Skills in Stardew Valley

Say goodbye to agonising over which profession to choose and questioning whether your actions are really contributing to your experience points. This Quick Guide can be used as a handy cheat sheet for upgrading skills and choosing professions so you can plan ahead and spend less time worrying, and more time watering your starfruits.

Farming

What it does:

• +1 proficiency to the hoe and watering can for every level gained
• Unlocks new cooking and farming-related crafting recipes

How to gain XP:

• Harvest crops
• Care for animals (petting, milking, shearing, or picking up animal products)

Professions:

• Level 5:
  • Rancher – animal products worth 20% more
  • Tiller – crops worth 10% more
• Level 10 (Rancher)
  • Coopmaster – Befriend coop animals quicker and cuts incubation time in half
  • Shepherd – befriend barn animals quicker and sheep produce wool faster
• Level 10 (Tiller)
  • Artisan – Artisan goods worth 40% more
  • Agriculturist – all crops grow 10% faster

Mining

What it does:

• +1 pickaxe proficiency for every level gained
• Unlocks new cooking and mining-related crafting recipes

How to gain XP:

• Break rocks (with pickaxe, bombs, or through the actions of monsters)

Professions:

• Level 5:
  • Miner – +1 ore per vein
  • Geologist – Chance for gems to appear in pairs
• Level 10 (Miner):
  • Blacksmith – Metal bars worth 50% more
  • Prospector – Chance to find coal doubled
• Level 10 (Geologist)
  • Excavator – Chance to find geodes doubled
  • Gemologist – Gems worth 30% more

Foraging

What it does:

• +1 axe proficiency for each level gained
• Unlocks new cooking and foraging-related crafting recipes

How to gain XP:

• Gather forage items found on the ground
• Chop down trees, large stumps and large logs
• Pick up truffles on the farm

Professions:

• Level 5:
  • Forester – wood worth 50% more
  • Gatherer – Chance for double harvest of foraged items
• Level 10 (Forester):
  • Lumberjack – All trees have a chance to drop hardwood
  • Tapper – Syrups worth 25% more
• Level 10 (Gatherer)
  • Botanist – Foraged items are always highest quality
  • Tracker – Location of forageable items revealed.

Fishing

What it does:

• +1 fishing rod proficiency for each level gained
• Increases minimum fish size
• Increases bobber bar height
• Decreases max amount of time before fish bite
• Increases chance of higher quality fish
• Unlocks new cooking and fishing-related crafting recipes

How to gain XP:

• Catch fish (or trash) using a fishing rod/pole
• Harvest crab pot

Professions:

• Level 5:
  • Fisher – Fish are worth 25% more
  • Trapper – Resources required to craft crab pots reduced
• Level 10 (Fisher):
  • Angler – Fish worth 50% more
  • Pirate – chance to find treasure doubled
• Level 10 (Trapper)
  • Mariner – Crab pots no longer produce junk items
  • Luremaster – crab pots no longer require bait

Combat

What it does:

• +5 HP for each level gained (unless stated otherwise)
• Unlocks new cooking and combat-related crafting recipes

How to gain XP:

• Kill monsters

Professions:

• Level 5:
  • Fighter – All attacks deal 10% more damaged (+ 15 HP)
  • Scout – Critical strike chance increased by 50% ( + 0 HP)
• Level 10 (Fighter):
  • Brute – Deal 15% more damage (+ 0 HP)
  • Defender – + 25 HP
• Level 10 (Scout)
  • Acrobat – Cooldown on special moves cut in half (+ 0 HP)
  • Desperado –  Critical strikes are deadly (+ 0 HP)