HOW TO PLAY STARDEW VALLEY: A BEGINNER GUIDE
Here’s a guide that will help you get Stardew Valley up and running. You will learn the basics and the story points to help you get started in the best RPG/Farming simulator on the market.
You’re probably reading this because you fell headfirst into Stardew Val and are now feeling lost. You should be able to understand the mechanics, controls, and story and you will be well on your way to returning Gramps farm to its former glory and revitalizing Pelican Town’s economy! This Stardew valleybeginner guide aims to provide a basic overview to help you get started.
Stardew valley is a robust and modern game with complex mechanics, despite its retro-styled pixels. It is the most popular farming simulator in its genre, easily surpassing other historical series like Harvest Moon. I’m not trying to make any conclusions about which farming sim/RPG is best. Instead, I am simply using its popularity to show that it is easily accessible to a broad range of people. The game has sold more than 20 million copies on just about every platform.
PLAYING YOUR GAME
We’ll start at the beginning. You’ve purchased the game and loaded it up. Now you are staring at the title screen. You won’t find much here so click “New” to start your game.
A WORD ON FARMTYPES – BE CAREFUL!
On the character creation screen, you can choose the type of farm that you want. You cannot change this setting once you start the game. So make sure to choose wisely! You will have different fishing, mining, and foraging options depending on the type of farm that you choose.
Stardew Valley is a new game.You should know that many farm perks have a catch. You cannot use sprinklers at the beach farm. However, items may wash up on the shoreline. Or pesky monsters might spawn at night, when you’re less likely to be tired. It’s best to go with the standard farm if you are new to the game.
When creating your character, make sure to choose the farm type you want. There are 7 options along the right side of the window.
ADVANCED GAME OPTIONS
The 1.5 update added the advanced game options menu that allows you to customize your experience. I advise novice players to be careful! You can also change the world seed. This affects the NNG that is used by the game to determine the location of items spawning and other random events. This is used mainly by speedrunners to manipulate events in-game to achieve their goals.
The majority of the items on the character creation screen can be used for cosmetic purposes. You can click on the dice at the top left corner to randomly generate your character. You can create a variety of characters using this menu. If you’re passionate about creating the right character, take your time and tweak it while listening to the relaxing background music. This was the hardest question I had to answer. Do I want a cat or a dog?
HOW TO PLAY STARDEW VALLEY
After you have created your character and chosen your animal companion, you will play through an intro where you will meet Robin and Mayor Lewis. It’s clear that Robin is the best person to upgrade your house, but that’s not all that important. Mayor Lewis does what it says, Mayor stuff.
You will find a parcel when you awake on the first day of spring in your cabin. Grab the parcel and go outside. There is not much happening in town during the first few hours of the game, so it’s worth spending that time getting to know the controls and clearing some space for farming.
START WITH THE BASICS
As a beginner, it is best to familiarize yourself and learn Stardew valley. This can be done by going outside and switching between your tools. After clearing the area, you can prepare the land with your hoe and then plant your seeds. Use the watering can to water your seeds after clearing an area.
There’s a lot more to this game. That is why I believe mastering the basics is the best way to get started. This is learning the controls and basic mechanics of this game. Stardew Valley is a farming simulator. However, it also has an interesting story, social mechanisms, and a robust crafting process. But you can ignore them until your are proficient in the basics. Don’t be afraid to cut down trees or break up rocks. You can always plant new ones later!
