. Artisan goods do NOT work.

• Bring your best items for the farm judging competition. Recommended: 1-2 artisan items, Gold star: fish, forage, crops, animal products. Variety is good. A win will net you 1000 Star Tokens.
  
  
  A Winning Combo at the Fair.
  
  
  
• Have your items judged FIRST & collect your tokens. After the result pick your products up, or you will lose them when you exit the Fair.
  
  
• The Fishing minigame is the easiest way to earn tokens after the judging competition. Most important is the ratio of perfect catches. Quantity of fish is important too, but a Perfect catch is critical. Earn 230+ tokens at a time with decent ratio and 6 fish caught.
  
  
• If your fishing skills are a bit rusty, it's best not to grind it out -- wait until next year when you have gotten better and upgraded your Fishing skill. Alternatively, you can use the fishing minigame to practice!
  
  
• Exact Judging Rules for the Fair Booth: (Mouse-over the black square)
  
  • You get 14 points automatically.
    
  • Each unique category (e.g. Fish, Flower, Vegetable) represented in your display earns 5 points.
    
  • Normal quality items receive 1 point, silver star items receive 2 points, and gold star items receive 3 points.
    
  • Higher-valued items receive more points. An item earns one additional point for reaching each indicated sell value: 20g, 90g, 200g, 300g, 400g.

• Go through the maze to find the Golden Pumpkin!
  
  
  I love this reference to the old folktale of Baba Yaga.

• Succeed in the Ice Fishing contest and win three tackles & a Sailor's Cap.
  
  
• Stand next to the hole, and make sure you cast immediately -- a long cast will miss the water.

This section will be short, since there are many other guides out there on getting Achievements. These are just some helpful tips.

• Gather items for the Community Center Bundles FIRST, before selling them.
  
  
• As you get them, put items in a chest on your farm. Then, when convenient, take them a load at a time to the Community Center. (Refrain from taking one item at a time...)
  
  
• You can check the status of your bundles through the Esc Menu -- an Icon to the right will show you what you still need. However, you must physically drop off the items at the Community Center.
  
  
• Bring even partial collections of items to the Center. The only items needed all-at-once are the fodder items (10 Hay, etc.), and the Gold Star produce (5 of each type).
  
  
• Note that some bundles have options -- you don't always have to get the entire list of tiems, but instead choose which are easiest for you to find/grow/get.

• The caravan comes every Friday and Sunday -- buy rare items for the bundles/achievements, especially if RNG is not favoring you. (Void Egg, Rabbit's foot, Duck feather, Rainbow Shell)
  
  
• Start relationships when you have stuff to give -- not the first day of Spring. It's important to build them up over time, but starting too early in the game wastes your precious hours.
  
  
• Be sure to commit to ONE course -- either the Community Center or Joja Mart. Doing a bundle or two, then switching to Joja will get you NEITHER achievement. The two achievements are exclusive and require two playthroughs.
  
  
• The money achievements come naturally -- do not worry too much about those.
  
  
• Note that most achievements have a corresponding hat that you can buy at the Mouse merchant in the abandoned house.
  
  
• Fishing is a good skill to build up over time, as the Master Angler achievement requires that ALL fish must be caught. (Buying them doesn't count). Some of the fish are impossible to catch at low levels, and some are seasonal. Be ready to catch these guys in their proper seasons in Year 2 or 3 by building your Fishing skill to level 10.
  
  
• Some achievements, like A Complete Collection require good RNG luck, and a significant amount of playtime.
  
  
• The Polyculture achievement, (ship 15 of each crop), ONLY requires produce from seeds acquried at Pierre's and Sandy's shops. It does NOT require tree fruit, (oranges, cherries, etc.), foraged items, etc., and certainly not all of the things on the Collections -> Items Shipped section of menu.
  
  
• Note that for the Polyculture, Monoculture, and Full Shipment Achievements, you MUST use the Shipping Box on your farm. (Selling to Pierre doesn't count).
  
  
• The achievement to craft every item (Craft Master) requires you to craft one of every item in the game, including:
  
  • All of the crafting patterns Robin sells. (She restocks every time you enter her house -- make sure you grab them all!)
    
  • Flute Box & Drum box (both from a heart event from Robin)
    
  • All of the crafting patterns Pierre sells.
    
  • Crystal Floor, Wicked Statue (sold by Krobus, Sewers)
    
  • Wild Bait (Heart event from Linus)
    
  • Flower Box (buy it at the Flower Dance event, Spring)
    
  • Jack-O-Lantern (Spirit's Eve Event, Fall)
    
  • Ancient Seed (donate one Ancient Seed to the Museum to get the recipe)
    
  • All Rings, Fertilizers, Bombs, Flooring, Lighting fixtures, totems, etc.
    
  • Full list at the Wiki[stardewvalleywiki.com]
  
  
• Prairie King requires a lot of practice. It helps immensely to play on Lucky days which increases the drop rates of buffs/coins.
  
  
• Gourmet Chef (cook all the recipes) requires that you HAVE all the recipes -- watch tv and get to know your neighbors -- they will send recipes in the mail.
  
  
  The Mouse Merchant!

• If you can catch it, the Train moves across the Northern part of the map, and drops coal, stone, geodes, etc. if you are present. The Luck factor of the day determines its generosity.
  
  
  
  
  
• Pick up extra Income outside Pierre's on the Bulletin Board. Often these are fetch quests, which you have two days to do. A yellow exclamation point denotes a new quest. Remember to turn them in! Claim your rewards from the Quest window.
  
  
  
  
  
• Large, tree-sized mushrooms may start to grow on your farm in Fall, Year 2. Chopped, they can produce various mushrooms, mostly red. Tapped, they also produce mushrooms.
  
  
  
  
  
• Demetrius will ask you if you want a mushroom farm or fruit bats.... always take the mushrooms -- some of them are nearly impossible to find in the mines, and are very rare in the Enchanted Forest. You can make the Life Elixer only by combining 4 types of mushrooms. You get 6 random mushrooms at a spawn rate of once every 48 hours.
  
  
• From all reports, Fruit bats leave very little fruit behind in comparison to the mushroom boxes.
  
  
  A variety of mushrooms spawn within the cave.
  
  
  
• Lightning storms only happen in Spring, Summer, and Fall; there are NONE in WInter. (Make sure you get your lightning rods placed early in the game!)
  
  
• Pam arrives at the Bus Stop at around 10:00 AM.

A lot of people ask "Why do people like Stardew Valley?" I think the best answer is that it is so very diverse a game, and that's why it appeals to a huge variety of people.

• No time limits. Accomplish as much, (or as little), as you wish. Play with goals or without them.
  
  
• Variety of professions. Don't fancy being a farmer? You can be a miner, a fisherman, a slime-combat operative, a lumberjack, a wanderer, a gambler, an arcade gamer! ... or any combination of all of them.
  
  
• Quests -- all are optional. Villagers have (often amusing) requests that you can choose to fill, or not, at your prerogrative. Nothing is required.
  
  
• Achievements. These exist to challenge you and help you discover the world of Stardew Valley, which holds many secrets. None are required, and there is no time limit on any of them.
  
  
• Sandbox farm management. Such a delightful part of the game, you design your farm any way you see fit, placing buildings, crops, pathways, furniture where you want them to go, creating the ideal farm! I love that you can let your animals outside to graze, and see them wandering around!
  
  
• For those more hardcore among us, you can min-max to your heart's content! You can create a massive, sprawling farm, running it like a factory production.
  
  
• Equally, you can have a small, comfortable farm that brings simple pleasures!
  
  
• The Fishing Minigame is superbly fun, and provides challenge even at the highest levels. (Of course, if fishing doesn't appeal, it isn't required!)
  
  
• Romantic relationships with the same or opposite sex provide an open-minded diversity that embraces modern societal values.
  
  
• Platonic interactions with the Villagers reveal the back-story of the charming and interesting Pelican Village, which holds plenty of secrets!
  
  
• Totally open-ended. There are no time limits, and your game & farm can go on indefinitely!

I hope you've found this guide useful! As always, a a rating or comment is always appreciated :-)

Above all, enjoy playing Stardew Valley!!!