If you’re a Stardew Valley player on console or mobile, the long-awaited good news about the 1.6 update has arrived, and it's set to release on November 4. 

Like a baby that’s grown in the womb and is ready to be born, the release will come very close to nine months after it arrived on PC. 

This is great news, as now all players will be able to experience everything new that was added in the 1.6 update, and some of you can finally stop avoiding any and all spoilers. I tip my hat to any of you who have been avoiding any Stardew Valley guides because I’m not sure how you’ve managed it. 

This does pose a specific problem for some players who have been making the most of the Tea prices. You’ve got six weeks from the time of writing to get all of those Tea Saplings sold, or you’re going to half your profits thanks to a lovely price nerf introduced in 1.6. 

It is a shame that it has taken this long for the update to come to players on anything other than PC, and as yet there is no word from ConcernedApe as to the specific reasoning. Perhaps there never will be, and players in the comments of Ape’s tweet are simply overjoyed that they’re finally going to experience the update. 

The good news is two-fold. Firstly, thanks to the delay, there’s a guide available for everything you could possibly get stuck in with 1.6. Second, this means that ConcernedApe will be able to refocus his efforts on his next title, Haunted Chocolatier. He’s previously stated that he’s been unable to put any work on his next title due to the extra effort involved with porting Stardew to consoles and mobile. 

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Some fish in Stardew Valley can be caught in a variety of places, while others are more specific with where they spawn. Sandfish have a very particular habitat; in fact, it’s how they got their name. 

Before you can go looking for Sandfish, you’ll need to unlock the Desert. To do this, you’ll need to complete the Vault Bundle at the community center (this is just a collection of monetary donations), or purchase the “Bus Repair” on the Joja Community Development Form for 40,000 Gold. It all depends on whether you’ve made the morally correct choice or sold your soul to Joja.

Where to find Sandfish in Stardew Valley

Once you’ve unlocked the Desert, finding Sandfish is easy, as it’s one of only two fish that spawn in the pond located in the top right corner of the Desert. Sandfish (and the other fish, Scorpion Carp), can be fished from these waters during any season between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

When you catch a Sandfish, you may find that the bobber in the fishing mini-game darts around the line. Sandfish are pretty pesky and can get away from you if you’re not careful. To negate the sudden movements, it’s worth using a Cork Bobber or a Trapper Bobber to increase your chances. 

How to use Sandfish in Stardew Valley

One Sandfish is needed for the Speciality Fish Bundle at the Community Center, and they’re also on Penny’s loved gifts list. Outside of these specific uses, there are a few other things that can be done with Sandfish. 

Recipes

Sandfish can be used in any recipe that calls for ‘any fish’:

Tailoring

Sandfish can be used in the spool of a Sewing Machine to create the dyeable Fish Shirt. It can also be used as a yellow dye in the dye pots in Emily and Haley’s house. 

Fish pond

You can place Sandfish into a Fish Pond, and they’ll produce Roe. If there are 10 Sandfish in a Fish Pond, you could possibly get Cactus Seeds.

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I think it’s plain to see that cozy games are something of a soft spot for me. There’s nothing I love more than relaxing with friends, real or in-game, to escape the pressures of the real world and the stress I encounter every day. 

What better way to unwind than relaxing in bed, or in the bath, or simply away from the computer, with a Switch in hand. Cozy isn’t restricted to big consoles and PCs, you can take the entire experience on the go. 

I’ve played a lot of games which could be considered ‘cozy’ in my time, and here’s 10 of the best that I’ve found. The good news? All of them can be purchased through the Nintendo eShop, so there’s nothing stopping you from starting a play through right now.

A Little to the Left

The concept of A Little to the Left is simple; organise household items into small spaces in order to make them fit, with the occasional interruption of a chaos causing cat. If you get a kick out of a good spring clean, or enjoy organizing the space around you, then you’ll love A Little to the Left. Some of the puzzles can be a little challenging at first, but there's a huge sense of satisfaction when you figure out where everything goes.

Unpacking

If you want a deeper look at Unpacking, check out our in-depth look at it, but here’s the TLDR:

Unpacking is about, as you might expect, unpacking. You’ve got to unpack boxes and place items in a variety of rooms in a way which makes sense. What might surprise you is the depth of the story, and the strong connection that you’ll end up having with the person whose belongings have been entrusted to you. Although you never meet them, you get to know them and their story through their household items. 

Donut County

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a fan of Raccoons, so I might be a little biassed here. However, Donut County is a hole.io style game with added stories and characters to fall in love with. Although the gameplay is pretty linear, there’s a weird sense of satisfaction that comes from swallowing the items of the world in a big dark hole, and that leads to replayability. 

Stardew Valley

I think this one goes without saying, but Stardew Valley is definitely a cozy game that you need on the Switch. Wherever you are, you can take the farm with you and progress your story. Farm on the go, or connect to the TV and form connections with the villagers in Pelican Town on the big screen. 

New Pokémon Snap

There are no battles in New Pokémon Snap, which already puts this right up there on my own personal list of cozy Switch titles. It’s essentially a Pokémon where you take photos of the Pokémon in order to document them, and get to the bottom of weird phenomena in the area. You don’t even have to move, as you move along a sort of track that takes you where you need to go, so you can just get snap happy.

Dorfromantik

Dorfromantik is like a puzzle with no pre-determined result. All you need to do is place down individual hexagonal pieces in order to create a landscape. Connecting similar tiles together will cross off goals and unlock new tiles, allowing you to create endlessly changing worlds. This one is really good for getting mildly creative and allowing yourself to forget about the real world.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing is one of the OG cozy games, and you’re never going to be short of things to do if you start a new game. Meeting new villagers is only part of the fun, and creating and designing your island is endlessly satisfying. There’s a whole community of people willing to share their items, open their island for visits, and even allow you to come shopping. 

Tavern Talk

Tavern Talk is what happens when a game makes you the NPC. As the bartender of a fantasy tavern, you don’t move or go anywhere, but you still get to see the world change around you through the people who come to drink at the bar. Your tasks are simple - make drinks and create quests for patrons to complete, then listen to their stories. 

Spirittea

Spirittea is adorable, and although it can be hard to get to grips with the enormous map to begin with, the characters you meet in your new countryside life are fun and memorable. You leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside, but things aren’t all as they seem and there are spirits in the town, which often scare the residents. 

Things get more complicated as you progress, and eventually you'll need to run your own bath house for the spirits. Spirittea is like Spirited Away if it were a pixel sim, and it's one of my favorites.

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Imagine taking Animal Crossing and replacing all of the villagers with beloved Disney characters, and you’ll end up with Dreamlight Valley. To begin with, the Valley is fairly empty and overtaken by darkness. You unlock new characters as you progress, unlock new biomes, place their homes, and become closer to them to get rewards. Fishing, mining, and farming still play their role in Dreamlight Valley, and you’ll never run out of things to do.

The post 10 Best Cozy Switch Games appeared first on Destructoid.

Some resources in Stardew Valley are harder to find than others, and Refined Quartz is perhaps one of the most difficult to source in the wilds of Pelican Town. However, there are some shortcuts to getting your hands on this precious item. 

If you want to get Refined Quartz, you’ll need to first go mining. Although you’re unlikely to find any Refined Quartz in the Mines, the resources you need to create it can be found there.

How to get Refined Ore in Stardew Valley

There are a few different ways to get Refined Quartz:

Furnace

The first reliable method is through the use of a Furnace, and there are two recipes that will give Refined Quartz:

• 1 Quartz + 1 Coal = 1 Refined Quartz
• 1 Fire Quartz + 1 Coal = 3 Refined Quartz

Either combination takes 1.5 in-game hours to produce the result, but with Fire Quartz giving three Refined Quartz every 1.5 hours, it’s a much more lucrative option. Quartz can be found on any floor of the Mines, and Fire Quartz can be found on any floor of the Mines lower than 80. 

Recycling Machine

Creating Refined Quartz with a Recycling Machine is arguably easier than creating it in a Furnace. There are two trash items that can be found in Garbage Cans or fished up from any water that can then be used to create Refined Quartz:

• Broken CD
• Broken Glasses

Other ways to get Refined Quartz

Outside of these two main ways, there are a few other ways to get Refined Quartz, although these are much less guaranteed:

• Can very rarely be found in the Mines when breaking large crystals
• Occasionally found in Garbage Cans after receiving the Furnace blueprints from Clint
• Can be produced by Ghostfish Fish Ponds when the population reaches 9
• A rare drop from the following Monsters in the Mines:

  • Ghosts
  • Carbon Ghosts

How to use Refined Quartz in Stardew Valley

Bundles and quests

Refined Quartz is a necessary donation for the Engineer’s Bundle in the Boiler Room (Remixed) inside the Community Center. 

In terms of quests, Refined Quartz can be requested at the Help Wanted board after you get the Furnace blueprint. The reward for completing this quest is 150 Gold and 150 Friendship points with the villager who requested the help. 

Crafting

Refined Quartz is used to build the Slime Hutch, which can be purchased for 10,000 Gold at the Carpenter’s Shop and needs the following resources to make:

• 500 Stone
• 10 Refined Quartz
• 1 Iridium Bar

It’s also used in the following crafting recipes:

Tailoring

Refined Quartz can be used in the spool of a Sewing Machine to create a dyeable Necklace Shirt. It can also be used in the dye pots at Emily and Haley’s house and it counts as a purple dye.

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Trying to keep track of all the fish in Stardew Valley can be a headache. You not only have to think about their habitat, but weather and time restrictions, and even their behavior as well. Walleye is a fairly common fish, and thankfully, there are ways to catch one. 

How to catch a Walleye in Stardew Valley

Walleyes can be fished up from various locations around Pelican Town and the map surrounding it. Regardless of which location you choose to fish in, Walleye can only be caught between 12 p.m. and 2 a.m. on rainy days during the Fall:

• The River in Pelican Town or Cindersap Forest 
• The Mountain Lake
• The pond in Cindersap Forest 
• In all of the areas already mentioned during the Winter, if a Rain Totem is used
• In the Farm pond, if you’re playing on a Riverland Farm or Forest Farm

By far, the best location to go fishing for Walleye is the pond in Cindersap Forest. Although you’ll have to wait for a rainy Fall day, you’re more likely to catch a Walleye here than in any other location. Each cast has a 32% chance to result in a Walleye. 

If you’re desperately seeking a Walleye in Spring or Summer, you can use Magic Bait to negate the seasonal, weather, and time restrictions. 

Other ways to get Walleye in Stardew Valley

There are three other ways to get Walleye in Stardew Valley, each of which has benefits. You’ll need to have some luck on your side to get Walleye in any of the following ways, though:

• Gifted by a pet cat with maximum friendship
• Found in garbage cans in Pelican Town during Fall or Winter
• Purchased at the Traveling Cart for between 315 and 1,000 Gold

How to use Walleye in Stardew Valley

Gifting and quests

Walleye doesn’t make a very good gift, with not a single villager feeling anything more than neutral about the fish. However, you will need to catch a Walleye to complete at least one Bundle at the Community Center:

• Night Fishing Bundle in the Fish Tank
• Quality Fish Bundle in the Fish Tank (Remixed)

One Walleye can also requested at the Help Wanted board during Fall or Winter. This can be for any villager, and the reward is 315 Gold and 150 Friendship points.

Recipes and crafting

Walleye isn’t specifically called for in any cooking or crafting recipes, but it can be used for the following recipes that require ‘any fish’:

Tailoring

Walleye can be used in the spool of a Sewing Machine to create a Fishing Vest, which is undyeable. However, when it comes to making dye, Walleye counts as a yellow dye when used in the dye pots at Emily and Haley’s house. 

Fish Pond

Walleye can be placed in Fish Ponds and have a 90% chance of providing 1 Roe each day. They have no additional drops, regardless of the pond's population level.

The post How to catch Walleye in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

Perhaps the biggest draw of the Egg Festival in Stardew Valley is the Egg Hunt, which allows you to enter into competition with the residents of Pelican Town in order to find the most eggs. They’re hidden all around the main square in town, but not always in the same places.

Where the eggs are hidden depends on which year you’re currently playing through. The locations change depending on whether you’re in an odd or even year, but don’t worry, I can talk you through both. 

In total, there are 27 eggs to be found on odd years and 30 to be found on even years, although even the most optimized routes for either year won’t see you gathering all of the available eggs. 

The aim of the hunt, if you want to win and relegate Abigail to second place, is to gather at least nine eggs within 50 seconds. If you’re playing multiplayer, this number reduces depending on the number of people you have playing, with six being the winning number when two people are playing. The number of eggs needed to win reduces by one for each additional player.

General tips to help you win the Egg Hunt in Stardew Valley

Regardless of which year you’re playing through, I would strongly recommend drinking some Coffee before you enter the festival area. This will increase your movement speed, giving you an advantage over Abigail. It gives you an advantage over everyone else as well, but let’s face it, this is all about beating Abigail. 

Also remember that if you don’t win, and you’re hell bent on doing so, you can simply close the game without going to sleep and you’ll restart the day. This will give you another opportunity to come first. 

Rewards for winning the Egg Hunt in Stardew Valley

The first time you win the Egg Hunt, you’ll be rewarded with a rather lovely Straw Hat, as seen in the image above. Any additional wins on subsequent years will reward you with a Prize Ticket, which can be exchanged for items at Louis’ Prize Machine. 

The best Egg Hunt route for odd years in Stardew Valley

If you’re quick, have luck on your side, and have remembered your Coffee, you should be able to gather up a total of 18 eggs during odd years. Remember that you only need nine to win, and any additional eggs will simply earn you bragging rights over the residents of Pelican Town and any friends that you happen to be playing with. 

The best route for odd years, including the first year, is to head east and then follow the path set out in the image above.

The best Egg Hunt route for even years in Stardew Valley

With a whole new set up of eggs, it can be easy to get flustered and lose out on precious eggs. Again, you only technically need to gather up nine eggs at most in order to win, and villagers will be gathering eggs at the same time. 

It is possible to gather up to 20 eggs during the Egg Hunt on even years, although this isn’t likely. The best route to take is by starting at the south east corner of the main square and then following the route laid out above. 

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If you’re working your way through Special Orders in Stardew Valley, then you’ll eventually run into one from the Wizard. He asks for something very specific, which doesn’t appear outside the quest — Ectoplasm. 

Ectoplasm doesn’t show up as a gatherable item at any point outside of the Wizard’s Special Order quest, 'A Curious Substance'. After picking up the quest at the board in Pelican Town, you’ll have seven days to collect some Ectoplasm, but where to get it?

Loations and enemies for Ectoplasm in Stardew Valley

As long as “ A Curious Substance” is active, Ectoplasm has a very small 9.5% chance to drop from the following monsters:

• Ghosts

  • Found in the Mines between floors 51 and 79

• Carbon Ghosts

  • Found in Skull Cavern on Mummy levels
  • Found between floors 31 and 39 of the Dangerous Mines

• Putrid Ghosts

  • Found between floors 51 and 69 of the Dangerous Mines

The easiest way to get Ectoplasm for the quest is by taking the elevator down to floor 55 of the Mines and farming Ghosts on the floors before 79. Basic Ghosts have 96 HP, while Carbon and Putrid Ghosts have 190 and 500 HP, respectively. 

Drops from Ghost monsters in Stardew Valley

Each of these monsters also have a chance to drop other items, regardless of whether “A Curious Substance” is active or not:

If you’ve previously reached the final floor of the Mines, each of these monsters also has a chance to drop Diamonds and Prismatic Shards. Even if you don’t get Ectoplasm to drop immediately, this quest offers a good chance to stock up on other resources or source some artifacts. 

The post How to get Ectoplasm in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

Is there a cozy gamer in your life who longs to display their love for Stardew Valley in the house? Or are you trying to get ahead on shopping for the holidays, looking for ideas for the virtual farmer in your life? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. 

If you want to get your hands on some gifts for a Stardew Valley fan, it can be hard to tell what’s official and what isn’t. But there is a long list of merch endorsed, or otherwise directly worked on, by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone.

From plushes to graphic novels, here are 10 of the best bits of merch that any fan would be happy to receive.

Stardew Valley Cookbook

You don’t need to be a chef to appreciate this hardback, beautifully decorated, and lore-filled cookbook. Containing over 50 vegetarian recipes either inspired or directly taken from Stardew Valley, this is definitely one of the best gifts you could ever buy for the fan in your life. And who knows, maybe you’ll get a home-cooked dinner out of it? Can’t turn your nose up at that.

Stardew Valley Board Game

If you love playing Stardew Valley online with others, then you’ll love taking it to the tabletop in board game format. The aim of the game is, as you might predict, the same as the aim of the game — rebuild the farm, crow crops, and make friends. Barone directly worked on the board game, and it comes with an enormous number of tokens and items to use in your playthrough. 

Stardew Valley Map Poster

There are hundreds of unofficial prints of the Stardew Valley map out there to purchase, but the only one endorsed by Barone can be purchased through The Yetee. Measuring 16 inches by 20 inches, I’m positive that any lover of Pelican Town will display this anywhere with pride. 

Krobus Plush

I’m the first to admit that I may be biased, as Krobus is my favorite character in Stardew Valley. However, I still think this is the best plush available from the long list of plushies on offer. Again, there are imitations out there to find, but the officially endorsed version is available through Fangamer, and he’s wonderfully derpy in the best kind of way. He just looks confused, as anyone would be if they were suddenly a plush.

Stardew Valley Skull Shirt

This is entirely personal preference, but as soon as I saw this skull shirt I knew I had to have it. It’s just so juxtaposed to the coziness of the game, not to mention that it just matches my aesthetic perfectly. Besides, this list wouldn’t be complete without at least one shirt, and this is my favorite.

If you want alternatives, there are also Bachelor and Bachelorette shirts available, as well as this cute-yet-creepy Junimo anatomy shirt and a long list of other designs.

Before the Farmer Graphic Novel

Have you ever wondered what life was like in Pelican Town before you arrived, took over the farm, and improved the lives of everyone there? Well, this graphic novel is your chance to find out. Inside the 144-page hardcover comic, you’ll also find out what brought Joja to the town and how it changed things before you changed them even more.

Animal Hanger Plush Blind Box

Who doesn’t love a surprise? Well, it doesn’t come much more surprising than blind boxes, and this one gives you (or your loved one) a chance to collect all the animals who call the Farm home. The whole gang's here, including Shane’s blue chicken and, my favorite, a weirdly round duck. 

Stardew Valley Complete Vinyl Soundtrack Box Set

This set of four differently colored vinyls includes 77 tracks from Stardew Valley, up to and including those tracks included in the 1.3 update. Also included is a digital download of the 1.5 soundtrack, although if you want songs from that update and the later 1.6 update on vinyl, you’ll need to purchase the second box set of vinyls. On the plus side, they make a kickass pair, even if they’re just on display in vinyl frames.

Stardew Valley Guidebook

The Stardew Valley Guidebook is exactly what you’d expect it to be. It’s a compendium of how-to’s and where-to-find guides in a handy format. It’s fully updated to include everything added in the 1.6 update, so it will be perfect for any fan, especially those playing on console or mobile who haven’t yet had a chance to dive into the new content. The dust jacket even doubles as a resident guide, including their likes and dislikes. 

Mermaid’s Pendant

I couldn’t write this list without including this one because if you want a Stardew Valley-inspired gift for someone you love (specifically a partner), they don’t get more special than this. In the game, the Mermaid’s Pendant takes the place of an engagement ring. Don’t let that scare you away from purchasing this for your special someone, but maybe explain your intentions before they open it to avoid possible confusion.

The post The best Stardew Valley merch for the cozy gamer in your life appeared first on Destructoid.

There are a lot of annual festivals in Stardew Valley, and each of them offers you the chance to get at least one unique item. If you’re looking for a specific item, or just want to mark the special days on your calendar, here’s every festival and what they give. 

There are at least two festivals in each season, and Winter is positively packed with four festivals to attend. You’re going to be a busy farmer with everything going on, but it’s worth being ahead of the curve so that you can prepare for specific events. 

Spring festivals in Stardew Valley

Spring 13 - Egg Festival

The Egg Festival is essentially a competition between you and the other residents of Pelican Town. The main event is an easter egg hunt, and you’ll need to gather at least nine eggs within 50 seconds (real-time) to beat Abigail. 

The first time you win at the Egg Festival, you’ll be rewarded with a Straw Hat which cannot be gained in any other way. 

Spring 15-17 - Desert Festival

We have a full guide on the Desert Festival and everything that you can do there, but if you’re looking for unique items, this is one of the best sources. You’ll need to get lucky, however, because which items you can get depends on which villagers have stalls at the festival on any given day:

Some other unique items which can be obtained through the Desert Festival are available from the Calico Egg Merchant:

• Mummy Mask (120 Calico Eggs)
• Blue Bow (50 Calico Eggs)
• Dark Velvet Bow (75 Calico Eggs)
• Various decorative items (10-35 Calico Eggs)

Spring 24 - Flower Dance

The Flower Dance is either a feel-good day in the Stardew Valley Calendar, or a humbling experience, depending on whether you have anyone to dance with. Regardless, there are only three unique items which can be purchased at the shop during this festival:

• Rarecrow #5
• Tub o’ Flowers 
• Tub o’ Flowers recipe

Summer festivals in Stardew Valley

Summer 11 - The Luau

The Luau will invite you to place an ingredient in the Potluck in the middle of the beach, and if you’re wondering which item to add then here’s our guide on the matter. 

If you’re looking for unique items, the Luau has just two:

• Wall Palm
• Jungle Decal

Summer 21-22 - Trout Derby

The fishing mini-game in Stardew Valley isn’t the worst, and the Trout Derby festival aims to celebrate it by making you catch as many Trout as you can. Each Trout you catch will earn you one Golden Tag, which can then be exchanged for a variety of items, including two that can’t be obtained in any other way:

• Bucket Hat
• Mounted Trout

Summer 28 - Dance of the Moonlight Jellies

Heading down to the beach after 10 p.m. on Summer 28 will throw you into the strangest of Stardew Valley’s festivals, Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. There is a shop at the festival which sells the following unique items:

• Moonlight Jellies Banner
• Cloud Decals
• Starport Decal
• Modern Rug

Fall festivals in Stardew Valley

Fall 16 - Stardew Valley Fair

There are a lot of things to do at the Stardew Valley Fair, and a lot of items up for grabs. You’ll need to take part in various mini-games and events in order to earn Star Tokens, which can then be exchanged for the following unique items:

• Fedora
• Rarecrow #1
• 1 Stardrop (can only be purchased once)

Fall 27 - Spirit’s Eve

The equivalent of a Halloween celebration in Pelican Town, the Spirit’s Eve celebration takes place after 10 p.m. on Fall 27. There are a few different unique items available for purchase here, and you can traverse the maze in order to get either a Golden Pumpkin or Prize Ticket.

Here are all of the unique items at the Spirit’s Eve festival:

• Jack-O-Lantern
• Jack-O-Lantern recipe
• Rarecrow #2
• Funky Rug

Winter Festivals in Stardew Valley

Winter 8 - Festival of Ice

Fishing takes precedence in this festival, as well as one other in Winter. You’ll find a bunch of ice sculptures in place in Cindersap Forest, and you can take part in the Ice Fishing contest to win prizes. You’ll need to catch at least 5 fish in order to win. 

As well as the festival activities, you can also visit the Traveling Merchant to get some unique items:

• Frozen Dreams wall art
• Icy Rug
• Icy Banner

Fall 12-13 - SquidFest

Another fishing festival, and the last of them for the year, SquidFest challenges players to catch as many Squid as they can from the Beach. If you catch 8 Squid on day one and 10 Squid on day two, you can get the following unique rewards:

• Squid Kid art
• Squid Hat

Winter 15-17 - Night Market

Not long after SquidFest, the Night Market will make its way to the beach of Pelican Town. Most of the items sold here can also be found elsewhere, but there are some unique items to be had as well:

• Clouds Banner
• Stump Torch
• Cone Hat
• Stone Parrot
• Stone Frog
• Suit of Armor
• Iridium Fireplace
• Upright Piano
• Stone Owl

There is also an art seller who has unique paintings available for purchase on each night of the Night Market. He has one artwork per day, and which one you can purchase depends on which night of the Market it is, and which year you’re in.

Winter 25 - Feast of the Winter Star

Essentially Christmas Day, the Feast of the Winter Star will see all of the villagers congregating in the center of town to celebrate the year. You’ll be given a gift from one of the villagers, and you’ll need to give a gift to someone as well. 

At the shop which is present during the festival, you can purchase a unique Winter Banner. This is the only unique item to the festival, as every other item can be gained at least one other way.

The post Stardew Valley festival calendar, unique items from each festival appeared first on Destructoid.

If you’re looking for new cosmetic clothing items in Stardew Valley, there’s no better place to look than at the Sewing Machine. You can use an astoundingly long list of items in the Spool of the Sewing Machine, and in return you’ll get some unique new clothes. 

At first, the Sewing Machine interface can look pretty daunting. However, there’s really only two things you need to know:

• The item you wish to use (such as a Golden Pumpkin, Void Essence, or even fish like the Sea Cucumber) goes into the slot at the top of the interface
• Fabric goes in to the slot on the bottom left of the interface

The resulting cosmetic item will be displayed in the box to the right of the Sewing Machine interface, and if you’re happy with the item you’re going to get, you just need to press the power button on the right of the interface to create it. 

Items which can be made at the Sewing Machine

Rather than list off every single item that can be created at the Sewing Machine, I urge you to get creative and experiment to find out which items result in the coolest clothing items. It’s personal choice, and everyone has their own style preference after all. 

With that said, I will list some of my personal favorite items and what you need in order to make it. You’ll need one fabric per item, as well as the item you place into the Spool:

How to dye items in Stardew Valley

Some cosmetic items are dyeable, but you need to make your own dye in order to change the color. To do this, you have two options. 

The first method to dye items is by placing items which represent a color into the Dye Pots to right right of the Sewing Machine in Emily and Haley’s house. You must be wearing the item that you’re intending to dye. 

Although there are only six different colors of dye (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple), there is a way to dye something outside of these colors. If you add one item which corresponds to each dye color, a HSL (hue, saturation, and lightness) slider will appear which allows you to choose your own color.

The second method is through the Sewing Machine itself. To dye an item through the Sewing Machine, you’ll need to place the item you want to dye into the slot where you’d usually put Fabric to craft an item. In the top slot, where you’d usually place the item in crafting, you’ll need to place an item corresponding to one of the dye colors. 

Things can get a little tricky with either option, because one dyeing item will only dye a clothing item to 25%. To reach full saturation, you’ll need to use four items corresponding to the same color. Each item within your inventory which can be used as a dye item will have a colored circle on it, displaying the color of dye it will turn in to.

You can use pretty much any item to create dye, but here’s a list of 10 fairly easy items that you can gather which correspond to each color:

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Once you’ve unlocked the Mines in Stardew Valley, you’ll encounter a new NPC who cannot be communicated with. This is the Dwarf, and eventually you’ll be able to befriend him and access his shop, but you’ll have to put some effort in before then. 

There’s something of a communication barrier between you and the Dwarf at first, namely the fact that you don’t understand Dwarvish. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn, you just need to find and study all of his scrolls first. 

Learning how to speak Dwarvish will also allow you to talk to the Dwarf in the Volcano Dungeon on Ginger Island, and to read the rightmost gravestone in the Graveyard.

How to find all Dwarf Scrolls in Stardew Valley

There are four Dwarf Scrolls in total, and they can all be found within the Mines. Each scroll has a different colored ribbon and once you’ve found each scroll, you’ll need to donate it to the Museum. When you’ve donated all four scrolls, you’ll miraculously be able to speak Dwarvish. If only learning languages in real life were that easy. 

Dwarf Scroll I

The first of the Dwarf Scrolls has a red ribbon, and can be found in the following ways:

• Tilling in the Mines or Skull Cavern using the Hoe on any floor (0.16% chance)
• Killing any of the following Monsters within the Mines (0.5% chance per kill):

  • Bat 
  • Bug
  • Cave Fly
  • Duggy
  • Green Slime
  • Grub
  • Rock Crab
  • Stone Golem

Dwarf Scroll II

The second Dwarf Scroll has a green ribbon, and can be found by doing the following:

• Tilling in the Mines between floors 1 and 29 (0.1% chance)
• Killing any of the following monsters within the Mines (0.5% chance per kill):

  • Blue Slime
  • Dust Sprite
  • Frost Bat
  • Ghost

Dwarf Scroll III

The third Dwarf Scroll has a blue scroll and cannot be found from Tilling inside the Mines, unlike the previous two. If you want to get this scroll, each of the following monsters has a 0.5% chance to drop it when killed:

• Any slime
• Lava Bat
• Lava Crab
• Squid Kid
• Shadow Brute
• Shadow Shaman
• Metal Head
• Spider
• Blue Squid

Dwarf Scroll IV

The final scroll comes with a yellow ribbon, and can be found using the following methods:

• Tilling on any floor of the Mines below level 80 (0.2% chance)
• Killing any monster within the Mines except the following (0.1% chance per kill):

  • Skeleton
  • Serpent
  • Wilderness Golem
  • Carbon Ghost
  • Iridium Bat
  • Iridium Crab
  • Haunted Skull

If you’re stuck looking for either Dwarf Scroll ! or IV, then it’s handy to know that there is a patch of tillable soil close to the elevator on floor 95. Descending to this floor repeatedly and tilling this patch of floor is a good way to farm for both scrolls if you’re missing them from your collection.

Everything sold at the Dwarf’s Shop in Stardew Valley

Now that you’ve learned how to speak Dwarvish, you’ll be able to befriend him and you’ll also have access to his shop. The items he sells are always the same, and they’re especially useful for future adventures within the Mines.

Here’s everything you can get from the Dwarf after you’ve learned how to speak his language:

The post How to get all Dwarf Scrolls in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

Most of the quests in Stardew Valley are pretty straightforward to complete, but some are more riddle-esque, while others leave you outright guessing what you’re supposed to be doing.

Once you’ve completed the Community Center bundles (or paid off JojaMart, if you’re inclined that way), you will be able to repair Willy’s boat and make your way to Ginger Island. There’s a lot of new things to do on the island and people to meet, with many giving you new objectives and quests. 

One of these people is Birdie, who lives in a hut on the western side of the island. Speaking to Birdie will automatically provide you with a quest to complete called “The Pirate’s Wife”, which can seem pretty confusing. However, this is a quest that you should definitely do because it gives some pretty worthwhile rewards.

How to complete The Pirate’s Wife in Stardew Valley

When you speak to Birdie, she’ll tell you that she wants to find a keepsake which once belonged to her husband, who was presumably a pirate. Unfortunately, finding it isn’t as simple as heading to a specified location, and instead requires you to work your way through an NPC-centric scavenger hunt of sorts. 

After talking to Birdie, you’ll be in possession of a photograph depicting a soldier washed up on a beach. This is a War Memento, and you need to take this to a specific villager to swap it for something else. To finish the quest, you’ll need to do this six times, swapping items with villagers until you eventually come into possession of the keepsake which Birdie is after. 

Although the intended recipient of each item should be obvious from the item itself, it’s easy to get confused, so here’s the order in which you’ll get each item and who you need to give it to:

After giving the Wriggling Worm to Willy, he’ll give you a Pirate’s Locket. This is the keepsake that Birdie has been after, so you’re to return to Ginger Island and give it to her to complete The Pirate’s Wife. 

Rewards for completing The Pirate’s Wife

Most importantly, completing The Pirate’s Wife will reward you with five Golden Walnuts, which you’ll need if you want to eventually gain access to Qi’s Walnut Room. 

Other than this, you’ll also unlock the recipe for Fairy Dust, which is an incredibly useful item, because it enables you to instantly complete any process on a lot of the machinery on your farm.

The only exceptions to this are:

• Incubators
• Ostrich Incubators
• Slime Incubators

The post How to complete The Pirate’s Wife quest in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

If you’re looking for a gift that’s guaranteed to be loved in Stardew Valley, you have a few options. One of them is a Golden Pumpkin, but there’s only one guaranteed way to get your hands on this Fall item. 

Golden Pumpkins are on the list of universally loved gifts in Stardew Valley, meaning that regardless of who you give it to, it’s guaranteed to get you 80 friendship points with the recipient. For that reason, it’s definitely worth getting a Golden Pumpkin whenever you can. Depending on your level of luck, opportunities to hoard this loved gift may be few and far between.

How to get a Golden Pumpkin in Stardew Valley

The only way you’re guaranteed to get a Golden Pumpkin is by completing the maze at the Spirit’s Eve Festival, which takes place between 10 p.m. and 11:50 p.m. on Fall 27 each year. The Golden Pumpkin will only appear at the end of the maze every other year, starting with year one, so you’ll have to be in an odd year to get your guaranteed prize. 

On odd years, the trick to reaching the end of the maze is via the secret passage. To find it, head towards the signpost marked with a question mark, and then continue to the right and into the cave to the north. Blindly navigate the cave (using a glow ring can make this a little easier) and then you’ll pop out near the treasure chest at the end of the maze, which contains a Golden Pumpkin.

Thankfully, if you have luck on your side, you can find Golden Pumpkins a couple of other ways, although none of them are guaranteed by far. You have a 3.7% chance to find a Golden Pumpkin in Artifact Troves, Mystery Boxes or Golden Mystery Boxes. 

Are Golden Pumpkins used for anything other than gifting?

If you’ve reached maximum friendship with every villager in Pelican Town, there is another good use for a Golden Pumpkin. If you use a Golden Pumpkin in the spool of any Sewing Machine, you’ll end up with a Witch Hat, which is perfect for the season. You can also use a Golden Pumpkin to make yellow dye if you put it in the Dye Pots at Emily and Haley’s house. 

Outside of this, if you’re in a bit of a monetary pinch and need some funds for seeds or the like, you could always just sell your Spirit's Eve prize for 2,500 Gold. You’ll need to do this via the Shipping Bin on your farm, though, because Pierre won’t purchase it from you outright.

Just make sure you don’t need it for anything else before you choose to sell, because you’ll likely end up waiting two years to get another one. 

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Once you’ve unlocked the Raccoons in their Cindersap Forest home in Stardew Valley, you’ll have requests to complete in order to unlock further family members. The first of these, Mrs. Raccoon, comes with her own shop, and you don’t need Gold to purchase her wares.

Unlike other vendors in Stardew Valley, Mrs. Raccoon has no use for Gold and instead chooses to use a barter system. In exchange for junk and other items, you can get some rare items and seeds. 

Everything sold at Mrs. Raccoon’s Shop in Stardew Valley

After completing the first request for Mr. Raccoon, his wife will show up the following day, and you’ll have access to her shop. The stock of her shop expands after completing each request for Mr. Raccoon, although she starts out with a selection of seeds that are usually obtained from Seed Spots.

In some cases, it’s possible to start with one item and barter up to much more useful items, such as the following:

• Cave Carrot > Mixed Seeds > Raccoon Hat
• Mystery Box > Golden Mystery Box > Magic Rock Candy

Here’s everything that she eventually sells, along with which request you’ll need to complete in order to unlock each item for purchase:

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If you’re looking for certain resources or materials in Stardew Valley, there’s a high likelihood that one of the many in-game vendors will sell at least some of them. One of these vendors is Krobus, who sells various rare items.

Before you can unlock Krobus’ Shop inside the Sewers, you’re going to have to put in a little bit of effort. The Sewers are locked for a while at the start of the game, and unlocking them requires some effort on your part. 

It’s not just Krobus’ Shop awaiting you in the Sewers, either. If you want to catch all of Stardew Valley’s Legendary Fish, you’ll find one of them down here, too. Plus, if you want to befriend Krobus, you can’t even begin to do so until you’ve unlocked the Sewers. 

How to get the Rusty Key in Stardew Valley

You’ll first hear about the Sewers and the Rusty Key from Vincent and Jas on or after Spring 11 of year one, if you enter the Cindersap Forest on a Monday, Thursday or Sunday. After that, if you try to enter the Sewers by either of the openings in Cindersap Forest or the main town, you’ll be told that you cannot enter yet. 

To get the Rusty Key, you’ll need to donate 60 items to the Museum. These donations can include artifacts or minerals, but you need to donate 60 unique items. After you’ve reached this number, Gunther will visit you at home and give you the Rusty Key, allowing you access to the sewers.

How to unlock Krobus’ Shop in Stardew Valley

The good news is that once you’ve donated 60 items and got the Rusty Key, you’ll now automatically have access to both Krobus and his shop. You’re now free to win him over with conversation and gifts or otherwise purchase rare items from his shop. 

If you choose to make Krobus your roommate, he will no longer be in residence down in the Sewers. You'll still be able to access his wares if you go down there, but he will be replaced with a chest which you'll need to interact with.

Krobus’ Shop has a selection of items that are always available with a rotating stock that changes daily:

Permanent stock

Daily rotating stock

The post How to unlock the Sewers in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

If you want to gain an advantage on your dives into the Mines and Skull Caverns in Stardew Valley, one resource that you’re going to need a lot of is Void Essence. Thankfully, there are a few different ways to get it. 

How to get Void Essence in Stardew Valley

You’re likely to be able to hoard up a hefty amount of Void Essence on your exploration of the Mines and Skull Caverns, as it’s a drop from the following monsters:

• Shadow Brute (both normal and dangerous)
• Shadow Shaman (both normal and dangerous)
• Shadow Sniper
• Haunted Skull
• Serpent
• Spider

However, there are a few other ways to get Void Essence if you don’t mind spending a little of your Gold to do so. 

Krobus’ Shop

Once you’ve donated 60 items to the Museum, got the Rusty Key, and unlocked Krobus’ Shop, you’ll be able to purchase Void Essence for 100 Gold each. You can only buy a maximum of 10 per day, but Void Essence is in stock every day, so you can get 70 per week. 

Fish Pond

If you want a chance to get Void Essence passively, you can always install a Fish Pond on your farm and fill it with Void Salmon. This fish can be found in the Witch’s Swamp, and a Void Salmon Fish Pond will possibly drop between 5 and 10 Void Essence as long as the population of the Pond is 8 or more.

How to use Void Essence in Stardew Valley

The first reason for gathering Void Essence is to complete the Adventurer’s Bundle in the Community Center. Although it’s not strictly necessary, as you have a choice of five items and need to donate only two, Void Essence is a fairly easy item to find now that you know where to look. 

Crafting

Void essence is used when crafting Mega Bombs and Iridium Bands, two items that can really help while you’re exploring the caverns around Pelican Town and beyond. These recipes don’t unlock until quite a while into a playthrough, but they need the following resources:

You’ll also need Void Essence if you want to ask Krobus to move in with you instead of marrying a villager. To do this, you’ll need to reach level 10 friendship with Krobus and then buy a Void Ghost Pendant from the Desert Trader for 200 Void Essence.

Quests

The main quest which calls for Void Essence comes from the Wizard on Winter 12. To complete “The Dark Reagent,” you’ll need to bring one Void Essence to the Wizard. The reward for doing so is 1,000 Gold and one heart of friendship.

Gifting

In terms of gifts, only the Wizard particularly enjoys receiving Void Essence. With the exception of the Dwarf, who feels neutral about it, the rest of the villagers actively dislike receiving Void Essence as a gift.

Tailoring

If used in the spool of a Sewing Machine, Void Essence will result in the production of an Arcane Shirt. It can also be used to make a purple dye via the dye pots in Emily and Haley’s house. 

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If you’ve made waves with a bachelor or bachelorette in Stardew Valley and want to move your relationship on to the next level by getting hitched and having them live with you on the farm, you’re going to need a Mermaid’s Pendant. Here’s how to get one. 

The Mermaid’s Pendant is, for all intents and purposes, an engagement ring in the style of Stardew Valley. To get a potential beau to go on a date with you, you give them a Bouquet. To get someone to marry you, you give them a Mermaid’s Pendant. 

Before you can give anyone a Mermaid’s Pendant, you’ll need to do a couple of things:

• Reach level 10 friendship with your desired spouse by giving them a Bouquet when they reach level 8 friendship
• Purchase and complete the first Farmhouse upgrade

How to get a Mermaid’s Pendant in Stardew Valley

There is only one way to get a Mermaid’s Pendant in Stardew Valley, and you’ll only be able to get one after repairing the bridge to the eastern side of the Beach using 300 Wood. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have to wait for a rainy day. 

On any rainy day in Spring, Summer, or Fall, the Old Mariner will show up in the treeline to the north of the small, now accessible island. He’ll be there from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., and will sell the Mermaid’s Pendant for 5,000 Gold. He can also show up during Winter, but only if a Rain Totem is used to force spawn the rain on any day other than those taken up by the Night Market. 

The Old Mariner will still show up if you’re already married or have a housemate, but he will not sell you another Mermaid’s Pendant unless you get divorced from your current spouse. If you’re engaged to your future spouse, but not yet married, you can return to the Old Mariner to buy another Mermaid’s Pendant.

Once you’ve got a Mermaid’s Pendant, you can give it to anyone with a 10-heart friendship, but if you give one to someone while already married, they’ll call you out for your questionable actions.

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There are lots of different fish to catch in Stardew Valley, and even some non-fish which still count as fish. One such animal is the Sea Cucumber. Not quite a fish, but definitely not a vegetable, this creature can seem pretty elusive. 

If you’re looking to catch a Sea Cucumber, there are two different times during which it can be caught. Firstly, it can be found between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. during Fall and Winter, on the Beach or on your Farm, if you opted to play on a Beach Farm. 

The second opportunity to catch a Sea Cucumber comes during the Night Market, which occurs between Winter 15 and 17. Each night during the event, fishing in the deep-sea submarine offers a 5% chance to reel in a Sea Cucumber. 

Either way, you can use Magic Bait to negate both the seasonal and time restrictions for any fish, including Sea Cucumber. This will allow you to catch it at any time of the year, so you don’t have to wait until Fall to get your hands on one.

If you’re hoping to skip over the catching part, there are a couple of other ways to get a Sea Cucumber. You can sometimes find them for sale at the Traveling Cart for between 225 and 1,000 Gold, or otherwise find them in Trash Cans around Pelican Town during Fall and Winter. 

How to use a Sea Cucumber in Stardew Valley

Although it isn’t used as part of any Bundles, normal or remixed, the Sea Cucumber still has a lot of uses and is worth catching, even if only to fill out the Almanac. 

Gifting and quests

Although most villagers dislike receiving Sea Cucumber as a gift, there is one who will love to get one — Willy. On the other hand, avoid giving one to Ellliott, Evelyn, Haley, or Pierre, as they won’t appreciate getting one as a gift, no matter how thoughtful you’re trying to be. 

Outside of this, a Sea Cucumber can be requested at any time in Fall or Winter on the “Help Wanted” Board, rewarding 225 Gold and 150 Friendship points upon completion. 

Recipes

There are four recipes which can use Sea Cucumber as an ingredient, although only one which specifically requires one. However, this one recipe is very worth making as it increases your Luck by 3 when consumed. 

Tailoring

When used in the spool of a Sewing Machine, a Sea Cucumber will help to create a dyeable Tube Top. It can also be used to make a yellow dye at the dye pots in Emily and Haley’s house.

The post How to get a Sea Cucumber in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

For those of us who are playing Stardew Valley on console or mobile, it feels like the big 1.6 update has been a long-time coming. The PC version of the game got the enormous patch back in March, with a changelog that makes for a rather extensive read.

When last we heard about the patch for consoles, Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone said the work was very much at the forefront of their mind. Now, a recent post from the developer shows that this is still the case, but the patch is taking so long, it's detracted from working on their next project.

The message on X shows that Barone is more than aware that 1.6 is taking a lot longer than they imagined, admitting it would be a "huge relief" if it was ready today. However, it isn't, though it's still very much being worked on. This also means the developer has been unable to keep working on their new game, saying "I have not touched Haunted Chocolatier in a long time because I am committed to finalizing Stardew 1.6 first."

But they are grateful for the patience

Barone goes on to show gratitude to those who have been patient these past few months. The post on X ends by saying "to those who are patient and understanding, thank you, you make life better and reduce stress, and I appreciate it" before finishing with "back to work."

However, one user did show signs of irritation when they questioned why the update for Stardew Valley came to PC first, adding that it "kinda f***ing sucks." However, Barone, remaining calm and professional, explains that the PC update was done first in order to better quash any bugs early on before console users received it.

They go on to say that, on console at least, "it takes much longer to get a patch into the hands of the players" and that it makes sense to "have all major issues resolved before submitting to consoles." The message reads loud and clear: they didn't anticipate running into problems, saying the console patch is taking a long while partly due to some "technical issues with the porting process."

Still, many will still be wondering when Stardew Valley 1.6 will be arriving on the PlayStation and Xbox, as well as on mobile. These things evidently take time, but it's good to see the developer is being as transparent as they can, and that most of us are remaining patient, even though PC users are already on version 1.6.8, which dropped in April.

The post The Stardew Valley 1.6 console patch is taking so long, dev hasn’t touched their new project in a long while appeared first on Destructoid.

When building friendships with the villagers of Pelican Town in Stardew Valley, simply talking to them each day isn’t enough. You need to have a steady supply of gift items to hand, and none are better than the universally loved gifts.

There are a few exceptions to universal gifts. Occasionally a villager will hate receiving one, but I’ll note any exceptions as we go through this guide. Where someone is listed as an exception, it’s best not to even try and give them the item as a gift.

Every way to get universally loved gifts in Stardew Valley

• A Golden Pumpkin can be obtained every other year by completing the Maze at the Spirit’s Eve Festival on Fall 27
• Possible drop from Artifact Troves 
• Possible drop from Mystery Boxes of Golden Mystery Boxes

• Obtained from the Desert Trader in exchange for 3 Prismatic Shards
• Obtained from the Calico Egg Marchant on Spring 17 at the Desert Festival in exchange for 250 Calico Eggs
• Obtained from Racoon Wife’s Shop in exchange for 20 Golden Mystery Boxes after completing Mr. Raccoon’s sixth request and unlocking Foraging Mastery
• Possible drop from Haunted Skulls 
• Possible frop from Mystery Boxes or Golden Mystery Boxes 

• One per save file (or per player in Multiplayer games) can be obtained by successfully completing the correct sequence in the Mermaid Boat at the Night Market
• Obtained after solving Journal Scrap #6 on Ginger Island
• Obtained from Willy in the mail after filling a Fish Pond with 10 Crabs
• Obtained through foraging in the Mines after activating the Shrine of Challenge or during the Danger in the Deep quest
• Obtained by achieving gold tier or higher at the SquidFest on Winter 12
• Possible drop from Artifact Troves
• Possible drop from Mytery Boxes
• Possible drop from Blobfish Fish Pond with a population of at least nine
• Possible drop while fishing on the Submarine at the Night Market
• Possible drop from Golden Fishing Chests

• One can be obtained per day from the Statue of True Perfection
• Purchased from Emily if she has a stall at the Desert Festival in exchange for 500 Calico Eggs
• Possible drop from Mystic Stone in the Mines (Floors 100+), Skull Caverns or the Quarry
• 25% chance to drop from a Meteorite
• Possible drop in a Treasure Room inside Skull Caverns
• Possible drop from an Iridium Node in Skull Caverns, the Quarry or Volcano Dungeon
• Possible drop from an Omni Geode
• Possible drop from Mystery Boxes or Golden Mystery Boxes
• Possible drop from a Rainbow Trout Fish Pond with a population of at least 9
• Possible drop from Fishing Treasure Chests after reaching Fishing level 6
• One guaranteed in a chest at the top of the Volcano Dungeon the first time you reach it
• Possible drop from the following monsters:

  • Serpents
  • Mummies
  • Shadow Brutes
  • Shadow Shaman

• Possible drop from the following monsters after reaching Combat level 10:

  • Wilderness Golems
  • Iridium Golems

• Possible drop from Rabbits with a high friendship and happiness level
• Possibly available for purchase at the Traveling Cart for between 1,695 and 2,825 Gold
• Possible drop from Serpents in Skull Cavern
• Purchased from Jas if she has a stall at the Desert Festival in exchange for 100 Calico Eggs
• Possible gift from a pet Cat with maximum friendship

Stardrop Tea is by far the best gift to give any villager, as it is guaranteed to increase friendship by 250 points, or a whole heart. If given on a villagers birthday or at the Feast of the Winter Star, Stardrop Tea will provide 750 Friendship points, or three whole hearts.

• Guaranteed to obtain one as the fifth prize from Mayor Lewis’ Prize Machine
• Possible drop from Golden Fishing Chests
• Possible reward for any Raccoon quest after the fifth request 
• One is rewarded for completing the Helper’s Bundle on the Bulletin Board (Remixed)

The post How to get every universally loved gift in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

Depending on how many animals you have on your farm in Stardew Valley, simply interacting with each to increase or sustain their heart levels can become a bit of a chore, never mind feeding them. Thankfully, there’s an item that can help. 

Depending on which route you take, getting an Auto-Petter could actually be ridiculously easy. If you’re not up for preserving Pelican Town and sign up for the Joja Route (how could you?), then you’ll be able to purchase an Auto-Petter for 50,000 Gold once you’ve completed the Joja Development Form. 

However, if you’re doing things the honorable way and aiming to get Jojamart out of your new small-town home, then you’ll have your work cut out for you, and you’ll need a lot of luck. 

How to get an Auto-Petter in Stardew Valley

If you’re restoring the Community Center to its former glory, then you’ve chosen the morally correct route. However, in the process, you’ve made it very difficult for yourself to get an Auto-Petter, closing off any access to purchase the piece of farm equipment. Instead, you will spend a lot of time in the Mines and Skull Cavern. 

There are a few ways to get an Auto-Petter, but none are guaranteed. You’re most likely to get one from Skull Cavern treasure chests, although the drop rate is still a dismal 3.6%. 

If you get lucky, there are a few other ways you can find one:

• Golden Mystery Boxes
• Killing Monsters or breaking crates and barrels within the Mines during the Danger in the Deep quest
• Killing Monsters or breaking crates and barrels within the Mines after activating the Shrine of Challenge

How to use an Auto-Petter in Stardew Valley

For an Auto-Petter to be useful, it must be placed inside a Barn or Coop. While it can decoratively be placed anywhere on your farm, it won’t do anything unless placed inside a farm building.  

Auto-Petters are great for preventing the loss of friendship with animals if you don’t pet them every day. However, animals will not gain the same number of points as they would if you petted them manually. Auto-Petters will only increase an animal's friendship level by 8 points, rather than the 15 they would if you pet them yourself. 

However, mood buffs will still be activated by the Auto-Petter and simply having one in a Barn or Coop will prevent the loss of friendship points. Animals lose friendship points for the following reasons:

• Not feeding them will reduce friendship by 20 points
• Being trapped outside overnight will reduce friendship by 20 points
• Not petting or talking to your animals will reduce friendship by between 5 and 10 points, depending on how high their friendship level was to begin with

While an Auto-Petter can’t feed your animals for you (you can just upgrade your barns or coops to their Deluxe versions to do this) or make sure they get safely inside at the end of the day, it can at least prevent the loss of friendship points if you have other things which need your attention.

The post How to get an Auto-Petter in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

When you first begin a playthrough of Stardew Valley, you’ll have a total of 270 Stamina used to carry out all of your daily tasks. This sounds like a lot, but it quickly disappears once you start actually doing anything. However, there is an item that permanently increase your Stamina — Stardrops. 

There are seven Stardrops, which can be obtained in a variety of ways in Stardew Valley, so whether you’re wanting more energy to sustain longer trips into the Mines, or you just want to be able to water all of your plants, keep reading. 

How to get every Stardrop in Stardew Valley

Like I said, there are a total of seven Stardrops to be found, and you’ll need to get to work if you want to get them all. Each Stardrop will increase your Stamina by 34 permanently, so if you collect all seven, you’ll end up with 508 energy to do with as you please. 

Stardrop 1 - Valley Fair

The first Stardrop you’re likely to encounter will be at the Valley Fair on Fall 16, but it’s not easy to get. You’ll need to earn 2,000 Star Tokens at the fair in order to purchase it, so check out our guide on how to do just that.

Stardrop 2 - Old Master Cannoli

This one is actually easier to get than the one from the Valley Fair, but you’re unlikely to find it by accident. To get this Stardrop, you’ll need to obtain a Sweet Gem Berry and give it to Old Master Cannoli’s Statue in the Secret Woods. If you haven’t officially unlocked the Secret Woods yet, you can always use the chair trick to bypass the log blocking your way. 

Stardrop 3 - Floor 100 of the Mines

This one is pretty self explanatory, but it might take you a while to achieve. Once you’ve reached Floor 100 of the Mines, you’ll be able to open the treasure chest there and you’re guaranteed to get a Stardrop from it. 

Stardrop 4 - From your spouse

If your spouse is a Villager, you’ll receive a Stardrop as a gift from them once your relationship with them reaches 12.5 hearts. On the other hand, if you’re playing in a multiplayer game and marry another player, you’ll both receive a Stardrop the first time you return home after the wedding. 

You can only receive one Stardrop from marriage, regardless of divorce or remarriage. 

Stardrop 5 - Krobus

Once you’ve donated 60 artifacts to the Museum, you’ll get the Rusty Key as a reward and gain access to the Sewers. Down there, you’ll be able to shop from Krobus’ Shop and buy a Stardrop from him for 20,000 Gold.

Stardrop 6 - Completing the Museum

Completing the Museum in Stardew Valley by donating all of the 95 required artifacts will reward you with a Stardrop, as well as the ‘A Complete Collection’ achievement. This one is pretty straightforward, but may prove tricky to get if you’ve not got luck on your side. 

Stardrop 7 - Get the ‘Master Angler’ achievement

This final Stardrop is more complicated than it seems at first glance because you need to catch all of the Legendary Fish and those from the Night Market, as well as those found under normal circumstances. 

That’s around 55 Fish, all of which have their own spawning conditions. If you want my advice, stock up on some Magic Bait if you want to get this Stardrop. Once you manage this feat, the Stardrop will come to you the next morning with a letter from Willy.

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If you’re wanting to go fishing in Stardew Valley, you’re going to need some bait. Whether you make it yourself or purchase it from Willy, it can help to increase the likelihood of catching certain fish or even catch fish out of season.

How to get all baits in Stardew Valley

Baits come from a variety of sources in Stardew Valley. You can create any type of bait through crafting, a Worm Bin, or a Bait Maker, though you will need to purchase or unlock the recipe before you can do so:

How to put bait on your rod in Stardew Valley

Bait cannot be used on the first rod you get, so you’ll need to upgrade to one of the following rods in order to use it:

• Fiberglass Rod
• Iridium Rod
• Advanced Iridium Rod

Depending on which platform you’re playing on, you’ll need to press a couple of buttons to attach the bait to your rod:

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If you’ve unlocked Ginger Island in Stardew Valley, you’ve got a whole new bunch of fish waiting to be caught. These fish can be found all over the island and, like those in the Valley, come with time and weather restrictions, but they each have their uses. 

One of these new fish is the Stingray, which may not be used in many quests or recipes, but it does serve an incredibly useful purpose. There’s an Island Trader who will sell you Mahogany Seeds for one Stingray each, and, in case you don’t know, Mahogany Trees drop Hardwood when chopped down. 

How to catch a Stingray in Stardew Valley

To catch a Stingray, you’ll need to head to the Pirate Cove area of Ginger Island. Thankfully, Stingrays can be caught at any time and in any weather, so you shouldn’t have too much of a hard time finding them. 

When hooked, Stingrays will dart around the fishing minigame a bit, so you may find it difficult to keep the green section on them. To make this easier, you can use a Cork or Trap Bobber. If you want to see what you’ve hooked before reeling it in, you can use a Sonar Bobber.

How to use a Stingray in Stardew Valley

If you’re not planning to stock up on Mahogany Seeds using your newly caught Stingrays, there are still a few things that you can use them for. Predominantly, they actually sell for a relatively high price. Each Stingray will sell for at least 180 Gold, with this price rising to 540 Gold depending on the quality of the Stingray and whether you have the Fisher or Angler profession. 

Crafting

Stingrays can be used in the following recipes:

• Maki Roll

  • 1 of any Fish
  • 1 Seaweed
  • 1 Rice

• Quality Fertilizer

  • 4 Sap
  • 1 of any Fish

• Sashimi

  • 1 of any Fish

Tailoring

When a Stingray is used in the spool of a Sewing Machine, you’ll be able to create the dyeable Sailor Shirt. As well as this, a Stingray can be used in the dye pots at Emily and Haley’s house to create an orange dye. 

Quests

The only quest which will require you to catch Stingrays is one of Willy’s Special Orders called ‘Tropical Fish’. This will only become available to complete once you’ve unlocked Ginger Island, and you’ll need to provide five Stingrays.

Fish Pond

When placed in a Fish Pond, Stingrays will reproduce every four days. A Stingray pond is capable of producing the following items on any day:

• 1 Roe
• 1 Magma Cap
• 2-5 Cinder Shards
• 1 Dragon Tooth
• 1 Battery Pack

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The internet is a wonderful thing. It allows for connections to be formed between people who are, geographically, thousands of miles apart. These relationships can be hard to maintain, but the world of online gaming can help. 

Whether you’re a parent with a child at college on the other side of the country, have friends who have relocated due to work, or your partner is on the other side of the world, there’s a long list of games you can play together. Even if you see each other regularly, gaming is a particularly good way of spending quality time together.

My fiancé and I live 3,000 miles apart most of the time. When we’re not physically together, gaming together allows us the opportunity to occupy the same virtual space and share experiences. As such, we’ve played a lot of games together. 

I’ve thought back on all of our shared gaming adventures and scoured my Steam library, and here are 10 of the best options if you’re looking to bond through shared gaming.

It Takes Two

In It Takes Two, you’re playing as Cody and May, parents of Rose, who is resistant to the change. Think Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves but with the added heartbreak of a marriage on the rocks. Through the game, you need to work together to overcome obstacles which can’t be faced alone, learning the value of open communication and mutual understanding. 

While It Takes Two is definitely geared more towards those with a romantic connection, it’s just as heartwarming to play with friends or family, and is sure to get you emotional for a myriad of different reasons. 

Ultimate Chicken Horse

From the full spectrum of emotions to pure rage, Ultimate Chicken Horse is one to play if you’re wanting to get competitive and is perfect if you’re wanting an online activity for your friend group. 

In Ultimate Chicken Horse, you can place obstacles to cause havoc for your opponents or help each other reach the goal location. The obstacles and traps placed down by each player lead to all sorts of bizarre and hilarious consequences, and you can truly sabotage everyone around you. 

On the plus side there’s a whole bunch of new outfits and accessories to unlock for a long list of playable animal characters, but that doesn’t take away from the rage you’re likely to feel while playing. 

Human Fall Flat

Co-operative gaming with the most insane rag doll physics, Human Fall Flat is like trying to navigate the world with no muscle control, after a few too many drinks. It’s incredibly easy to get distracted and regardless who you choose to play with, you’re going to need to keep their head in the game as well as your own. 

Human Fall Flat can also be played solo, but it only gets so much better when you drag your friends or loved ones along as floppy little playmates. Plus, the character customization only makes everything more hilarious and you need people around to see your bizarre choices in action. And who are you going to throw off the map if you’re alone?

Final Fantasy XIV

I couldn’t write this list without including FFXIV, mainly because I met my fiancé through the game and it’s remained one of our most useful time-together-even-if-we’re-apart tools for the last three years. If you need more convincing that FFXIV is a great way to build or maintain connections or relationships, just take a look at the story of Maidy and the Dad of Light. 

Whether you want to go for a father-son fishing trip, take on Eikons, or race on chocobo back, there’s no end to the activities which can be done together in Eorzea. As an MMO, it’s designed for endless numbers of people to play together and with the help of emotes and shared experiences, communication comes easy. 

Stardew Valley

Nothing bonds two people together more than running a farm with shared resources and money. Stardew Valley is undoubtedly great as a single player experience, but it also excels as a multiplayer game as well. 

Whether you’re starting from scratch to build a new farm together, or you just want your friends to come and visit, Stardew is great. All you need to do is build a Cabin to accommodate your guests, and you’re ready to have visitors. Trips into the mines are far better with friends. 

Don’t Starve Together

Don’t Starve, the single player survival challenge with a delightful Tim Burton-esque art style, released way back in 2013. Don’t Starve Together, the multiplayer version, released just a year later and despite its age I think it stands the test of time.

You and up to five friends get dropped into the unforgiving wilderness, and you have to survive against the elements and enemies who surround you. While you’re completely alone in the single player version, having friends around you makes gathering resources and building a base much easier. 

Chained Together

I’m usually one to stay a million miles away from rage-baiting games. After my experience with Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, it’s safe to say that rage games are not a friend to me. However, if you throw friends or loved ones into the mix and work through the rage together, it’s actually a remarkably joyous experience. 

In Chained Together, you’re trying to find your way out of Hell. Unfortunately, Hell is just an insanely tall jumping puzzle which needs to be navigated - truly my idea of Hell made reality. With moving, spinning, flinging, and rolling parts, Chained Together would arguably be easier even if you weren’t physically chained to the other people playing with you, but at least having someone with you lets you blame them if you fall back to the very beginning. 

Biped

Biped is specifically designed for two players to work together. With mechanics reminiscent of Human Fall Flat, such as feet that are controlled individually to facilitate movement and grabbing onto items within the levels, it can actually be pretty challenging to overcome some obstacles. 

There are puzzles to solve, and the controls do cause some moments of rage here and there, but these moments are far outnumbered by the sheer joy you can experience together and the elation you feel when you manage to successfully complete a level. Biped is inspired by old-school platformers, and is filled with coins to collect and secrets to unlock.

Escape Simulator

If you’re wanting to get into a discussion and solve some puzzles with friends or loved ones, may I recommend Escape Simulator? 

Cheaper than a real-life escape room, but no less difficult to solve, Escape Simulator is perfect if you want to work through a conundrum together. There are multiple themed levels filled with puzzles to solve, and while you can definitely complete these solo, it always helps to have a friend to bounce ideas around with. 

Blanc

Another game which requires two players to complete, Blanc will see one person playing as a Fawn while the other plays as a Wolf Cub. In this tale of unlikely friendship, both animals are trying to find their way back to their families and must work together to do so. 

Overcoming challenges is just one aspect of this gorgeous work of art. The monochromatic and simplistic art style is beautiful, but the lack of distractions also leaves you free to focus on the story. There’s heartbreak ahead in Blanc, but also moments of joy to share with your second player. 

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Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.

1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- The Adventure Game

The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in the game’s excellent tabletop adaption. As opposed to the classic video game, Skyrim- The Adventure Game is a cooperative experience for up to four players, which affects both the combat and dungeon loot systems. Each player’s character is suitably unique, and the strategic decisions you make throughout the game’s two campaigns can trigger exclusive story outcomes as well.

2. Fallout: The Board Game

The Fallout Board Game does just about everything right in adapting this classic video game franchise. An unknown post-apocalyptic world awaits you outside your vault, along with deadly enemies and warring factions. The art style is most faithful to the series’ more recent adaptions, and the storylines are appropriately thematic and recognizable to anyone who’s played Fallout before. Interactions between players are semi-cooperative; while everyone has their own objectives, they also need to work together to prevent any one of the non-player factions from taking over the wasteland.

3. Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time

Kingdom Rush is a classic tower defense game in which you place archers and other troops to defend against waves of oncoming enemies. Whereas the original video game is a fast-paced race, Rift in Time instead features more calculated, strategic gameplay. The game comes with a booklet of scenarios that you can play against, which makes it easy to adjust the difficulty. In addition, the miniatures look great and are fun to paint.

4. Civilization: A New Dawn

Establish your kingdom, expand your territories, and build the great monuments of man in Civilization: A New Dawn, the most recent tabletop adaption of Sid Meier's Civilization. Though the original video game draws its roots back to a 1980s board game, the video games that followed have evolved significantly. A New Dawn utilizes many of the newer technology and city upgrade options from the most recent titles. Playtime is thankfully shorter than the 2010 edition of the board game, and to top it all off, the game tiles are gorgeous.

5. Small World of Warcraft

Small World of Warcraft is a WoW-themed adaption of the popular board game Small World. Players take control of the major races in Azeroth, including everything from Orcs to Worgen, and attempt to conquer as much territory as possible on the game’s various islands. Once one of the races you control is overextended, you can take charge of another to continue the conquest and hopefully have the most points by the end of the final round.

6. Slay the Spire: The Board Game

With its outstanding deck-building and strategy elements, Slay the Spire feels like the perfect video game to bring to the tabletop environment. Contention Games has done just that via Kickstarter, with the recently released adaption gathering nearly four million dollars worth of pledges. All the best elements of the original title are here, including, of course, the absolutely iconic six-eyed whale Neow. The biggest change here is the cooperative multiplayer, but it's a welcome change that's more befitting a board game.

7. This War of Mine: The Board Game

Survival is the name of the game in This War of Mine: The Board Game, which does a fantastic job of bringing the war-torn surroundings and impactful storylines of the original video game to the table. During the day, you’ll build up your shelter and gather the resources you need to scrape by. During the night, you’ll have to fight off bandits to protect what little you have. The mechanics of exploring new locations work really well, with risks and rewards to be found in every corner of the war-torn city.

8. Dead by Daylight: The Board Game

Dead by Daylight: The Board Game leans heavily on hidden movement mechanics to represent the Killer’s stalking presence and the four Survivor’s attempts to escape. All the basic elements of the video game work surprisingly well in the tabletop environment, and there are also plenty of props and other tools that the Survivors can use as they work to stay alive. Most importantly, the competitive thrill of the original remains.

9. Stardew Valley: The Board Game

The cozy confines of Stardew Valley come to the table with immersive, cooperative gameplay and faithful attention to detail, though the board game does have some key differences from its source material. The players have a set number of turns in which they can complete their goal cards and rebuild the community center, but if the season cards run out, the players lose. Thankfully there’s still lots of farming, fishing, and mining fun to be had, along with plenty of interaction with the Valley’s most recognizable inhabitants.

10. God of War: The Card Game

God of War’s most iconic characters come to the table in style in the God of War card game. You’ll need to complete a series of scenes and quest cards to survive Ragnarok and win. It’s primarily a deck-building game, though you’ll be up against a set of randomly selected monsters and bosses rather than the other players at the table. It’s a must-have collectible for fans of the God of War franchise. We're also looking forward to finding out if the upcoming God of War Gamefound project will be an even better tabletop adaption than this one. 

The post 10 Awesome Board Games Based On Video Games You Can Play Right Now appeared first on Destructoid.

There are a lot of things to find in Stardew Valley. Unfortunately, many of these things are time-restricted, and if you don’t get them in the right season, you need to wait an entire year for the chance to get them again. 

Rainbow Shells are one such forageable item in Stardew Valley. While these pretty little shells aren’t used for many quests or crafting, they’re a solid bet to be given as a gift to most villagers as a gift and can be used inside Fish Tanks as a decoration. 

How to get Rainbow Shells in Stardew Valley

The foremost place to get Rainbow Shells is through foraging on the beach in the Summer. If you’re playing on a Beach Farm, you may find them on the ground at any time of the year. 

Thankfully, there are a few other ways to find them outside of Summer:

• In the mines, after activating the Shrine of Challenge
• In the mines during the ‘Danger in the Deep’ quest
• As a gift from Jas, Vincent, or Leo during the Feast of the Winter Star
• As a gift from Demetrius, received via mail 
• 2% chance of a Rainbow Trout Fish Pond producing 1 Rainbow Shell daily if the population reaches 9
• As a gift from a pet Turtle with maximum friendship
• May appear in the Traveling Cart for between 900 and 1,500 Gold 

How to use a Rainbow Shell in Stardew Valley

Most villagers will like getting a Rainbow Shell as a gift. The only exceptions to this are Elliot, who feels neutral about it, or Harvey, who hates them. 

Quests

The Mysterious QI quest, which will eventually open up the back door inside the Oasis and allow you access to the Casino, requires one Rainbow Shell to be placed inside the box at the train station. 

If you have a Blobfish Pond, they may request a Rainbow Shell in order to increase the capacity of the pond from 7 to 10. 

Tailoring

In order to create a dyeable Bikini Top, you can place a Rainbow Shell in the spool of a Sewing Machine. Otherwise, you can use a Rainbow Shell with the Sewing Machine to open up the dye menu, allowing you to dye an item any color using sliders. 

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Once you’ve restored the Greenhouse by completing the Pantry bundles in Stardew Valley, you’re able to plant anything you like inside the Greenhouse without seasons restricting you. Depending on what you want to grow, you may want to think about your layout. 

There are a few different layout options for the Greenhouse, and which one is best for you will depend on what you’re hoping to grow. Regardless of your intended crops, let’s go through the best layouts. 

Best layouts for sprinklers in the Greenhouse

Sprinklers are, in my opinion, vital to the successful growth of crops inside the Greenhouse. Once you’ve placed down Sprinklers, you only need to water any crop once, and then the Sprinklers will do all of the work for you, saving you both time and energy. 

Where you put Sprinklers will depend on which type of Sprinklers you want to use, and which upgrades you have available to you. It’s likely that, by the time you’ve unlocked the Greenhouse, you’ll at least have Quality Sprinklers available to you, and you’ll need 16 of these in order to fully water every square of the Greenhouses available space, leaving room for 108 plants. 

However, if you have Iridium Sprinklers, you only need six in order to cover this space. This leaves room for 116 plants. Upgrading your Iridium Sprinklers to have Pressure Nozzles will allow you to only take up one space with a Sprinkler, but this only frees up three additional crop spaces.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to worry about Sprinklers at all, you can use Deluxe Retaining Soil to negate the need for watering entirely. This Soil has a 100% chance of retaining water overnight and after only a single watering, will retain water until you physically remove the crop. 

Best layout for Fruit Trees in the Greenhouse

Fruit Trees can be grown in the greenhouse in any of the spaces outside of the middle planting area. You don’t need a Garden Pot to do this, simply plant the Tree Sapling in the ground. 

The best layout for this will allow you to have 18 Fruit Trees inside the greenhouse, with two spaces between each to allow for proper growth.

You don’t need to worry about watering the trees, they’ll grow in their own time and eventually provide you with all the fruit you need or could dream of. 

Best layout for trellis plants in the Greenhouse

Unlike other crops, anything that grows on a trellis (Grapes, Hops, or Green Beans) cannot be walked through. If you want to plant these in your Greenhouse, you’ll need to leave space between each crop to allow for harvesting. 

Although this does leave a lot of empty space and creates a few dead ends, you can fill the space with other crops. This is definitely more adaptable to personal preference and depends on which sprinklers you’re using, but as long as you leave space to walk between your crops, you’re golden. The above image is my preferred trellis layout when using Deluxe Retaining Soil, with other crops, such as Ancient Fruit, filling out the empty space.

The post The best greenhouse layouts for all crop options and trees in Stardew Valley appeared first on Destructoid.

When last we heard about the Stardew Valley 1.6 update for the console ports, we were told to have a little more patience while the developer made progress on it. Well, it looks as though we're still waiting, but Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has assured us that things are still in motion.

In fact, in a recent post on Twitter/X, the creator has said that it's "on my mind every minute," in reference to the mobile ports and the next PC update. We can only assume that this also encompassed the big patch that's inbound for consoles, though that's not specifically mentioned.

Barone then adds that announcements will be made when there is "meaningful news" to dole out, such as a release date, etc. The mobile versions of Stardew Valley have been particularly front and center on the developer's mind, saying they've been working on it "every day."

Stardew Valley 1.7 when?

With talk of a new PC update currently in the pipeline, it's tempting to think that this could be version 1.7. However, in a response to someone asking on X, Barone has made it clear that this will be more like 1.6.9, but we're not sure what that update will come with.

Additionally, Barone has also said that they will "never charge money for a DLC or update for as long as I live," encouraging anyone reading to "screencap this and shame me if I ever violate this oath." You heard it straight from the horse's mouth, folks.

At this stage, we're not clear on when the big 1.6 update will begin rolling out on console, but we can make the assumption that it's on ConcernedApe's mind along with whatever the other ideas they're currently working on. In short: things are still happening for Stardew Valley – especially the mobile ports – and it's comforting to know the developer has no intention of nickel and diming us.

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Life in Stardew Valley is about so much more than planting potatoes and building fences. If you’d like some additional company on your farm besides the chickens and cows, you might want to consider the possibilities of dating and marriage.

Married villagers can help you by watering crops, feeding animals, and making breakfast. They’ll also give you a Stardrop, which permanently increases your energy. In multiplayer, you can also craft a wedding ring and give it to your favorite Player 2. Cue the Princess Bride references.

All Stardew Valley Marriage Candidates

If you’re playing single player but you’re tired of being single, there are six eligible bachelors in town: Alex, Elliot, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian, and Shane.

There are of course six eligible bachelorettes as well: Abigail, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru, and Penny.

Each of Pelican Town’s marriage candidates will have two hearts greyed out in the social menu, whereas other characters will already have ten hearts unlocked. Same-sex dating and marriage is available.

The Stardew Valley Dating Scene

To get started, you’ll first need to get eight friendship hearts with the partner of your choice. To do this, greet them each day and give them two of their favorite gifts per week. Inviting them to the movie theater and completing item delivery quests will also aid in increasing your connection.

The day after reaching eight hearts with your potential partner, you’ll receive a letter in the mail from Pierre, who will let you know that his shop now has beautiful flower bouquets in stock. How timely! Drop by his shop at your earliest convenience and purchase one for 200g. Then, give the bouquet to your partner, who will of course be delighted. In the social menu, you’ll notice that the character has now become either your girlfriend or boyfriend, and that their last two hearts are now unlocked. 

Marriage and Proposals

Once you’ve worked your way up to ten friendship hearts with your intended, you’ll get a letter from Mayor Lewis, who tells you you’ll need to give your partner a Mermaid’s Pendant if you want to get married. The pendant costs 5000g, and to purchase one, you’ll need to upgrade your farmhouse at least once. You’ll also need 300 wood to upgrade the bridge on the right side of the beach. The bridge leads to the tide pools, where you’ll find the Old Mariner, who will appear and sell you the pendant on rainy or stormy days. You can’t buy the pendant in Winter unless you have a Rain Totem.

Once you’ve purchased the Mermaid’s Pendant, give it to your boyfriend or girlfriend to get engaged. The wedding will take place three days after engagement, unless there is an event happening in town, in which case it will take place the day after. A room dedicated to your spouse will now appear in your house, and you’ll be able to take your relationship with them all the way up to fourteen hearts. Now that’s commitment! 

How to Get a Wedding Ring in Stardew Valley

To propose marriage to another player, you’ll need to craft a wedding ring. First, purchase the recipe from the Traveling Cart that appears in the forest area south of your farm on Fridays and Sundays. The recipe costs 500g and requires five iridium bars and one prismatic shard. These are unfortunately not the easiest items to come by. 

Iridium bars can occasionally be purchased from the Traveling Cart or found in Golden Fishing Chests. However, the fastest way to get them is to craft them by smelting five iridium ore and one coal in a furnace. While iridium ore can occasionally be found on the lowest levels of the Mine, it drops most often from Omni Geodes and the rocks and monsters of the Skull Cavern. These same sources also drop the coveted Prismatic Shard, though at lower rates. For a more complete rundown of where to find this nice shiny rock, check out our guide on how to get Prismatic Shard in Stardew Valley. 

Once you’ve crafted the wedding ring, give it to your partner to get engaged. Just like in single player, the wedding will take place three days after the engagement starts. Don’t forget to dress up in your finest clothes!

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