Stardew Valley offers a plethora of activities, but mining stands as one of the most crucial. Especially for newbies, progressing through the mine floors can feel overwhelming. This guide aims to ease that stress, focusing on how to efficiently navigate floors 1–20.
Preparing for the Dive
Before you even step into the mine, it’s essential to get your inventory sorted. You don’t need much aside from your pickaxe and some food items. Clearing your backpack while mining consumes time and energy, so it’s wise to upgrade to the 2000G backpack beforehand. While you can mine with just the starter backpack, it’s less efficient and far more cumbersome.
Pro Tip: Storage Chests at Mine Entrance
Place a storage chest near the mine entrance. Whenever you hit an elevator floor, you can use this chest to store items generated from mining. You can add more chests as you progress to hold onto valuable items and resources.
Food Choices for Mining
When it comes to food, bring what you have. Fish like Iridium Star-quality Carp and Smallmouth Bass are excellent options. If those aren’t available, Gold Star-quality ones will do. Don’t eat normal quality fish; save the higher-quality ones for a better energy-to-cost ratio. If you’re good at fishing, selling some fish to buy Salad is also a viable strategy, as the energy return on Salad often outpaces most fish.
Weaponry and Tools
Having a Neptune’s Glaive or Trident makes the experience much smoother. But don’t fret if you only have a Rusty Sword. The key is to not let the lack of an elite weapon discourage you from mining.
Arranging Inventory
Place your pickaxe, weapon, and food items in the hotbar positions you’re most comfortable with. Developing a habit of where your essentials are can greatly enhance your operational efficiency.
Basic Mining Operations
Mining involves three fundamental activities:
- Breaking rocks with your pickaxe
- Combat with your weapon
- Consuming food for energy
The Importance of Timing and Observation
When you break rocks, try tapping the mouse button instead of holding it down to speed up the process. While combating, a quicker mouse click can also make your weapon swing faster.
However, the first thing you should do upon entering a new floor is observe. Look for the number of monsters, the arrangement of rocks, and, most importantly, any visible ladders.
Vision and Luck Factors
Expand your vision settings if possible, as a wider field of view helps you identify key elements more quickly. Moreover, your daily luck can have a significant impact on your mining speed. On good luck days, consider mining aggressively, as ladders and resources will be easier to come by.
Dealing with Monsters
Monsters in the earlier floors aren’t that challenging. Bugs can be defeated instantly, and slimes can be pushed back and cornered against a wall. Each defeated monster has a 15% chance of dropping a ladder. So, when luck isn’t on your side, focus more on combat to proceed.
Special Consideration for Annoying Foes
Be cautious of Sand Bugs and Crabs disguised as rocks. They can be particularly annoying and may disrupt your mining flow.
Importance of Resource Collection
While progressing through floors is essential, don’t ignore valuable resources like Copper Ore. Smash wooden barrels when convenient, as they might contain rings or Cave Carrots. Always remember to collect coal from mine carts.
Note on Elevator Floors
If it’s getting late and you’re close to an elevator floor, consider focusing only on finding the ladder to unlock the elevator, even if it means skipping resources.
Encountering Flies After Floor 15
After the 15th floor, you’ll start encountering flies. Take them down one at a time to ensure safety.
Prioritizing Health
Always keep an eye on your health bar. If you’re running low on health and are overwhelmed by monsters, it may be best to leave the mine.
In summary, floors 1–20 of Stardew Valley’s mines don’t pose too much of a challenge if you are well-prepared and make smart choices. A well-organized mining trip can even see you progressing 20 floors in a day, provided your luck isn’t too bad. Happy mining!