Hey guys! This is a quick run through of hacks and tips for the Stardew Valley beginner. Some of these are money making tips, and others are ways to make your gameplay easier and more enjoyable. They’ll be in order from the beginning of the year onwards, and then anything else that doesn’t have an ideal timeline, or is just general advice. I got all of this information from my own experience backed up with the Stardew Valley Wiki.
Caroline and her Tea: Some villager’s friendships are more financially rewarding than others. Caroline (who lives at the general store with her family, Pierre and Abigail) is a great person to befriend quickly. Gift her daffodils (an easy spring forage) to boost her hearts quicker, and at two hearts you’ll be rewarded with a cutscene. To trigger it, enter her tea room in the kitchen of her house on a sunny day. She’ll talk about how much she likes her tea, and the next day you’ll get the recipe for tea saplings in the mail. Craft some and plant them. They produce tea leaves the last week of every season, which you can either sell or turn into tea with a keg. When the week is over, you can chop the saplings down and sell them as well, or leave them for the next season.
Fishing: are the fish giving you a hard time? In that case, buy the training rod from Willy at his shop. It’ll expand your fishing bar and make it easier to catch, at the expense of getting lower quality and less expensive fish.
Strawberries: strawberries are the best money maker in spring. However, they’re not available until the Egg Festival on Spring 13th. Save your money, as they’re 100g a seed. You can even pre-hoe and water the area you’d like to plant them in before the festival, which will save you time. If you’re really rushing, after the festival you can turn in all your spring crops to the community center to get 20 Speed-Gro, and get an extra harvest out of your strawberries.
The TV: use your television! Everyday it’ll give you a weather forecast for the next day, and the luck for the current day. On Sundays and Wednesdays it gives you recipes on the Queen of Sauce channel, and Mondays and Thursdays it’ll give you other tips for life in the valley.
Help Wanted Board: next to the entry to Pierre’s General Store there’s a calendar and a request board. The calendar will give you birthdays and events happening that month, but the request board is a little more interesting. Do every quest you can, because for every three you complete, you’ll get a prize ticket. Redeem those at Mayor Lewis’s house for a fun (and useful!) assortment of prizes.
Now onto the other assorted tips!
First day of the season: drink a coffee or eat a food buff! The valley is a big place, and you’ll be spending a lot of time running around clearing the new season’s debris, then buying and planting your new crops. Speed buffs will make your life SO much easier.
Dehydrators and Fish Smokers: these two machines are your friends! If you choose the Riverland Farm you’ll get a smoker for free, and if you choose the mushroom cave you’ll get a free dehydrator. Both of these will be influenced by the Artisan Profession (that’s much later), but even in early game will make you a boat-load of money.
Best crops: the berries will be your best money maker – strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries (spring, summer, and fall, respectively). The dehydrator machine is great for making extra gold, but even just selling the raw fruits is good. Plus, they’re regrowable, which means no replanting more seeds!
Crab pots: these are the hidden gems of the fishing levels. If you don’t like fishing with the rod, buy or make yourself some crab pots and put them in the river, mountain lake, or ocean with some bait. Go down and check them the next day, and reap your rewards: fish, trash, and sweet sweet fishing experience.
Travelling Cart: the merchant visits the valley on Fridays and Sundays and sells assorted items for exorbitant prices. Occasionally there will be something you need or want. It’s worth a check, especially if you’re trying to complete the Community Center in Year 1.
Chair Skipping: there’s a few places in the valley you can’t enter without upgraded tools. The Secret Woods is one of them. However, if you bring a chair with you, you can angle yourself in a way that will let you place the chair on the other side of the log, hop into it, and hop out on the Secret Woods side. Some people hate it, some love it. Do whichever you want! It’s not a competition, and thus, “cheating” doesn’t really affect anything.
The Horse: I would highly recommend getting the stable from Robin as early as you can. Riding the horse is faster than running, and it’ll save you time. You can leave it anywhere in the valley, and by the morning it’ll be in the stable.
And finally, don’t feel the need to rush! Play how you want! There is no wrong way to play! If you want to speed run the game and achieve True Perfection as soon as you can, go for it! If you want to make a pretty farm or a utilitarian farm, it’s up to you! Enjoy the game however you wish.
