Stardew Valley: 10 Things Every Beginner Should Know

Stardew Valley does not explain much. You inherit a farm, get handed some seeds, and are expected to figure the rest out. After hundreds of hours here are the ten things that would have saved my first few playthroughs.

1. Do not ignore the mines

New players focus entirely on farming and neglect the mines. This is a mistake. The mines give you metal for tools, combat XP, and most importantly a way to unlock better equipment. Prioritize reaching mine level 40 by the end of Spring Year 1 to unlock iron tools.

2. Ship everything you find

In your first season ship one of every crop, forage item, and fish you find. This completes bundles, builds relationships with villagers who love certain items, and gives you a feel for what sells well. Do not hoard items you do not understand yet.

3. Talk to everyone every day

Relationships unlock recipes, cutscenes, and late game content. Talking to a villager once per day gives you friendship points. Giving them a loved gift twice per week multiplies this dramatically. Check the wiki for each villagers loved gifts early it saves months of wasted effort.

4. Upgrade your watering can first

The copper watering can lets you water two tiles at once. The steel can waters a whole row. Upgrading your watering can saves enormous amounts of time and energy every single morning. Take it to the blacksmith on a rainy day so you do not lose a farming day while it is being upgraded.

5. Complete the Community Center not the Joja Mart

You will be tempted to pay Joja Mart for upgrades because it feels faster. Do not. The Community Center route gives you far better rewards including a greenhouse that lets you grow crops in any season, a minecart fast travel system, and the most satisfying story ending in the game.

6. Save your wood and stone

You will need thousands of wood and stone throughout the game for building farm structures, upgrading your house, and crafting equipment. Chop trees and mine rocks every day even when you do not need the materials immediately. You will always need more than you think.

7. Fish on rainy days

Rainy days are perfect for fishing. Many rare fish only appear in rain. Fishing also levels up quickly and the extra income from selling fish significantly boosts your early game economy.

8. Do not stay up past midnight

If you pass out from exhaustion at 2am you lose 10 percent of your gold and wake up with low energy. Always go to bed before midnight. The game autosaves when you sleep so you also never lose progress by going to bed early.

9. Get the backpack upgrade immediately

Your starting inventory is painfully small. The backpack upgrade at Pierres shop costs 2000 gold and doubles your inventory space. Buy it the moment you have the gold it makes everything from mining to foraging significantly less frustrating.

10. Check your TV every morning

The TV in your farmhouse shows the weather forecast and a cooking tip channel. Knowing tomorrow is rainy lets you plan your day perfectly. It takes two seconds and saves constant surprises.