Skills and Professions¶
Farming¶
Farming is the most essential part of playing Stardew Valley. There are two types of farming: Crops and Animals
Crops¶
You will need to buy seeds each season and plant them on your farm. You have to water theses crops with your watering can every day, unless it rains. As you progress and sell more crops, your farming skill will increase and you will slowly unlock more and more items that will help you in farming, like for example sprinklers and fertilizer. Sprinklers are a huge deal in Stardew Valley and will be unlocked along the way, these devices make it so you will not have to water the crops daily. Fertilizer can improve the quality and grow times of your crops.
Animals¶
As you gain more money and collect more resources, you will be able to travel north of the town to Robins shop. She gives you the option to build coops and barns. Coops can house 4 chickens and barns can house 4 cows. These buildings can be upgraded to increases their capacity and the types of animals that can be housed, at the cost of resources and money. You will need to milk the cows and collect chicken eggs every day to sell for money and experience.
Buildings¶
Barn
Barn - 4 cows
Big barn - 8 cows or goats
Deluxe barn - 12 cows, goats, sheep, pigs, or ostriches
Coop
Coop - 4 chickens
Big coop - 8 chickens or ducks
Deluxe coop - 12 chickens, ducks, or rabbits
Fishing¶
Fishing is one of the more profitable skills in the game, right above farming. It is very straightforward you must obtain a fishing rod by going to the beach (south of town) and talking to Willy. He will give you your first fishing rod for free and you can use it to level your skill. You start by casting your rod and waiting, you will hear an alert and then you click to reel it in. You will then see the games fishing minigame where you must keep the fish in the green box to catch it. A more valuable fish will be harder to catch. Every time you catch and sell a fish, your skill increases. You will unlock fishing rods and different baits to make catching fish easier and more profitable. Different seasons and different locations around the map will reward differnt types of fish.
Mining¶
The mines are located north-east of the town at the top of the map. There are 120 levels in the mines and each one gets progressively more difficult. The mines are filled with monsters and is essential for obtaining rare items and materials. It offers the most progression towards end-game activities, although it is not very profitable. There are different ores in the game that are used to craft different items and upgrade your tools. As you progress in the mines, the more rare materials and ores you will find and the more challenging the enemies become.
The mines are randomly generated each time you enter. Each floor will have random rocks and ores scattered around that you can use your pickaxe to break. To find your way to the next floor, you will need to get lucky by breaking a rock or killing a monster that will drop the ladder to progress. Every five levels you will reach a checkpoint that you can access later by using the elevator located on the top floor, and every 5th fifth floor. Watch your energy and health though or you can pass out or be killed!
Upon death you will wake up at the top of the mines and lose a random amount of money or items. One item can be retreived from the Adventurers guild outside the mines, the money lost cannot be retrieved.
You can progress your mining skill by mining and selling rare items to obtain new tools to make the mines more profitable and less challenging.
Combat¶
The combat skill in Stardew Valley goes hand-in-hand with the mining skill. This skill increases as you slay more monsters in one of the mines or caves on the map. Each time you level this skill, it unlocks new crafting recipes and weapons that will make you stronger in battle. This skill does not correlate heavily with any means of making money, but it is essential for progressing in the mines.
Foraging¶
Forgaing in Stardew Valley refers to collecting materials and wild fruits or vegetables. You can level this skill by harvesting wood or collecting wild plants. Each level will unlock some useful new crafting recipes and make you more efficient. It is typically done passively (collecting on the way) and in the winter time (when crops cant grow). This skill levels slowly but is essential.