The latest and greatest update forStardew Valleyhas just dropped for console, which meansplenty of players are starting up a new farmand eventually come across tools. Unfortunately, starting a new save means dealing withthe early days of no energy and plenty of early nights. Fortunately, there’s a way to cut down on energy usage, and that’s by upgrading tools.
Some decisions inStardew Valley’s early game are obviously big ones, likechoosing Rancher or Tillerfor the Farming skill.Other decisions are more subtlebut will significantly impact the first year of gameplay on the farm and in Pelican Town. One of these decisions is what order you should have Clint upgrade your tools.
Why You Should Upgrade The Watering Can First
The Most Used Tool For Everyday Farming
Once you have ventured into the mines and collected enough copper to make five bars, the Watering Can is thefirst tool you should upgrade. This is the one tool that you will likely be using every single day of the year until Winter, which means thatit’s the tool that uses the most energy every day. Depending on how many crops are planted at a time, justwatering everything every day can easily take out more than half of the daily energy bar.
Upgrade the watering can only if the weather forecast for the next day calls for rain.
You should upgrade their Watering Can as soon as possible on a rainy day to get the most out of their energy in the earliest days of Spring and Summer. To ensure that you aren’t accidentally missing a day of watering crops, check the weather report every day andgive Clint their Watering Can once a rainy day is setfor the following day. The rain will take care of the farm for that day, and Clint will get the water can back so that no crops are ever thirsty.
Why You Should Upgrade The Pickaxe Second
Get The Most Out Of Early Game Mining
If making the most progress in thefirst year ofStardew Valleyis your goal, thenthe Pickaxe is the second tool that needs to be upgraded. While the Watering Can is used every day for basic farming chores, the Pickaxe is initially used for clearing space on the farm and removing rocks one by one from the tillable land. After those first couple weeks,the Pickaxe becomes the single most useful toolfor progressing in the game.
The Pickaxe should be upgraded right after the Watering Can because of how important mining is in progressing in the rest ofStardew Valley.
Spending an entire day down in the mines, collecting ore and unlocking new levelshelps players collect items for every other aspect of their farming life. Monster loot like bug meat makes bait for fishing, getting rarer ores makes better sprinklers and artisan tools for more profit on the farm, and finding artifacts and gems unlocks more rewards and areas of the map like the Sewers.The Pickaxe will speed up progress inStardew Valleyand allow you to get more out of your mining trips, especially if theybring the right foodswith them.
Why You Should Upgrade The Axe Third
Prioritizing Upgrades To Steel For Access To The Secret Woods
The Axe should be the next tool you should upgrade, following the Watering Can and the Pickaxe.Upgrading the Axe to copper will decrease how many hits it takes to cut down a tree, which should help preserve energy levels for important early days and allow them to cut down large stumps on the farm. However, the Axe’s primary goal should be toupgrade itto steel by using fiveIron Bars.
It costs 2,000g and fiveCopper Barss to upgrade every tool to copper.
Once the Axe is made of steel,you will be able to chop large logs, like the one blocking theentrance toStardew Valley’s Secret Woods. If you upgrade the Pickaxe earlier and make enough progress in the Mines, you should be able toupgrade the Axe to copper and then immediately to steelso that you may access more parts of Pelican Town.
Why You Should Upgrade The Hoe Last
Smaller Early Farms Equals Less Tilling
The Hoe is a tool on the bottom of the priority list, at least in the first year or so, on a new farm. Since you likely won’t have access to higherQuality Sprinklersfor a while,there’s not much reason to till a large plot of land for crops in the first year. Upgrading the Hoe will increase the number of tiles the player tills with one swing.
Upgrading the Hoe to copper, for example, will allow you to till three tiles in a straight line at once. Since farms are limited in size by energy and time in the early days,upgrading this ability is a low priorityuntil better sprinklers and other farm aids are available inStardew Valley.
