Full Walkthrough Guide To Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough Updated Oct 31, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT Michael is an editor at Game Rant. Read more of his work here: https://gamerant.com/author/m_ott/ This article is part of a directory: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide → Arguably one of the best indie games still to this day, Stardew Valley is a masterpiece, filled with adventure, romance, and relaxing vibes. With a steady stream of huge updates added to the game for free, and 1.7 officially on the way, there's always plenty to do for both new and returning players. Whether you're a brand-new player looking for a general Stardew Valley guide or a veteran who wants to master this incredible game, we've got guides, tips, and walkthroughs for you. Without further ado, here's everything you need to know about Stardew Valley, from your first harvest to late-game tips. Updated on October 31, 2026, by Kaitlyn Peterson: With 1.7 confirmed and on the way, we've updated and reformatted this walkthrough guide so you find everything you're looking for as easily as possible, whether you're just getting started or hopping back in! A Step-By-Step Guide Welcome to the valley! You, like millions of other people, have taken the first step of many in what will soon become an enormous adventure. This will be your new home, and though it doesn't look like much right now, you'll soon be a valued member of the town, running an efficient farm and contributing to the community. Even though Stardew Valley is a relaxing and fairly simple game, there's a lot to learn upfront. The first couple of seasons will be more stressful than later years, and there's a bit of a learning curve when you first start. If you're looking to get a head start and ease into your new life in Pelican Town, we've got all the Stardew Valley guides a beginner might need. Before You Start New Player Guide Beginner's Tips For Stardew Valley Things We Wish We Knew Before We Started Every Farm Map, Ranked How Long Does It Take To Beat Stardew Valley? Early Game Guides Every Type Of Weather And Its Unique Effects Mistakes New Players Make In Stardew Valley How To Install Stardew Valley Mods How to Use and Upgrade Every Tool A Guide to Every Area in the Valley Hidden Tips and Tricks Everything the Luck Stat Affects How To Farm Wood Farming After you've nailed down the basics and established yourself and your farm, you'll most likely want to start building up your machinery and farm buildings, and potentially decide on a specialization. Do you want to become a truffle oil tycoon, or start establishing a vineyard? Perhaps you want to grow a bunch of tea leaves or fruit trees. There are a ton of options available to choose from, or you could do a bit of everything. Regardless, here's everything you'll need to know to build up over the next couple of seasons or years. Farm Basics The Ultimate Guide To Growing Crops Every Crop And What It Sells For Every Artisan Good And What It Sells For The Ultimate Guide To Raising Animals Specialty Chicken Guides: Blue Chickens | Void Chickens | Golden Chickens The Best and Worst Crops for Each Season: Spring | Summer | Fall Every House Upgrade And Renovation Tips For Your Farm Layout The Farm Cave: Should You Pick Bats Or Mushrooms? How to Grow Giant Crops How To Find And Grow Mahogany Trees Farm Building Guides How To Build And Use Every Farm Building Click the above link for a guide to every farm building, but if you're looking for something more specific, here are guides on individual buildings: Stardew Valley Money-Making Guides The Ultimate Money-Making Guide The Best Artisan Goods The Most Expensive Items You Can Sell Profitable Items You Shouldn't Sell The Best Fruits For Wine What To Do In Winter Every Crafting Recipe And Where To Get It Preserves Jars vs. Kegs — Which Is Better? Animal Products, Ranked By Profitability Item and Machinery Guides: Every Machine And What It Does Click above for a guide to all the machinery, but for more specific help with important items and individual machine guides, consider these: Skills: Fishing, Mining, and More Stardew Valley isn't just about farming, though. There are a ton of other ways to live your life in the valley, and you can spend hours in the game without discovering everything. When you're wondering what to do in Stardew Valley, it's easy to be overwhelmed. But never fear — there's no incorrect way to play the game. In terms of specific experience levels, the game has five types of "proficiency." These are categories in which you can earn experience, and, in turn, make your life a little easier, while also unlocking new recipes and items: fishing, farming, foraging, mining, and combat. Each of them works a little differently, but they're all useful. Stardew Valley Fishing Guides All You Need to Know About Fishing Some Essential Tips For Fishing Legendary Fish Guide - When And Where To Catch Them The Best Meals to Eat When You're Fishing The Most Expensive Fish In The Game Tips For Using Bait Every Lure and What It Does The Best Fish To Put In Fish Ponds All About the F.I.B.S. Channel Stardew Valley Combat Guides The Most Dangerous Monsters And How To Beat Them The Best Weapons, Ranked The Best Meals for Combat An Overview Of The Adventurer's Guild Other Skill, Profession, and Mechanics Guides Every Profession and What It Does The Best Professions To Pick For Every Skill Every Recipe in The Game And How To Make Them The Best Recipes Everything to Know About Foraging Everything to Know About Mining An Overview Of Buffs and Debuffs Romance, Marriage, and Friendship One of the biggest aspects of life in Stardew Valley is being social with the other townspeople. There are six bachelors and six bachelorettes that are marriage candidates, as well. Once you've established your farm and have some money coming in, it's a good idea to start getting to really know the other residents of Pelican Town and the surrounding areas. Here's what you need to know about socializing, finding a person to romance, and settling down. Romance and Marriage in Stardew Valley A Guide To Every Possible Romance How to Romance a Marriage Candidate Marriage Guides: Bachelors: Alex | Elliott | Harvey | Sam | Sebastian | Shane Bachelorettes: Abigail | Emily | Haley | Leah | Maru | Penny Everything You Need To Know About Having Children How to Marry Another Player How to Get Divorced Friendship Guides Gift Chart - Best Gifts For Abigail, Sebastian, And Everyone Else Tips For Earning Max Friendship With The Villagers All the Universally-Loved Gifts and Where To Find Them All the Universally-Liked Gifts A Guide to Becoming Roommates with Krobus How To Understand The Dwarf All The Gifts The Dwarf Loves Locations And Things To Do Around the Valley Life in the valley isn't just about farming. You'll find yourself spending a ton of time on other things, from attending events with the other townsfolk to exploring the many, many locations in the game. For all the important places to find, things to do, and ways to get the most out of just vibing in Stardew, here's everything you need. Important Locations A Guide to Every Area in the Valley Traveling Cart Guide The Shrine of Illusions The Shrine of Challenge How to Unlock the Sewers The Statue of Uncertainty The Adventurer's Guild The Desert Casino A Guide to the Movie Theater How to Get Into the Secret Woods (How to Get In Without A Steel Axe) How To Visit Ginger Island For The First Time Completing the Museum Collection: Mineral And Gem Locations | Artifact Locations | All Items + Rewards All of the Random Events, Explained Enjoying Life in the Valley All of the Annual Events, Ranked Annual Event Guides: Flower Dance | Egg Festival | Luau | Spirit's Eve | Night Market | Dance of the Moonlight Jellies How to Win The Grange Display Contest Stardew Valley's Prescription For Sleep Album The Best Stardew Valley Songs On Spotify How To Make And Dye Your Own Clothes How to Rotate Furniture A Guide to the Desert Trader How The Lost & Found Box Works The Community Center and JojaMart Completing the Community Center A Guide to the Remixed Community Center Bundles The Community Center Vs. JojaMart Quests and Special Items There are quite a few special items in Stardew, like the ever-elusive Prismatic Shard and Dinosaur Eggs. Much of the time that players seek help, they're likely looking for guides on how to find these important and rare items. Additionally, some quests are difficult but offer great rewards. Here are some tips and tricks for completing some of the harder quests and getting your hands on the best special items. Important Tasks Tips for Getting to Level 100 Of Skull Cavern Legendary Fish Guide - When And Where To Catch Them Every Special Order & What Their Rewards Are A Complete Guide To Trash Bear How to Remove the Glittering Boulder Specific Quest Guides Special and/or Rare Items Where To Find All The Stardrops Tips for Finding a Prismatic Shard Tips For Finding A Dinosaur Egg Tips For Farming Iridium In Year One The Best Items That You Didn’t Know You Could Get Secret Notes Guide Where To Find All The Rarecrows How to Farm Cinder Shards Every Secret Statue And Where To Find It Where to Find Prismatic Jelly Late-Game Help And Guides Stardew Valley is one of those games that you can play forever. If you've completed the Community Center or the Joja route and reached max friendship with all the villagers, you may think you've done most of what there is to do. However, that's just the start. You can continue playing for several more in-game years without ever running out of things to do. For everything you need to know in the late-game and post-game, check out these guides. Things Fans Don't Know They Can Do in Stardew Valley How To Complete The Missing Bundle Things To Do After You Beat The Game Everything You Need to Know About New Game Plus How To Get Radioactive Ore Guide to Community Upgrades Achievements A Guide to Completing Grandpa’s Evaluation The Hardest Achievements to Earn How To Achieve 100% Perfection How To Beat Journey Of The Prairie King Ginger Island As part of the post-game, you'll be able to visit an entirely new area filled with a ton of content: Ginger Island. This tropical paradise is filled with new items, its own mine dungeon, a new character, and much, much more. Here's all the important info you need for Ginger Island. Ginger Island Basics How To Visit Ginger Island For The First Time Everything You Need To Know About Ginger Island Every Golden Walnut Location And How to Get Them How to Complete The Pirate’s Wife Quest How to Befriend Leo Everything You Need To Know About The Island Farm A Guide to the Volcano Dungeon A Guide to the Volcano Forge How to Build the Island Obelisk What All The Parrots Unlock Ginger Island Fossil Locations How To Find Golden Coconuts How To Solve The Ginger Island Mermaid Puzzle Everything You Need To Know About The Island Trader Pirate Cove Guide Qi's Walnut Room and Qi Challenges Everything You Need To Know About The Qi Challenges Every Qi Challenge and What Their Rewards Are Every Qi Shop Item And What It Does How To Find Qi Gems Tips For Qi's Hungry Challenge Stardew Valley Mods Stardew Valley mods are in no short supply. The modding community for SDV is absolutely incredible and extremely active, providing a mod for almost anything you could ever want. Here, we'll touch on some of the most popular, like Stardew Valley Expanded, as well as how to mod your game in the first place. Stardew Valley Mods How To Install Stardew Valley Mods The Best Stardew Valley Mods Even More of The Best Stardew Valley Mods Story Mods You Should Try The Coolest Things Modders Have Done For Stardew Valley The Spookiest Stardew Valley Mods, Ranked Aesthetic Stardew Valley Mods Stardew Valley Expanded Guides Everything You Need to Know About Stardew Valley Expanded SVE Marriage Guides: Claire | Olivia | Sophia | Victor | Rasmodius Frequently Asked Questions and Common Concerns How To Fish And Use Bait In Stardew Valley One of the biggest issues that new players face is the extremely difficult fishing minigame in Stardew Valley. Don't worry! It will get easier the more you practice and as you progress through the game. Cast your line into the water by using the use tool button. There will be a bar that goes up and down, which determines the power of your cast when you press the use tool button again. After your bobber is in the water, there will be a short time (usually a few seconds), and you may feel a fish bite. Press the use tool button (left mouse on PC, Y on Switch, et cetera) to hook the fish when you feel the vibration, hear the noise, and/or see the exclamation mark. The minigame will start. The small fish icon will move around, and you'll need to press the same button as before to keep that little green bar even with the fish. When you press the button, the bar will go up, when you let go, it falls. While the fish icon is inside the bar, the meter will fill up. While it's outside of the bar, the meter will fall. If you can keep the bar on the fish icon long enough as it moves around, the meter will fill up and you'll catch the fish. You might find it very hard to keep the fish inside the little green bar. Don't worry — the size of the bar increases as your Fishing skill levels up. Additionally, you'll unlock tackle that can be attached to the iridium rod that will change how the minigame functions, making it easier. For bait, it's very simple. All you need is the fiberglass rod, which is the first upgrade you unlock at Fishing Level 3. To attach bait, select it in your inventory, and "place" it on your fishing rod in your inventory with the 'use item' button (right-click on PC, Y on Switch, et cetera — whichever button you'd typically use to use a tool, except PC). How To Install Mods In Stardew Valley It's fairly simple to install mods on a PC. First, you'll need to install the SMAPI installer. After that, head to the Stardew Valley Nexus Mods page and look for the mods you want. Check out our full guide on how to install mods in Stardew Valley for more in-depth information. Since there is no in-game mod menu for approved mods on console, mods are exclusive to PC players. How To Get Married And Have Children In Stardew Valley Getting married in Stardew Valley is a momentous occasion. There are only a few steps required to wed the one you love: Reach an eight-heart friendship level with one of the six bachelors or six bachelorettes. This can be done by talking with them, giving them gifts they like, and doing favors for them. Purchase a bouquet from Pierre's General Store, which becomes available for sale the day after you reach eight friendship hearts with a marriage candidate. Give your beloved the bouquet. This will enter the two of you into a relationship. Continue to level up your friendship with your new partner until it reaches 10 hearts. Fix the broken bridge at the Beach (which costs 300 wood). Upgrade your farmhouse at least once so it has a kitchen. If your house is still at the base level, you won't be able to get married. Wait for it to rain (if it's Winter, try using a Rain Totem). When it does, you can head to the eastern half of the Beach. You'll find a man here (the Old Mariner) who will sell you a Mermaid's Pendant for 5,000g. Give the Pendant to your boyfriend/girlfriend, and, so long as the conditions are met, they'll accept your proposal. Your wedding will automatically take place three days later. To have children in Stardew Valley is very simple. Upgrade your house again so that you have a nursery with a crib in it. There's about a 5% chance each night that your spouse will ask if you want kids, so long as you've kept your friendship with your spouse at (at least) 10 hearts. If you say yes, a child will appear in the crib 14 days later, and will slowly grow up over time — although they stop at the toddler stage. You can only have two kids, and they'll always be one boy and one girl. The first kid could be a boy or a girl, and the second will be the other gender you didn't get the first time. Should You Side With The Junimos Or JojaMart? This section may contain spoilers! It's up to you whether you pick Joja or the Community Center! If you side with the Junimos, you'll need to contribute the requested items and gold to rebuild the Community Center. Joja will be run out of town when you finish, and you'll be able to replace the store with a movie theater. If you side with Joja, you'll need to pay for all the repairs, and the Community Center will be demolished and replaced with a warehouse, which can later be turned into a theater as well. The Community Center is the widely accepted "better" choice in the community among fans, and the game does heavily imply that this is the moral choice. If you choose the Joja route, you can unlock a vending machine later, which is... cool? Check out our guide for a full analysis on which is better: For a more in-depth guide, please check out this article: Stardew Valley: The Community Center vs. JojaMart What To Do In Stardew Valley Winter When Winter arrives, you might be wondering what to do now that you can't grow crops on your farm outside. There are many things to do, though, so don't waste this season! Here are some examples and common activities that players do in Winter: Upgrade your tools, especially those that you need for farming like your hoe and watering can, since you won't lose out on not having them for a few days. Watch out for when you have crops in the Greenhouse, or you've planted Winter Seeds, though Build some farm buildings, especially silos to keep your animals fed, or the animal buildings in the first place (coops, barns, etc) Level up your friendship with the villagers Make your way through the mines, stockpiling ores and other resources, since you now have more energy that probably isn't spent on watering your crops/other farming tasks Catch some of the fish that spawn in winter and are needed for the Community Center and/or quests (Lingcod, Sturgeon, Tiger Trout, Albacore, Tuna, Sardine, Squid) Attend the Winter events: The Festival of Ice (Winter 8), Night Market (Winter 15 to 17), and Feast of the Winter Star (Winter 25) See our full guide on what to do in Winter for more ideas!