QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Results INTRODUCTION This is the first guide into which I have put any serious effort. It is written with the expectation that you, the player, are looking for higher profits and sprinkler automation early in-game. If you dislike fishing, you will not like this guide. If you are looking for a relaxed approach, you will not like this guide. If you want the most gold possible, you will not like this guide. (Find a mushroom floor in the Mines and go back to it ad infinitum.) If you want all of the villagers to love you by the end of Spring, you will not like this guide. If you do not like me, you might not like this guide. Using this outline, the minimal, attainable benchmarks for Summer 1 are Farming 6, Mining 6, Foraging 6, Fishing 10, Combat 4 25,000g available All tools at steel quality The Stable (because I freaking love the horse) Enough materials for 40 quality sprinklers Multiple directions to go with your farm A town full of villagers who think the new farmer is antisocial I finished the Community Center the first time I played. Maybe the first two times -- I cannot recall. JojaMart is, in my opinion, cheaper and more effective. 5,000g for the Membership 40,000g for the Bus 15,000g for the Minecarts 25,000g for the Bridge 35,000g for the Greenhouse 20,000g for Panning This is 140,000g. And any upgrade is available at any time instead of whichever bundle happens to be completed. The bundles -- assuming no help from the Traveling Merchant and maximum animal efficiency -- require 4,000g for an Apple Sapling 6,000g for a Pomegranate Sapling 43,000g for the Deluxe Barn 34,000g for the Deluxe Coop 800g for a Chicken 4,000g for a Duck (Duck Feather) 8,000g for a Rabbit (Rabbit’s Foot) 1,000g for a Milk Pail 1,500g for a Cow 16,000g for a Pig (Truffle and Truffle Oil) 42,500g for the Vault This is 160,800g. These calculations do not factor in lost profits from the potential sale of the donated items, nor do they factor in the value of the items received for the bundles’ completion. I have a marked lack of theorycrafting on this last part, but my feelycrafting tells me it is more of a loss than a gain--I may do the math in a future edit. Joja offers greater flexibility in choosing when and which upgrade to get in whatever order the player deems best (I am looking at you, Greenhouse) and can begin to have them late Spring/early Summer to really boost Year 1 profits. That being said, I will try to insert comments for the bundles still. I use one mod: Experience Bars. It is invaluable to me when checking my Fishing, Foraging, and Mining levels. Obviously the game is playable without it and skill levels are easily checked in the character menu, but I like having that information right in front of me at all times. Finally, I make some assumptions about what the player will always try to do -- in no particular order: Deposit unnecessary tools and items in chests before leaving anywhere Full inventory? Go back to the farm or the nearest chest and deposit nonessential items The hoe is always mandatory Stock bags right before 2:00 AM with items needed for crafting or to sell the next day Worms and foragables that are on the way will be hoed and picked up, respectively Collected artifacts will be taken to the Museum whenever passing nearby Maintain a 0g balance Do not redeem quest rewards until the money is needed Talk to villagers along the way, check the "Help Wanted" poster when it is on the way, and finish quests when you have the item and the villager is on the way Constantly smelt: the Furnace gets taken to the fishing spots; it gets taken to the Mines. It goes everywhere and should be a raging inferno, constantly fed by ore, and running at all times. Upgrades happen every other day from Spring 6 until Spring 20. (Plus the Copper Watering Can being upgraded to steel later) And 40 Quality Sprinklers after all of these upgrades require a hefty amount of smelting. Don’t get stuck at the Blacksmith, waiting for the fifth Iron Bar to finish smelting for 2 hours Build buildings if livestock is a future plan Fish if it rains: 10-20 Catfish/day is good money APPROACH Since the first time I played Stardew Valley, I enjoyed the farming aspect more than any of the other skill trees. It was exciting for me to be able to grow more crops and use a little less energy. When I finally saw the little blue tip on the loading screen to “Hold to charge the upgraded hoe and watering can” it changed everything. And then I discovered sprinklers. Mind blown. My next playthroughs were devoted to expanding my crops early and rapidly, but my fields consistently hit a certain size around a similar time in Spring where I was unable to both water and mine without spending a moderate amount of my profits on food. So I set about to figure out how to farm bigly and be able to mine at the rate I needed for the sprinklers I wanted. Turns out I needed to fish. To be as succinct as my long-windedness allows: Fishing gives me money and food Food lets me mine Mining and fishing money help me forage and become tool-efficient Foraging and tool-efficiency allow me to farm extensively Farming extensively is how I enjoy the game With too much more explanation forthcoming, this guide promotes Fishing, then Mining, then Foraging, and finally Farming -- with a smattering of the rest mixed in with the Farming. TL;DR: MAJOR MILESTONES BY DAY Spring 1 - Plant Parsnips Spring 5 - Mine Level 10; 45 Copper Ore Spring 6 - Upgrade Axe (Copper) Spring 7 - Mine Level 25 Spring 8 - Upgrade Watering Can (Copper); Mine Level 40 Spring 9 - 75 Iron Ore Spring 10 - Upgrade Axe (Steel) Spring 12 - Upgrade Hoe (Copper) Spring 14 - Upgrade Pickaxe (Copper); build Stable; Foraging 5 Spring 15 - Salmonberry season begins; hoe and plant crops Spring 16 - Upgrade Pickaxe (Steel); begin watering crops Spring 18 - Upgrade Hoe (Steel); Fishing 10 Spring 20 - Mine Level 80 Spring 22 - Replant Potatoes Spring 27 - Upgrade Watering Can (Steel) Spring 28 - Farming 6 Notes: Please inform me of any errors in my maths. I would like this guide to be as close to error-free as possible If anything seems similar/stolen from other threads, berate me and I will gladly give credit where credit is due and will cite the author and thread Edits: Entirely too many small edits 2.24 - Added "Approach" and "TL;DR: Major Milestones by Day" 3.27 - Edited "TL;DR: Major Milestones by Day
QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Introduction Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Results WEEK 1 ---------------- Spring 1 - Monday ---------------- TL;DR Goals: Chop wood and make a chest, plant crops, Spring Onions, meet too many people to remember, chop more wood to make another chest Morning Chores: chop 3 trees and make a chest; clear, hoe, and water 15 plots; plant 15 Parsnips Save 90 Energy (E) for later 9 AM Go to Cindersap Forest: forage for Spring Onions near the Sewer Pipe Work on Introductions quest Go to the farm: chop 3 trees, make a chest, and leave it in the backpack Avoid passing out I will advocate for the player to go check for them every day until Salmonberries come in and make Spring Onions irrelevant. However, if you have an excess of Spring Onions or Green Algae, and want to save 2 hours of your day to spend that time fishing or mining, go right ahead. ---------------- Spring 2 - Tuesday ---------------- TL;DR Goals: Water crops, chop trees, Spring Onions, get a Bamboo Pole, fish until 1 AM (Fishing 2) Morning Chores: check the mailbox, water Parsnips, chop 5 trees Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Beach for the fishing cutscene Go to the Fish Shop: talk to Willy to complete Introductions Go to the Mountain: talk to Linus by the lake and give him a Spring Onion as a gift to complete How to Win Friends Place a chest near a preferred fishing area (I like facing south on the southern tip of the second island. I have not had as much success next to the fence where Sebastian hangs out at night in Spring, but this is more of a feeling I have rather than having hard evidence Move to hotspots if they are accessible, eat Chubs instead of Spring Onions for energy, and leave promptly by 1:00 AM with any caught fish. As in, if it turns 1:00 AM and the fishing line is in the water, pull it out, and leave Go to the farm: put all of the fish in the collection bin and make it into bed before 2:00 AM In Spring, I fish at the Mountain lake. The fish here sell for more on average than the river or ocean fish. 63.75g - Lake 41.7g - River 45g - Ocean These numbers assume equal catch rates for each fish, which isn't accurate, but it gives a decent estimate. Carp are more likely to be caught in the lake than a Largemouth Bass, especially since the Largemouth Bass disappears in the early evening, but odds are fishing in the lake will be more profitable unless it is raining: then the river becomes most profitable at 88.8g/fish. Percentages from my last playthrough for the lake, which results in 57.6g/fish: 31% Carp 30% Chub 23% Bullhead 16% Largemouth Bass I use them for my energy while fishing instead of Green Algae, Spring Onions, or Salads for a few reasons: I’m lazy I like having a larger stock of single types of food (e.g., Green Algae or Spring Onions) when mining in Spring, because one of the more frustrating things in game is having no energy or food on a level before an elevator Regular chubs are 2g/E, silver are 1.77g/E, and gold are 1.67/E. Salads are 1.95g/E. Eating higher quality Chubs is more efficient than lower quality, but become less efficient at Fishing 5 - Fisher: gold are 2.07g/E, and even less again at Fishing 10 - Angler: gold are 2.49g/E Chubs afford more energy control closer to 2:00 AM. It's nice to eat a normal Chub to get 3 more casts at 1 AM rather than eating a Salad and wasting most of the energy Smallmouth Bass are the same as Chubs when fishing on rainy days ------------------ Spring 3 - Wednesday ------------------ TL;DR Goals: Water crops, chop wood, Spring Onions, buy a Fiberglass Rod and Bait, fish the day away (Fishing 3) Morning Chores: water Parsnips and chop 5 trees Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Fish Shop: buy a Fiberglass Rod and as much bait as possible Go to Pelican Town/the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM Talented enough at fishing to catch Catfish at Fishing 2 or 3? Make another chest and fish south of 1 Willow Lane. Uncomfortable catching Catfish at Fishing 2 or 3? Do not make another chest and go back up to the Mountain. ----------------- Spring 4 - Thursday ----------------- TL;DR Goals: Water crops, chop wood, Spring Onions, fish the day away (Fishing 4) Morning Chores: water Parsnips and chop 5 trees Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM Fishing is better than early geometric Parsnip or Potato farming for a few reasons. A Parsnip takes 8 E to water over its growth cycle, a Potato takes 12 E, and a fishing cast takes 8 E. 1x Parsnip Seed is 20g, 1x Parsnip sells for 35g, yielding a 15g profit = 1.88g/E 1x Potato Seed is 50g, 1.2 Potatoes sells for 96g, yielding a 46g profit = 3.83g/E 1x Bait is 5g, 1 average Mountain lake fish sells for 57.6g, yielding a 52.6g profit = 6.58g/E Energy costs for fishing drop immediately upon leveling up (level 2 or 3 can be reached the first day of fishing, level 5 can usually be reached by the third day of fishing), whereas as energy costs for farming remain the same for the entirety of the watering period before the harvest. This may hold true if a fish is always caught, you may say, and I agree with that, but the amount of trash catches (Broken CD, Broken Glasses, etc.) to fish catches from the "gold spots" was almost exactly 3%. Reaching Fishing 10 will take 700-800 casts, so 20-30 catches can be considered a waste (until you thrown them in the Recycling Bin). Green Algae catches are little energy bonuses since you will gain more energy once you eat it -- in the Mines, mind you -- so they add to the value of fishing. Lastly, by the second day of fishing, silver-quality fish can be caught and, by the third day, gold-quality fish can be caught, which results in profits of 7.63g/E and 9.24g/E, respectively. A 2-harvest Strawberry watered with a Copper Watering Can is 8.84g/E. Still not as good as gold-quality fishing. Fishing, however, is limited by a finite amount of casts in a day (40-60), which is why we're working toward Quality Sprinklers and why we do want to farm. Just not now. Farm later in Spring after you've made all of your money for upgrades and improvements. -------------- Spring 5 - Friday -------------- TL;DR Goals: 2000g, harvest crops, chop wood, Spring Onions, mine the day away (45 Copper Ore and Mine Level 10) Morning Chores: deposit 2,000g into the Collection Bin, harvest Parsnips, chop 3 trees, make a chest and keep it in the backpack Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to Pelican Town through the Bus Stop for the cutscene Go to the Community Center: interact with the note Go to the Mines for the cutscene Place a chest near the Mines elevator and descend the stairs Mine until 2:00 AM: Level 10 and 45 Copper Ore is the goal Not close to 45 Copper Ore by 10:00 PM? Return to Level 0, go to Level 5 or 10, and mine only Copper nodes. If no nodes are immediately visible, leave, and go right back down I try to avoid selling crops until I acquire Tiller for the 10% bonus, avoid selling artisan goods until I acquire Artisan, and avoid selling fish as much as possible until I acquire Angler. This isn’t always possible, unfortunately. Selling the morning before you need the money allows for a 0g balance, which ensures Joja Corp. or Harvey will not bill any money for medical expenses for staying out until 2:00 AM, which I almost always condone. Unless actively farming for a particular ore, I recommend ignoring any monsters other than Bugs, ignoring any rocks that take 2 hits to break, and even ignoring Copper nodes and especially Gem nodes if they’re out of the way or far away. Descending is your top priority, as enough ore should still be collected during the descent. Level 40 needs to be reached by Spring 9. Other people advise getting the Insect Head or buying weapons from the Adventurer's Guild: I don't. The Obsidian Edge at Level 90 can be reached just fine with the Steel Smallsword from the chest at Level 20, although the Wood Mallet, Forest Sword, and Lead Rod tend to drop from barrels somewhat regularly, in my experience. Daggers tend to get me killed, but I haven't played with them enough to consider myself proficient. Finally, food. I mentioned Green Algae and Spring Onions are for the Mines. Whichever you have fewer of, stick in the chest by the elevator. When returning to ground level, eat the food from the chest to about half energy to leave as big of a food stack in the backpack as possible. Do not run out of food while in the Mines! ---------------- Spring 6 - Saturday ---------------- TL;DR Goals: Craft a Furnace, smelt Copper, chop wood, upgrade axe, build a bridge, forage, fish the day away (Fishing 5) Morning Chores: craft a furnace and place it near the future trees to be chopped, smelt 5 Copper Bars while chopping 3-5 trees to get to 300 Wood Go to the Backwoods: forage everything Go to Cindersap Forest: forage everything and stop by the Wizard's Tower for the cutscene Go to the Blacksmith: upgrade the Axe to Copper Axe Go to the Beach: forage everything, build the bridge to the Tidal Pools, and forage more Go to Pelican Town: forage everything Go to the Bus Stop: forage everything Go to the Mountain: forage everything and fish until 2:00 AM I know people will not agree with this. I know people will not agree when I say to upgrade it again on Spring 10. Here is my reasoning: A Spring 8 Copper Axe upgraded to a Spring 12 Iron Axe means earlier access to the Secret Forest for daily replenishable hardwood Chopping hardwood while the second tool upgrades on Spring 8, and then chopping the Secret Forest every day from Spring 12-14 should guarantee Foraging 5, even though Foraging 4 is the goal (Foraging 5 is just gravy for Gatherer) Early hardwood chopping makes reaching 100 hardwood for the Stable easily attainable Foraging 5 by Spring 15 means 2 Salmonberries from each bush, plus the extra bushes in the Secret Forest. Harvesting every Salmonberry bush from Spring 15-18 with the extra berries nets between 300-500 Salmonberries These Salmonberries should last until, at least, the end of Summer, and will fuel any large-scale, late-Spring farming endeavors, rapid mine descent, future fishing energy, (you will miss eating your Chubs, I promise) and ore farming Saturdays are the last day to collect foragables before they reset on Sunday. Grabbing the foragables is not mandatory, it is something I tend to do even though it is not the most efficient thing since running around the entire map takes up almost the entire day. Fishing and mining are completely viable -- and preferable -- to do if maximizing the day's efficiency is the goal. It has been brought to my attention that crafting the Wild Seeds packs is more profitable (in Spring and Summer, at least. I need to do some number-crunching on this now) than selling the foragables by themselves: 30/37/45g - Daffodil 40/50/60g - Dandelion 60/75/90g - Leek 50/62/75g - Wild Horseradish Even if all of them are gold-quality, total profits from all 4 unique foragables is 270g. A single crafting of Wild Seeds(Sp) makes 10 seeds, which sell for 35g/seed for a 350g profit. Make some easier money today! Credit: @Filmstudy Automation focused playthrough of Spring --------------- Spring 7 - Sunday --------------- TL;DR Notes: 2000g, Spring Onions, mine the day away (50 Copper Ore and Mine Level 25) Morning Chores: deposit 2000g into the Collection Bin Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Mines: descend until 2:00 AM If reaching the next elevator level does not seem likely before 2:00 AM, go back to level 10 or 21 and farm Copper Ore I hate these levels because of the darkness. If a Small Glow Ring has not dropped, bring a torch: one will do. No need to place it, just select it and run around in the blackness to see if a staircase spawned. Hatred aside, these levels are fairly easy since the Stone Golems aren't too aggressive, and the Bats die quickly and don't deal much damage. Edits: Numerous typos/aesthetic/grammar, in general 2.24 - Added "A note on...WILD SEEDS(SP)" to Spring 6 3.7 - Added more to "A note on the...AXE" to Spring 6 3.27 - Added "A note on...FISHING vs FARMING" to Spring 4; added Quick Links
QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Introduction Week 1 Week 3 Week 4 Results WEEK 2 ---------------- Spring 8 - Monday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: Spring Onions, get axe, upgrade watering can, mine the day away (Mine Level 40) Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Blacksmith: receive Copper Axe and upgrade Watering Can to Copper Watering Can Go to the Mines: mine until 2:00 AM, but strive to get to Level 40 and 75 Iron Ore Mining today is more of a just-in-case thing. You should be at Level 30 already, so 10 levels and 50 Iron Ore should be doable. 75 Iron Ore is preferable Couldn't reach 75 Iron Ore? Come back tomorrow and finish up First, I say 75 Iron Ore because I am a big proponent of getting an early Stable. 75 ore is enough to upgrade your axe, pickaxe, and get a Stable. Continuing... This is a note on farming ore in general. I’ve read a lot of ideas on which levels are best for each type of ore. I don’t read game code; I’m not that smart. So maybe other people who have and can decrypt the game code found the ideal levels for each ore. Here’s what I do: Copper Ore - Level 21 Iron Ore - Level 41 Gold Ore - Level 81 These levels are tiny. The entirety of each is visible a few steps in. If there are no ore nodes, quartz, or Dust Sprites, climb back up immediately, run back to the elevator, and descend again. Repeat as often as necessary for each ore. I spend more time on level 41 than any other level because of the Iron nodes, quartz, and Dust Sprites: 3 major components for Quality Sprinklers. Other people say to mine to levels whatever to whichever. Running around and mining looking for ladders takes a lot of time and energy. If there’s a ladder down, go down. Otherwise, just run back up the ladder and go right back down. ---------------- Spring 9 - Tuesday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: 5000g, chop Hardwood, Spring Onions, mine/fish the day away (Fishing 6) Morning Chores: deposit 5000g into the Collection Bin and chop ~8 Hardwood stumps Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Mines if more Iron Ore is needed: when 75 Iron Ore is reached... Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM -------------------- Spring 10 - Wednesday -------------------- TL;DR Notes: Chop Hardwood, Spring Onions, get watering can, upgrade axe, fish the day away (Fishing 7) Morning Chores: chop ~8 Hardwood stumps Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Blacksmith: receive Copper Watering Can and upgrade Copper Axe to Steel Axe Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM The Pickaxe is the last tool to be upgraded to copper for me. I explained earlier why I upgrade the Axe, but I upgrade the Watering Can on Spring 8 and the Hoe on Spring 12 so they are ready to go at 6:00 AM on Spring 16. I already have the 75 Iron Ore necessary for the Steel Axe, Stable, and second steel tool -- which will be the Pickaxe -- so the Mines can take a backseat for about a week to make money for upgrades, crops, the Stable, and whatever else the heart desires. ------------------ Spring 11 - Thursday ------------------ TL;DR Notes: Spring Onions, mine/fish the day away (Fishing 8) Morning Chores: check the mailbox Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions and grab Robin's Axe for Robin's Lost Axe Go to the Carpenter's Shop: talk to Robin to complete Robin's Lost Axe Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM --------------- Spring 12 - Friday --------------- TL;DR Notes: ???g for Strawberries (optional), get axe, upgrade hoe, Spring Onions, chop the Secret Forest, fish the day away Morning Chores: deposit ???g (see note below) into the Collection Bin Go to the Blacksmith: receive Steel Axe and upgrade Hoe to Copper Hoe Go to Cindersap Forest: forage Spring Onions Go to the Secret Forest: chop all hardwood and forage everything Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM Two harvests of Strawberries returns a profit of 164g; two harvests of Potatoes returns a profit of ~120g. Assuming the 9 Cauliflower Seeds from the Museum reward will be planted and the initial 15 Parsnip harvest, you need to buy 84 Strawberry Seeds or 214 Potato Seeds to reach Farming 6 for Quality Sprinklers. However, 214 Potato Seeds costs the same and takes equivalent energy to water as 107 Strawberry Seeds, and the 2 harvests from those Strawberries will make 17,548g profit, whereas the Potatoes will make ~12,840g profit. I planted my Strawberries in my Greenhouse on Spring 26. I also should have planted Strawberries outside on Spring 16 instead of Potatoes. Long story short, buy all of the Strawberry Seeds. ----------------- Spring 13 - Saturday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: 12,000g+???g, chop the Secret Forest, forage, Egg Festival (optional), Strawberry Seeds (optional), fish the night away Morning Chores: deposit 12,000g into the Collection Bin plus extra for seeds into the Collection Bin, (depending on how many seeds are needed) Go to the Bus Stop: forage everything Go to the Secret Forest: chop all hardwood and forage everything Go to Cindersap Forest: forage everything Go to the Backwoods: forage everything Go to the Mountain: forage everything and fish until 2:00 AM Go to Pelican Town for the Egg Festival (or not): buy Strawberry Seeds from Pierre (or not) Go to the Beach: forage everything Go to Pelican Town: forage everything Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM The Egg Festival isn't for everyone. I used to ignore it the first year. If Strawberry Seeds are not part of the plan: ignore it. If a few dozen Strawberry Seeds are part of the plan: ignore it. If plethoras of Strawberry Seeds are part of the plan: attend. A few thousand gold can be made by fishing in the Mountain lake. While Strawberries are better than Potatoes, they are still 44g more only for two harvests. Thirty fish is a reasonable figure for a day of fishing, (40 is more reasonable with bait, hotspots, and Fishing 8+, but I want to stay conservative), which estimates to 1,728g base, 2,160g Fisher, or 2,592g Angler, which is the profit for 40, 50, or 60 Strawberry Seeds. Don't settle. It is easier to buy seeds the day before harvesting or planting initially so, you know, they are available immediately. Also, holding seeds while harvesting will simultaneously plant the seeds and saving time is a good thing. Buy seeds the day before you need them. ---------------- Spring 14 - Sunday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: Chop the Secret Forest, Spring Onions, get hoe, upgrade pickaxe, build a Stable, fish the day away (Fishing 9) Morning Chores: chop hardwood to reach 88, clear rocks from where crops will be placed on Spring 16 (the Pickaxe will be available on Spring 16, but it would be a large waste of time to go to the Blacksmith, back to the farm, break stuff, and back to the Blacksmith to upgrade it. Save some time) Go to the Secret Forest: chop all hardwood Go to Cindersap Forest for Spring Onions Go to the Blacksmith: receive Copper Hoe and upgrade Pickaxe to Copper Pickaxe Go to Pierre's General Store: buy seeds (read "A note on...CAULIFLOWER OR POTATO?" below; if money is low and it's a choice between seeds and the Stable then get the Stable -- fishing today and tomorrow should get you enough gold for Potato Seeds by Spring 16) Go to the Carpenter's Shop: build a Stable Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM If you don't have the requisite 84 Strawberry Seeds to reach Farming 6, I suggest using Cauliflower if you have the available capital, and Potatoes if your funds are a little lower. If none of the initial 15 Parsnips were consumed by crows, your Farming experience should be sitting at 120 xp. Parsnips give 8 xp each and Farming 1 needs 100 xp to reach. Farming 6 needs 3300 total xp. So you need 3,180 more. Cauliflower is 23 xp each = 1.92 xp/day Potato is 14 xp each = 2.33 xp/day (The 20% chance of a bonus Potato does not give additional xp) Potatoes have the slight edge in xp, but Cauliflower delivers a slightly better profit than 2.4 Potatoes (same harvest time): 95g to 92g. The good/bad thing for Cauliflower is it can also morph into a giant crop, which gives an average of 18 Cauliflower for a 3x3 plot, but it also gives no Farming xp. Assuming only Cauliflower is planted to reach Farming 6, 130 Cauliflower Seeds (plus the 9 from the Museum makes 139 total) need to be purchased from Pierre. This is 10,400g, whereas the initial startup cost for going the Potato route is 5,350g. You may need to do some mathing to figure out what is best for you if you are looking to spend the minimal amount for Farming 6. I vote for planting 188 total crops. Decide what is best for you. Quick Spring XP Reference: Parsnip - 8 xp Potato - 14 xp Strawberry - 18 xp Cauliflower - 23 Source: Crop Experience Explained Fishing 10 should may have been attained by now with how much I have been harping on fishing. With the Angler profession, gold Catfish are 450g and gold Largemouth Bass are 225g. Now is a good day to build the Stable: Hardwood stores should be above 70 so 30 more is easily doable through your farm and the Secret Forest. Building today means it will be ready on Spring 16, which makes that day much less stressful. Collecting Salmonberries on Spring 15 will still take most of the day, but watering your crops, running to Pelican Town to upgrade the Pickaxe, and running around the map to grab all of the Salmonberries on Spring 16 makes for a very tight schedule. Pamper yourself: get a horse. Edits: 3.7 - Numerous phrasing, grammar, aesthetic, and typos; added references to Robin's Lost Axe on Spring 11; reworked daily order on Spring 13; reworded "A note on the...STABLE" and added "A note on...SEEDS" on Spring 14 3.27 - Added Quick Links
QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Introduction Week 1 Week 2 Week 4 Results WEEK 3 ----------------- Spring 15 - Monday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: 5,000g, plant crops, Salmonberries, fish the day away Morning Chores: deposit 5,000g, clear wood and trees, place a floor and a Scarecrow on top of the floor; hoe and plant crops (don't water) Go to the Backwoods: pick Salmonberries Go to the Bus Stop and Tunnel: pick Salmonberries Go to Cindersap Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to the Secret Forest: pick Salmonberries and chop all hardwood Go to Pelican Town: pick Salmonberries Go to the Mountain: pick Salmonberries Revel in Salmonberries Fish until 2:00 AM Dream about Salmonberries In a recent playthrough, I had all of my Strawberry Seeds and had no intention of buying any other seeds so I hoed and planted on Spring 15 to make Spring 16 easier. Note, I did not say I watered today. I was still able to shake every Salmonberry bush, chop the Secret Forest, and ended at the lake around 11:00 PM for a few hours of fishing. I like how it made Spring 16 less frenetic so I will recommend a Spring 15 planting without water. I have seen rumors that crops wither and disappear if they have not been watered: I cannot confirm if this is a thing. But I have never seen any crops disappear after a day that are under a Scarecrow, and I consistently plant seeds on Summer 1, Fall 1, and Winter 1 without watering them that are alive and well the next day. With a Copper Watering Can and several hundred Salmonberries, you can easily water 188 crops in a few hours' time (9:00 AM). @ShneekeyTheLost has a nice setup for 188 crops around a Scarecrow, pre-sprinklers here. (I ignore placing the floors for now, and I also plant the Cauliflower Seeds in the 8 tiles around the Scarecrow to promote more efficient farming in Spring.) If the Community Center is being restored, buy a Potato Seed and a Green Bean Starter if one was not purchased on Spring 1. A Parsnip was already harvested and the Museum should have provided the 9 Cauliflower Seeds as a reward. I do not recommend going for the 5 gold Parsnips for the Quality Crops Bundle because Parsnips are mostly useless from a profit standpoint Melons, Corn, and Pumpkins are easily maintained with 40+ Quality Sprinklers If you can afford Melons in Summer, you can afford more Pumpkins in Fall (money for seeds shouldn't be a worry) Harvesting at least 320 crops multiple times through the Summer means you will reach Farming 10, which means you do not need to bother with fertilizer for the Pumpkins in Fall if you do not want to Money and energy are at premiums in Spring (Please don't waste it on Parsnips because everyone and their mums has said to plant the 40 Parsnips since the game was released) Double your profits: plant Cauliflower or Potato Seeds today! (Minus Strawberry Seeds, of course.) ...Salmonberries ----------------- Spring 16 - Tuesday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: Get pickaxe, give it right back, plant crops, Salmonberries, fish the night away Hopefully there is a horse next to the house because today can be busy Morning Chores: water crops Go to the Backwoods: pick Salmonberries Go to the Bus Stop and Tunnel: pick Salmonberries Go to the Blacksmith: receive Copper Pickaxe and immediately upgrade to Steel Pickaxe (Do this before Cindersap Forest so Clint doesn't close by the time you get to Pelican Town) Go to Cindersap Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to the Secret Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to Pelican Town: pick Salmonberries Go to the Mountain: pick Salmonberries and fish until 2:00 AM I have not seen much discussion on how people plant, so here are my thoughts on it with the tools currently available. After hoeing three 1x3 strips, I switch to my Watering Can and water those same three 1x3 strips. Move up or down a space, or sideways 3 spaces, and repeat. It is the minimalist in me: fewer steps to accomplish the same thing. ------------------- Spring 17 - Wednesday ------------------- TL;DR Notes: Water crops, Salmonberries, fish the day away Note: if 5 Iron Bars or 25 Iron Ore happen to be in a chest or bag, (didn't build a Stable, mined more than the previously recommended amounts, fishing chests) and there is 5,000g worth of items in stock, then consider depositing it into the Collection Bin to upgrade to a Steel Hoe tomorrow Morning Chores: water crops Go to the Backwoods: pick Salmonberries Go to the Bus Stop and Tunnel: pick Salmonberries Go to Cindersap Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to the Secret Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to Pelican Town: pick Salmonberries Go to the Mountain: pick Salmonberries and fish until 2:00 AM The hoe is the first tool to get upgraded to gold for me. I like getting it out of the way if my budget allows it since the Watering Can may always be upgraded on Spring 27 with no missed watering; although, at this point funds are probably fairly low. I do not know if this is unconventional, but people really seem to want to upgrade the Pickaxe first. Now, it is entirely possible to upgrade the Pickaxe to gold in Spring. I like the Gold Pickaxe; I don't mine the last 10 days straight so it would not be a huge loss to have it two days less than normal; but I don't need the Gold Pickaxe like I need the Gold Hoe. My point with the Hoe is it needs to be gold by Summer 1. Even if all 180 of the crops planted are Strawberries and they can be scythed away, I will typically plant anywhere from 400-600 Blueberries on Summer 1. That is painful with a Gold Hoe. It is even more painful with a Steel Hoe. Unless Spring 19 is a rain day, consider upgrading the Hoe and either banking on it to rain again in the last week to upgrade the Watering Can, (except on Spring 22! Please do not upgrade the Watering Can if the forecast for Spring 23 is rain. You will be filled with regret and despair) or just upgrade it on Spring 27. It can be picked up on Summer 1 and I do not bother watering crops on Summer 1 -- Blueberries, at least, since there are so...so many of them, and I still get all 4 harvests. ------------------ Spring 18 - Thursday ------------------ TL;DR Notes: Water crops, get pickaxe, Salmonberries, fish the day away Morning Chores: water crops Go to the Backwoods: pick Salmonberries Go to the Bus Stop and Tunnel: pick Salmonberries Go to the Blacksmith: receive Steel Pickaxe Go to Cindersap Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to the Secret Forest: pick Salmonberries Go to Pelican Town: pick Salmonberries Go to the Mountain: pick Salmonberries Choose: Go to the Mine: descend until 2:00 AM Fish until 2:00 AM This should have been written earlier, maybe, but eat Spring Onions, Green Algae, and whatever other food that has been obtained on this adventure before consuming the Salmonberries. Mainly so any benefit, effort, and energy for all of the terrible fishing casts that resulted in Green Algae, and all of the hours wasted running down to the Sewer Pipe for Spring Onions when they were and were not there do not end up being for naught. The backpack is not a huge necessity for me until this point. Even at this point it is not a big priority, but it is definitely more convenient. All of the chests with all of the random things that have been placed in them the last 18 days are bound to have 2000g of spare items inside. Consider splurging if you have not already. ---------------- Spring 19 - Friday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: Water crops, mine the day away (Mine Level 60) The days become much simpler now and mining becomes the focus Morning Chores: water crops DO NOT go to Cindersap Forest for Spring Onions unless it is a desperate and compulsive need Go to the Mines: descend as quickly as possible 20 levels is easily doable with a Steel Pickaxe and hundreds of Salmonberries Ignore slimes, ignore ore, maybe don't ignore Quartz Mine until 2:00 AM Quartz is the wildcard in achieving Quality Sprinkler transcendence. With all of the fishing that has been done, (start recycling those Broken Glasses and DVDs) and all of the mining that will be done, it should not be a problem. Sometimes they just...are not there. I break my rule of "not going out of the way" to snag Quartz. It is needed for the Quality Sprinklers and it is needed for Lightning Rods. By Fall, I don't want to look at Quartz anymore. But in Spring, Quartz is more valuable than Diamonds. ----------------- Spring 20 - Saturday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: Deposit ???g, water crops, forage, mine the day away (Mine Level 80 & Mining 5) Water Crops Morning Chores: deposit ???g into the Collection Bin (to replace any Potato Seeds), and water crops Go to the Backwoods: forage everything Go to Cindersap Forest: forage everything Go to the Beach: forage everything Go to Pelican Town: forage everything Go to the Bus Stop: forage everything Go to the Mountain: forage everything Go to the Mines: get down to Level 80 and mine until 2:00 AM At this point, Mining should be around level 4: get it up to Mining 5 before passing out Stay on Level 81 and break as many Gold nodes as possible; the Mining level will shoot up level 4 to level 5; do not unnecessarily go any extra days without the Geologist profession Metal bar production is about to crank up. If fewer than 5 Furnaces are available for smelting, may I suggest crafting up to at least 5 Furnaces. Level 40 also seems to generate a fair amount of Copper nodes so i find I do not need to backtrack to Level 21 very often if I need Furnaces, Tappers, or any other crafting station that needs Copper Ore or Bars. Lastly, the first few Gold Bars I produce are used to make 3 Charcoal Kilns. Three seems to be plenty, and even overkill, because they finish in 30 minutes. Don't run out of Charcoal. ---------------- Spring 21 - Sunday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: Water crops, mine the day away Morning Chores: water crops If you will harvest Potatoes tomorrow, go to Pierre's General Store: buy Potato Seeds Go to the Mines: choose either Gold or Iron Ore and start farming it; I like to start with Iron Ore since there are still 1 or 2 tool upgrades to go with it, coal is obtained through the Dust Sprites, and I find more Quartz on Level 41 (In my mind, at least) If Joja is the route taken for the Community Center renovation, now is probably a good time to buy a membership. After tomorrow's potential harvest -- if Potatoes were planted -- there is a decent chance the Greenhouse, or whatever other community development is desired, can be fixed in the coming days. Edits: 3.7 - Numerous phrasing, grammar, aesthetic, and typos; added "A note on...PREPPING LAND" on Spring 15, reworked seed buying for all planting days 3.27 - Added Quick Links; added "A note on...CAULIFLOWER OR POTATOES?" to Spring 15
QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Introduction Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Results WEEK 4 ----------------- Spring 22 - Monday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: Harvest crops, mine the day away Morning Chores: harvest/plant any Potatoes, water crops, and deposit 360g if Parsnips are a thing Go to the Mines: mine until 2:00 AM If it has not been thought about yet, now is a good time to determine the direction the farm is going to take in the coming weeks. If one field of 20 Quality Sprinklers is more than enough and Preserve Jars are the goal, then the mining operation might slow dramatically after today, and mass chopping will need to begin. If Kegs are wanted, then Copper Ore will need to be mined more and Acorns planted. Really, you need to have a direction and adjust accordingly at this point. I will, however, continue the guide assuming that 2-3 fields of 20 Quality Sprinklers is the desired outcome. ----------------- Spring 23 - Tuesday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: Water crops, mine the day away Morning Chores: water crops If Parsnips are a thing, go to Pierre's General Store: buy seeds Go to the Mines: mine until 2:00 AM After today, Iron Ore and Iron Bar, and Gold Ore and Gold Bar stocks should be close to equaling the 40 bars necessary I was so-so about attending the Egg Festival in Year 1, content with Potatoes instead of Strawberries. I never go to the Flower Dance in Year 1. From what I know, Haley is the only villager you can potentially dance with in Year 1 and Pierre sells nothing of import other than the Rarecrow, so I feel no compulsion to attend the Flower Dance in Year 1. In its defense, attending, in all likelihood, will not cause you to miss out on the guide's benchmarks. -------------------- Spring 24 - Wednesday -------------------- TL;DR Notes: Harvest and water crops, Flower Dance (optional), mine the day away (Mines Level 100) Morning Chores: harvest Strawberries (and harvest/plant Parsnips) and water crops Avoid Cindersap Forest until 2:00 PM unless you want to attend the Flower Dance Go to the Mines: farm ore if more is needed; otherwise, descend until 2:00 AM Reaching Level 100 is the goal for the chest reward, but, depending on whether more ore is needed for the Quality Sprinklers, not enough time may remain. This is just a bonus; nothing mandatory ------------------------------ Spring 25 & 26 - Thursday & Friday ------------------------------ TL;DR Notes: 5000g, water crops, chop/fish/mine the day away Morning Chores: deposit 5000g into the Collection Bin on Friday and water crops Choose: Go to Cindersap Forest, the Bus Stop, the Backwoods, and the Mountain: chop wood Go to the Mountain: fish until 2:00 AM Go to the Mines: mine until 2:00 AM ----------------- Spring 27 - Saturday ----------------- TL;DR Notes: Water crops, upgrade watering can, chop the Secret Forest, forage Morning Chores: water crops Go to the Backwoods: forage everything Go to Cindersap Forest: forage everything Go to the Secret Forest: forage everything and chop all hardwood Go to the Beach: forage everything Go to the Blacksmith: upgrade Copper Watering Can Go to the Bus Stop: forage everything Go to Pelican Town: forage everything Go to the Mountain: forage everything Choose an activity to finish the day Foraging skill should be at or near level 6 by this point. If it is not, chop the Secret Forest again tomorrow and clear the farm of any remaining hardwood. There will also be some Maple, Pine, and Oak trees to be felled that are in the way of future crop placement. Being level 6 before Summer 1 lets you craft any excess Iron Bars, Refined Quartz, and Bat Wings that are stockpiled into Lightning Rods, which will never be needed until Summer 2 at the earliest, so you have until then to reach Foraging 6. ---------------- Spring 28 - Sunday ---------------- TL;DR Notes: Harvest crops, prep farm for Summer, sell everything Today is the day to tidy up loose ends Morning Chores: harvest crops Finish any remaining smelting while scything weeds and grass, chopping wood, and breaking stones Place floors of some sort where Quality Sprinklers and Scarecrows will be placed Sort through chests: sell any crops, fish, foragables, and minerals that aren't going to be processed and aren't being held for other reasons 40 Quality Sprinklers will irrigate 320 crops: 320 Blueberry or Melon Seeds, for example, will cost 25,600g; 320 Hops Starters are 19,200g It will be better to oversell now than undersell and not be able to buy enough seeds tomorrow I don't water Blueberries on Summer 1. I will water Melons, (and any other crop other than Blueberries, really) but if I plant Melon Seeds I will have only 8-16 of them, and I water them because I can get 2 Melon harvests, plant Wheat, and then harvest the Wheat on Fall 1 so the soil is ready to go for Fall crops. Ignoring Blueberries for a day before the Quality Sprinklers start working still yields the same number of harvests if they were watered on Summer 1. Don't kill yourself on Summer 1. Edits: 3.7 - Numerous phrasing, grammar, aesthetic, and typos 3.27 - Added Quick Links
QUICK LINKS Updated Guide at GameFAQs Introduction Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 RESULTS Skills Farming and Mining ended up at level 7, with Mining being very close to level 8. Foraging ended a little shy and was only level 6. Combat was understandably lower as I spend most of my time evading monsters until the Dust Sprites needed to be culled. Money I had a pretty lucky playthrough this time because I had 5 rain days, which really helped out with some extra income due to the Catfish. My cash-on-hand is 41,646g and the season total was 165,450g, which is a new high for me. (Without cheesing the Mines' Mushroom levels...) Fishing totals were 24 Bream 77 Largemouth Bass 85 Smallmouth Bass 148 Carp 57 Catfish 1 Sunfish 108 Bullhead 138 Chub 82 Shad 180 Green Algae This is a hefty amount of cash, although many of the Chubs and some of the Smallmouth Bass were consumed for energy, I do not know how many, but the Green Algae also really helped out for mining early in the season. Tools, Stable, & Sprinklers All of my tools ended at Steel, except for the Gold Hoe, because there is a lot of work to be done today; the Stable was built according to my plans to help with the crazy Spring 16; and I have enough materials to build 16 Quality Sprinklers for the Greenhouse and 48 for the outdoor crops. At the last minute on Spring 27, I decided I was going to expand my fields to 5x5 squares so I had to delve into the Mines for some extra Iron Ore, and I will need to craft another Scarecrow so only 4 crops will not have coverage. Unfortunately, the Mines will need be revisited today to get the Iron Ore to build 10 Lightning Rods. Farm Direction I tapped 5 of my Oak Trees around the lake in Cindersap Forest, but I think I am going to try Preserves Jars, since I have never really tried to produce them en masse. Having several hundred, fully automated crops allows for a significant amount of freedom though, and may give me time to visit with the locals more. Villagers Speaking of which, in the screenshot at the top, you can see Robin loves me the most with one solid heart: probably because I gave her 10,000g. Linus also has a heart for me since I gave him a gold Spring Onion and he wandered near me as I ran around the lake every day, but that is where the love ends. Everybody else is cold-hearted. It couldn't possibly be me. Hopefully this helps some people or gives others some ideas. I have trouble making the pretty farms like so many others on this site, but I enjoy this game all the same with my profit-mongering and larger-scale approach. Any feedback, criticisms, or hatemails are all welcomed. And . . . I apologize for the length. I had no idea when I started this. Kudos if you finished. Edits: 3.27 - Added Quick Links
Not into minmaxing, myself, but different strokes, different folks. He's very well organized. Reminds me of the way my wife plays, save that she's not as good with the written word.
Is the reason you try to maintain the 0g balance to prevent being charged the 1000g for passing out? How does the diminished energy affect you the next day? Or are you eating enough to offset the loss in initial energy in the morning?
Yes. Joja or Harvey will take 10% of your current balance, rounded down, up to 1000g after passing out. You can sell all of your items if you want, but if you are planning on passing out almost every night for the entire season, it can quickly add up. To be fair, I do not know how this mechanic works. In my experience, it is completely random: sometimes I wake up with full energy, sometimes I wake up with half, sometimes I will wake up empty, and sometimes it is somewhere in between. I've never noticed a definitive pattern. For the most part, yes, I have enough Spring Onions and Green Algae early on to offset the occasional energy loss in the morning. But for those rare times when I wake up with almost no energy, it would be a big, "It depends when it happens." If it is in the first few days it might really screw things up since I may not have enough Spring Onions or Green Algae to offset an empty bar. (I don't really make the Field Snacks, but I suppose I could in an emergency) Regardless, during the first two weeks it will only affect my plans if I need to both chop wood and go into the Mines. Four trees at 15 swings early on is between 102-120 energy, and if you start at half a bar you're left with only 15-30. In that case, I would fish instead of mine since a couple of Green Algae or Spring Onions are enough to catch me 3 or 4 fish, which provide more energy to keep fishing throughout the day and eventually provide a surplus. After I get Salmonberries, it doesn't matter if I wake up with no energy: I can count on at least 70 Salmonberries/day during their season -- that's a bad day of Salmonberries with the +1 from Foraging 4 -- which is 280. Eating 11 almost entirely fills your energy, which means you can fill your bar from empty to max 25 times. I would think that should, at the very least, get you through Spring if you started every day from Spring 15 on with no energy.
This is the single best post I have seen on this site. Brilliant strategy, Shoukry. Lots to add to my own play style here, and I'm definitely an analytic player. A few notes: I have always allowed myself to pass out in order to reach an extra 5th level, but you are giving yourself much more flexibility to have pass out as pat of the plan each day and the inventory management is the genius. Just sell enough to cover expenses the following day and keep a big batch of fish/gems/etc on hand to regain energy and manage upgrade needs. Can you estimate fish consumption per day to refill energy bar at start of day? Can you please summarize tool/building upgrades by day in a single list? Love the early horse plan. The foraging runs are a pain. Also on foraging, I note you don't have much said about spring seed sets. Am I correct that you forage and combine for seed packs without ever planting those energy-sucking spring seeds? I didn't know about Saturday forage resets. That's very useful, but I know from other play that worms don't reset the same way. They seem to stay for 1-7 days then reset if not harvested. Looking at a spreadsheet I created for finishing the museum collection, it's not always Saturday they reset. It may have something to do with bird animations in the area. Your mine descent goals per day are very fast. I can get 10 levels per day with some difficulty and 15 occasionally (never in the last 2 playthoughs). Can you give me an idea of how often you are using rocks/stairs to descend ? The flooring under sprinklers was a big breakthrough for me and I see you note it here. Allows you to rehoe your farmland without resetting sprinklers. Min/Maxers should note the hoeing/watering methods mentioned, because minimization of movement during farming has a big impact on game time used. I much prefer movement along the X axis (longer E/W farming plots), because the gaming mechanics allow 3 3X1 columns to be accessed from a single spot, whereas vertical movement holds the player to a single row and increases the chance for "energy accidents" which cause unnecessary expenditure in Spring 1 or on the first days of Summer 1. I would love to find a way to become the fisherman you are, do you have any narrated video of your fishing to review? I'd love to hear your tips on ore mining to hear your methods. it seems like you do 20/21, 40/41, and 80/81 in Spring, which is same as me, but I'd like to know any other secrets you have to maximize ore or monster kill yields. What is your stance on the insect head, burglar's ring, and savage ring? I try to get all 3 of those early, particularly the insect head, which speeds up unavoidable mining combat significantly in my estimation. The savage ring is especially useful for coal collection and working through the 500 sprite kills efficiently for the burglar's ring. My last playthrough I got 61 quality sprinklers in place on Summer 1, but I'm not too proud to admit your playthrough was superior, because you started Summer with a horse, better tools, and skills that are basically identical except I had 1 fishing and yours is 10. Great documentation of a playthrough that adds significantly to understanding of min/max strategies.
One more question. Linus gives one of the most valuable recipes in the game, Sashimi, at 3 hearts. Given you have an enormous hoard of fish, is this something you prioritize? I'm guessing the home upgrade cost might be too high to justify a kitchen prior to early-mid Summer. To me, sashimi is the ideal complement to spicy eel in skull cavern, because it doesn't overwrite the bonuses from it, provides significant healing, and can be made in bulk from any fish (including crab pot fish) so it only uses a single spot. However, there may be a better alternative later. Edit: I withdraw this question. You don't need early sashimi with your salmonberry accumulation.
Did I miss something here? From the pictures, you seem to have your greenhouse set up on Spring 28, but that must be year 2, right? Edit: Also withdrawn. I see you are Joja, so the greenhouse is purchased. Can't argue with the "feely" math for relative cost. To me, a huge hidden cost of the community center is the labor-intensive nature of animals. I think that's much more significant, and you should make perhaps 3-4 million more (this is very conservative) over the course of the game from the greenhouse on Spring 28 instead on mid Fall with the associated fast break on ancient seeds. There is no comparison on the money with that consideration. While I love a number of the game components, I clearly didn't understand the power of the dark side and am now converted.
@Filmstudy I eat fish only while fishing: during the first few days I'm trying to get 40-45 casts so I'll eat ~8-9 Chubs. After Fishing 5+, 60 casts are possible with bait and hotspots, but gold-quality fish are usually being caught so probably ~11-12 gold Chubs. Otherwise, I'm eating Green Algae or Spring Onions: I make sure to pass out with either stack in my backpack every night just in case I wake up with 0 energy. The only days I might be worried about waking up not enough energy are Spring 5, 7, and 8. But on all of the days I will no longer be watering, and on 7 and 8 I will not be chopping, so even if I start at half energy, that is a decent start for me into the Mines. Hopefully that answered your question? I will put a list on the first post for you. As in crafting the Wild Seeds (Sp) with a Wild Horseradish, Dandelion, Daffodil, and Leek? I do not. Do the 10 seeds sell for more than the four foragables to craft them? They do seem to be above what I read other people doing. But I don't mess around with monsters, at all. The only reason I have any Green Slime kills in this playthrough is because of the Secret Forest, and only because I had the Forest Sword on me at the time. I didn't complete the Adventurer's Guild Quest until Spring 14, I think. But I start breaking rocks as soon as I enter the level if I don't see stairs immediately. Bugs are killed if they're near me to try and pop a staircase, but also, more importantly, for Bug Meat for Bait. Stairs aren't something I use until the Skull Cavern. My only advice is to let the monsters hit you -- position yourself between slimes and rocks so you don't get slowed -- and keep mining. And if there's an ore node or a barrel several tiles over when the stairs appear, I go down the stairs. I do not, but I think I have fished the fish in the lake too much. Too much. Until Fishing 2, Chubs give me the most trouble with perfect casts; Largemouth Bass are a 50/50 proposition because they do some random jumps occasionally; but I can get perfect casts on the Carp and Bullheads almost every time at Fishing 0. I really think it's just practice. And tedium. That's really about all there is to it. If I go down to the level and I see ore that is easily accessible I'll mine it. Once I get to level 80, I tend to pick a particular ore to farm for the day, figure out how many I need, and go after it. If I hit my quota, I move on to the next ore. Dust Sprites and Quartz will always ensure I go into the level just because of how many Coal and Quartz you need for the sprinklers. Up until I get the Obsidian Edge, I ignore almost every monster except for Dust Sprites and Bats. I got them all in my first playthrough. Since then...I've maybe gotten the Burglar's Ring once? I don't even remember where the Savage Ring comes from. My line of thought is almost all combat in the Mines is avoidable except for Bats and Flies. Especially if I'm farming ore at that point, even if there are 30 gold nodes, but there are several Shadow Brutes around them? I'm out. I want to get to 90 for Obsidian Edge to make my Dust Sprite farming faster. Everything else is mostly ignored. (Except Bats...need those wings.) I don't. I make a much bigger effort with the villagers in Summer, but fish is for selling in Spring and Summer for me. In Summer, I switch down to the Beach for the Halibut, Tilapia, Red Mullet, Pufferfish, and Super Cucumber catches. Pufferfish and Super Cucumber are...450g and 550g, respectively. (I think.) And I can catch 4-5 of each per fishing day. My Salmonberries last me through Fall, almost always. I suppose, I don't know if you're asking for energy purposes, gift-giving purposes, or both. So I'll stop now. Fishing is still a big thing for me the first few weeks of Summer since I want to get the Bus up and running, and I want to get a field or two of Starfruit in by Summer 15. (160-400, depending on my field size. That's a lot of gold before Blueberry harvests.) Thank you for the kind words. I hope I answered your questions satisfactorily.
Yes, considerably more (180 for 4 base foragables, 270 if all gold versus 350 for spring seed packs). Turning in the spring foraging bundle yields 1050 on day 6 if you simply sell the seeds. I documented a Spring 1 playthrough in a similar manner here which has some notes on spring foragables: [URL]http://community.playstarbound.com/threads/automation-focused-playthrough-of-spring-1-day-by-day-with-pictures-long.129909/[/URL] [COLOR=#000000]In that walkthrough I planted foragable seeds, but I acknowledge that was a mistake. In Summer, gains from forage sets ratchet way up to 550 for 10 seeds, which have just 3 components (grape, spice berry, sweet pea). They are a legitimate cash crop for Summer with automated sprinkling (invest 55 per seed, return 165 in just 7 days with the assumption of 3 sets per 10 crops grown!)[/COLOR]. Here's an illustration of scalable profitability from Summer seeds:
One more comment on this excellent guide, related to your note on strawberries... The reason to buy/plant strawberries is as much for the farming skill as for the profit. Strawberries have the highest profit per unit of energy and highest farming skill gain per unit of energy by a wide margin. So I'd say it's worth limiting Spring farming to: 15 parsnips (need to make 100 farming, actually 120) 1 bean (bundle, 27 farming) 1 potato (bundle, 14 farming) 9 cauliflower (free from museum, 207 farming) 82+ strawberrries (2952+ farming) That's a total of 3,320 farming experience points, of which all but the original parsnips will be under scarecrow protection. The 3,300 number is what gets you to 6 farming and the ability to make quality sprinklers which you can begin precrafting after the 2nd strawberry harvest. In the walkthrough I published here: http://community.playstarbound.com/...pring-1-day-by-day-with-pictures-long.129909/ I included planting of 2 rounds of 30 spring forage seeds. Doing the math since, planting wild seeds in Spring is a poor time/energy choice. Foraging the sets is useful, but just make the seeds and sell those for 350 each.
Do you use the easy fishing mod? There's no way I can catch that many fish that fast if your supposed to max out fishing halfwaythough the month lol. Fishing isn't that fun. Can you mine for money instead?
@Filmstudy Yes, but if the Community Center is the chosen route, then most people would probably want 36-48 more Parsnip Seeds with Basic Fertilizer spread out over the last 12 days to get the 5 gold-quality Parsnips for the Quality Crops bundle. I do not think it would be a problem to wait and just go for Melons, Corn, and Pumpkins though, since you have to wait for a Pumpkin anyway. On a little side note, if you harvest at least 13 Parsnips from the initial seeds and plant 178 Strawberry Seeds, Farming 6 will be reached after the first harvest and you can start crafting Quality Sprinklers a few days earlier if you have the materials. I just started a new game so I'll be trying this out: I'll also be adding an extra 1x3 strip to each outside edge of the cross layout (because they're covered, so why not?) and planting the 8 squares around the Scarecrow for 210 Strawberries and 8 Cauliflower. However, that many Strawberry Seeds might break the bank and not leave me enough for the Stable.
