STARDEW VALLEY

Year 1 �?Complete Season Guide

2.1 Spring �?The Foundation

Best crop: Strawberries (Egg Festival, Day 13, 100g each). Plant 30+ for 9,000g profit across season.

Before Day 13: Plant Parsnips (3-day cycle) and Potatoes (1.25x profit). Fishing fills the gap. Reach farming level 6 by end of Spring for Quality Sprinklers.

Mining goals: Floor 80 by Spring 28 (Gold ore). Quality Sprinklers need Gold Bars. This is the most important goal �?without sprinklers, Summer is a watering nightmare.

2.2 Summer �?The Explosion

Best crop: Blueberries (80g seeds, 3 berries per harvest, 7 harvests). Each plant earns 500g+ across the season.

Day 1 Summer: Plant 100+ Blueberries (if you pre-bought seeds). This requires 30+ Quality Sprinklers. With 8 sprinklers watering 24 plants each, that's 192 Blueberries. Each makes ~500g = 96,000g across Summer.

Secondary: Hops (trellis �?use for Pale Ale later). Each plant yields 11 Hops in Summer. Hops �?Keg �?Pale Ale = 300g per. 11 × 300 = 3,300g per Hops plant. Best profit-for-space if you have kegs.

2.3 Fall �?Prepare for Winter

Best crop: Cranberries (240g seeds, 5 harvests average). Each plant earns 1,000g+ across Fall. Alternative: Pumpkins (100g seeds, 320g each). Better single-harvest profit but more labor.

Key goal: Save 100,000g by Winter. Winter has no crops (unless greenhouse unlocked). Build barn + coop and stockpile materials for the year ahead.

2.4 Winter �?Mining & Infrastructure

No outdoor crops. Focus on: Mines (reach floor 120, get Skull Key), Skull Cavern (iridium for sprinklers), Barn + Coop (build and upgrade), Keg production (oak resin �?tap every oak tree in the valley �?you need 100+ kegs by Summer 2).

Oak Resin Preparation: Every oak tree in Stardew Valley produces resin when tapped. Place tappers on 30+ oak trees in Winter (they spread across the valley). One keg = 1 oak resin + 30 wood + 1 copper bar. You need at least 100 kegs for meaningful profit. Start collecting resin NOW.

The Artisan Empire �?Kegs, Jars & Casks

Artisan goods are the single largest money source in Stardew Valley. A single Starfruit Wine (3,150g with Artisan perk) dwarfs any raw crop.

3.1 Kegs �?Your Primary Money Printer

Keg cost: 30 Wood + 1 Copper Bar + 1 Iron Bar + 1 Oak Resin. Processing times: Wine (6.25 days), Pale Ale (1.25 days), Juice (2.5 days), Coffee (0.25 days).

Priority order for processing: Starfruit �?Ancient Fruit �?Hops (Pale Ale) �?Wheat (Beer) �?Coffee.

Keg count targets: Year 1 Winter: 30 kegs. Year 2 Spring: 100 kegs. Year 2 Summer: 200 kegs. Year 2 Fall: 350 kegs. Year 3: 500+.

Best layout: Sheds (upgraded). Big Shed holds 116 kegs (optimal layout). Total cost per shed: ~25,000g + materials. Return: 116 kegs × 1 Starfruit Wine per week (3,150g) = 365,400g per week. One shed pays for itself in a week.

3.2 Preserve Jars �?The Early Game

Cost: 50 Wood + 40 Stone + 8 Coal. Processing time: 2.5 days. Best use: Salmonberries, Blackberries, Vegetables from greenhouse overflow.

Preserve Jars are early-game (before you have enough kegs). A jar makes 2x the base crop value + 50g. For low-value crops (Salmonberry = 5g base), jam = 60g �?that's 12x profit. Build 5-10 jars in Year 1 Spring. Replace with kegs as you go.

3.3 Casks �?The Cellar Endgame

Location: Your house's basement (upgrade to max house). Capacity: 125 casks (optimal layout). Aging: Wine �?Silver (14 days) �?Gold (28 days) �?Iridium (56 days). Iridium quality = 2x base wine value.

Only age Starfruit Wine or Ancient Fruit Wine. Aging Pale Ale or Cheese is a waste. The cellar fills once and you collect every 56 days. Total value: 125 × 6,300g (Iridium Starfruit Wine) = 787,500g every 8 weeks.

Animals �?Coop vs Barn Economy

4.1 Animal Profit Analysis

4.2 Pig Strategy �?The Truffle Empire

Pigs are the most profitable animal. Each pig produces 1-3 truffles per day (foraged from the ground). Gatherer profession: All foraged goods are iridium quality (truffles included). Iridium truffle = 1,250g each. With 12 pigs in a deluxe barn: 12 pigs × 2 truffles × 1,250g = 30,000g per day.

Collector strategy: Check truffle spawns twice per day (morning + evening). Don't process truffles into oil �?with Gatherer profession, iridium truffle sells for 1,250g vs Truffle Oil at 1,065g. Never turn iridium truffles into oil.

4.3 Building Order

1. Barn (6,000g): Buy Summer Year 1. 1 Cow for cheese.
2. Coop (4,000g): Fall Year 1. 4 Chickens for mayonnaise.
3. Deluxe Barn (30,000g): Winter Year 1. Start pigs.
4. Second Deluxe Barn: Spring Year 2. 12 pigs.
5. Auto-Petter: Skull Cavern treasure rooms. Save all auto-petters for pig barns.

Mining & Combat �?The Skull Cavern

5.1 Mine Speedrun (Floors 1-120)

Goal: Reach floor 120 by Spring 20. Strategy: Only mine ore nodes, skip most enemy fights. Use the elevator every 5 floors. Bring 50+ field snacks. Use the sword you find (floor 20 reward).

Key floors: 10 (Copper), 40 (Iron), 80 (Gold). Don't linger. Go down fast, come back later to farm specific ores.

5.2 Skull Cavern �?Floor 100 Strategy

Preparation: Galaxy Sword (bring prismatic shard to the desert, stand between the three pillars), 200+ Bombs, 50+ Mega Bombs, 20+ Staircases, 50+ Spicy Eel, Coffee/Triple Shot Espresso, Desert Warp Totem (for early start).

Strategy: Use a Desert Warp Totem at 6 AM (before 6 AM if possible). Enter Skull Cavern. Use staircases on infested floors and spiral rooms. Bomb large clusters of rocks. Descend fast. Goal: 50 iridium ore per run. With 100+ iridium, craft Iridium Sprinklers (best item in the game).

Floor 100 Objective: Mr. Qi rewards you with the Skull Key. Save this for the casino quest. By floor 100, you should have enough iridium for 10+ Iridium Sprinklers �?enough for 240+ crops.

5.3 Best Weapons

• Galaxy Sword (base): 60-80 damage. Standard best weapon.
• Galaxy Hammer: 50-70 damage + slow swing. Good for knockback.
• Galaxy Dagger: 40-50 damage. Fast. Weak.
• Infinity Weapons: Galaxy weapons + Galaxy Soul (forge upgrade). Galaxy Souls from Qi's Walnut Room for 50 Qi Gems each. Infinity Sword = 80-100 damage.

Fishing �?The Early-Game Gold Mine

6.1 Best Fishing Per Season

6.2 Legendary Fish (One Per Save File)

• Spring �?Legend: Mountain Lake, rainy. Level 10 fishing. Most valuable (5,000g base).
• Summer �?Crimsonfish: East Pier Beach, 6 AM-8 PM. Level 5+.
• Fall �?Angler: Joja Mart bridge, north side. Level 3+.
• Winter �?Glacierfish: Arrowhead Island, Cindersap Forest. Level 7+.
• Any �?Mutant Carp: Sewers. After unlocking the sewer key.

All legendary fish sell for 5,000-9,000g at iridium quality with Fisher + Angler professions. You can only catch each once per save. Save them for the Fair (grange display) or sell them for early capital.

6.3 Crab Pots �?Passive Income

Crab pots require bait. The best setup: 10 crab pots in the ocean (more valuable catches). Each pot produces Lobster, Crab, Shrimp, or Oyster. Lobster �?Lobster Bisque (buff food) or sell raw (200g+). Automate with Lure Master profession (level 10 Fishing). Set once, collect daily.

Community Center Speedrun �?Fall Year 1

7.1 Bundle Priority Order

1. Pantry �?Spring Crops: Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower, Potato. Easiest. Reward: Greenhouse repair.
2. Boiler Room: Gold Bar, Iron Bar, Copper Bar. Reward: Minecarts (fast travel).
3. Pantry �?Summer/Fall/Quality Crops: Blueberry, Melon, Corn, Pumpkin, 5 gold-quality parsnips. Reward: Greenhouse unlocked.
4. Fish Tank: River fish bundle. Reward: Clay.
5. Crafts Room: Spring foraging bundle. Reward: Winter Seeds crafting.

7.2 Greenhouse �?The Game Changer

Complete the Pantry bundles to repair the greenhouse. Plant Ancient Fruit inside. Ancient Fruit grows in all seasons, produces weekly for 9+ months. One ancient fruit �?wine = 2,310g (Artisan). With 116 greenhouse squares, that's 116 × 2,310g = 267,960g per week.

Getting Ancient Seeds: Artifact spots (Mountain Farm, 0.7% chance), Seed Maker (place blueberries for 0.5% ancient seed), Traveling Cart (Friday/Sunday, 600-1,000g). Donate the first Ancient Seed artifact to the museum �?receive 1 Ancient Seed + crafting recipe. Plant it in the greenhouse immediately and use Seed Makers on the harvest.

7.3 Season-Specific Must-Haves

Spring: Save one of each crop for bundles. Save 5 gold-star parsnips (use fertilizer). Summer: Sunflower, Red Cabbage (buy from Traveling Cart if you miss it �?red cabbage is the most commonly missed bundle item). Fall: Pumpkin, Yam, Corn (save one). Winter: Forage isn't needed if you craft Winter Seeds from the Winter Foraging bundle reward.

Ginger Island & The Endgame

8.1 Unlocking Ginger Island

Cost: 1,500g to fix Willy's boat + 200 Hardwood + 5 Iridium Bars + 5 Battery Packs. Materials prep: Start collecting hardwood from the Secret Woods daily. Farm iridium from Skull Cavern. Build lightning rods for batteries.

Unlock by: Spring Year 2 (if you prepped materials in Winter Year 1).

8.2 Ancient Fruit Farm �?Island Setup

The farm on Ginger Island has 800+ tillable tiles. All crops grow in all seasons. Best use: Fill with Ancient Fruit. Use Deluxe Speed-Gro for 10% faster growth.

Setup cost: 800 Ancient Fruit seeds (40,000g using seed makers from greenhouse fruit) + 800 Deluxe Speed-Gro (80,000g). Total: 120,000g initial investment. Weekly profit: 800 × 2,310g (Ancient Fruit Wine) = 1,848,000g per week. Pays for itself in 3 days.

8.3 Volcano Dungeon

10 floors. Bring water (to cool lava floors). Use the summoning staff to skip floors after first clear. Rewards: Dragon Tooth (for the Island Obelisk), Cinder Shard (weapon upgrades), Galaxy Soul (Infinity weapons). Clear the volcano ONCE for the forge �?then speedrun for materials.

8.4 Qi's Walnut Room

Complete all 130 Golden Walnuts (use the parrot in Leo's hut for hints). Unlocks Qi's challenges. Best challenges: "Danger in the Deep" (remixed mines), "Skull Cavern Invasion" (new enemies, better loot), and "Qi's Cuisine" (cook 20 recipes). Qi Gems buy Galaxy Souls and the Horse Flute (summon horse anywhere).

20M Gold by Year 3 �?Full Schedule

10.1 Month-by-Month Targets

10.2 The 20M Checklist

• �?Greenhouse filled with Ancient Fruit (116 plants)
• �?Ginger Island filled with Ancient Fruit (800+ plants)
• �?500+ Kegs (two big sheds + one deluxe shed)
• �?Deluxe Barn ×2 full of pigs (24 pigs total)
• �?Cellar with 125 casks (iridium Starfruit Wine every 56 days)
• �?All Obelisks (Island, Desert, Farm) for fast travel
• �?Golden Clock (10M �?the final purchase)
• �?Auto-petter on every barn
• �?Junimo Hut with all iridium tools