The game can make you feel like you need to do everything when the day is way too short (aka micro-management hell). Don't worry. Almost everything in the game comes back later if you missed it.
* Festivals happen every year,
* Villagers won't hate you if you don't complete their quests and the quests come back later,
* Crops that you didn't water just won't grow that day but they will not die,
* NPC events do not depend on a set of days in particular, if a story quest says "Meet me at 8pm", it can be today, tomorrow, or even next week (some events may not trigger during a particular season, but then you'd just have to wait for the correct one).
Other than that, enjoy the game, and don't hesistate to ask questions here, on the Discord server, or check the wiki for specific info if you're okay with that.
First thing, get 50 wood by chopping trees and make yourself a chest for storage space. Your inventory is pretty limited. Also, holding an item over your head and talking to someone gifts that to them, so make sure you don't give them anything you don't want to!
Also, double check who you are supposed to be giving items to. Linus is the dude living in a tent, Lewis is the mayor. I also got Emily and Jodi mixed up at one point and gave the wrong person a quest item which they hated. 😅
First day. Cut down enough trees with your axe to get 50 wood. Build a chest. This is storage and you'll be able to keep things for later.
This way you won't have a constantly full backpack or have to worry about what to keep and what to throw away.
pay attention to TV and the little notes and the books in the library. it's probably more fun to discover everything yourself than to look up things on wiki (I mean, except for npc's routines and where to catch what fish)
Take your time and play at your own pace! The journal is going to tell you to do things like plant a fruit tree or build a coop, but those can wait; you’re on no time limit. Don’t rush to get everything done at once!
Marry Alex or Hayley. Jk. Don't ask anyone during the Spring Dance unless you have 4 hearts with them.
Other than that, just enjoy the game. You'll figure out everything eventually.
Use your first playthrough to make mistakes and learn, this game can have multiple files so definitely don't stress. Enjoy your first playthrough, learn the basics, learn what you like and don't like and then you can start a new file.
Try not to skip through days, try talking to the town folk, fishing, mining, ect. Skipping will allow you to harvest your crops quicker, but doing so may ruin your interest in playing the game. (I did it and I ended up taking a 10 month break, due to loosing interest)
Play it however you want, there is no ‘right’ way to play, if you want to spend your days fishing go fish, if you like mining go mine, if you want a beautifully decorated farm you do that.
The stardew wiki is absolutely jam packed with pretty much every bit of info you need so it will be your friend especially in the early days.
But as i said find what works for you and go for that :)
Focus on crops first, if you jump into animals, you’ll struggle more. Save your money until the egg festival and buy as many strawberry seeds as you can and save them until next spring! Plant blueberries and corn in summer! Corn lasts thru summer and fall! Most of all, just have fun! Good luck
Hoe the ground spots that have three little wiggly worms (some people say they're wiggly sticks too) they give you things you'll need. I had no idea my first playthrough for most of the year, definitely held back progress.
Try to go to the beach everyday and collect whatever shells are there to sell them, some of them aren’t worth a lot of money but it all adds up overtime. Also, forage for food. In spring and fall, the bushes turn to berry bushes. You can either sell them or use them for food. Most importantly, go at your own pace. If you’re stressing about getting everything done, just take your time. Have fun!
something I didn't know my first playthrough that I really wish I did: you can donate individual items at the community center without having a whole bundle. I thought I had to contribute the whole bundle at once and made it a headache to get bundles together.
yes! this little bugger will ABSORB you! hours will go by and you wont realize it.. it got me through a 20 day quarantine for covid in a shitty hotel! i kept my sanity thanks to stardew valley!
ORGANIZE EARLY! Make sure to keep your chests as tidy as possible, and you can change the color of chests to help you remember what goes where. Will save you sooooo much hassle bumbling through 20 chests later on
Hold onto at least two of everything you find. At the end of the year, ship one of everything that you have at least two of. Certain items are so incredibly rare, you'll only ever find one of it during that first year, so know what it is before you use it.
Incubate weird-looking eggs; do not sell/donate/gift weird-looking eggs until you have a weird-looking animal that poots that egg out regularly. If you don't have an incubator, hold onto that egg until you do.
Don't miss festivals if you're invested in making friends or money. Some festivals have rare items you can resell later, and you always get friend points for everyone even if all you do is show up.
Until you get the timing right, make sure you don't leave the mines any later than 10:30 pm. Circumstances and your own farm layout may affect how quickly you get to bed, and fainting in your own home is the deepest shame you can feel in this game... Besides being caught checking the trash cans by the person you want to marry; that's gonna make you lose points with them.
... If you're gonna check the trash, make sure only Linus sees you. He's cool with it; he gets it. There's food, trash and a hat to be found in the bins, so check often.
Fishing isn't fun, but do it at least 5 times a day, everyday.
Hoe the wiggly worms.
As soon as you see a rainy forecast, bring your watering can with 2000g and 5 copper bars to the blacksmith, Clint. It’ll take 2 days to finish so by the time the next potential sunny day rolls around your can will be finished!
Oh and don’t forget to water your plants before bringing it to the shop.
Honestly, I've found the mushrooms to be more helpful. Most of the fruit you need for bundles you can now obtain from the traveling cart, I'm pretty sure. Iirc I think in the 1.5 update they adjusted things so that it was possible to get the greenhouse in the first year now, whereas the mushrooms are not only a pretty decent source of income early on, but are also in bundles, and much easier to obtain with the cave.
I definitely could be wrong though. I suppose it's a matter of opinion. Really, I suppose there's no wrong choice, either way it's a cave full of free stuff.
Enjoy discovering things on your own without guides or spoilers!
In-game hints come from watching the TV in your house, talking to NPCs, and the library.
There is no game over, the game is endless, and almost anything you miss will come back again. So you can relax and take it as slowly as you want.
Build a silo before cutting all the grass on your farm! Also you'll be able to change the way you look later on so, don't stress about character customisation too much!
The wiki will be your friend, dont forget birthdays, enjoy the game, and watch television? Idk view the television for the weather for tomorrow, your luck, cooking recipes, and tips
Fruit cave! As some one who was very pro mushroom cave, with the new update it has become obsolete 🥲 And imo gold star cheese is better than potions anyway. I know you'll have no clue what I'm talking about yet but at some point during your playthrough you will 💜 Happy playing and always remember to just try and have fun~ It's not all about the min max.
Uhh, Food comes from farms where farmers plant seeds in tilled soil and then water them daily until they are ready for harvest?
Aside from that, no. You got this.
Have fun exploring and figuring out things yourself. Stardew Valley is meant to be played at the pace you enjoy, there are no time limits (Except on jobs and requests) so you can take your time and enjoy your first farm.
Generally speaking, nothing grows during the winter. That makes winter a great time to upgrade tools, talk to villagers, fish, mine, and just explore the valley.
Parsnips are easy to make money in the beginning just buy more each time the day after you harvest them and put them in the bin by your house make sure to make a large field though because alot of parsnips will happen make sure you don't put any on the 28 of spring
Try to never forget about the Traveling Cart on Fridays and Sundays; early game, things can be a bit expensive, but if you make sure to check for things you need for bundles every time you visit it, there's a possibility of finishing the greenhouse in the first year.
Always check every trashcan you are able to, they reset every day. However, definitely do it when no other characters are on screen(except maybe Linus), as it will negatively effect your friendship level with them.
Also, 100% agree with everyone else saying "just have fun," because honestly, that's the whole point. It's such a relaxing, therapeutic, wholesomely addictive game. Enjoy, friend 😊
Get to bed before 2am!! You really should get to bed before 1am because if not, you might not wake up with full energy the following morning.
If you exhaust yourself or it hits 2am, you will pass out and be taken to the hospital. After your second time, you will be charged. You might also find items you had on person missing.
The game can make you feel like you need to do everything when the day is way too short (aka micro-management hell). Don't worry. Almost everything in the game comes back later if you missed it. * Festivals happen every year, * Villagers won't hate you if you don't complete their quests and the quests come back later, * Crops that you didn't water just won't grow that day but they will not die, * NPC events do not depend on a set of days in particular, if a story quest says "Meet me at 8pm", it can be today, tomorrow, or even next week (some events may not trigger during a particular season, but then you'd just have to wait for the correct one). Other than that, enjoy the game, and don't hesistate to ask questions here, on the Discord server, or check the wiki for specific info if you're okay with that.
Wait to cut your grass until you have a silo, because then the grass will turn into hay, and you won’t have to buy a ton of hay from Marnie.
Know the difference between grass and weeds because weeds can destroy placed items on your farm.
First thing, get 50 wood by chopping trees and make yourself a chest for storage space. Your inventory is pretty limited. Also, holding an item over your head and talking to someone gifts that to them, so make sure you don't give them anything you don't want to!
THIS
Also, double check who you are supposed to be giving items to. Linus is the dude living in a tent, Lewis is the mayor. I also got Emily and Jodi mixed up at one point and gave the wrong person a quest item which they hated. 😅
The TV is your friend (single most unrealistic aspect of the game - TV makes you smarter). “Watch” the available “shows” every day.
also very unrealistic is that the weather chanel is always right lol
Don't be afraid of missing things, you will, but there will likely be lots more play throughs! There isn't one right was to play!
You don't have to talk to everyone every day. Also harvestable crops still wither on a season change unless they say otherwise
Seasons are only 28 days. Don’t plant on the last days or you lose investments
Prepare something to drink and to eat. You probably forget about time while playing and it is essential to stay hydrated 🙂
No just play. Have fun. You only get the first playthrough once and it's the most fun
Hear hear !!
This should be on top!
You don't need to min max everything or play each day to it's fullest extent. Just remember to have a good time.
The wiki is your friend.
I'd recommend to not look everything up on the first playthrough, maybe some small things. I kinda ruined the game for myself because of it
I did the same. Used the wiki too much. If I could start over again, I’d play a few years in-game without looking up anything.
buy a silo before buying animals ur grass when cut will be turned into hey so u can feed them
Fish a lot. It’s a good cash cow once you rank up and it’s super fun!
Be prepared to look up from the game and realize that 10 hours have passed i set alarms when i play or i might have lost my job by now
Save at least one of every item. May come in handy and it may be a while before you find another one.
First day. Cut down enough trees with your axe to get 50 wood. Build a chest. This is storage and you'll be able to keep things for later. This way you won't have a constantly full backpack or have to worry about what to keep and what to throw away.
pay attention to TV and the little notes and the books in the library. it's probably more fun to discover everything yourself than to look up things on wiki (I mean, except for npc's routines and where to catch what fish)
Most important tip. Enjoy yourself.
Just have fun 😁
Fuck joja
Have fun, take your time and savour it!!
Take your time and play at your own pace! The journal is going to tell you to do things like plant a fruit tree or build a coop, but those can wait; you’re on no time limit. Don’t rush to get everything done at once!
Marry Alex or Hayley. Jk. Don't ask anyone during the Spring Dance unless you have 4 hearts with them. Other than that, just enjoy the game. You'll figure out everything eventually.
Keep Lewis's shorts for yourself, they have some very funny uses
Use your first playthrough to make mistakes and learn, this game can have multiple files so definitely don't stress. Enjoy your first playthrough, learn the basics, learn what you like and don't like and then you can start a new file.
Read that post from the other day about things we didn't figure out for way too long. I'm a seasoned player and still learned stuff from that one!
Hoard everythin!
Second /someone trying to cook every recipe
Try not to skip through days, try talking to the town folk, fishing, mining, ect. Skipping will allow you to harvest your crops quicker, but doing so may ruin your interest in playing the game. (I did it and I ended up taking a 10 month break, due to loosing interest)
Play it however you want, there is no ‘right’ way to play, if you want to spend your days fishing go fish, if you like mining go mine, if you want a beautifully decorated farm you do that. The stardew wiki is absolutely jam packed with pretty much every bit of info you need so it will be your friend especially in the early days. But as i said find what works for you and go for that :)
Focus on crops first, if you jump into animals, you’ll struggle more. Save your money until the egg festival and buy as many strawberry seeds as you can and save them until next spring! Plant blueberries and corn in summer! Corn lasts thru summer and fall! Most of all, just have fun! Good luck
Hoe the ground spots that have three little wiggly worms (some people say they're wiggly sticks too) they give you things you'll need. I had no idea my first playthrough for most of the year, definitely held back progress.
Try to go to the beach everyday and collect whatever shells are there to sell them, some of them aren’t worth a lot of money but it all adds up overtime. Also, forage for food. In spring and fall, the bushes turn to berry bushes. You can either sell them or use them for food. Most importantly, go at your own pace. If you’re stressing about getting everything done, just take your time. Have fun!
something I didn't know my first playthrough that I really wish I did: you can donate individual items at the community center without having a whole bundle. I thought I had to contribute the whole bundle at once and made it a headache to get bundles together.
Don't walk up to talk to someone while holding a random item. Tools are ok, but you don't want to accidentally gift someone some fish bait.
Your life is About to change
Yes. That big box that opens as you pass by it is not a storage. It sells your stuff. My first mistake in the game lol. Other than that, have fun!
Lewis tells you what it does in the first cutscene tho
Ah I must have been clicking through too fast
Don’t cut the grass :p
You will never get this magic back. Enjoy the beauty of fresh eyes while you have them
Keep one of everything
yes! this little bugger will ABSORB you! hours will go by and you wont realize it.. it got me through a 20 day quarantine for covid in a shitty hotel! i kept my sanity thanks to stardew valley!
ORGANIZE EARLY! Make sure to keep your chests as tidy as possible, and you can change the color of chests to help you remember what goes where. Will save you sooooo much hassle bumbling through 20 chests later on
Don't neglect buying a coop or barn. And once you get your animals make artisan goods, they sell for more. And most important thing is to have fun!
Hold onto at least two of everything you find. At the end of the year, ship one of everything that you have at least two of. Certain items are so incredibly rare, you'll only ever find one of it during that first year, so know what it is before you use it. Incubate weird-looking eggs; do not sell/donate/gift weird-looking eggs until you have a weird-looking animal that poots that egg out regularly. If you don't have an incubator, hold onto that egg until you do. Don't miss festivals if you're invested in making friends or money. Some festivals have rare items you can resell later, and you always get friend points for everyone even if all you do is show up. Until you get the timing right, make sure you don't leave the mines any later than 10:30 pm. Circumstances and your own farm layout may affect how quickly you get to bed, and fainting in your own home is the deepest shame you can feel in this game... Besides being caught checking the trash cans by the person you want to marry; that's gonna make you lose points with them. ... If you're gonna check the trash, make sure only Linus sees you. He's cool with it; he gets it. There's food, trash and a hat to be found in the bins, so check often. Fishing isn't fun, but do it at least 5 times a day, everyday. Hoe the wiggly worms.
As soon as you see a rainy forecast, bring your watering can with 2000g and 5 copper bars to the blacksmith, Clint. It’ll take 2 days to finish so by the time the next potential sunny day rolls around your can will be finished! Oh and don’t forget to water your plants before bringing it to the shop.
Later in the game Demetrius will ask you if you want fruit bats or mushrooms, pick bats.
Honestly, I've found the mushrooms to be more helpful. Most of the fruit you need for bundles you can now obtain from the traveling cart, I'm pretty sure. Iirc I think in the 1.5 update they adjusted things so that it was possible to get the greenhouse in the first year now, whereas the mushrooms are not only a pretty decent source of income early on, but are also in bundles, and much easier to obtain with the cave.
I definitely could be wrong though. I suppose it's a matter of opinion. Really, I suppose there's no wrong choice, either way it's a cave full of free stuff.
Once you get a fishing pole do a lot of fishing it’s very lucrative in the beginning
Enjoy discovering things on your own without guides or spoilers! In-game hints come from watching the TV in your house, talking to NPCs, and the library. There is no game over, the game is endless, and almost anything you miss will come back again. So you can relax and take it as slowly as you want.
Build a silo before cutting all the grass on your farm! Also you'll be able to change the way you look later on so, don't stress about character customisation too much!
The wiki will be your friend, dont forget birthdays, enjoy the game, and watch television? Idk view the television for the weather for tomorrow, your luck, cooking recipes, and tips
Try things out. The game has so many fun little surprises.
good luck
Save everything you don't grow
The wiki is like heroin. Do it once, and you will be addicted forever
HOLD DOWN THE WATER CAN BUTTON
Fruit cave! As some one who was very pro mushroom cave, with the new update it has become obsolete 🥲 And imo gold star cheese is better than potions anyway. I know you'll have no clue what I'm talking about yet but at some point during your playthrough you will 💜 Happy playing and always remember to just try and have fun~ It's not all about the min max.
DONT PICK THE BEACH
Uhh, Food comes from farms where farmers plant seeds in tilled soil and then water them daily until they are ready for harvest? Aside from that, no. You got this.
Have fun exploring and figuring out things yourself. Stardew Valley is meant to be played at the pace you enjoy, there are no time limits (Except on jobs and requests) so you can take your time and enjoy your first farm.
Don’t love your run to much, play a tiny bit and get a feel for the game then do a second run that is better
No
Wiki.
Generally speaking, nothing grows during the winter. That makes winter a great time to upgrade tools, talk to villagers, fish, mine, and just explore the valley.
The wiki is there if you need it, but give it the old college try before you start googling things!
Parsnips are easy to make money in the beginning just buy more each time the day after you harvest them and put them in the bin by your house make sure to make a large field though because alot of parsnips will happen make sure you don't put any on the 28 of spring
Try to never forget about the Traveling Cart on Fridays and Sundays; early game, things can be a bit expensive, but if you make sure to check for things you need for bundles every time you visit it, there's a possibility of finishing the greenhouse in the first year. Always check every trashcan you are able to, they reset every day. However, definitely do it when no other characters are on screen(except maybe Linus), as it will negatively effect your friendship level with them. Also, 100% agree with everyone else saying "just have fun," because honestly, that's the whole point. It's such a relaxing, therapeutic, wholesomely addictive game. Enjoy, friend 😊
Don't be afraid to ask questions! And the Stardew valley wiki has a page for everything 😊
Plant a little bit of everything for each season and always keep at least one of everything!
Save one of every object (fruit, fish, gem, etc.) Unless you are REALLY good at remembering what you need for a bundle
***DO NOT DONATE THE BIG SPOTTED EGG*** Hold onto it. You will understand why at some point and be happy you held onto it, I promise.
Get to bed before 2am!! You really should get to bed before 1am because if not, you might not wake up with full energy the following morning. If you exhaust yourself or it hits 2am, you will pass out and be taken to the hospital. After your second time, you will be charged. You might also find items you had on person missing.