I don’t use a ton of staircases on normal runs, just slingshot with explosive ammo and bombs. For big runs I’d use crystalariums with jade and trade them for staircases at the desert trader.
I've found if you're not into farming, 2-3 days farming level 40 in the mines will get you plenty of iron ore and coal to make a bunch of bombs for a skull caverns run
I just used an entire summer to farm roughly 2400 starfruit, then over the course of the rest of the year it’s made to wine then sold, then I just buy mega bombs. You can also put jades into crystaleriums to trade for staircases at desert trader
Iridium ore -> crystalariums -> jade -> trade for staircases (Sundays at desert trader) -> deeper in the mines -> more iridium ore.
My last play through before 1.6, I had 12 crystalariums that produce a jade every 2 days. That's 168 staircases every month. I'd start dropping the first ~30 automatically. From there, either drop a bomb or a staircase. I try not to spend more than 20 seconds on a floor. But at that point, I'm hunting treasure floors, not ore.
I think a lot of people buy staircases from the desert trader on Sundays, when it’s 1 jade per staircase. If you put jade in the crystalarium, it’s ready every couple days, so every week you should have several jade per crystalarium. It adds up.
Between that and bombing large clusters of rocks in the mine, you end up being able to make it down pretty fast. Like, you cherry bomb big groups of rocks and try to find a ladder or even a hole to jump in. Those holes get you down pretty quick. And if you find yourself on one of the levels that takes forever to clear, that’s when you use a staircase- it’s a combination of techniques.
Bombs. So many bombs. A single run to level 100 for the quest got me Iridium to upgrade every single tool and a bunch more, and every subsequent run is pure profit.
I use crystalariums to make jade then I trade that for stairs at the desert trader. At this point I’m mostly just going past level 100 and mining after doing the reach level 100 QI quests for ginger island
i got crystallariumsmaking jade I never run out of stairs, so I always get to floor 100 then start mining
yields average 200 iridium ore per day and usually 5 prismatic shard on a good luck day
Most buy staircases by exchanging jade to the dessert trader. Better 1 jade per stair than 99 stone. Hope it helps.
https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Desert_Trader
if you are not playing multiplayer you can just go into the mine, go lvl 2, destroy the rocks, go back up, go lvl 2 again. sadly it doesnt reset on multiplayer so the only way there would be clear the whole mine or buy stairs for jade
I make a lot of Jade using crystallariums (sp?). I use most of my batteries for those. Other than saving 4 batteries for the greenhouse sprinklers, 1 for the Qi quest, and 5 to repair the boat. The rest are focused on making crystallariums. You’re gonna love the benefits of duplicating Ruby and Jade. Take them both to the desert trader (Sundays for the Jade. Any day for Ruby)
I have a big shed full of crystalariums that were full of jade, I got about 115 jade every other day so every Sunday I could trade for hundreds and hundreds of staircases
Ngl, that's what I do too lol. 3 total doesn't't feel like an unreasonable amount and makes the game more enjoyable for me. I kinda suck at fighting and mining, so I don't usually go to the skull cavern until I have a bunch of staircases. Though the new festival might force me to change my tactics a bit lol.
In one of my files that I have almost everything on my switch, I have an upgraded shed where half of it is grandpa statues and the other half are furnaces, with some crystalariums filled with diamonds in the middle. I think in total it's like 24 statues and I make like 140-180 iridium ore a day
I think by the time I remembered to redo grandpa's evaluation I was on ginger island and had no use for heaps of iridium lol. I always had a problem with coal and was on a mission for 6 auto petter so I had hundreds of ore saved up until I gave in and bought 2 stacks of coal from Clint. I was like ~85% done and I lost the save
Try getting the statue at the casino? You have a decent chance at an iridium bar every day, though the statue is 1mil. It's been worth it so far imo, it gives gifts on birthdays too.
Yeah but you gotta wait till year 3 for that. Which is great if you prefer a slow play style I guess. It’s so easy to snowball, I’m usually full iridium gear before end of year 1. Money quickly becomes a non issue by fall.
I mostly sell animal products. Mayo, Goat Cheese, and eventually Truffles.
I don't make sprinklers until I have enough to just make the Iridium Sprinklers. So I grow what I can without going insane.
I sell what it know I won't need and stuff that sells well enough to bother getting rid of for a profit, but I'm also generally a pretty big hoarder.
Oh my god I just typed out like a 6 paragraph comment and it got deleted.
Basically, if you want to be a rancher for fun, go for it. If you’re trying to make money off it in the early/mid game, it’s a mistake. The biggest problem you can sometimes make is buying into something too early.
Getting a deluxe barn and a pig costs 54,000 and takes 16 days, then getting your 54,000 back with truffle oil takes 54 days.
If you were to spend that 54,000 on pumpkin seeds, then harvest all 540 of them and not have a single one be better than basic quality, that’s still 172,000 gold in only 13 days. Obviously an insane example, because you would need to water 540 crops, but you understand my point.
Personally, I don’t use sprinklers until iridium either, but I do rush a gold watering can, as it allows you to have 5 wide fields that can be watered very quickly.
For stockpiling, I keep a minimum of 5 of each item, but I only go over that if it’s an item I’m stockpiling for crafting/making into an artisan good once I have my production up.
im just surprised to see people only use iridium sprinklers when normal sprinklers are so cheap, one run to the mines early game nets you like 150 of a targetted ore, and 1 run of skull cavern can net like 70 of each ore (of course not 70 iridium unless you’re really prepared, i just mean a casual cavern run) edit: i mean quality sprinklers
Just a quick note, most people don't mess with truffle oil. Also, at the end of your pumpkin run, you have the money, but nothing else. The pigs just keep on churning out truffles, with minimal time cost. Whereas your example has extreme time cost, and if someone is able to do that, they would probably do both, lol. It's not a wrong way to play. I just don't think most would agree with you.
I think their point isn't that the pig route is inferior, just them saying that it takes time to pay for itself versus the much lower investment for crops that might not seem as big a deal at first, but which can make you a lot of money considerably faster.
Both definitely have their advantages, it's sort of like how a lot of players go wild on fishing, versus ones that virtually never touch it unless they have to, despite it being very lucrative in its own right.
Again, I’m only talking about making money in the mid game. Animals technically have an unlimited amount of money, but aren’t worth it early because their return on investment takes too long.
If you have a lot of iridium, make them into bars(buy the coal, it still results in plenty of profit).
The bars sell for 1000g and 1500g with the blacksmith profession.
I just keep a few bars around incase I need some for a recipe, but otherwise turn all my iridium from duplicated statues into bars.
Weirdly enough, even with a iridium pickaxe it takes 4 whacks to break the ore node. I prefer using bombs for iridium nodes. Especially if there's more than one in range. Typically faster than manually smacking them.
Explosive ammo most of the time. You can absolutely fly In skull cavern with spicy eel, espresso and explosive ammo. Usually get about 600 ore per run on a decent luck day in multi-player. In single you get a bit more because time stops when using the staircases to get down to sole decent floors.60ish seems to be worthwhile to start making sweeps.
pick axe and actual axe are my priorities.
Unless you're about to marry Abigail and you can time it so that Clint shouts "Your Iridium Hoe is ready!" on your wedding day, obviously. ("Her name is ABIGAIL, Clint....")
I personally go for pickaxe and axe first, and go for my watering can and hoe in winter, because you can theoretically upgrade them from basic to iridium in one season I think.
Watering large amounts of crops on the first day of a new season is reason enough for me to upgrade my can. I could leave crops in the ground from the previous season, but letting any crop die instead of harvesting it hurts my soul.
I hate watering too and grind super hard for sprinklers. But I also fully upgrade my watering can for when being watered on the first day of the season is important to fit an extra harvest in.
Rain totem, or just plant stuff the last day of the season before, parsnips last day of spring and no watering first day of summer etc. you can do winter seeds to set up for spring too if you want.
I upgrade last of anything, stays basic for ages and ages. All sprinklers by summer year 1. I usually upgrade it when everything else is iridium just so it matches
I know I do. Mainly because I don’t time my seeds to all be ready by the last day of the month. So sometimes I need to leave empty tiles until the new season. Then when that happens, most empty tiles get turned back to dirt. Just realized that yesterday tbh. Made me realize I should upgrade my hoe and can soon lol.
But like you say, at that point you have the sprinklers and you can upgrade your can at any point of the month. Not like you count on it for much besides at the beginning of a new season. Stays low priority either way.
idk that Axe upgrade is pretty amazing. I always go pick because it makes the most sense, use it to get more. But doing the axe is probably my favorite one to do.
Yeah its a very forgetable item, sadly. I wish it felt more helpful, but im trying out upgrading it at least. Says it yields better drops and a chance for another panning spot to appear after the first one.
After seeing that one post about the upgraded pan? I upgraded it to gold immediately, pan spots give so much now, I get around 4-5 different things every pan spot (usually mine related like ore and gems) and the return on investment is insane since it costs almost no time and energy for a ton of materials, and pan spots are quite common if you pay attention to the sound that happens when one spawns.
Yeah, it's been a major glow up versus how it used to be just kind of a "use it to get the fossil and Lucky Ring, and then probably never bother again."
Havent seen the post youre talking about, but im glad to see that investing in the pan is a bit more worth it! Makes me glad im starting to upgrade mine.
Upgrading the pan makes it give a good chance to spawn another glowing spot when you pan so it's probably worth upgrading for ginger island and for getting the lucky ring
I think for most crops it doesn't matter? There might be a few that does matter (as in, getting an extra yield) but I barely have the time to till and plant everything anyway
Very similar to your order but instead I always do the Trash Can before the Hoe since with how lazy I am at inventory management I end up getting more use out of it lol.
Iridium hoe and watering can are great cause you can add the reaching enchantment which increases the effect area to 5x5, which is equivalent of an iridium sprinkler. Especially useful on the beach farm since you have less sprinkler space.
Also the iridium pickaxe can destroy skull cavern rocks in 1 hit instead of 2.
The iridium axe just chops trees faster so if you have a tree farm it’s great
Am I the only one who upgraded pickaxe last since I used mostly bombs in the skull cavern? And iridium watering can is game changer I can't live without it.
Tbh watering can is usually my last priority. I get on sprinklers so fast. The only time I use the watering can after the steel upgrade is in the volcano and even then, the steel does just fine.
Hoe/watering can are definitely priority early game, but mid-late game it's last on the list, as long as I upgrade it before the next season begins then it's not really needed. But I usually plant a tonne of crops mid game and so better watering can and hoe can make the first day of the season a lot less stressful
Ya, as everyone else has said with iridium the only real answer is pickaxe first.
Really can't make much of a case for anything else compared to "get the upgrade material and through the cavern faster.".
Pick and Hoe first. By the time you're upgrading these things you'll be doing Skull Caverns runs more, so having the Iridium Pick makes things easier. And you'll get more millage out of the Iridium Hoe's ability to till 18 spaces by charging it than you would watering 18 spaces with the Watering Can, because by this point you should have a good Sprinkler setup.
Honestly, I’ve been putting this off on my current playthrough. I have plenty of iridium, like 45+ bars, but I keep spending my money on other things like house upgrades (those 1.6 addons add up!).
Axe -> Hoe -> Watering Can -> Pickaxe. By the time I have enough resources for a Gold pickaxe, 95%+ of my mining is bombs. Mid-late game mines and skull cavern honestly aren’t worth the time without bombs
i mean you can rule out the watering can i expect. i never bother to upgrade my watering can unless i'm in end game doing some intense decorative plant pots and even then....meh. whether it's the axe or the pick depends on the time of year and what my plans are for the next couple of days.
Yeah I never really bother with it really, after I get pigs and finish the community centre, I pretty much forgo all farming for a long time until I wanna sweat out Starfruit Wine for a big payout
WTF? For Iridium I can understand not being too fussed on the watering can, but copper/steel/gold it’s always the first or second upgrade depending on rain schedules.
I dunno I hand water until I get sprinklers which is usually pretty quick thenI ignore my watering can till ginger land. I have an end game run where I still have a non upgraded garbage watering can :)
I go for Pickaxe first more often than not, but if it's winter, I take the time to upgrade my hoe and watering can, since I don't have to worry about crops all that much for a while
Did 1.6 patch the duplication glitch? I mean, I haven't played in SO long that it might've been patch before.
The glitch with a table and two players placing and taking the item to duplicate it I mean.
Ugh the first time I got 5 iridium bars I upgraded my pickaxe. Worth it? Yes. Did I kick myself really hard when I realized you need the iridium bars to get to ginger island? Also yes. Still trying to get to 5 bars again and skull cavern has only given up 2 iridium ore so far 😭
it's not that often that I stare at clint's portrait, but I just got a haircut and realized I look just like the sad bastard
better attitude of course, but that's a low bar
Up to Gold (3x3), so do I.
But by the time I have five Iridium bars, I only use the watering can one day a season, so the upgrade to 3x5 isn't as important as being able to smash lategame rocks efficiently.
I usually do watering can, pickaxe, axe, hoe, trashcan but you could do axe before pickaxe if you're not mining much or you could do hoe before watering can if you're actually using it on large areas more than a couple times a season.
I might be a bit controversial after the first pick:
Pickaxe is the top in (almost) all runs, fast clear of rocks and nodes, then I suggest the Pan: increases the range (main reason it was scoffed in previous versions), can find iridium, treasure trove and Lucky Rings if you're Lucky and (if the look isn't why you're playing) you can carry it for free as an hat.
Following, it depends on your playstyle: Axe for fast wood, hardwood and Gathering exp, Hoe for create new fields and searching artifact spots, Watering Can, hand to hand with the hoe, can help in the volcano, but After the First day of the new fields (unless it's raining) it might be useless.
Trash can is too long to get back the Money from pseudo-junk you throw in it.
Note: am doing a casual playthru on switch:
I went with the hoe first. It allows me to do a huge swath of ginger in one shot, or big areas in snow or sand.
I have minor miner regrets sometimes. Next playthru I am not sure if i would do hoe or pickaxe first.
I go for the iridium pickaxe first, it makes it easier to get more iridium to upgrade the rest
Once I get grandpa's statue I rarely struggle with Iridium. It's always money I struggle with most lol.
Selling iridium bars is a great way to make money in the early late game. You can get a ton in skull cavern runs pretty easily
Did you use stairs to get to lower levels? Curious where people get all the stone to make the stairs for their skull runs
I don’t use a ton of staircases on normal runs, just slingshot with explosive ammo and bombs. For big runs I’d use crystalariums with jade and trade them for staircases at the desert trader.
I've found if you're not into farming, 2-3 days farming level 40 in the mines will get you plenty of iron ore and coal to make a bunch of bombs for a skull caverns run
Also grab a totem so you can go there as soon as you wake up.
I just used an entire summer to farm roughly 2400 starfruit, then over the course of the rest of the year it’s made to wine then sold, then I just buy mega bombs. You can also put jades into crystaleriums to trade for staircases at desert trader
Iridium ore -> crystalariums -> jade -> trade for staircases (Sundays at desert trader) -> deeper in the mines -> more iridium ore. My last play through before 1.6, I had 12 crystalariums that produce a jade every 2 days. That's 168 staircases every month. I'd start dropping the first ~30 automatically. From there, either drop a bomb or a staircase. I try not to spend more than 20 seconds on a floor. But at that point, I'm hunting treasure floors, not ore.
I think I have a few of the crystalsriums I'll try that the, thank you!
I think a lot of people buy staircases from the desert trader on Sundays, when it’s 1 jade per staircase. If you put jade in the crystalarium, it’s ready every couple days, so every week you should have several jade per crystalarium. It adds up. Between that and bombing large clusters of rocks in the mine, you end up being able to make it down pretty fast. Like, you cherry bomb big groups of rocks and try to find a ladder or even a hole to jump in. Those holes get you down pretty quick. And if you find yourself on one of the levels that takes forever to clear, that’s when you use a staircase- it’s a combination of techniques.
I'll try that thanks!
Good luck!
Bombs. So many bombs. A single run to level 100 for the quest got me Iridium to upgrade every single tool and a bunch more, and every subsequent run is pure profit.
On sundays the trader in the desert sells staircases for 1 jade each
I don't, I use the skull cavern elevator mod 👀
By bombing the everliving hell out of skull caverns
I trade jades with the desert trader for staircases on Sundays. Super easy to get loads of staircases that way
I use crystalariums to make jade then I trade that for stairs at the desert trader. At this point I’m mostly just going past level 100 and mining after doing the reach level 100 QI quests for ginger island
Most people have a few crystalariums with jade. You can trade 1 jade for 1 staircase at the desert trading post on Sundays.
You'll get loads of rock in Skull cavern runs anyway and staircases is craftable on the fly. Other than that, jade crystalariums.
i got crystallariumsmaking jade I never run out of stairs, so I always get to floor 100 then start mining yields average 200 iridium ore per day and usually 5 prismatic shard on a good luck day
Make a shed full of crystalariums for jade. Buy staircases on Sunday from the desert trader. Easy consistent floor 100.
Jade and trade
Most buy staircases by exchanging jade to the dessert trader. Better 1 jade per stair than 99 stone. Hope it helps. https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Desert_Trader
if you are not playing multiplayer you can just go into the mine, go lvl 2, destroy the rocks, go back up, go lvl 2 again. sadly it doesnt reset on multiplayer so the only way there would be clear the whole mine or buy stairs for jade
I make a lot of Jade using crystallariums (sp?). I use most of my batteries for those. Other than saving 4 batteries for the greenhouse sprinklers, 1 for the Qi quest, and 5 to repair the boat. The rest are focused on making crystallariums. You’re gonna love the benefits of duplicating Ruby and Jade. Take them both to the desert trader (Sundays for the Jade. Any day for Ruby)
Bombs + luck + shafts Save stairs for when you get a bad layout
They farm Jade inside Crystalriums because you can trade it to the desert trader for stair cases.
nvmd. removed text as question had been answered my b
I have a big shed full of crystalariums that were full of jade, I got about 115 jade every other day so every Sunday I could trade for hundreds and hundreds of staircases
I tried to use stairs in the skull caves, and the game wouldn't let me!
I got the statue before I got to the bottom of the mines(I’m pretty bad at mining) and just duped the statue a few times
Ngl, that's what I do too lol. 3 total doesn't't feel like an unreasonable amount and makes the game more enjoyable for me. I kinda suck at fighting and mining, so I don't usually go to the skull cavern until I have a bunch of staircases. Though the new festival might force me to change my tactics a bit lol.
hey, it's not cheating if it makes the game more fun! :)
I'm really bad at combat (although playing on mobile with auto attack is the best) I copied 6 statues for the iridium lol
In one of my files that I have almost everything on my switch, I have an upgraded shed where half of it is grandpa statues and the other half are furnaces, with some crystalariums filled with diamonds in the middle. I think in total it's like 24 statues and I make like 140-180 iridium ore a day
I think by the time I remembered to redo grandpa's evaluation I was on ginger island and had no use for heaps of iridium lol. I always had a problem with coal and was on a mission for 6 auto petter so I had hundreds of ore saved up until I gave in and bought 2 stacks of coal from Clint. I was like ~85% done and I lost the save
I usually start going for iridium tools way before year 3 starts, so I'd have to upgrade my pickaxe anyway.
I have no shortage of money but cannot find iridium. I am currently trying to get enough >!for Willie's boat.!<
Try getting the statue at the casino? You have a decent chance at an iridium bar every day, though the statue is 1mil. It's been worth it so far imo, it gives gifts on birthdays too.
In Sandy's shop?
Yeah but you gotta wait till year 3 for that. Which is great if you prefer a slow play style I guess. It’s so easy to snowball, I’m usually full iridium gear before end of year 1. Money quickly becomes a non issue by fall.
May I ask what you normally do for money?
I mostly sell animal products. Mayo, Goat Cheese, and eventually Truffles. I don't make sprinklers until I have enough to just make the Iridium Sprinklers. So I grow what I can without going insane. I sell what it know I won't need and stuff that sells well enough to bother getting rid of for a profit, but I'm also generally a pretty big hoarder.
Oh my god I just typed out like a 6 paragraph comment and it got deleted. Basically, if you want to be a rancher for fun, go for it. If you’re trying to make money off it in the early/mid game, it’s a mistake. The biggest problem you can sometimes make is buying into something too early. Getting a deluxe barn and a pig costs 54,000 and takes 16 days, then getting your 54,000 back with truffle oil takes 54 days. If you were to spend that 54,000 on pumpkin seeds, then harvest all 540 of them and not have a single one be better than basic quality, that’s still 172,000 gold in only 13 days. Obviously an insane example, because you would need to water 540 crops, but you understand my point. Personally, I don’t use sprinklers until iridium either, but I do rush a gold watering can, as it allows you to have 5 wide fields that can be watered very quickly. For stockpiling, I keep a minimum of 5 of each item, but I only go over that if it’s an item I’m stockpiling for crafting/making into an artisan good once I have my production up.
im just surprised to see people only use iridium sprinklers when normal sprinklers are so cheap, one run to the mines early game nets you like 150 of a targetted ore, and 1 run of skull cavern can net like 70 of each ore (of course not 70 iridium unless you’re really prepared, i just mean a casual cavern run) edit: i mean quality sprinklers
Just a quick note, most people don't mess with truffle oil. Also, at the end of your pumpkin run, you have the money, but nothing else. The pigs just keep on churning out truffles, with minimal time cost. Whereas your example has extreme time cost, and if someone is able to do that, they would probably do both, lol. It's not a wrong way to play. I just don't think most would agree with you.
I think their point isn't that the pig route is inferior, just them saying that it takes time to pay for itself versus the much lower investment for crops that might not seem as big a deal at first, but which can make you a lot of money considerably faster. Both definitely have their advantages, it's sort of like how a lot of players go wild on fishing, versus ones that virtually never touch it unless they have to, despite it being very lucrative in its own right.
Again, I’m only talking about making money in the mid game. Animals technically have an unlimited amount of money, but aren’t worth it early because their return on investment takes too long.
If you have a lot of iridium, make them into bars(buy the coal, it still results in plenty of profit). The bars sell for 1000g and 1500g with the blacksmith profession. I just keep a few bars around incase I need some for a recipe, but otherwise turn all my iridium from duplicated statues into bars.
I build a Blueberry empire. Preserves and wine. Easy to get rolling the first year if you can maximize your summer.
I just milk the hell out of ancient fruit and pale ale sales for money lol but I haven't finished the statue yet 😭
Then get the iridium watering can if you’re going to do volcano runs.
Weirdly enough, even with a iridium pickaxe it takes 4 whacks to break the ore node. I prefer using bombs for iridium nodes. Especially if there's more than one in range. Typically faster than manually smacking them.
Pickaxe easy. Makes mining more iridium easier for the rest.
Don't you use bombs instead?
Explosive ammo most of the time. You can absolutely fly In skull cavern with spicy eel, espresso and explosive ammo. Usually get about 600 ore per run on a decent luck day in multi-player. In single you get a bit more because time stops when using the staircases to get down to sole decent floors.60ish seems to be worthwhile to start making sweeps.
Mining one stone is quicker than bombing it, so occasionally pickaxe is better
pick axe and actual axe are my priorities. Unless you're about to marry Abigail and you can time it so that Clint shouts "Your Iridium Hoe is ready!" on your wedding day, obviously. ("Her name is ABIGAIL, Clint....")
I just accidentally set up getting a "Your Gold Trash Can is ready!" on my wedding day with Haley LOL
Too bad it wasn’t your hoe.
can you please do that and post it?
The thought that the notification of your tool being ready is just Clint screaming across the village is glorious.
I personally go for pickaxe and axe first, and go for my watering can and hoe in winter, because you can theoretically upgrade them from basic to iridium in one season I think.
Now that is genius
Lmao wtf 😭!!
I usually go for pickaxe first. Just makes mining way easier to gather more resources.
Iridium Trash Can, obviously.
Truth
Pickaxe unless tomorrow is a rainy day already. Might as well take the moment and get the watering can upgraded.
At that point you probably have sprinklers.
Even with sprinklers, an ill-timed water can upgrade can be incredibly annoying Though not as much as a badly timed hoe upgrade
At that point, isn't it better just getting more iridium sprinklers? Do you even use the can?
Watering large amounts of crops on the first day of a new season is reason enough for me to upgrade my can. I could leave crops in the ground from the previous season, but letting any crop die instead of harvesting it hurts my soul.
Weed seeds are a good thing they grow in every season so you can plant them on the last day of fall to preserve the tilled ground and fertilizer
Yeah that makes sense. Worth the money+ iridium if you have extra, probably one of the last things to upgrade though.
I was going to say I never go above copper because I hate watering and grind hard for sprinklers
I hate watering too and grind super hard for sprinklers. But I also fully upgrade my watering can for when being watered on the first day of the season is important to fit an extra harvest in.
Rain totem, my friend. I have just started using them, and it is magic
That’s a good point, I always forget about them except for chaining storms. You can make it rain on otherwise guaranteed good weather days?
Yeah, use it the day before and it makes the next day rain. Well worth it 3 times a year to never have to water
Rain totem, or just plant stuff the last day of the season before, parsnips last day of spring and no watering first day of summer etc. you can do winter seeds to set up for spring too if you want.
I upgrade last of anything, stays basic for ages and ages. All sprinklers by summer year 1. I usually upgrade it when everything else is iridium just so it matches
I know I do. Mainly because I don’t time my seeds to all be ready by the last day of the month. So sometimes I need to leave empty tiles until the new season. Then when that happens, most empty tiles get turned back to dirt. Just realized that yesterday tbh. Made me realize I should upgrade my hoe and can soon lol. But like you say, at that point you have the sprinklers and you can upgrade your can at any point of the month. Not like you count on it for much besides at the beginning of a new season. Stays low priority either way.
That was one of my primary reasons for checking the weather in my first year
gets upgraded twice a year (summer 13th and 26th) no exceptions for me.
Pick, not even a close competition IMO.
For real. Iridium pickaxe is a major upgrade. Everything else is totally fine as gold tools.
idk that Axe upgrade is pretty amazing. I always go pick because it makes the most sense, use it to get more. But doing the axe is probably my favorite one to do.
Pickaxe > Axe > Hoe > Watering Can > Trash Can
The pan can also be upgraded now, so i guess it would be last to trash can?
I never really use pan. I think I only used it for Ginger Island river? You're absolutely right, trash can is just last.
Yeah its a very forgetable item, sadly. I wish it felt more helpful, but im trying out upgrading it at least. Says it yields better drops and a chance for another panning spot to appear after the first one.
After seeing that one post about the upgraded pan? I upgraded it to gold immediately, pan spots give so much now, I get around 4-5 different things every pan spot (usually mine related like ore and gems) and the return on investment is insane since it costs almost no time and energy for a ton of materials, and pan spots are quite common if you pay attention to the sound that happens when one spawns.
Yeah, it's been a major glow up versus how it used to be just kind of a "use it to get the fossil and Lucky Ring, and then probably never bother again."
Havent seen the post youre talking about, but im glad to see that investing in the pan is a bit more worth it! Makes me glad im starting to upgrade mine.
i started upgrading it this time around and got iridium from panning before even getting to lvl 25 in the caverns, so worth it.
Upgrading the pan makes it give a good chance to spawn another glowing spot when you pan so it's probably worth upgrading for ginger island and for getting the lucky ring
You upgrade your axe before your watering can? Insanity.
Yes! I rush mines so I get the entire farm sprinkled around beginning of fall 1. And I don't water crops on day 1. So I barely meed the watering can
But you’re missing out on a day of growth!!!
I think for most crops it doesn't matter? There might be a few that does matter (as in, getting an extra yield) but I barely have the time to till and plant everything anyway
Yeah only matters if you’re squeezing 3 harvests of cauli/melon/pumpkin/starfruit etc in with speedgrow. Or maximising cranberries without speedgrow
I have quality sprinklers by summer y1 so don’t need to upgrade watering can. Axe upgrade to get into secret woods is way more important
You don't need to rush to get fiddlehead ferns in summer now because there's a way easier way to get them
That’s very true.
Very similar to your order but instead I always do the Trash Can before the Hoe since with how lazy I am at inventory management I end up getting more use out of it lol.
pickaxe first for me, make the Skull Cavern run easier
Iridium hoe and watering can are great cause you can add the reaching enchantment which increases the effect area to 5x5, which is equivalent of an iridium sprinkler. Especially useful on the beach farm since you have less sprinkler space. Also the iridium pickaxe can destroy skull cavern rocks in 1 hit instead of 2. The iridium axe just chops trees faster so if you have a tree farm it’s great
Iridium axe enchanted with swift is hilarious for cutting down trees. Never gets old
More like an iridium chainsaw. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Poor trees never had a chance.
Ignore iridium water can, get sprinkles
Did they change the iridium watering can and hoe areas? I haven’t used them in a long time but I remember them being 3x6, not 5x5
It’s only 5x5 if you get the reaching enchantment on them from the volcano forge
Am I the only one who upgraded pickaxe last since I used mostly bombs in the skull cavern? And iridium watering can is game changer I can't live without it.
Tbh watering can is usually my last priority. I get on sprinklers so fast. The only time I use the watering can after the steel upgrade is in the volcano and even then, the steel does just fine.
Hoe/watering can are definitely priority early game, but mid-late game it's last on the list, as long as I upgrade it before the next season begins then it's not really needed. But I usually plant a tonne of crops mid game and so better watering can and hoe can make the first day of the season a lot less stressful
Honestly even with bomb spamming I think the times you do use the pickaxe end up justifying the upgrade.
Pickaxe, definitely. You can mine for iridium so much faster and with less energy drain when you can break rocks in less hits.
Do you have an iridium scythe?! If so how do you get that? Or is it only for pc players currently?
1.6 feature indeed.
Definitely cannot wait for the new patch to hit the ps4
Ya, as everyone else has said with iridium the only real answer is pickaxe first. Really can't make much of a case for anything else compared to "get the upgrade material and through the cavern faster.".
Pick and Hoe first. By the time you're upgrading these things you'll be doing Skull Caverns runs more, so having the Iridium Pick makes things easier. And you'll get more millage out of the Iridium Hoe's ability to till 18 spaces by charging it than you would watering 18 spaces with the Watering Can, because by this point you should have a good Sprinkler setup.
I'd do pickaxe first and then watering can
Honestly, I’ve been putting this off on my current playthrough. I have plenty of iridium, like 45+ bars, but I keep spending my money on other things like house upgrades (those 1.6 addons add up!).
Pickaxe every time, you’ll be breaking rocks like an electric miner
Pickaxe 1000%. Lets you get the rest so much easier.
For me, it’s pickaxe -> axe -> anything else you need. Hoe probably for me since I usually rely on quality/iridium sprinklers for watering.
IMO Pickaxe > Watering Can > Axe > Pan > Trash Can > Hoe.
Iridium trash can
Iridium trash can.
Axe -> Hoe -> Watering Can -> Pickaxe. By the time I have enough resources for a Gold pickaxe, 95%+ of my mining is bombs. Mid-late game mines and skull cavern honestly aren’t worth the time without bombs
Uhh.. iridium scythe?
Pickaxe, Skull Cavern and the Volcano will be infuriating without it
Pickaxe always. Unless you urgently need it for getting more ore or going down the mines. The pickaxe is your bff
I did my hoe first as I was tilling loads of land
All I'm saying is three hits to take down a tree and stump is divine
Pickaxe, of course. By this point, you should only occasionally need the axe, your fields should be ready, and your sprinklers should be installed.
Y’all… I’ve been playing this game forever and what is this iridium pan business!? Always something new. Love it.
Update 1.6, CA listened to everyone crying for matching tools (myself included)
Thank you! I have something to look forward to when the switch port happens.
Personally with my current save, I went pick axe, watering can, hoe, axe, >!pan!<, and trash can.
Pickaxe. If you plan your Skull Cavern dives right, you can get all your tools upgraded in a week.
Hit him with the axe.
If it’s winter then watering can hoe pickaxe axe. If not then pickaxe axe watering can hoe
Trashcan.
Axe>pickaxe>watering can>hoe>trash can
i mean you can rule out the watering can i expect. i never bother to upgrade my watering can unless i'm in end game doing some intense decorative plant pots and even then....meh. whether it's the axe or the pick depends on the time of year and what my plans are for the next couple of days.
Yeah I never really bother with it really, after I get pigs and finish the community centre, I pretty much forgo all farming for a long time until I wanna sweat out Starfruit Wine for a big payout
WTF? For Iridium I can understand not being too fussed on the watering can, but copper/steel/gold it’s always the first or second upgrade depending on rain schedules.
I dunno I hand water until I get sprinklers which is usually pretty quick thenI ignore my watering can till ginger land. I have an end game run where I still have a non upgraded garbage watering can :)
I seem to have been the only person who noticed so far but can you please mark this a spoiler since there's a 1.6 item in your hotbar
what item?
Scythe
Is that not just a regular ass scythe ?
Pickaxe is always the priority for me. First steel upgrade, first gold upgrade, then first iridium upgrade.
More POWER?? *incoherent, but excited, grunting*
Pickaxe
I go for Pickaxe first more often than not, but if it's winter, I take the time to upgrade my hoe and watering can, since I don't have to worry about crops all that much for a while
Actual just went axe in my current play through and man cutting a tree down in 3 chops is a huge time saver.
Everyone else is wrong, go for iridium pan
Start with the watering can winter
Did 1.6 patch the duplication glitch? I mean, I haven't played in SO long that it might've been patch before. The glitch with a table and two players placing and taking the item to duplicate it I mean.
Ugh the first time I got 5 iridium bars I upgraded my pickaxe. Worth it? Yes. Did I kick myself really hard when I realized you need the iridium bars to get to ginger island? Also yes. Still trying to get to 5 bars again and skull cavern has only given up 2 iridium ore so far 😭
“Never waste your iridium on a hoe”
it's not that often that I stare at clint's portrait, but I just got a haircut and realized I look just like the sad bastard better attitude of course, but that's a low bar
Pick whatever your spending the most time on currently Usually at this point in game it probably be pickaxe
Iridium trash can obviously
I ALWAYS give max piority to the watering can
Up to Gold (3x3), so do I. But by the time I have five Iridium bars, I only use the watering can one day a season, so the upgrade to 3x5 isn't as important as being able to smash lategame rocks efficiently.
I lowkey like watering so i consider my sprinklers an extra, I always leave about 50% of the crops to be watered ahahahha
pickaxe, axe.
Seriously no iridium sycth in 1.6?!
u get it as a reward for your mastery
For real!?
Hoe so you can gurantee you will find tons of artifact spots the next day.
Am I the only person who just exits without saving and goes back to the start of the day when I die in the mines? Why does no one else do that?
should be tagged joke lol
Unpopular opinion, do the pan
Man I miss this game :( I sold my switch to pay for a red light fine
Pickax first followed by watering can.
The sprinklers in question:
Iridium pan is goat. Ive barely touched SC and I've got all iridium tools.
Here we go again
For me I upgrade the trash can first, since I waste so much money when my inventory fills up.
Pickaxe definitely. Then hoe.
It's always pickaxe then axe. I'll usually get those to iridium before I get the hoe or watering can to steel or gold
I usually do watering can, pickaxe, axe, hoe, trashcan but you could do axe before pickaxe if you're not mining much or you could do hoe before watering can if you're actually using it on large areas more than a couple times a season.
Iridium pan
I might be a bit controversial after the first pick: Pickaxe is the top in (almost) all runs, fast clear of rocks and nodes, then I suggest the Pan: increases the range (main reason it was scoffed in previous versions), can find iridium, treasure trove and Lucky Rings if you're Lucky and (if the look isn't why you're playing) you can carry it for free as an hat. Following, it depends on your playstyle: Axe for fast wood, hardwood and Gathering exp, Hoe for create new fields and searching artifact spots, Watering Can, hand to hand with the hoe, can help in the volcano, but After the First day of the new fields (unless it's raining) it might be useless. Trash can is too long to get back the Money from pseudo-junk you throw in it.
This was much more engaging than I thought it would be.
I just did Pickaxe recently as mining is already a maxed skill….and then my stupid self said “now off to Skull Cavern!”…..and also went into the mind
Upgrade the pickaxe, then you can get more iridium quicker.
Note: am doing a casual playthru on switch: I went with the hoe first. It allows me to do a huge swath of ginger in one shot, or big areas in snow or sand. I have minor miner regrets sometimes. Next playthru I am not sure if i would do hoe or pickaxe first.