New player questions

[Ereo]

1. There is a special sort of tree that can help you. You should be able to get the seeds from the stumps in the secret woods, and later they grow in a different location that you can open after completing the community center.

2. I usually do trips from 10 to 20 because I don't like going up and down the same floor all the time. Sometimes you're lucky and hit a bunch of copper nodes together on a floor. Accquiring material can be a bit grindy. You can also buy them at Clint's, but it is pretty expensive after the first year.

 

[Salty1]

Shadow Brutes are resistant to knockback, which makes them difficult. If you want to kill them, the best way to do so is to swing once or twice and then run away.

Alternatively, abuse the terrain as you can. Stand between two mine-able rocks and force them to approach at an angle - they often will pace back and forth as the slight knockbacks you give throw them slightly off-course and they'll struggle to perfectly align. Retreat when necessary and be aware of their speed otherwise.

 

[imnvs]

1. I keep getting tripped up by quests not counting previously acquired materials. Is there a way to do Robin's Project (80 hardwood) that doesn't require hitting the Secret Woods every single day for a week? Which in turn would require seeing the Special Order board on Monday, which was not the case this week - didn't get there until Wed. due to the Stardew Valley Fair...
2. Is there a better method of grinding out copper than just repeated trips to mine level 21? That works, and each visit is very quick, but the rate of copper accumulation is less than I'd prefer (I just hit the point where making an arbitrarily large number of kegs, and thus a large number of tappers to put on oak trees, is a major priority). Does the Quarry largely solve the copper problem? I should have that unlocked in the first few days of winter.
3. There's an annoying gurgling/slurping noise all the time when I'm at the farm now. If google is to be believed, this is from the kegs, right? So that would be the real reason to build lots of sheds to stick them in. I have plenty of space outside, but that sound effect is already driving me nuts.

1 > There is no way around the requirement to both collect the materials and deliver the materials when it comes to the new Special Orders board, and this is intentional. It means that even those of us who are on year 6+ have to work at them instead of rely on our huge stockpiles.

2 > Buying it from Clint. The quarry is not unlike the Mines... except you can get just about anything there, but you'll still see a LOT of rocks.

3 > I put all my kegs inside. The shed takes up 21 spaces on your farm... and can hold over 130 kegs. It's space-saving, and I highly recommend it.

 

[BringsTheSnow]

A few more questions:

1. I keep getting tripped up by quests not counting previously acquired materials. Is there a way to do Robin's Project (80 hardwood) that doesn't require hitting the Secret Woods every single day for a week? Which in turn would require seeing the Special Order board on Monday, which was not the case this week - didn't get there until Wed. due to the Stardew Valley Fair...

This is annoying but just how the game works. You can use existing inventory for a quest requesting item delivery but if it specifies harvesting the items then you actually have to grind and collect that number AFTER picking up the quest. For the hardwood, mahogany trees drop a lot more than chopping stumps! If you have any mature mahogany trees or can get to Ginger Island where they grow in the wild you can complete the quest faster.

Example: A 2-part quest for collecting and then delivering 100 bug meat. When viewing the quest log it will show you the number collected after receiving the quest as well as the number delivered. Often I drop off existing inventory to complete the delivery half of the quest and then, in this example, go back to killing bugs until bed time so I can hit the collection goal. The quest is only done when both halves, collection and delivery, are complete.

 

[Worblehat]

Thanks folks. The mahogany tree plan sounds good, for whenever Robin's quest shows up again. I do have one mahogany tree, just now matured from a seed I got somehow (looking at the wiki, probably from chopping a Large stump or log on the farm at some point). I planted it near the mushroom cave, so I'll try to remember to shake it every morning and hopefully get more seeds to grow a little mahogany grove.

Good point about the design motivation for requiring material collection after accepting the quest. Makes sense, just not what I'm used to yet...

Re: shadow brutes, I was able to get to level 90 on a maximum luck day, only faced a couple of them and didn't die. The Obsidian Edge looks like it should be good heading further down.

 

[LRangerR]

Thanks folks. The mahogany tree plan sounds good, for whenever Robin's quest shows up again. I do have one mahogany tree, just now matured from a seed I got somehow (looking at the wiki, probably from chopping a Large stump or log on the farm at some point). I planted it near the mushroom cave, so I'll try to remember to shake it every morning and hopefully get more seeds to grow a little mahogany grove.

Good point about the design motivation for requiring material collection after accepting the quest. Makes sense, just not what I'm used to yet...

Re: shadow brutes, I was able to get to level 90 on a maximum luck day, only faced a couple of them and didn't die. The Obsidian Edge looks like it should be good heading further down.

If you have access to the secret woods then you can get plenty of them there from chopping the stumps. Before you know it you'll snowball.

 

[imnvs]

The mahogany tree plan sounds good, for whenever Robin's quest shows up again. I do have one mahogany tree, just now matured from a seed I got somehow (looking at the wiki, probably from chopping a Large stump or log on the farm at some point). I planted it near the mushroom cave, so I'll try to remember to shake it every morning and hopefully get more seeds to grow a little mahogany grove.

If you keep going to the secret woods, you should get a few more seeds. You don't want to be planting the trees when Robin asks. Even with tree fertilizer it takes a week for trees to grow and that's all the time you have.

 

[LRangerR]

If you keep going to the secret woods, you should get a few more seeds. You don't want to be planting the trees when Robin asks. Even with tree fertilizer it takes a week for trees to grow and that's all the time you have.

It's 80 hardwood right? That's honestly not that much, and if you do the math you don't even need Mahogany as long as you start going to the secret woods on Monday.

edit- oof, missed your post about that.

 

[Elenna101]

If you keep going to the secret woods, you should get a few more seeds. You don't want to be planting the trees when Robin asks. Even with tree fertilizer it takes a week for trees to grow and that's all the time you have.

Even with tree fertilizer, it's not a 100% chance for mahogany trees to grow (unlike with maple/oak/pine trees), only a 60% chance per night.

 

[LRangerR]

Even with tree fertilizer, it's not a 100% chance for mahogany trees to grow (unlike with maple/oak/pine trees), only a 60% chance per night.

After a certain point it doesn't matter. See spoiler for giant oversized picture of my farm.

Spoiler

I kinda never have to worry about hardwood. :3

And for some reason I still don't have a horse

Edit- Immediately after posting this a meteor landed on my farm, oi.

 

[imnvs]

It's 80 hardwood right? That's honestly not that much, and if you do the math you don't even need Mahogany as long as you start going to the secret woods on Monday.

Yes, if you make it to the Secret Woods every day it will take a week to finish (Foresters could maybe get it done quicker). A lot of people would like to not have to go every day, though. The mahogany trees make it easier.

Even with tree fertilizer, it's not a 100% chance for mahogany trees to grow (unlike with maple/oak/pine trees), only a 60% chance per night.

I'd forgotten about that, yes. You risk not having trees mature unless you plant them ahead of time, and without tree fertilizer, well ahead of time.

And for some reason I still don't have a horse

Dude, get a horse. Travel is SO much quicker with one. It's like drinking three cups of coffee at once that stack.

 

[Elenna101]

Dude, get a horse. Travel is SO much quicker with one. It's like drinking three cups of coffee at once that stack.

Plus, now there's the horse flute! Which solves the problem I always had of never using the horse because it got abandoned after a minecart ride or totem/scepter/obelisk use.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Dude, get a horse. Travel is SO much quicker with one. It's like drinking three cups of coffee at once that stack.

A word of warning about the Horse: The speed buff is great but then you try Coffee, which stacks with the Horse's speed buff. And then Pepper Poppers. Hey, this thing is pretty useful now!

And then the inevitable. Ginger Island, Haley forgets to pack your Pepper n' Coffee lunch 'cuz she's out with her Camera. And you're stuck in quicksand for the rest of the day. You'll never even make it to the other side of the island before nightfall, when the Parrots turn evil.

Well, more evil. Forget it, just lie prone on the Beach and channel Robinson Crusoe. Your life will end here.


Moral of the story: always carry a Return Sceptre


Or a Warp Totem: Farm if you're cheap.

 

[LRangerR]

Well, more evil. Forget it, just lie prone on the Beach and channel Robinson Crusoe. Your life will end here.

WILLSSOOOOONNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Worblehat]

When would be a reasonable baseline to expect to have all four Dwarf Scrolls? I'm missing #2; not sure whether that's cause to do intensive farming in the mines (seems like the iron levels would be the way to go, killing bats, dust sprites, and blue slimes) or if that's totally normal RNG and I shouldn't have any expectation of being able to talk to the Dwarf before, what, late Y2, Y3, something like that?

What is the use case for Fiber Seeds? I have ludicrous amounts of Fiber in one of my chests, so being able to spend something mildly useful (Mixed Seeds) to get more just doesn't make sense, to the point that I don't get why Fiber Seeds are even in the game...

How often does a train pass through the Railroad? According to the wiki, there'd be a popup announcement, so I'd definitely notice (I'm not at all sure I'd notice if it was just an auditory cue from the train whistle sound effect). It's been more than two seasons now, and I haven't seen anything. And I've spent a fair amount of that time outdoors.

Re: hardwood, the mahogany grove has reproduced with impressive speed, so Robin's special order will be pretty easy whenever it turns up again. Thanks!

I didn't see a thread for amusing anecdotes, so I'll put this here because it's just too good not to write down: I was checking the trash in town, which is a perfectly normal thing that normal people do around here. Found a ruby in Evelyn & George's trash. Checked the quest board at Pierre's - Alex would very much like a ruby right now. Hmm, what exactly was he doing with his grandmother's jewelry??

 

[imnvs]

When would be a reasonable baseline to expect to have all four Dwarf Scrolls? I'm missing #2; not sure whether that's cause to do intensive farming in the mines (seems like the iron levels would be the way to go, killing bats, dust sprites, and blue slimes) or if that's totally normal RNG and I shouldn't have any expectation of being able to talk to the Dwarf before, what, late Y2, Y3, something like that?

What is the use case for Fiber Seeds? I have ludicrous amounts of Fiber in one of my chests, so being able to spend something mildly useful (Mixed Seeds) to get more just doesn't make sense, to the point that I don't get why Fiber Seeds are even in the game...

How often does a train pass through the Railroad? According to the wiki, there'd be a popup announcement, so I'd definitely notice (I'm not at all sure I'd notice if it was just an auditory cue from the train whistle sound effect). It's been more than two seasons now, and I haven't seen anything. And I've spent a fair amount of that time outdoors.

It always seems that it takes forever to find one of the dwarf scrolls in every save, and it is never the same one.

Fiber seeds are good because then you can control your fiber stockpile instead of have to hunt for fiber. Some things do require fiber, some things you may want to craft in bulk, like tree fertilizer and wild bait, and believe me, you can exhaust your supply if you get at all ambitious.

The train passes through town occasionally, no guaranteed interval. You will only get the popup if you are outside and above ground at the moment the popup triggers. If you're inside for even 20 seconds real time and during that time it happens, you won't get any notification of any sort.

 

[Salty1]

When would be a reasonable baseline to expect to have all four Dwarf Scrolls? I'm missing #2; not sure whether that's cause to do intensive farming in the mines (seems like the iron levels would be the way to go, killing bats, dust sprites, and blue slimes) or if that's totally normal RNG and I shouldn't have any expectation of being able to talk to the Dwarf before, what, late Y2, Y3, something like that?

It is simply RNG, which can make it rather merciless. I really wanted it when playing my very first farm, but he didn't get his last scroll until near the end of year 2. On other farms, I've had all the scrolls before getting to the bottom of the mines. Ice levels do sound like the best area to stick to for that based on my own experience (nevermind that getting sprite kills towards the burglar ring is always worthwhile).

What is the use case for Fiber Seeds? I have ludicrous amounts of Fiber in one of my chests, so being able to spend something mildly useful (Mixed Seeds) to get more just doesn't make sense, to the point that I don't get why Fiber Seeds are even in the game...

A variety of things, but I find using it for wild bait is where most of it goes, so if you want to get the most profit out of fishing then you'll want a lot of fiber. There's also the totems you might sometimes make, tea saplings if you plan to have any tea in your operation, tree fertilizer if you can't get wood fast enough, deluxe retaining soil once you can craft it, and really... it's a niche resource for so many decorative things too. If you're not using fiber seeds, that's well and fine - you don't want to be in a position where you're tempted to craft it. But do save it, since it is likely at some point you'll need it and the sell value is so low you'll be kicking yourself later.

How often does a train pass through the Railroad? According to the wiki, there'd be a popup announcement, so I'd definitely notice (I'm not at all sure I'd notice if it was just an auditory cue from the train whistle sound effect). It's been more than two seasons now, and I haven't seen anything. And I've spent a fair amount of that time outdoors.

Generally infrequently, but I've noticed it has varied from save to save. You generally don't get a lot from the trains (sometimes they even drop nothing), but if you're nearby it can be fun to watch. I find they tend to show up slightly more in winter, but this might just be my personal experiences and might have little bearing on the raw probability.

 

[Worblehat]

So wild bait is actually a priority item to use? I looked at the recipe and dismissed it as a niche luxury, since it's 5x less efficient at turning bug meat into bait, and also requires slime. Which I have, but not in the immense quantities that any significant use of wild bait would require. Thus far my fishing has mostly been limited by bug meat with which to make regular bait. (I really need to get the Iridium Rod, too, but this game does a fantastic job of always having a ton of things one wants to spend money on!).

Hmm, that reminds me, I think I do have the ability to craft a Worm Bin, and Keg production is currently copper-limited so I should have the gold and iron bars. Right, I should make one of those! And try some wild bait whenever I'm trying for something valuable (catfish on a rainy day in Spring, I guess?).

 

[Anhaga]

So wild bait is actually a priority item to use? I looked at the recipe and dismissed it as a niche luxury, since it's 5x less efficient at turning bug meat into bait, and also requires slime. Which I have, but not in the immense quantities that any significant use of wild bait would require. Thus far my fishing has mostly been limited by bug meat with which to make regular bait. (I really need to get the Iridium Rod, too, but this game does a fantastic job of always having a ton of things one wants to spend money on!).

Wild bait can be very nice especially if you're fishing for tough fish like sturgeon, lingcod, super cucumber, octopus, scorpion carp, etc. The chance to get two fish is really lovely. Wild bait also is "stronger" when it comes to attracting fish, cutting the average time compared to regular bait. If you're not fishing all the time for tons of small fish, wild bait can be lovely.

 

[Lew Zealand]

I have a pond for Slimejack and Pike for the express purpose of making Wild Bait. Of course by the time I get those ponds up and running, I've moved on from Fishing to other activities.

'Cuz I'm sooo good at planning.