Highlights
- Some items in Stardew Valley, such as the Prismatic Shard, Living Hat, and Tea Set, are extremely rare and difficult to obtain.
- The drop rates for these rare items are generally less than 1%, making them frustrating for players to acquire.
- Updates to the game have slightly increased the chances of obtaining certain rare items, but they still remain a challenge to find.
Expansive farming simulator Stardew Valley features dozens of items for players to grow, forage, mine, and collect. Plus, there are stylish hats and outfits to wear, furniture to decorate the player's farmhouse, and weapons to wield while exploring the dangerous Mines. However, a few of these items are particularly rare, and some Stardew Valley players may go in-game (and possibly real-life) years without encountering them. This is particularly frustrating when it comes to items that are randomly dropped, rather than purchased, grown, or crafted.
Stardew Valley gives players the central goal of restoring their grandfather's farm and reinvigorating the neighboring Pelican Town by bringing back its Community Center. However, ConcernedApe's popular farming simulator includes much more than just its primary quest. The Mines and Skull Cavern are filled with both monsters and treasure. All of Pelican Town's residents can be befriended, and many are looking for love. As of the expansive 1.5 content update, players can even search for Golden Walnuts on the tropical Ginger Island. There are tons of items players can find while exploring the day, but a few are truly rare.
Prismatic Shard
Museum curator Gunther will task Stardew Valley players with finding gems, fossils, and artifacts for the museum's collection. One of these is the Prismatic Shard, an enormous gemstone that glows red, yellow, and blue. There are many ways to acquire a Prismatic Shard - mining, defeating enemies, or raising Rainbow Trout. However, its drop rate in each instance is generally less than 1%. Frustratingly, players will need at least two: one for the Museum and one to forge the Galaxy Sword, one of the game's most powerful weapons. The Prismatic Shard's rarity was fixed somewhat in the 1.5 content update, which added one guaranteed Shard in a chest inside the new Volcano Dungeon.
Living Hat
Most of the hats found in Stardew Valley are purchased from a mouse who owns the Hat Shop in Cindersap Forest. However, the Living Hat cannot be bought this way. This hat, which is shaped like a crown of leaves, has a 0.01% chance of dropping from Wilderness Golem enemies and an 0.001% chance to drop when clearing weeds. Wilderness Golems are a particularly rare enemy, spawning at night only if players have selected the Wilderness Farm layout. Again, updates have mitigated this somewhat: players can now turn on monster spawns on non-Wilderness farms when starting a new game.
Tea Set
The Tea Set is not a traditional "drop" - it is not found by killing enemies or breaking rocks in the Mines. The Tea Set can be given to the player as a gift during the Feast of the Winter Star event. Players receive only one Winter Star gift per in-game year, and the Tea Set can only be gifted by about half of the available characters. It is a rare item with a low chance of appearing among the many options for Winter Star gifts. There is no other way to get the Tea Set in Stardew Valley, meaning that it may be one of the last items players obtain.
Auto-Petter
Stardew Valley players must pet their livestock daily or risk lowering their mood. An unhappy cow won't produce milk, an unhappy chicken won't lay eggs, and an unhappy pig is much less effective when hunting for truffles. A player who sides with JojaMart and chooses to demolish the Community Center can purchase a handy Auto-Petter for a whopping 50,000 gold. However, Community Center players can still find an Auto-Petter - it has a 1% or less chance to drop from "Dangerous" monster variants when the "Shrine of Challenge" in the Mines is activated. However, this rare drop may not always be worth it, as animals will gain Friendship with the player much more slowly than when petted by hand.
Stardew Valley is currently available for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One.
