Summary
- Stardew Valley's 1.6 update introduces new secrets, from hidden quests to secret buffs for faster travel.
- The update includes new features like a new storyline for Clint, Junimo Hut power-ups, and new giant crops.
- Green rain, a new weather event, accelerates plant growth and causes everyone in town to seek refuge at the Stardrop Saloon.
Secret Notes in Stardew Valley, to more obscure, multistep hidden quests that most players would never think to try on their own. These can prove fun surprises for curious new players, or long-term goals for those who have maxed out all their skills and are looking for something new to try.
Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is massive, adding tons of content to the game. That includes the obvious things, like new crops, new festivals, and new dialogue in Stardew Valley. But not every new feature is obvious. Some are vaguely mentioned in the patch notes, but require a fair bit of experimentation. Others aren't mentioned at all, leaving their discovery totally up to chance. Here are ten different secrets to watch out for in Stardew's 1.6 update.
ConcernedApe Reassures Fans On Stardew Valley 1.6's Console & Mobile Release Date
Stardew Valley developer Concerned Ape provides an update on the console and mobile release of the 1.6 Update, promising it's progressing smoothly.
10 Use Carrots To Make Horses Faster In Stardew Valley
Putting The Carrot Before The Horse
A Stardew Valley makes it much easier to get around town. Once the player has unlocked their very own horse, they can feed it a 
Carrot to give it an all-day buff, simply called "carrot." This increases the horse's speed for the rest of the day. This greatly speeds up travel - whether it's getting around the farm on a busy day, or dashing across town to give a villager their last-minute birthday gift, a carrot-boosted horse can solve a lot of problems.
It's unknown whether this trick works with other, famously horse-approved crops: things like apples, grapes, or parsnips may provide similar buffs. It goes hand-in-hand with the player speed boost provided by coffee. With both the farmer and their horse zipping around at top speed, a jam-packed planting season can go by in a flash. As a result, carrots are some of the handiest crops in the update.
9 Clint Moves On From Emily In Stardew Valley 1.6
A Better Ending For Everyone Involved
In previous versions of Stardew Valley (and to some extent in 1.6), 
Clint would constantly pine over Emily. He can often be seen sitting across from her at the bar, staring in her direction, but never mustering the courage to strike up a conversation. A crumpled-up note in the corner of his bedroom reveals his feelings for 
Emily , but it's an open secret in the town: even Jodi mentions his unrequited love in an offhand comment.
But as of patch 1.6, Stardew Valley includes new post-marriage dialogue, in which Clint makes an effort to move on if the player character ends up with Emily. He takes an interest in her friend Sandy, but finds himself frozen and unable to talk to her, either. Once all else fails, he resolves to save up for a computer so he can try online dating. There's no explicit happy ending to Clint's love story just yet, but at least he's working towards one.
8 Raisins Power Up Junimo Huts In Stardew Valley 1.6
Why Grapes Are Stardew's Best New Crop
Once players have completed all the Community Center bundles in Stardew Valley, they'll be able to place Junimo Huts on their farms. These structures are full of helpful little sprites - Junimos - who will aid in harvesting crops. Junimo Huts have been part of the game for a while, but as of 1.6, players can also feed their Junimos raisins to increase the yield of the crops they harvest. There's a 20% chance of doubling each mature crop in their range, which usually results in an equivalent increase to the overall harvest.
Drying raisins requires a little extra work, but it makes grapes one of the best crops in the Stardew Valley update. Players will need a Dehydrator to make raisins. Each batch requires five grapes, and takes roughly 29 hours to make. Each Junimo Hut will go through one bag of grapes each week, but multiple bags can be stored inside to be used as needed.
7 Stardew Valley Contains A Hidden Terraria Reference
Claiming The Meowmere Sword In Stardew Valley
Thanks to recent updates to both games, Stardew Valley and Terraria contain references to one another. Players can drink Joja Cola and raise blue chickens in Terraria, and they can claim the legendary Meowmere sword in Stardew Valley. In both games, the Meowmere has a hilt shaped like a cat's face, and fires rainbow bolts each time it's swung. It may be the best sword in Terraria, but there are better weapons in Stardew Valley - this one's just for fun.
Getting the Meowmere is no easy task, however. In order to find it, players must reach level 100 of the mines, then throw an Ancient Doll into the pool of lava. They'll then receive a Far Away Stone, which, once placed on a pedestal in the Wizard's house, grants them the sword. This is a reference to the summoning ritual that spawns the Wall of Flesh, one of Terraria's hardest bosses.
6 Stardew Valley 1.6 Includes New Giant Crops
Qi Fruit & Powdermelon
Giant crops have always been one of Stardew's best kept secrets. Certain fruits are subject to randomly turning into giant versions of themselves, providing double the usual yield. There's a chance for one to grow randomly anywhere there's a three-by-three square of crops, each containing the same item. In previous versions of the game, only cauliflowers, melons, and pumpkins had a chance to grow giant.
However, Stardew Valley's 1.6 update adds a handful of new crops, and two of them have giant versions. Powdermelons and Qi fruit both have the opportunity to grow giant, although there's a very small chance of it happening. There's only a one-in-a-hundred chance that each three-by-three plot of crops will spawn a giant version. To make matters worse, Qi fruit only grows during the Special Order "Qi's Crop." All players can do to increase the odds is ensure their crops are watered and hope for the best.
5 Stardew Valley's Green Rain Has Hidden Effects
A New Weather Event In Version 1.6
By now, almost everyone probably knows that Stardew Valley's 1.6 update includes a new weather event: green rain. It's in the patch notes, after all. Still, green rain is exceptionally rare, occurring only once per summer. And its effects aren't explained at all - it has many hidden mechanics that aren't immediately obvious. First and foremost, green rain seems to accelerate plant growth. Moss appears everywhere on a green rainy day, and every tree has a chance to turn into a bushier version that drops a Mossy Seed. Unique Fiddlehead Fern Trees may also spawn during green rainy days.
In addition, green rain causes almost everyone in town to seek refuge at the Stardrop Saloon. This makes it easy to find everyone and anyone in town - if a player is trying to raise their affinity level, or get a gift to one of Pelican Town's summer birthdays, they'll almost definitely find them at the bar.
4 Stardew Valley Version 1.6 Contains Two New Secret Notes
Secret Notes #26 & 27
Secret Notes are some of Stardew Valley's easiest secrets to find, but the puzzles they contain may be much harder to solve. In update 1.6, Stardew Valley gets two new Secret Notes, numbers 26 and 27. Secret Note #26 hints at the Junimo raisin secret as outlined above. But Secret Note #27 contains a cryptic message from Grandpa that hints at one of Stardew's coolest new features. In the final Secret Note, Grandpa expresses his pride in the farmer, and explains that he has hidden a "compendium of his greatest discoveries" somewhere in the valley.
Don't expect anything as simple as Grandpa's secret farming diary; this actually refers to one of Stardew's coolest and most useful new endgame activities, the Mastery Cave. It can be accessed from the Cindersap Forest, but only opens up (like Secret Note #27) once the player has hit level ten on all five core skills.
3 Stardew Valley Contains A Secret New Mastery Cave
How Mastery Works In Stardew Valley
Update 1.6 brings a new endgame activity to Stardew Valley: a set of Mastery goals, which track a player's progress after they've maxed out all their base skills. Once they've found Secret Note #27 and unlocked the Mastery Cave, players will see a new, green Mastery bar in their skill menu. Any skill points obtained beyond this point go toward filling the Mastery bar, and each time it fills up to a new level, the player can purchase a new skill.
Mastery Skills range from high-level tools to rare crafting items to powerful buffs. They exist across five categories that mirror the base skills: Farming, Mining, Foraging, Fishing, and Combat. Each new Mastery requires more points than the last, starting with 10,000 and increasing gradually to 30,000. Players can only purchase five Mastery skills in total, so it's important to plan ahead and choose wisely. Ideally, they should spend their limited points on skills relevant to whichever job they focus on most. For players interested in a more varied experience, it'd also be helpful to buy one in each category.
2 Stardew Valley Version 1.6 Includes An Infinite Artifact Exploit
Using Mystic Trees To Spawn Treasure
With a little creative use of the Mastery Cave, players can spawn as many Artifacts and Lost Books as they want. In order to use this trick, they'll need to purchase the Mystic Tree Seed and Treasure Totem recipes, both from the Foraging section of the Mastery Cave. They'll need to craft the Mystic Tree Seed first, which they'll use to grow Mystic Trees. These can be tapped to yield Mystic Syrup, which can then be combined with five pieces of hardwood and ten pieces of moss to craft a Treasure Totem.
Once the Treasure Totem is placed on tillable ground, it'll spawn 16 different Artifact Spots in a circle around it. These usually contain a unique Dwarven Artifact or Lost Book, but occasionally will spawn seeds, fruit, or Bone Fragments instead. Players can dig each of these up to complete their collection at Stardew Valley's museum, use them in crafting, or simply sell them.
1 Stardew Valley's Statue Of Blessings Provides Daily Bonuses
The Statue Of Blessings, Explained
Another one of Stardew Valley's secret Mastery skills that goes largely unexplained in the patch notes is the Statue of Blessings. Part of the Farming Mastery tree, the Statue of Blessings can be placed somewhere on the player's farm. They can then interact with it once per day, and it'll bestow a random blessing on them. However, since these blessings aren't exclusively farming related, the Statue of Blessing is one of the most versatile Mastery skills in Stardew Valley.
Blessings have a wide variety of effects: the Blessing of the Butterfly spawns a Prismatic Butterfly somewhere on the map, which, once found, gives the player 5,000g. The Blessing of Friendship raises the affinity gain the player gets each time they speak with an NPC. The Blessing of Luck raises their daily Luck stat by one point. Unfortunately, there's no way to choose which blessing a player gets, and since they're rolled at the beginning of the day, even closing and reloading the game won't reset the choice.
These are just some of the secrets in Stardew Valley as of the 1.6 update. There are surely more players have yet to discover, presumably including the super-secret message ConcernedApe has repeatedly hinted at. But if it's not included on this list, the best way to discover an unknown Stardew Valley secret is to get out there and explore.
Stardew Valley
- Released
- February 26, 2016
- ESRB
- E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Stardew Valley does not currently crossplay between different consoles and PC
Stardew Valley is a charming indie farming scene that took the world by storm. After inheriting a run-down farm from their grandfather, the player moves to Stardew Valley to start a new life away from the city. Grow crops, raise animals, befriend the villagers, and discover the secrets the valley has to offer.
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Android, iOS, PS4, Switch
- How Long To Beat
- 53 Hours
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