Year 5 and one artifact to go, need advice.

[SciFiSushi]

I’m trying to achieve perfection. I only have to find the bone flute. I’m in year 5 of the game and I’ve been doing lots of Mining runs for omnigeodes to trade for artifacts troves. I’ve opened over 100 and still haven’t found the bone flute. I’ve also gone around the map often hoeing up artifact spots and still no luck. What am I missing? It’s driving me crazy!

 

[Lew Zealand]

Hello SciFiSushi and Welcome to the Forums! Change your Fishing Profession to Pirate and do a lot of Fishing unless you don't like the Fishing minigame. I have been getting a lot of Treasure Chests as Dread Pirate Sparkle Queen Bobbi and found a Bone Flute that way.

Plus they give you free Mead at the Pirate Cove, it's a win-win!

 

[ArtifactSpot]

I have found bone flute near railroad tracks and cindersap forest digging up artifact spots. Also winter makes it easiest to find them.

 

[Quirinea]

Stardew Predictor let's you see what you get from artifact troves: https://mouseypounds.github.io/stardew-predictor/

Otherwise that sounds just like the "curse of the missing artifact", there seems to be in every game one that usually should be fairly common but that just not does appear (and after you finally find one, they start to pop up en massé...)

 

[SciFiSushi]

Thanks for the tips! My goal is to try and achieve perfection before the new update. So I can start all over

 

[PoppyForPenny]

You can find the bone flute at worm spots in the forest, mountain, or town. I have found it at the railyard, near Linus, in the quarry, the cemetery, Pam's yard, and the spring onion place. But my favorite, and twice, I've dug it up near where Abigail plays her flute by the lake. (Is it hers? Did she make it? Is she ten thousand years old?) You can also get it in fishing chests or artifact troves.

 

[Maher]

Bupkis, in my Joja save, did what you did with the artifact troves. In year 7(!) two artifact troves in a row held bone flutes.

As for the predictor, I love it for prehistoric floors, but for geode cracking it's only ever told me how much despair I should be in over the missing whosit.

 

[SciFiSushi]

Bupkis, in my Joja save, did what you did with the artifact troves. In year 7(!) two artifact troves in a row held bone flutes.

As for the predictor, I love it for prehistoric floors, but for geode cracking it's only ever told me how much despair I should be in over the missing whosit.

Noooo year 7? I don’t think I can grind in the mines for another in game two years lol 🫣

Also I checked out the predictor and realized I can’t use it because my current play through is on the switch. Bummer.

 

[Maher]

Noooo year 7? I don’t think I can grind in the mines for another in game two years lol 🫣

Your mileage may vary.

If you've flipped the mountain caverns to dangerous, vomit ghosts produce omni geodes pretty steadily. That's how I got most of my artifact troves.

 

[VampireCake]

Your mileage may vary.

If you've flipped the mountain caverns to dangerous, vomit ghosts produce omni geodes pretty steadily. That's how I got most of my artifact troves.

Works with the ghosts on mummy levels in the Skull Cave too, both types have a 99% chance to drop an omni geode. The mummy floor ghosts die faster though.

 

[WitchwoodDev]

I've done perfection in two in-game years multiple times and never needed the predictor. I make sure to get Crusader enchanted on my weapon and a ton of crystalariums making jades to trade to the desert trader for staircases on Sunday. Then if I get Skull Cavern Invasion - great. If not, I just do normal Skull Cavern. But all I do is staircase down levels stopping at every floor with mummies and ghosts and kill all of the ghosts. I tend to get around 150 omni geodes a day with this method which can be traded for artifact troves. With two days worth of troves you have about a 90% chance to get any specific artifact.

 

[ISSsloth]

Looking at the statistics on the wiki, the best places for artifact spots would be the mountain and forest. Bone flutes can also be dug up in town, but with a slightly lower chance than the other 2. If you're focusing on this, I'd recommend changing your foraging profession to tracker, and enchant your hoe with archaeologist.

If you to focus on fishing up the flute, I would take Lew Zealand's advice and swap your fishing profession to pirate. Additionally, using either a treasure chest or magnet tackle will increase your chances. Magnet will increase the chest probability by 15%. Treasure chest tackle will only increase the chance by 5%, but it will make it much easier to actually catch the chest once it's spawned.

I wouldn't recommend focusing on artifact troves, since they have almost half the likelihood of producing a bone flute, and are difficult to collect quickly.

Good luck searching!

 

[SciFiSushi]

So if I try the fishing route is there a better place to fish or is there an equal chance for it to appear anywhere I fish?

 

[Ereo]

So if I try the fishing route is there a better place to fish or is there an equal chance for it to appear anywhere I fish?

For fishing treasure, it’s the same everywhere. Good luck days will have more treasure chests.

 

[Lew Zealand]

So if I try the fishing route is there a better place to fish or is there an equal chance for it to appear anywhere I fish?

What Ereo said, and Buff your Luck any way you can (Lucky Lunch, Ginger Ale, high Luck day) and change profession to Pirate. Use the Dressed Spinner for Tackle to increase bite rate. I went through 2-3 Dressed Spinners per day when I was mainlining Fishing for Special Orders Board requests. Keep a Chest close by in a safe spot as you'll get enough Fish and Loot to fill your inventory at least once per day.

 

[Soap_the_gamer]

For me it was the Ancient Sword; I also couldn't find it until Year 5! But you're not really "missing" anything.. it's just the rng doing what it does best. Making everyone scream in frustration. You'll probably get it soon; Artifact Troves have a much higher chance of producing the bone flute (I think I've gotten a couple that way). The Artifact Troves are how I got the Ancient Sword eventually as well. If you go the fishing route as I see some people suggesting above, the chance of getting exactly what you want is around 0.7-0.8% chance per Fishing Treasure Chest, which only has the probability to occur a max of 50% of the time. I'd recommend Troves instead for that reason!

 

[SciFiSushi]

I finally got it!!!!! Found it in an artifact trove, and now perfection is complete! I wish there was a way to watch the cutscene again it was so cool!

I know it’s dumb, but I almost teared up when Grandpas ghost comes back and said how proud he is I’ve been going through a lot lately and I just love this game

 

[VampireCake]

I finally got it!!!!! Found it in an artifact trove, and now perfection is complete! I wish there was a way to watch the cutscene again it was so cool!

I know it’s dumb, but I almost teared up when Grandpas ghost comes back and said how proud he is I’ve been going through a lot lately and I just love this game

Not dumb at all. Congrats on perfection.