Starting a new game in Stardew Valley

This page has new player tips in Stardew Valley.

It will help guide you through the first few days.

Note: Credit for this guide goes to /u/GlassDeviant from the Stardew Valley Subreddit

Day 1 [ edit ]

I suggest, for a basic start, take the 15 free parsnip seeds and go to Pierre's and buy 25 more (you are now flat broke), then plant them (4 3x3 blocks plus 4 plots). You may need to clear a bit of weeds, grass, fallen branches or stones but do as little clearing as possible as you have limited energy. Make sure you water them.

If you see anyone, talk to them twice to get through their introductions. Keep this up for the next few days as you follow the rest of the plan.

Now go to the island south of your farm (southwest of Leah's cabin) and pick any wild onions that have spawned, maybe look for a bit of other forage.

Use the foraged onions and other stuff to get energy to cut down 4 trees on your farm (leave the stumps) to get 48 wood, then cut 4 fallen branches to get 2 more wood. Now craft a chest and stick it somewhere near or inside your house. Put as much stuff in it as possible, to free up inventory slots. For instance you don't really need your watering can off the farm.

If you have time left go foraging and/or meeting people. Put anything you don't keep for energy tomorrow into the shipping box.

Day 2 [ edit ]

You will get a letter from Willy in your mailbox (or a visit, I forget). After watering your parsnips, go talk to him on the beach and get your free bamboo fishing rod.

Now just water crops in the morning and fish the rest of the day, talking to everyone new you meet twice to get through the introductions to get your "meet everyone" quest/achievement done. This will get you the most starting money of any activity. The best place to fish at low level is just southwest of Leahs cabin (not on the island, stay on the mainland). Put all your fish (or save a few of each kind in your chest) in the shipping box.

Day 3 [ edit ]

Water, fish, meet people. Explore a bit to make sure you get to meet everyone. Stuff that shipping box. At some point you should reach level 2 fishing. Go buy yourself a fiberglass fishing rod from the shop that Willy runs once you can afford it (1800g). If you can afford to, get the first backpack expansion.

If you somehow have lots of extra money (more than 8k), spend excess money in the saloon buying coffee (run speed buff) and salads (restores health and energy, the latter being most important at this point, it gives much more than foraged wild onions). Don't spend all your money though, you are going to need a lot (I recommend at least 8k) on the 13th. If you somehow get over 25k before the 12th you may want to get the second backpack expansion and iridium fishing rod (requires fishing level 6).

Day 4 [ edit ]

See day 3.

Day 5 [ edit ]

Your parnips should be ready to pick. Pick them. Save one for later (in the chest). Do not put them in the shipping box. Instead, go to Pierre's and sell them directly to him so you have the money to spend today instead of tomorrow. Buy 40 potato seeds. If you can afford it, buy the first backpack expansion (2000g). Go plant and water your potato seeds. Go back to fishing and watering and meeting people. A good place to meet people you haven't yet is the saloon, from about 4pm until 10 or so.

Day 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 [ edit ]

Water and fish, water and fish, meet people. Use the wiki to find out who you don't know yet and where they will be that day, if you can't manage to run into them at the saloon. Put anything you want sold in the shipping box, especially on the 10th as Pierre's is closed on Wednesdays.

Day 11 [ edit ]

Harvest your potatoes and sell them to Pierre. Make sure you have a lot of money saved up, because you are going to need at least 8k to spend on the 12th and 13th. Fish. Meet people if you still haven't met everyone and finished the introductions quest.

Day 12 [ edit ]

Fish. Clear the weeds along the left side of Haley and Emilys house as you will need this path for the easiest egg collection route during the festival tomorrow. If you manage to have a ton of money at this point and you have managed to get to level 6 fishing you could get the iridium fishing rod from Willy at his shop for 7500g, just make sure you have at least 4k left for tomorrow. It is recommended to buy 40 or more Speed-Gro so that you can get one extra harvest out of your year 1 strawberries. This is why you have been grinding the fishing and farming, because Speed-Gro is 100g each and Strawberry Seeds a the Egg Festival are also 100g each.

Day 13 [ edit ]

Make sure your original 40 farm plots have been re-tilled with the hoe to save time after the festival, you can even add the Speed-Gro and pre-water them if you wish. You can do more than 40, but don't waste too much time getting to the village square. If you are not there by 2pm you will miss the Egg Festival, and I can't over stress this: you do not want to miss it!

This is the egg festival. There is a booth where Pierre (?) sells Strawberry Seeds (the only place you can get them in year 1) in the village square. Get at least 40, more if you prepared more tilled land before the festival. If you can afford it, you may want to also buy a pink plush bunny for the kids you may eventually have. You can get it any year though so don't stress over not being able to afford it.

If you want to get the festival reward (a straw hat doesn't seem like much but it's a collectors item you can't get anywhere else) you should watch a video or two on the Egg Festival event. In later years if you already got the straw hat you will get 1000g for winning.

If you fail, you can wait till next year or just hit Esc and abort your day by clicking the do-not-enter symbol. The next time you load your file you will be on day 13 again.

When you leave the village square, it will be 10pm. If you didn't get the 40+ plots tilled, fertilized with speed-gro and watered before the festival, you are basically screwed as you don't have time to do all this and plant the seeds before 2am. Get your strawberry seeds planted (and watered if needed) before going to bed so that you get as many harvests in before summer as possible.

Back to watering an fishing. The strawberries should be ready on the 21st and again on the 25th. If you used Speed-Gro you should get crops in on the 20th, 24th and 28th. This should net you a ton of cash (120x40 = 4800 per harvest).

Long term goals [ edit ]

You may want to start saving up items for the Stardew Valley Fair, or alternately try to get to 4 hearts with Marnie do you can get the mayors "shorts" from her bedroom and shame him into giving you 750 fair "star tokens" by putting them in your display box.

Don't forget the second backpack expansion if you haven't got it yet.

As other have said, set goals based on what you need for the community center bundles. Some good planning and you might be able to complete the community center in your first year.

Get a Silo built as soon as you can and start saving up feed for your animals. Build a coop but don't get any animals yet, just put a chest inside it and when the silo is full, transfer hay/feed from the hopper inside the coop (all hoppers in coop and barns are connected to the silo) into the chest. You can stock a huge amount of animal feed this way with only a single silo. Don't worry about placement too much as you can move them for free at Robins carpenter shop or at the wizards tower (I forget the requirements for this, I think it's the magic ink, but you can always use Robin).