I'm so behind on my year 5 farm! 😭

[MadilynChen]

This is my first farm and I'm already on year 5, just now searched up what I should have done by now and I have not met most of the should have been met achievements. (Things I did not complete): It said I should have unlocked Skull Cavern and Ginger Island, which I didn't but working on, have a well organized farm and home layout which should have been upgraded to the max size, which my farm is super messy with trees and fiber all over and my house has only the bedroom, kitchen, and living room (first upgrade), many farm buildings like barns, coops, sheds, etc, which I only have 1 coop (deluxe) (2 brown chickens, 2 white chickens, 1 blue chicken, 2 ducks, 1 rabbit, and 1 dinosaur), 1 barn (deluxe) (2 cows, 1 goat, 1 sheep, and 2 pigs), 3 silos, 1 mill, and 2 fish ponds (one for blobfish and one for sea cucumbers), and a greenhouse with sprinklers (that is all the farm buildings I have) (I do have an auto-grabber and heater for coop and barn), it said I should also have a cellar which I don't, obelisks which I don't, and a golden clock which I don't. It also said I should have maxed out hearts with all of the villagers but I only have them maxed out with most of them, have children (I'm married but I don't have any children), be working on changing the town's landscape (which you have probably guessed, I am not), reached the bottom of the mine and exploring Skull Cavern (I have only reached level 115), and completed the museum. If you have read all of this, thank you and sorry if I had wasted your time but can you please tell me what I can to to make much more progress please? THANK YOU SO MUCH

 

[MadilynChen]

By the way, I am sorry it is so long

 

[DOBITEUS]

This the answer you are not looking for :
There's not "you must" or "you should", there's not a "correct way" to play the game. You can play it as you wish and spend the time you want to spend; you can try to complete the game on year 1, you can make everyone hate you, you can just have cows and living with what they offer, you can full the entire town with your machines, just grow carrots, make a heart for villager but each year, anything goes.
With all said, don't feel bad for what you have done already, it's a game and nobody is chasing you, take your time and enjoy the trip, don't mind the destination, keep working and walking forward.
Anyway, if you want any specific advice with something feel free to ask, maybe I can help (I doubt it, I go to the wiki every time I get stuck )

 

[MadilynChen]

Thank you...

 

[Jayamos]

If you’re having fun you’re doing it right.

If you *want* to change specific things up this is a great place to ask questions and, as Dobiteus mentioned, the wiki is an excellent resource. You could also take a look at the guides and resources here. But it sounds like a perfectly good farm to me.

 

[Lew Zealand]

This will echo what others have said, but there's no "should" in this game. Stardew Valley is designed for you to do whatever you want and to follow your muse. If that's to hang out on your Farm and do lotsa Farming then you're playing it perfectly for you! Which is different than every single other person who plays the game 'cuz we're all doing it our way, nobody like each other and that's that how it should be.

And the moment you see a guide say anything about when/what/how/why anyone should be doing with the Golden Clock then it's immediately wrong. The Clock exists for 100% Perfection which IMO is something only for diehards and never should come up in any recommendation. I'll mention that I did eventually get the Clock but only after many many years in excess of 5. I think more than 20...

Take your time and enjoy your fun. IMO you're doing perfectly and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[VampireCake]

Same as the others have said, there's really no 'should' - mayyyybe if you're a speedrunner or a dedicated min-maxer, but that's still just a preferred way to play for people who enjoy that. There's a lot of stuff in the game, and you don't have to do it all at once.

The wiki is really useful if you want to look things up, or if you'd prefer a hint with minimal spoilers feel free to ask here in the forums.

 

[Mango Choo-choo]

I'd say the only goal for the whole game I can think of is to achieve perfection, but that isn't mandatory for playing the game

Unlock more and more items and activities,
you will see new surprise

don't be anxious to achieve perfection
get as much money as you can, anything impossible will be resolved easily

 

[Bloodless]

As others have said slow is not necessarily a bad thing. You don't miss out on anything doing it slower. And you will learn a lot from your first play-through on how to get faster.

That being said, if I was going to point as to what has held you back most based off your description, I would say it is your pace in the mines. If you were trying to be much faster in another play-through. You would want to try to get to the bottom of the mines as fast as possible. I am not sure your reasoning for not having reached the bottom yet though. Struggling with fighting or how you are going about it. Ideally you would be able to get to the bottom within your first year. Going deeper in the mines, upgrading your tools, Expanding the amount of sprinklers so you can grow large amounts of crops, creating more kegs, preserve jars and so on. That is how you make lot of of money, doing that as fast as possible, while trying to acquire the items to unlock the community center.

 

[Cookie Ate Cat]

You are not behind. Bc you are just playing. Don't see it as you are behind. See it as everyone else is just rushing through the game. You are at least enjoying your time. They are probably frustrated a little bc they are trying to do everything. I think you should just play. I mean I'm able to enjoy playing and I'm on yr1 spring 26 and I already have a copper axe and pickaxe.but that is bc I enjoy seeing how much I can get done before the end of the season. You may not. And that is fine, you shouldn't rush, play however you feel happy.

 

[Starry Junimo]

Yeah there is no specific way to play

 

[Starry Junimo]

I see farms that are on year 2 and they are better than mine (I'm on year three in the summer)

 

[skrilloZeddd]

I'm like you, I'm on year 4 I think? My farm is still a little, quaint, personal farm, not massive or super organized. I've only gotten to lvl 90 of the mines, ive maxed out hearts on most friends not all of them, and have only one house upgrade and hardly just had my coop built! (No animals yet).

I have just been taking it easy and figuring it out as I go. I got this game to have a relaxing-type game, I was sick of trying to game on my downtime then getting irritated at all these hard/ intense games

You're not doing anything wrong, you're playing exactly how you're supposed to :)

 

[Yogurt_The_Cow]

hey, don’t worry. I’m in your that same boat too. I’m almost in your five and I have one deluxe barn one big coop a husband fully upgraded house. I’ve unlocked the school cavern, but I’m completely scared to go in there. I went there once and I got in five minutes so I’m not going back. I haven’t unlock Ginger Island or even completed the community center. I’ve only done four bundles out of six… so yeah. There is no right way to play the game. You can complete the game in three years or you can complete the game in year 472 whatever works best for you. To be honest, I think you’re a little bit ahead of me congratulations. (it does not take much to be ahead of me.) honestly just play the game and don’t stress out about it. There’s no right way to play.

 

[JazzLover]

I am in the same situation as you. I am on year 5 and I finished community center on Fall 28 on year 4. (This also means I had to wait a season for Jojamart to get struck with lightning.) I only started to give the villagers gifts, and just got to Ginger Island. You are doing good on time if you are concerned about that.

 

[ShadowLoopz]

Honestly, you're doing great! Stardew Valley isn't a race — it's more like a peaceful journey. Everyone’s farm grows at its own pace. Some people unlock everything super early, others just enjoy the little things like raising animals or decorating slowly. There's no single "right" way to play.
If you're having fun and feel connected to your farm, that’s what truly matters! Keep going at your own speed, and the big achievements will come naturally.

 

[stardew_luv]

You don't miss out on anything doing it slower. And you will learn a lot from your first play-through on how to get faster.

I will add to this that you miss out on EVERYTHING by going faster. It bores you so quickly which is why those who are very gifted gamers (and they are truly the exception not the normal) or those who use mods/glitches/cheats to get ahead faster endlessly start over (or move on to other games) cause they finish everything and there is nothing new to explore and no mystery or freshness to experience in the game. It’s a leather bound classic to read and ponder and experience at your own pace, come back to over and over at different times and places moods and seasons of your life. It’s not meant to be a one day paperback novel you devour and speed read only to find out the it ending.

My Stardew motto is if you’re having fun then you’re playing the game right.