Basics of Stardew Valley- 4/04/19

Stardew Valley is a great casual game that is played my millions. It is relaxing and fun. However, for a new player, you may be wondering if its even possibe to play the game without using the Stardew Valley Wiki. However, if you know the basics you'll find this game very fun!

The First Thing to Do is pick a farm layout that you want to achieve. This is important so you know a goal to work towards. Would you like to prioritise farming, animals, artisan goods, a bit of all? The farm layout I chose is at the bottom of this post. To pick a layout, simply go to google an type, "stardew valley farm layouts". Pick the one that looks cool to you. For me, the important thing is how beautiful and aesthetically pleasing my farm looks. My farm layout i wanted to work towards was just that.

There are several MUST DO things when you make a world:

1. Meet all the town people and build your relationships right of the bat. The way to do this is to give gifts to them. Different people like different things. For example, Emily and Abigail love minerals while Leah loves natural foraging items and farm produce. She also loves Salad. Use the Star Dew Wiki to find out just what they hat, dislike, like and love. Aim for the "Loves" but most of the time they aren't easily acquired items. 
2. Mine Mine Mine! Mining is SO important. I cannot stress the importance of it enough. Mining allows you to get the materials needed to craft processing machines which turn produce into artisan goods which is far more valuable. For example milk into cheese and eggs into mayonnaise. Aim to get at least level 60 in the mines by the first year.
3. Min/Max. This means choose one or two in game skills (which you can level up by doing that particular activity. For example mining increases your mining level). While you prioritise on a couple, you forget for the moment about skills you deem unimportant(For me the obvious choice was fishing). Every time you level up any skill you get either a new crafting recipe for a new thing or a in game perk. I advise to priotise on farming and mining skills as they'll help you to progress quickly as those two run hand in hand.
4. Donate to Gunther. Gunther is the museum owner. At the start his museum has no artifacts. Your job is to find artifacts and donate them. The best way to do this is to process geodes and going mining. When you donate Gunther gives you rewards for your generosity, and these rewards can greatly boost your progress in the game.

You can buy structures by going to Robin. The first building you'll want to make is a Silo. It stores hay for the winter as grass dies in Winter. Because of this, before even thinking about raising animals, you need to build a Silo. Hay is what animals eat and if they cant eat they get grumpy and may even die( I dont know as i have never starved my animals. I'm a good boy lol). After you make a Silo, make a Coop. With a Coop you can raise chickens. If you upgrade your coop you can hold more animals and you can also have ducks. The third structure to build is your choice and doesnt really matter. Do you build the Barn to raise cows, sheep, goat and dinosaurs, or do you upgrade your house to have a kitchen in which you can cook food in. Both are good options. The Barn allows you to make money incredibly fast while the House Upgrade means you can cook food, meaning you can be in the mines for longer with that extra bit of energy. I chose the House upgrade but it doesn't really matter. Next you'll want to upgrade your coop so you can have Ducks. While Ducks still give you eggs, theirs is much more valuable than chickens eggs. 

Now a huge decision you have to make: Joja Membership or Community Centre. Each has its pros and Cons:

Joja Membership:

Pros: 

1. Quick in game progress
2. Shopkeepers tend their shop more- if you build the Community Centre the shopkeepers take leaves during business hours to hang out with other people.

Cons:

1. You'll be living a guilty life. In the game Joja Corps are the bad guys. Siding with them is like officially becoming a criminal in the eyes of the town inhabitants.
2. There's huge Joja Mart adverts everywhere on huge billboards.
3. The Community Centre turns into a huge factory
4. Rumour has it that the Junimos(inhabitants and holy spirits of the Community Centre) are used by Joja Corps as slaves to run the machinery...

Well the Pros and Cons are the opposite of what Joja Mart has so you can work it out for yourself. Fast in game progress ----> Slow in game progress, etc...

Well all in all this game is a casual game- Enjoy it, there's no rush. If you grind and time skip it'll only make the game boring for you.

My Farm Layout Goal: