Why do I stall when I get to year 2?

[Slypenslyde]

I've played off and on since the game released on Switch. I started a new game when 1.6 came out because I'm silly and didn't realize Switch hadn't updated yet. By the time I was thinking, "Isn't there supposed to be green rain?" I was already far enough I didn't want to stop.

My year 1 goes pretty good in my opinion, though I'm still not quite good enough to get the greenhouse reliably. (I forgot I needed **5** high quality melons until it was too late!) But I got all my tools upgraded to gold, got through the mines, and actually beat my last farm's income level. I spent a lot of Spring finishing up some projects like having enough sprinklers and getting a handful of pigs.

Now I'm at the part where I know I need iridium. And this is where I stall. I feel like I just can't make a dent in the Skull Cavern. There's no way I can get down to floor 40 unless I invest a ton of money into bombs and food. I want to spend that money on building upgrades. I'm squishy and can't handle the monsters. So I hem and I haw and I waste days. I can't remember what I did at this point in my last game. I had a Greenhouse then but I know that doesn't lead to any better combat tech.

What do you do to gear up for your first trip to the Skull Caverns? This is the part of SV I do the worst in. Also keep in mind I'm still playing 1.5 on Switch, so don't suggest any 1.6 goodies!

 

[chaskuchar]

iridium is a problem for me. i go to skull cavern on level one to where-ever i can get to find iridium. its a fantastic day when i get a whole bar. i now have 4 bars to get the boat fixed for willy. i have the slime ring so that helps now. i am playing on xbox so i don't have the new one yet there. i do have it on pc.

 

[Slypenslyde]

Fun story!

I decided to buy about 20 bombs and just YOLO. Got a small haul and felt lucky that I got a farm warp totem as a drop from an early monster. Got down to about floor 8 and hit the big spiral. So I warped back.

And I'm stuck. A tree grew next to my warp destination. A second tree has sprouted. My horse stable is to my right. I only brought a pickaxe and sword to the caverns. So I'm just sitting here. Waiting to collapse. Thinking about how smart it would be to place some flooring so this can't happen.

 

[VampireCake]

If your combat level is low, keep fighting in the mines for now to bring it up.

For equipment, Space Boots, and Lava Katana if you don't have a Galaxy Sword yet. Finish the slimes monster eradication goal to get the slime charmer ring, it'll give you some breathing room to concentrate on the harder monsters.

If you've upgraded the farmhouse to have access to the kitchen, stick a bunch of crab pots somewhere and use whatever you catch to make sashimi - it's decent enough food until you can get something better, and only requires any type of fish. Coffee for speed boost. Build up a good stock.

If you can make explosive ammo, do. It's more resource-heavy but faster than bombs.

One thing to know about those Serpents in the Skull Cave, they have a bigger hitbox than you probably think. Swing early, you can knock them back quite a way.

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck.

 

[24k Ancient Fruit]

Practice your combat:

Set aside your current day as a "Practice day" for combat -- a day which you can repeat over and over again (without sleeping/saving) until you get the hang of combat. Bring plenty of food, even if it means breaking the bank on Salads from the Saloon. The idea is to spend the entire day in Skull Caverns entering floor 1, fight all the enemies there, leave the floor, then rinse and repeat until you are comfortable fighting the various enemies there. If you manage to find a ladder or a hole early on the floor, then don't use it until you have fought and conquered all the enemies on the floor. If you had found a ladder, then use it; otherwise, leave the mines and re-enter Floor 1. The purpose here is NOT to get as deep into the Skull Caverns as possible; it is to practice fighting monsters. At the end of the day (around 1:40ish AM), quit the game without sleeping/saving.

When fighting monsters, try to become comfortable with timing your swings of your weapon(s) of choice. It may not happen overnight, but the more you practice, the better you will find yourself getting in combat.

One thing to know about those Serpents in the Skull Cave, they have a bigger hitbox than you probably think. Swing early, you can knock them back quite a way.

Man oh man! Tell me about it! Those Serpents were a pain in the butt to get used to! I would say that Serpents are the #1 reason that players have problems in Skull Caverns.

The trick to fighting them is to swing your weapon earlier than you normally would when fighting any other type of enemy. Thanks to that bigger hitbox on Serpents that VC had mentioned, if you wait until the Serpent is visibly right next to you before you swing, then you will end up taking damage and trading hits with the Serpent. Timing is everything! As with anything else, it just takes practice.

I remember the time that I used to be terrible at combat too. The method that I described above was what I used to conquer my fear of Skull Caverns.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

It may be a matter of hitting a content roadblock as opposed to the year, and they just coincide with one another.

Finishing the community center feels far far slower once you're forced into that second year and you're replaying the same months waiting for items you need.

I'd personally try to look further ahead instead of getting stuck in the present, my tip would be to prepare for the boat to ginger island, you'll need batteries, hardwood, and iridium.
This'll keep you looking out at the horizon rather than focusing on the things you can't really get ahead with right now (like cc items that are gatelocked behind another season)

 

[Gardening Spirit]

I like to have some random goals to get me further than Year 2 like make the farm look more aesthetic, get more sheds and set them up to make more money with casks etc.

 

[Slypenslyde]

So I played some more, and this was what I felt and it was also a correct observation:

It may be a matter of hitting a content roadblock as opposed to the year, and they just coincide with one another.

The "content roadblock" is I hadn't established my income enough *and* I was reaching the point where I felt iridium was needed to progress. Then the pigs I bought earlier started producing Truffles.

With my barns full I was spending a lot of the day dealing with animals so I decided to save up for auto-grabbers and work on paths on my farm and foraging/tree farming. This kept me stupid busy. Then I decided to save up for lava katana, which was a good upgrade. This is when I discovered an idiot moment: I only needed parsnips for the quality crops bundle and I could've had the greenhouse a season earlier. Oops!

Setting up the greenhouse spent my money and time the next few days, interspersed with the Luau. Now the only thing between me and finishing the Community Center is the apples, but I've got a tree planted that'll start producing fruit on Fall 12. Maybe I'll get lucky with the fruit cave, but so far I only have 2 apples. The trader has NOT been my friend this run. Now I'm occupying myself with befriending the harder-to-reach people like the Wizard while I slowly accumulate bombs/food and make cave dives on good luck days.

I'm turning this into a series of lessons learned for future runs:

• I NEED to buy an apple tree in Spring. Relying on the fruit cave and trader sucks.
• I NEED to remember it's 5 items for the quality crops bundle, I forget this every run.
• I want to try getting at least one pig before the first winter, truffle money is no joke and it pays for itself very quickly.
• I want to work harder to establish a coffee bean economy, I always forget they are a Spring/Summer plant instead of Summer exclusive.
• I should remember to stop holding coffee beans while I'm harvesting unless I really want more coffee plants.

 

[VampireCake]

That sounds like great progress! I know feeling stuck can be annoying, but you'll get there eventually.

I've found it helpful to have a notebook for stuff I need to remember - and in my case, lots of lists and ticky boxes.

 

[24k Ancient Fruit]

I've found it helpful to have a notebook for stuff I need to remember - and in my case, lots of lists and ticky boxes.

I did this too until I discovered a wonderful mod called "To-Dew List"

 

[VampireCake]

I did this too until I discovered a wonderful mod called "To-Dew List"

Oh that's a great name. Props to whoever called it that.

I like having a physical notebook, and I'm one of those people who enjoys making lists - a plus if you're a completionist with a terrible memory. I may or may not have recently got a nice notebook and neatly re-written all my notes so it looks pretty.

 

[PoppyForPenny]

I think your timing is going unusual. I never need much iridium until year 3, when I conveniently have the statue that gives iridium every day. You get that statue by acing grandpa's evaluation on the last night of year 2. I spend the first two years making sure I get enough points to get the statue.

 

[stardew_luv]

This! And once you hit that magic number of points needed for 4 star eval, then you can finish the season, harvest. Sell animal if you wish. Then sleep until spring 1 year 3 with the eval and you’ll get 3-8 depending on luck iridium ores per day. It can add up.