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Stardew Valley is home to some unique and intriguing characters, almost every one of which the player can form friendships and relationships. Becoming closer with the townspeople of Stardew Valley is measured through "heart events," little cutscenes that can be unlocked by achieving a certain level of friendship with any one of the townspeople. After getting a certain number of heart events (eight, to be exact), dating and marriage will become available for the player to dabble in. There are twelve eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in Stardew Valley, one of them being the jock-type Alex.
Although he comes off to be a one-to-one recreation of the jock that bullied you in high school, Alex is a compassionate and vulnerable marriage candidate in Stardew Valley. Through unlocking his heart events the player peels back the layers of rigorous training and dreams of playing grid ball professionally to reveal a sensitive bachelor with nothing short of a big heart. Fortunately for those eager to get to know this charismatic jock, Alex is relatively easy to become close to—and eventually marry—in Stardew Valley.
Tip 1: Learn His Daily Schedule
Much like Shane, Alex is blessed with a relatively easy-to-predict schedule in Stardew Valley. When the player first moves to town, he doesn't seem to be friends with anyone except for Haley. During every season, except for summer, Alex can be found standing outside the dog pen located just outside his house starting at either 4:00 or 6:00 PM. He also stands outside his house, by the big tree, in the fall and spring starting at 8:00 AM.
These consistent aspects of his schedule make him relatively easy to find every day. If he's not hanging around outside his home, he's with Haley. If it's the summer, he'll always be working at the ice cream stand from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. Figuring out whichever location and time is most convenient for the player to leave and seek out talking to him at some point during every day is infinitely helpful to boosting the amount of hearts the player has with Alex.
Tip 2: Give Him Gifts Every Day (Especially His Birthday)
Just like every other bachelor or bachelorette, Alex has his own likes and dislikes when it comes to gifts that the player can give him. Purposefully giving him gifts he dislikes will decrease the amount of friendship points the player has worked to build up with him, but the opposite can happen if players gift him things he loves. Fortunately, his favorite kinds of gifts are relatively easy to farm (literally) in the game, giving the player a surplus of gifts they can use to unlock the different heart events with Alex.
Loves (+80 Friendship Points)
- Complete Breakfast
- Salmon Dinner
- Universal Loves (Golden Pumpkin, Rabbit's Foot, etc...)
Likes (+45 Friendship Points)
- Universal Likes (Diamond, Maple Syrup, etc...)
- All Eggs
- (Except Void Eggs)
Neutral (+20 Friendship Points)
- All Types of Milk
- All Types of Fruit
- (Except Salmonberries)
Dislikes (-20 Friendship Points)
- Salmonberries
- Wild Horseradish
- Universal Dislikes (Stone, Clay, Copper Bar, etc...)
Hates (-40 Friendship Points)
- Holly
- Quartz
- Universal Hates (Weeds, Sea Urchin, Void Mayonnaise, etc...)
Alex's birthday comes up relatively quickly after the player moves to Stardew Valley. His birthday is on the thirteenth day of summer, meaning players only have to get through the first month of gameplay to reach his special day. Giving gifts to the townspeople on their birthday has a couple of perks, including the gift not counting towards the two gifts per week that players can give any one character and the birthday gift having a boosted effect on the amount of friendship points it earns.
Tip 3: Trigger Each Of His Heart Events
Part of the appeal in falling for any one of the bachelors or bachelorettes in Stardew Valley is learning more about them through the heart event cutscenes. Unfortunately, these cutscenes aren't just triggered by the player reaching the certain amount of hearts and friendship points needed to unlock them. The player needs to be in the right place at the right time for many of the cutscenes to trigger, so it's worth learning where and when the player has to be for these cutscenes to play out.
Two Hearts
- Go to the beach during the summer at the same time as Alex.
- The time he goes to the beach differs on the day, but he can be found there anytime between 10:00 and 11:30 AM.
Three Hearts
- Go to the dog pen while Alex is standing outside of it.
FourHearts
- Walk into town after 9:00 AM.
Five Hearts
- Walk into Alex's house while he's inside.
Six Hearts
- Go into Alex's house when he's usually working out.
Eight Hearts
- Go to the beach in the summer.
- The day must be sunny out for this scene to trigger.
Ten Hearts
- Go to the Saloon at night.
- Alex will send the player a letter in the mail telling them to meet him at the Saloon.
Stardew Valley is currently available on PC, macOS, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Mobile.