Stardew Valley is a game full of good vibes and relaxing atmosphere. One of the most cheerful aspects of the game is the ability to befriend the other characters in the game, gradually building up a relationship with many of them.
At maximum friendship levels, the various residents of the area will be very kind, supportive, and friendly with you. With some of them, you can even begin a romantic relationship. However, this is no easy task. You’ll need to be sure to chat with them often, gift them things they like, and prove you are a good friend. Here are some tips for reaching maximum friendship with the people of Stardew Valley.
10 Don’t Do Things They Dislike
You can, if you so choose, build up friendship just by chatting with people once in a while. You don’t need to be handing out gifts and doing favors — you can, of course, just talk to them when you see them and they’ll grow more friendly toward you. It’s a long process this way, but it technically is possible.
However, with that said, you won’t make it very far into a friendship with someone if you do things they dislike. In the game, you’ll actually lose friendship points for some things. It may seem obvious, but don’t do the things that people dislike, or you’ll lose friendship points and be taking steps backward.
The following things will actually cause you to lose friendship points with someone: not talking to them on a particular day (a slow decay each day you don’t speak with them), giving them a gift they dislike or hate, rummaging through a garbage can when they’re nearby, and hitting them with your slingshot.
9 Complete the Bulletin Board Bundle
There are tons of fantastic rewards to earn by completing various Community Center bundles, from the repair of the greenhouse to unlocking Calico Desert. One of these bundles, though, will help you become closer with the residents of Pelican Town.
The Bulletin Board bundle, when completed, will give you two hearts with every non-romanceable character that you’ve met. It seems that, after completing this bundle, packages with belongings will find their way to their owners, addressed from your farm. The villagers will be very pleased with you in return.
Note: If you decide to complete the various town projects via Joja’s Community Development Form, this is replaced with a soda machine reward.
8 Be Helpful During Heart Events
With most of the villagers, you’ll be able to witness and participate in various “heart events. These are cutscenes that take place when you’ve reached a high enough friendship level with them.
During most of them, you’ll be prompted to give an answer to some problem or dialogue, chosen from a list of options. For many, how you respond doesn’t matter, but for some, you can actually harm or help your relationship with that particular person with your answer. Be sure to answer in a way that’s helpful, kind, or supportive. Choosing a mean or negative answer can harm your friendship.
7 Pay Attention to Item Quality
One way to really fast-track your friendship development with certain characters is by giving them gifts of higher quality. Items that have quality levels, such as crops, artisan goods, and foraged items, will reward more friendship points when they’re higher in quality.
For liked and loved gifts, silver quality will give an extra 10% of friendship points, gold will give an extra 25%, and iridium quality items give a 50% bonus.
6 Do Bulletin Board Quests
You might have noticed an exclamation mark on the bulletin board in front of Pierre’s. This denotes a Help Wanted quest from a resident, typically asking for an item. If you’re trying to level up your friendship with people, you should definitely complete these favors.
Not only will you receive cash from the quest-giver equal to three times the item’s sell value, but you’ll also earn 150 friendship points with them.
5 Keep Gifts in Chests Near Houses
This is one of the less-obvious methods for leveling up friendship. Since it can be hard to remember every person’s loved and liked gifts, it’s a good idea to just keep them nearby. That way, you can gift them something whenever you’re in the area.
Keep chests with people’s favorite gifts near their homes, that way you’ll never have to remember what they like. Be sure to not place the chests where an NPC will walk through it and destroy it, though.
4 Participate in Festivals
Talking to the residents of the valley at the various annual festivals is wise in general, as you’ll receive friendship points for chatting just like any other day. However, there are three festivals where you can truly take it to the next level.
The Luau, which takes place on Summer 11, tasks you with choosing an item to add to the communal potluck soup. If you add certain items, you can earn a ton of friendship points with everyone in attendance.
At the Flower Dance, which takes place on Spring 24, you’ll earn a whole heart with your dance partner, should they agree to dance with you.
Finally, at the Feast of the Winter Star on Winter 25, there’s a gift exchange. You’ll be told who to bring a gift to in the mail earlier that week. You’ll earn five times the number of friendship points for the gift you bring them, so make sure it’s something they appreciate!
3 Produce Universal Likes
There are quite a few items that are considered “universal loves,” but they can be hard to obtain. The Prismatic Shard, the golden pumpkin, and others are loved by basically every villager. However, there are a ton of universal likes that are much easier to obtain, and can even be produced in mass quantities.
Items like mayonnaise, maple syrup, most flowers, and many vegetables are appreciated by almost everyone (with some exceptions). It’s a smart idea to produce these items in large quantities and gift them around to everyone.
2 Check the Calendar
If you think the five-times bonus for gifting someone at the Feast of the Winter Star is a massive increase, just wait until you hear about the birthday bonus. Check the calendar in front of Pierre’s (or buy one to put in your house!) and pay attention to when the villagers’ birthdays are.
If you gift someone an item on their birthday, you’ll receive a whopping eight times the friendship points. For a loved gift, that’s more than two full hearts. Additionally, you can gift a villager on their birthday regardless of how many gifts you’ve already given them that week.
1 Visit the Saloon
Sometimes, the hardest part of improving friendship with a villager is that you can’t find them. The residents of the valley all have different schedules, placing them in different areas all the time.
However, the Stardrop Saloon is a frequent hangout for many of the residents of the town, especially on weekends. Some residents, like Pam, Emily, and Shane can be found there almost every night. But on Fridays, it seems like half the town is there in the evening. This can make friendship much easier, especially considering you can buy beer or coffee right in the saloon and they’re both liked by almost everyone there.
NEXT: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough
