Stardew Valley is beloved for many reasons. One of those reasons is the opportunity that the game gives the player to accomplish great tasks through meaningful work. Players farm, mine, fish, and live their lives in this simulator while having great fun all along the way. Stardew Valley players also have the opportunity to craft and upgrade items using the skills, knowledge, and materials that they collect along the way.

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Iridium is one of the most valuable crafting materials in Stardew Valley. It is necessary for upgrading your tools fully and for making extremely useful items such as the Iridium Band or Iridium Sprinklers. Let's take a look at where to find Iridium and discuss a few pro tips to doing it efficiently.

Updated April 27th, 2022 by Russ Boswell:Stardew Valley is still one of the biggest and be Indie games to hit the market, with many players still logging in each and every day to tend to their farms and personal relationships long after the title released. There is so much to see and do in Stardew Valley, with a multitude of areas to explore, NPCs to meet, and items to craft. Some craftable items take much more to build than others, with rare materials that can be pretty tough to farm. Iridium Ore is one of the best rarities found throughout Stardew Valley and players that want to get the most out of their adventure will want to get their hands on an abundance of it. Here's an expanded look at where to find Iridium Ore in Stardew Valley, how to farm it, and what exactly it's used for.

Skull Cavern

Skull Cavern is the primary place where players are going to find Iridium Ore. Every 10 floors, the rate at which Iridium Nodes spawn goes up, making reaching the later floors of the cavern more than worth the time.

Skull Cavern is deadly, however, and without the proper means of survival, players might end up dying there without the opportunity to save progress first. So, let's go over the best ways of going deep into Skull Cavern.

Only bring the tools you need

Traversing Skull Cavern does not require the use of the Watering Can, Hoe, Scythe, Axe, or Fishing Rod. Players should just bring the Pickaxe and their weapon of choice.

Best weapons

• Infinity Gravel
• Galaxy Hammer
• Obsidian Edge

The Infinity Gavel is the best weapon in the game, with the Galaxy Hammer being right behind it. These weapons are not only useful for their strength but also their "special" action when pressing the Space Bar. Due to them being categorized as a club, the hammers will pound the ground when the Space Bar is pressed, causing any nearby enemies to be sent flying, giving you some breathing room.

However, these weapons are not easy to obtain. Players need a Prismatic Shard to even have access to either of these, and those are incredibly rare outside of Skull Cavern.

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If someone doesn't have access to the hammers, then the Obsidian Edge obtained from floor 90 of the regular mines is your next best option. While not as strong as the hammers, it does get the job done.

Rings and Footwear

• The Space Boots found on floor 110 of the regular mines will probably be the best shoes players have at this point in the game unless they have access to Ginger Island, where the Cinderclown Shoes are found in the Volcano Dungeon Shop are better.
• The Iridium Band and Burglar's Ring are both extremely useful, though the Iridium Band is expensive to make, and the Burglar's Ring requires you to kill 500 Dust Sprites. The Crabshell Ring gives great defense at +5 points, and its goal isn't too bad, as you only need to kill 60 Rock Crabs/Lava Crabs/Iridium Crabs.
• If you have access to the Forge on Ginger Island, combing the Slime Charmer's Ring with an Iridium Band is incredible, as you not only get the effects of the Iridium Band but also complete immunity to any and all slime enemies.

Food

Using specific kinds of food can give players a huge advantage during deep Skull Cavern runs.

• Salad is the most cost-effective food for general healing, as it only costs 220 gold, and it's also easily accessible, being sold in the Stardrop Saloon daily. Stock up on around 300-500 Salads.
• Don't forget to bring along some "big" healing items for bringing your health up in a pinch. Purple Mushrooms and Magma Caps are the most recommended items for this, although Energy Tonics from Harvey's Clinic are also useful. It is best to only bring 10-20 of these.
• Since the player's time in Skull Cavern is limited, Coffee and Triple Shot Espresso are extremely useful since they increase movement speed, cutting down the time it takes to navigate each floor. Bring 300-500 of these.
• Banana Pudding and Spicy Eels both increase the Luck stat, making ladders and shafts spawn more often, so it's best to have these as well. Players only need about 10 of either, as they have long-timers and don't need to be refreshed much.

Navigation

The key to everything in Stardew Valley is preparation. It's best to enter Skull Cavern on a "best" luck day, as told by Welwick's Oracle TV channel. "The spirits are very happy today!" is the message players are looking for. Here are some general tips to keep in mind:

• Buy a lot of Bombs from the Dwarf to the right of the floor of the main mine, as there are a lot of rocks in Skull Cavern you need to destroy, and Bombs are the most efficient way to do so. Buy around 250-300 or more, and make sure they're *regular* Bombs, as Cherry Bombs are a bit too small, and while the Mega Bombs are useful, it's really easy to get caught in their blast range. It's also best to eat a healing item before the bomb actually detonates, to keep your health in good condition.
• If a player wants to maximize their time in Skull Cavern as much as possible, it might be in their interest to get a few Desert Warp Totems or the Desert Obelisk, although these both require Iridium, so these might be considerations for later.
• Having a lot of Stones is something to consider, as 99 of them make a single staircase, which is very valuable in skipping floors full of monsters, "spiral" shaped floors, and floors someone just doesn't want to deal with. Bringing a full stack of Stones (999) is recommended.
• Keep the toolbar organized. If players have the Return Scepter or a Warp Totem of any kind, they will want to avoid keeping them in the toolbar. This precaution is used to ensure that they are not accidentally used. The toolbar should look something like this:
  • Bombs, Weapon, Pickaxe, Salad, Big healing item, Stones/Staircases, Speed Boosting Food, Luck Boosting Food

• If need be, players can open their inventory to pause the game and give themselves some time to think. However, this only works in Single Player.

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Watch Out For These Enemies

While the enemies found in Skull Cavern are similar to the ones found in the later floors of the regular mine, it is important to know these three well:

• Mummies: These can *only* be killed by knocking them down and then using a Bomb on them, so keep this in mind.
• Slimes: The "Slimed" status effect can be devastating, as it makes players move very slowly for 3 seconds.
• Serpents: These are by far the deadliest enemy in Skull Cavern. They're green dragon-like creatures that fly. They move extremely fast, hit hard, take multiple hits to kill, and several of them can spawn at once. Players can realize that one is about to spawn when they hear the specific sound effect (it sounds like a bit-crushed "takeoff" noise). The best way to deal with them is to let them come to you, take a swing at them, then repeat. Although this can get extremely hectic as the run goes on.

To summarize this strategy, use foods that increase Speed and Luck before entering Skull Cavern or on the 1st floor, and refresh them whenever they run out. Use Bombs and the Pickaxe to take out the rocks and find either ladders or shafts (shafts are preferable), making sure to eat food before the Bombs detonate to restore health. Furthermore, utilize Staircases to avoid floors and pause the game when necessary. Finally, and most importantly, do all of this while watching the health bar like a hawk, as death is the #1 thing everyone wants to avoid here.

Statues

To progress in the game, players are going to need to make money. Therefore, they should be constantly working. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to gain iridium without having to spend time searching and mining. The Statue of Perfection and Statue of Endless Fortune are great ways to receive Iridium passively after they are obtained.

Statue of Endless Fortune

The Statue of Endless Fortune can be bought at the Casino from a shady dealer for 1 million gold. Yes, it is extremely expensive, but it's worth the price, as every single day it spawns either a Gold Bar, an Omni Geode, a Diamond, a loved gift if it's someone's birthday, or (most importantly) an Iridium Bar, making it one of the best ways to get Iridium Bars. It's also worth noting that players are not limited to just one of these statues as they can buy as many as they want, provided they have the gold for it.

Statue of Perfection

The Statue of Perfection is obtained from passing Grandpa's Evaluation from year 3 onwards.

Starting from year 3, players can put a Diamond on Grandpa's Shrine in the corner of your farm and he will evaluate their progress. He will give players points for accomplishing major feats in the game, and when they have 12 or more points, they can then check his shrine the next day for the statue.

The easiest points to obtain are the following:

• Earn a million gold in lifetime earnings (7 points)
• Reach level 10 in every skill (2 points)
• Get married and own a house that has been upgraded twice (1 point)
• Have a relationship of 8+ hearts with at least 5 villagers (1 point)
• Make your dog/cat love you (Pet them every day until you get the "[pet name] loves you!" message. (1 point)
• Donate at least 60 artifacts to the museum (1 point)
• Finish the regular mines (1 point)

Once players have the Statue of Perfection, it will produce 2-8 pieces of Iridium Ore daily, making the best way to get Iridium with the lowest amount of effort.

Best Items to Craft with Iridium

Finally, let's take a look at what exactly makes Iridium so valuable. It is used in the creation and upgrading of most of Stardew Valley's extremely useful and valuable items. Here are three examples of the best.

• Every Golden Tool can be taken to its Iridium status at Clint the Blacksmith's shop for 5 Iridium Bars and 25,000 Gold. (12,500 for the Trash Can)
• The Iridium Band is one of the best rings in the game, you unlock its recipe at Combat Level 9 and it costs 50 Solar Essences, 50 Void Essences, and 5 Iridium Bars to craft.
• Iridium Sprinklers are incredible, as they automatically water up to 24 tiles around them a day. Its recipe is unlocked at Farming Level 9, and it takes 1 Iridium Bar, 1 Gold Bar, and 1 Battery Pack to make.

What Can Players Make With Iridium?

There are quite a few items that can be made with Iridium. Players will first need to get their hands on Iridium Ore before they can smelt it into bars to unlock an array of useful items to craft. Aside from the above-listed best items to craft with Iridium, here's a deeper dive into what else can be made with the valuable material. Although there are two items that players can craft with just Iridium Ore, it's important to note that it will need to be in its "bar form" to be used for most crafting recipes. Here's everything players can make with Iridium Ore and Iridium Bars:

There are also a handful of buildings that players can snag from Carpenter's Shop and the Wizard's Tower that use Iridium as a material. Here's a look at all the available buildings:

Players will also be able to upgrade five of their tools to Iridium status. To get the Iridium Hoe, Pickaxe, Axe, Watering Can, and Trash Can, players will have to spend 25,000g and 5 x Iridium Bars each.

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