~FIRST DAY TIPS!~

A Junimo

Planter
So you’ve finally gotten around to playing the AMAZING game world of STARDEW VALLEY!!! Good for you!!
...

So, uh, now what?
Don’t worry, I’ve got some Livin’ Off the Land-quality tips to help you settle in! Your first day in your new life is pretty important to set you on the right track-as I, little, naive me, learned the.....hard way (I, *ahem,* like all young women, fell hopelessly in love with Alex on my first day as soon as I saw him, and, er, may have spent my whole three years focusing only on trying to marry him and decorating my house...)
Anyways, here you have it:


:junicheer:. Buy seeds. There’s this saying; “you have to spend money in order to earn it,” and, yes, it’s true. While you can find mixed seeds for free if you hoe long enough, it wastes your time and energy. Instead, simply head to Pierre’s and stock up some of his seeds, and plant them right when you get home! 500G is a pretty paltry sum (only that much from working all of those years at Joja? Oof...) but the more crops you buy=the more crops you harvest=the more money you get.
:junicheer:Get materials, materials, materials. Did I mention materials? You can get stone from rocks with your picaxe and wood from trees with your axe. Why are materials so important, you may ask? Well, the more materials you start saving up, the sooner you can purchase a coop, and with it, animals. They are also useful for countless other things, such as crafting-so start getting materials! Just make sure to watch your energy.
:junicheer:. Clear your farm. Oh, man.....I rememeber on my own first day, I cleared a tiny little space, right in front of my house, for crops, than went into town and got caught up in all of that Alex nonsense and was so distracted by it, by the time Fall came around my farm was nothing but untamed debris. Ugh.....
Don’t make my mistake; clear as much of your farm area as you can without passing out! This gives you more space for crops and construction in the future without having to spend later days having to clear more stuff to get some good space ready.
:junicheer:. Meet people-but, at the same time, DO NOT get obsessed with people. Once you’ve met everyone, check the calendar on the bulletin in front of Pierre’s shop to remember their birthdays, and scrape up some good gifts to present to them. Beware of gift tastes, though-most villagers will drop hints about what they like and don’t like, so pay close attention! Why is befriending people so important, you ask? Well, it’s not as important as farming, the closer you get to people, the more cooking/crafting recipes, helpful tips, and insights on the valley they give you in return.

Okay, that’s all. Remember, these are only the basics of the basics-there is SO MUCH more out there!!!!!!!! This is just your first day. Just follow these tips and you’ll be on the right track to explore even stuff for yourself!
 
I would actually respectfully disagree with several points.

Your two main resources you will struggle with on your first day are time and energy. As such, clearing your farm is not a priority, since you have so many other things that need doing today. You can do your clearing later. All you need is enough room to get yourself started for now.

Your point about collecting materials is also a false one, if we're just talking about the first day. What you said isn't wrong in general, however your first day is *NOT* the day to focus on gathering materials and resources. Specifically, anything which costs you energy (breaking rocks, chopping trees) needs to be carefully planned out and rationed. You are going to burn out if you try to do too much your first day, walking that razor's edge is a difficult task. There may be specific resources you want specific quantities of (such as 50 wood to make a chest to store things in so you aren't limited to your inventory), but on the whole, just randomly gathering resources is going to burn out all your energy and leave you with more critical tasks left unfulfilled.

Buying seeds might be useful, however less useful than you might think. Crows won't go after your crops if you have 15 or fewer seeds, so limiting your planting to that number will flat guarantee that you won't lose anything at all. Furthermore, not all seeds are created equal, there are many different timings and strategies for hitting farming skill levels at specific points, and it is worthy of a guide unto itself. Suffice to say that 'buy seeds!' is misleading at best.

The only point I'd agree with you on is meeting people. Because let's face it, odds are you're gonna run out of energy before you run out of time in your first day. So you might as well do something productive with your time that doesn't cost energy... like meeting people and making friends.
 

Tom

Rancher
Fun! I'd respectfully request you consider making some edits to your opening post to avoid misleading anybody.

:junicheer:. Buy seeds.
A. "Buy seeds" is a great part of Y1 Spring 1 advice if you specify to (possibly) buy just 1 Green Bean Starter and 1 Cauliflower to plant with 13 Parsnips. The problem with planting more than exactly 15 crops is a) your Joja Corp. muscles are too flabby, b) more than 15 watered crops triggers crows, and you don't have a scarecrow, and c) you need your energy for other things. Conventional wisdom says to stick to 15 crops today if you have any intention of much fishing and mining this week. If you do go over 15, may as well go big (40) on Parsnips only, I guess.

B. "more crops you buy": Please don't say that. Your Joja Corp. muscles are too flabby.

C. "mixed seeds" take zero energy to find with your Scythe (not your Hoe). I am no fan of Mixed Seeds, even on Y1 Spring 1, but editing that mistake would be nice.

D. "500g": Your biggest priority today is either to chop as many tree tops (only, not stumps) as possible toward bridge repair tomorrow (my preference) or to save money for a Fiberglass Rod. So that 500g (and sold Fiber, Wild Horseradish, and Daffodil) is better used for food Salads (for more chopping) or toward a Rod.

:junicheer:Get materials, materials, materials. Did I mention materials?

:junicheer:. Clear your farm.
Maybe you could be more specific about this.

Getting chopping experience and wood is a great use of your first day since you by default will be fishing for the next few days and you could stand to repair the beach bridge tomorrow for additional foraging income and experience when you are at the beach. But it might be nice of you to specify to 1) avoid rocks today, 2) avoid fallen logs until you unlock Tappers, and 3) chop tree tops only (not Oaks, the shiny mop top ones) until you unlock Tappers.

You eventually (Spring 4+) need to break enough rocks to find a copper so Clint will give you Furnace plans. But you really don't need to worry a lot about rocks or ore until buy your first first tool upgrade (say on Vincent's birthday, Spring 10). (This assumes you are fine entering The Mines with no recipes for Cherry Bomb and Staircase, which I am.)


:junicheer:. Meet people
I agree with this...in moderation or as you naturally run into them.

I think that maybe a viable strategy for day 1 includes trying to introduce yourself to everybody (to get the cash reward). But that has always seemed a bit minmax-ish to me. My current advice is "except for birthdays and meeting any remaining people at the Egg Festival, leave socializing until after the Luau." It's so easy to befriend people once you can cook and get diamonds and rabbits' feet.
 
Last edited:

A Junimo

Planter
Thanks for the advice! I have to admit, I was kinda rushing and missed a few points, so I'm going to go ahead and write up a new and improved First Day Tips post as soon as I can!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom

Odin

Moderator
Staff member
Thanks for the advice! I have to admit, I was kinda rushing and missed a few points, so I'm going to go ahead and write up a new and improved First Day Tips post as soon as I can!
You can also update this thread if you want!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom
Top