Summary
While Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game, there are a lot of other skills your character will have to learn and level up. One of the most important skills of them all is Foraging. Unfortunately, boosting your proficiency in this skill can be quite a long-winded process.
It doesn’t have to be such an uphill task if you tackle it head on, though. There are a lot of ways you can gain Foraging experience, some of which players may be unaware of as they might not seem very intuitive. These tips and tricks will show you some effective ways to do this, helping you achieve those Foraging goals efficiently.
9Play On The Forest Farm Map
The Only Farm That Spawns Its Own Foraging Items
If you haven’t started your journey in Stardew Valley yet, or if you’re creating a brand new save file, one way you’re able to instantly enhance your ability to forage is by choosing the Forest Farm map to play on. This doesn’t mean that your Foraging skill will never grow if you pick a different map, but this farm gives you a unique advantage.
Unlike the other farm maps in the game, the Forest Farmwill spawn items that can be foraged right there on your property. This means that, while other farmers have to go searching all across the Valley for the occasional Leek or Spice Berry, you can relax and let the easy Foraging experience flow.
8Grab The Spring Onions
A Valuable Vegetable That Can Really Save You In The Early Game
Some players either forget about this tip or simply don’t know, but during Spring,Spring Onionspop up in the Cindersap Forest. You have to travel all the way down to the South to find them, and they may not spawn every single day, but these are crucial for your early days on the farm.
Not only do these wonderful plants give you some Foraging experience, but they are also a free source of energy. You can use this boon to take into the Mines; or you can keep it on your person as you chop trees, create spaces to plant seeds, or complete any other activities you may be working on. However you use them, Spring Onions can prove invaluable.
7Consider A Regular Schedule For Foraging
Focus On The Wide Range Of Available Foraging Goods
The act offoraging, unsurprisingly enough, is central to gaining experience in the Foraging skill. As you walk around and introduce yourself to the locals in Pelican Town, then, you’ve probably seen Leeks,Wild Horseradish, and all the other goods that can be foraged during the Spring in addition to Spring Onions.
When you do, you should pick them up on sight. Now, you can decide instead to devote a single day of your week to going around the whole of Stardew Valley to grab these natural goodies, if that suits your approach to play. Whatever you do, though, don’t ignore them. It’s true that they only give seven experience points per item, but that will add up quite quickly over time.
The best day to go foraging is a Saturday, as all the goods that can be foraged reset on Sundays. However, note that some of these items, like Spring Onions and Berry Bushes, respawn every day independent of this rule.
6Make And Plant Wild Seeds
Prioritizing Foraging Boosts Over Farming Bonuses
When you gain your first level in Foraging, you’ll notice that you’re given the crafting recipe for Spring Wild Seeds. You may be tempted to sell all the foraging items you pick up, but be sure to hold on to some of them so you may turn them into these helpful seeds.
You don’t get any experience for crafting them, which is unfortunate, but it’s still very helpful to do so. If you plant them around your farm in place of some crops, you won’t gain any Farming experience when they’re ready to harvest. Instead, all the experience will go toward your Foraging skill. It’s up to you to plan your farm’s layout and the order in which you harvest things, so the advantages go to where you need them most.
5Fruit Bats May Be More Useful Than Mushrooms
Consider The Choice Between The Cave Types Carefully
It’s the age-old Stardew Valley debate:do you get the Fruit Bats or the Mushroom Cave? Once you’ve made a cool 25,000 gold on your farm, Demetrius will show up and ask which one of those two options you want. Mushrooms may have more overall utility, but as far as the Foraging skill goes, you’ll want to choose the Fruit Bats.
Overnight, Demetrius fills the farm cave with Fruit Bats (it’s not very clear how). These bats can be very helpful friends because, true to their name, they’ll drop fruit all over the cave. Whenever you pick up one of these pieces of fruit, regardless of the variety, you will gain Foraging experience points. If you’re looking to boost this skill, then, cleanup operations in this cave should be a priority.
4Upgrade Your Axe As Soon As Possible
The Key To Expanding Your Horizons And Accessing More Foraging Spots
Once you’ve gathered enough Copper from the Mines to start considering some tool upgrades, you may be torn. Each option offers its own unique bonuses, all of which are more than worth the effort. If you want to pump your Foraging skill up as quickly as possible, however, Axe upgrades should be your first priority.
Once you have a Copper Axe, you’ll be able to break the big stumps on your farm and in the Secret Woods. After that, when you’ve upgraded to the Iron Axe, you’ll be able to destroy the big logs on your farm as well as the one blocking you from entering the Secret Woods. With that achieved, Foraging experience will be rather easier to come by. In addition, these upgrades will make chopping down normal trees much easier. This table will show you exactly how to acquire each level of Axe Upgrade:
2,000g
5,000g
10,000g
25,000g
3Cut Down And Replant As Many Trees As Possible
The First Steps To A Steady Stream Of Foraging Experience
The Lorax would be so displeased, but you should, in fact, cut down all the trees. You’ll notice as soon as you start up your farm that it is covered in trees. The Cindersap Forest is filled with them as well. Cutting them down doesn’t only free up some space for you to use to develop your farm, it also yields some valuable experience for your character.
Instead of just waiting for the trees to grow back, you can plant your own seeds to provide a steady supply of trees, wood, and experience. On top of that, thePine Tar,Maple Syrup, andOak Resindrops the trees will produce are very valuable as well.
Note that the seeds you need to replant are also used to make Field Snacks, a very important source of energy in the early game. Efficient play lies in balancing your supplies of different resources.
2Rebuild The Beach Bridge
Experience Aplenty Lies On The Opposite Side
While you explore Stardew Valley looking for items to forage, you should be scanning the beach for anything and everything you can pick up. While there, you’ll surely notice the broken bridge, and might wonder whether it’s worth the resources to repair it.
If you’ve been following this list, you should have lots of wood in your chests and pockets. You will indeed want to use some to rebuild the bridge, because on the other side of it are items that can be foraged. Not only will they give you experience when you pick them up, but they can also be sold for a decent amount of gold.
1Visit The Secret Woods Daily
It’s tricky to make quick, consistent progress with your Foraging skill. While you wait for your trees to grow or your Wild Seeds to sprout, there can be a lull in Foraging experience for you to gain. If you go tothe elusive Secret Woodsevery day, however, you’ll be able to keep gaining points during these periods.
There are six large stumps that respawn every single day. Large stumps of wood give you 25 experience points each. As such, adding the Secret Woods to your daily to-do list will mean you’ll be getting 150 experience every time you visit, at the very least. This will prove to be a very helpful regular detour.
