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Mastering Stardew Valley means reaching level 10 in the five main skills: Farming, Mining, Foraging, Fishing, and Combat. If you haven’t achieved this yet, the Mastery system isn’t something you’ll be fully unlocking anytime soon. This new system adds extra motivation to hit those levels, offering new rewards along the way. If you’re interested in becoming a true master and earning these bonuses, here’s what you need to know.
The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley brought plenty of new content, from mystery boxes filled with valuable prizes to the growing moss on trees during the green rain. But for now, let’s focus on how to effectively approach the Mastery system and what benefits it offers for completing it.
What is the Stardew Valley Mastery System?
The Mastery system grants players extra tools and perks for reaching the maximum level in all five core skills. It rewards your effort in training these skills by unlocking a new tier of benefits. To start using the Mastery system’s perks, you’ll need to locate the Mastery Cave.
Where to Find the Stardew Valley Mastery Cave
This hidden area is in the Cindersap Forest. There’s a secret door with a sign just below Leah’s Cottage, set into the hillside. If you try to interact with the door before reaching max levels in all five skills, you’ll see a message saying “Only a master of the five ways may enter,” along with your progress, like 1/5 or 2/5.
Inside the cave, you’ll find five mastery totems. Each one is earned after maxing out a specific skill and grants special items or benefits. However, you can only claim these once you’ve achieved Mastery and earned enough points to spend. Importantly, you can start earning Mastery Points before you unlock the cave or fully master all your skills, but you won’t be able to use the points until you’ve reached the top levels. This secret room unlocks the ability to spend your points on rewards.
How to Earn Mastery Points
After maxing out your five skills, a Mastery level bar appears, which requires experience points (XP) to fill. Working on your skills and reading skill books will help you gain XP and level up this bar. When you collect enough XP, you’ll earn Mastery Points, which can then be spent in the cave.
Previously, once you reached max level, you no longer needed to grind your skills, unless you wanted more gold or resources. Now, the Mastery system introduces a new progression layer beyond that max level.
Be aware that each new Mastery level costs a significant amount of XP, starting with 10,000 XP for the first level, and increasing from there. The challenge grows with each level.
Spending Mastery Points
To use your Mastery Points, head to the Mastery Cave. Each level grants a reward, like a special tree from a mystic seed, an iridium scythe for farming, or a dwarf king statue that offers two mining powers daily. Pick rewards based on your most-used skills or what areas you want to improve—if you’re aiming to make money, perhaps the iridium fishing rod that catches more fish with two bobbers is a good choice. There’s a variety of rewards, so choose wisely.
Extra Rewards from the System
Another perk of hitting Mastery is the chance to find golden mystery boxes. These are super special, containing even better items than regular mystery boxes. They often include valuable books that normally cost a lot from the Bookseller, such as Bait and Bobbers, which can be found in these golden boxes instead of costing thousands of gold.
To keep exploring Stardew Valley, look into guides about Sea Jelly, green rain, or the various trinkets you can find.
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