Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update introduced a Mastery system that rewards you with powerful perks and tools through extra skill grinding. It incentivizes you to fish, farm, or forage even after maxing your skills. Here’s a complete Stardew Valley Mastery guide, including how to use and redeem your points.
How to get Mastery Points in Stardew Valley
Unlocking Mastery points requires maxing all five of your skills to level ten. Once you reach level ten in all five skills and claim your last few perk points, you’ll find the Mastery level bar with a hefty experience requirement in your skills menu. You’ll gain Mastery progress by gaining experience through your skills and reading skill books for experience points.
Previously, once you maxed out your skills, there was no real reason to continue with them unless you needed resources or money. Mastery gives this an extra layer by providing valuable rewards for skilling beyond the maximum level. However, you’ll need a lot of experience to level it, with the first level requiring 10,000 experience and ones beyond increasing substantially.
How to redeem Mastery Points in Stardew Valley
Once you reach the first Mastery milestone, you must venture into Cindersap Forest and open Grandpa’s Secret Room south of Leah’s house. The easiest way to find this location is to start from Leah’s house, travel south, and follow the river until you find two wooden bridges connecting the forest’s two halves. Cross the bridge and follow the cliffside until you see a door, which you’ll enter to find a small room with your Mastery reward plaques.
Now that you’re at the door and in the room, you can redeem any Mastery reward you wish. You can obtain one reward for each Mastery level, so choose carefully if you only have one or two.
All Mastery rewards in Stardew Valley
Each Stardew Valley skill has a Mastery reward you can claim, with five total ones up for grabs. Below is every Mastery reward you can obtain:
Combat Mastery
- Anvil: Allows you to re-forge trinkets, randomizing their stats. Costs three Iridium bars per use.
- Mini-Forge: Now, you can use a Dwarvish forge from the convenience of your home.
- Unlocks a new equipment slot for trinkets. Trinkets can be found while adventuring and grant special powers.
Foraging Mastery
- Mystic Tree Seed: This can be planted to grow a special tree.
- Treasure Totem: Use on diggable terrain to summon a ring of treasure spots.
- You can now find Golden Mystery Boxes, which contain superior items.
Farming Mastery
- Iridium Scythe: Can be used to harvest any crops. It’s also excellent at gathering hay.
- Statue of Blessings: Touching the statue gives a unique blessing every day.
- You can now find Golden Animal Crackers, which permanently doubles a farm animal’s produce. Doesn’t work on pigs.
Fishing Mastery
- Advanced Iridium Rod: Use in the water to catch fish. Up to two bobbers can be attached at once.
- Challenge Bait: A “perfect” catch yields triple the fish. However, each time a fish escapes the “fishing bar”, the catch is reduced.
- You can now encounter Golden Fishing Chests.
Mining Mastery
- Statue of the Dwarf King: Choose from two mining-related powers each day.
- Heavy Furnace: It’s more efficient than a regular furnace. Requires 25 pieces of ore and 3 coal per use.
- Gem-bearing rocks now grant twice the gems.
The mastery you choose first will depend entirely on your preferred skill and what sounds the most helpful for your current situation. For example, if you’re on the Meadowlands Farm, having golden animal crackers for your starting chickens might be beneficial. Similarly, Mining Mastery may be the way to go if you enjoy diving into the mines.
