Stardew Valley is, and possibly always will be, the most beloved indie farming game ever. The game has sold over twenty million copies, an impressive feat for a game that started with a single developer. Among those players are the completionists, a type of gamer who yearns for perfection in every aspect of every game, even as relaxing as Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley: Guide to Ginger Island Farming
The Ginger Island farm brought by Stardew Valley's 1.5 update has special conditions that may make it better than the original farm.
Unfortunately for these players, achieving perfection in Stardew Valley isn't as straightforward as it may seem. Players may overlook many aspects of 'completing' the game altogether. Here are some tried and true tips for completionists looking to perfect their Stardew Valley game.
Updated April 26, 2024 by Ivan Abadier: With the highly anticipated 1.6 update finally here, the game has introduced quite a lot of new content. From fresh crops and animals to new events and mechanics, and so much more. As more and more players explore the beloved world and its inhabitants,the completionist goal seems as appealing as ever.
With gold being a key component in the game, there are now more viable strategies for amassing massive amounts of currency. Overall, it is a fantastic update that greatly improves various quality-of-life aspects, and adds hours upon hours of playtime to the game.
15 What Is Perfection In Stardew Valley?
Before diving into some tips, what constitutes 'complete' in Stardew Valley should be established. Because it's such a personal and open-ended game, many Stardew Valley players will be unaware there's a way to complete it. To achieve 'Perfection' in Stardew Valley, players must:
- Have max friendship points with all villagers
- Collect every Stardrop
- Complete all monster eradication goals
- Max all skills to Level 10
- Catch all fish
- Ship all crops and foraged goods
- Cook all recipes
- Craft all items
- Build all four obelisks
- Build the Golden Clock
Perfection in Stardew Valley is an incredibly lofty goal, but it's not impossible. With these tips, completionists should find achieving perfection just a little easier.
14 Keep A Checklist
This Makes The Overall Goal Much More Manageable
Potentially the most obvious point, but the player should keep it in mind. Keeping a checklist in or out of the game can be incredibly helpful, especially since the Perfection Tracker doesn't unlock until very late. There are many ways to do this, including mods, the Wiki, fan-made spreadsheets, or plain old pen and paper.
Not only does keeping a checklist ensure the player doesn't miss anything, but it also adds structure to the game and keeps the player on track.
13 Plan For A Money Method That Suits You
The Gold Clock Alone Will Cost 10,000,000g
Regardless of how a player decides to run their farm, gold is always a key component, completionist or not. Recipes, ingredients, upgrades, and expensive buildings will all cost a lot to get, and finding a strong and sustainable method for getting it is very important.
From a pig farm to a winery, there are many tried and tested methods to accumulate mountains of gold coins. Players should consider which one suits their playstyle best, and pick one according to their preference, or even utilize a method of their own.
12 Start Giving Gifts Early
Befriending Everyone Is A Long-Term Goal, And It's Never Too Early To Start
Not only is maxing out friendship one of the perfection goals, but villagers will also send recipes (required for perfection) in the mail and other valuable items. Giving gifts early in the game will prevent the late-game gift-giving rush when the player suddenly realizes that they've spent all of their time min-maxing and none of their time talking to the residents of Pelican Town.
Stardew Valley: 8 Best Non-Romanceable Characters
Though these Stardew Valley characters can't be romanced, they still remain some of the best in ConcernedApe's indie title.
The only villagers to whom players can't give gifts early in the game are Krobus, the Dwarf, and Kent. Krobus lives in the sewers, the Dwarf hides behind a wall in the mines, and Kent will appear in Spring 1 of the second year.
11 Stay Updated
While Nerfs Are Rare, There Might Be New Useful Information
ConcernedApe is an incredible developer who has rolled out numerous updates throughout the years, despite simultaneously working on a different game entirely. As such, veterans of the game might find that their old strategy might be less effective due to changes or that there are newer and better tactics to achieve their goals.
Going through the patch notes takes little time, and something in there might be very relevant to certain players. Overall, it can be fun and beneficial to keep up with the community and see what everyone has been up to.
10 Restore the Community Center
Someone has to save the Junimos
The game already nudges the player in this direction, but players that start a fresh save with Completionist in mind might be tempted to immediately start putting all of their effort into grinding for materials and money.
Stardew Valley: 23 Things You Have To Do Your First Year
Stardew Valley is an awesome game that runs in a seasonal format - here's what players should do in their first year.
While not the worst strategy, it can be quite beneficial to complete the Community Center as quickly as possible. Aside from new locations and perks, there are also tons of seeds and helpful items that can make the entire playthrough just a bit easier. There is, ofcourse, the Joja route, but players definitevely
9 Grow Various Crops
Helpful For Many Reasons
It can be very tempting to only focus on the most optimal seeds when shopping at the start of the season, but growing at least a little of everything available can save quite a lot of headaches down the road.
Finding out that a player needs just one specific crop in the middle of winter can be somewhat unpleasant. It is helpful in quite a few areas, from finishing the Community Center to gifts, missions, and especially cooking. Cooking all the recipes is no small task, and it helps to have as many ingredients as possible before one even gets to the kitchen.
8 Get a horse
Time To Go Fast
There will be a lot of walking in a completionist run, and it will be immensely helpful to get a horse as soon as possible. On top of that, there are several ways to increase speed even further, cutting down on hours across the entire run.
Stardew Valley: 8 Things You Should Never Sell
Players are going to collect a lot of stuff in Stardew Valley, and while some of it may be worth some gold, not all of it is better off being sold.
Preparing different speed foods, such as the Triple Shot Espresso or the Spicy Eel, can also greatly increase the moving speed, and the buffs stack with the horse speed. With the introduction of the Bookseller, there are also several books that can be purchased to gain permanent buffs.
7 Mix Up Daily Activities
Much Easier Than Trying To Catch All The Fish In One Day
With so many categories, it can be tempting to try and knock out one at a time, such as monsters or cooking recipes. But doing the same thing over and over again, day after day might lead to burnout pretty quickly, and it is much easier to do one small thing at a time.
Besides, going back and forth between different aspects of the game can be quite beneficial, given that certain activities give items that would be very useful somewhere else. Overall, players should proceed at a pace that is comfortable to them, and enjoy the game along the way.
6 Ship One Of Everything
An Important Aspect That Often Gets Overlooked
A mistake newer players will likely make is not shipping one of everything. A significant first step is to buy, grow, and ship one of every single crop from either Pierre or JojaMart. But it's not just crops that need to be shipped!
Mods like UI Info Suite add an icon to each item that still needs to be shipped, making it much easier to track more minor things like individual ore or forages. The game also has a checklist that players can access by going to the menu, where the game marks items as either shipped or not.
5 Watch The TV Daily
It Has Many Benefits Even For Veteran Players
Besides telling the weather and giving occasional farming tips, the TV is also the source of many cooking recipes. Predicting the weather can be crucial for crops, especially in the earlier stages, before players can accumulate enough Iridium sprinklers.
As for recipes, there is a new one every week, and players should start gathering their cooking knowledge as soon as possible, to make it much easier at later stages in the run. On top of that, knowing that day’s luck can be extremely beneficial to choosing the activities to embark on.
4 Utilize Random Seeds
Improving One's Luck, If Only A Little
Some players may consider this cheating; however, the game allows inputting a random seed in the character creation menu under 'Advanced Options.' Random Seeds affect the RNG of the game, which impacts things like the Seed Maker, Artifact Spots, and Garbage Can drops. There are several beneficial Random Seeds that players have discovered for influencing the way the game works:
- Ancient Seed in front of Linus' tent: 281191250
- Crop Fairy on Day One: 270192222
- Meteorite falls by the end of Year One: 309181356
3 Save A Bit Of Everything
It Might Be Important Later
It can be very tantalizing to ship the entire batch of a freshly harvested crop, but it can be incredibly helpful to save at least a little bit for the future. From different crafting recipes to cooking, one can never be sure that there won’t be a need for at least one cabbage in the middle of winter.
From gifts to the Community Center, it is just general good practice to do so, and it also does wonders to assist on a completionist playthrough.
2 Go To Every Event
There Are Many Useful Items At Each One
This one mainly applies during the player's first year. Long-time players may find themselves skipping events, having seen them all already, and this is fair. Unfortunately, there are many benefits to attending these events, and many events also have items required for completion.
Stardew Valley: How To Organize Your Chests
Inventory management can be quite the challenge in Stardew Valley, but players have a number of different ways to organize chests.
Players will want to go to events to collect crafting recipes from Pierre's stall, as collecting and crafting every single item is a requirement for completion. Pierre also offers a Stardrop at the Stardew Valley Fair, another thing required for completion. Luckily, collecting all Rarecrows is not necessary for completion unless it is on a player's checklist, which has confused players in the past.
1 Make Use Of The Wiki
A Completionist's Best Friend
The Stardew Valley Wiki is an incredible fan-made resource that completionists should utilize when needed. It can be beneficial for researching gifts for villagers, how to trigger certain cutscenes, and even the locations of certain Minerals and Artifacts. There are very few things that the Wiki cannot provide the Stardew Valley player.
The Wiki also has information on the best options for Heart Events, which can severely impact friendship points for certain characters. All in all, it's the best resource for new and old players alike.
