January 13, 2017 - stardew valley, stardew valley, guides

Choosing a Farm

All that really matters is what you like best.

Tier List

S Tier

Standard Farm -- Farming

Standard Farm

Pros:

Cons:

There's no real reason to choose a different map. Farm

Specialty Farms

The specialty maps don't compare very well to the standard farm. Available space is roughly two times larger the riverlands, hill-top, and forest farms and roughly 1/3 larger than the wilderness farm. The unique layouts of the specialty maps create some constraints that some players may find appealing, especially for players who are bored of the standard farm.

That said, these smaller maps reduce some of the complexity/overwhelm of the standard farm.

Trees (including fruit trees!) can be planted on the grassy areas in the specialty farms so the naturally provide places to plant trees.

Most of these farms are severly limited by the spawn rates of their focus, specifically the wilderness and hill-top farms don't spawn their perk nearly enough to be worthwhile.

Riverlands Farm (Fishing)

Best for unique end game strategies and people who want a challenge

Riverlands Farm

Pros: Lots of space for crab pots, convenient access for late night fishing (river fish)

Cons: Smallest map in the game, building structures is highly restrictive (don't bother with animals), fishing isn't any better than fishing in town (significantly loses value after repairing the minecart)

Originally, the riverlands farm was rated poorly but offers significant potential when using a crab pot strategy with recyclying machines. The large availablity of shoreline on this map could make it better than the standard map even though the map is so much smaller than the standard map. This farm's layout makes it signifantly harder to raise animals, so look elsewhere if you're interested in raising a variety of animals.

Having issues with lure master and picking up crab pots? Esotericine has a tip:

Put a sickle in your hand. Or some garbage, such as some of your crab pots are guaranteed to produce. As long as you have SOMETHING in your hand that does nothing on the normal 'use' event, it works fine.

Also, PSA: Time freezes not just when harvesting crops, but also when harvesting from crab pots, so collecting from infinity crab pots only takes the time necessary to walk alongside them. Just hold down the button with bait in hand (if you don't have luremaster) and work your way down the row.

Forest Farm (Foraging)

Best for beginners

Forest Farm

Pros: Early access to hardwood, random foraging items, lots of berries during berry season, relatively large farming space, unique weeds drop mixed seed, very pretty

Cons: None really, not that much space for animals.

The forest farm offers the most quality of life improvements over other farms. While the additional hardwood is fairly marginal, the mixed seeds and seasonal forage items offers a huge advantage when trying to complete the community center, especially for new players.

The additional berry bushes makes it very easy to build a winery without putting too much effort in growing crops early in the first year; these berries are also extremely using for keeping energy levels high early in the game.

Hill-top Farm (Mining)

Best for generalists and people who like aesthetics

Hill-top Farm

Pros: Easy access to mining nodes early in the game, large river for fishing and crab pots

Cons: Mining nodes respawn slowly, no space for buildings, incovenient placing of logs/stones until you can upgrade tools

The mining part of this farm is completely outclassed by the quarry. The river through the middle of the farm offers a lot of potential for crab pots, not as much the riverlands farm but offers a different aethestic appeal.

Wilderness Farm (Combat)

Best for masochists (hard mode)

Wilderness Farm

Pros: Decent space (highest of the specialty farms), more engaging than other farms, prettier the standard map

Cons: Monster spawning can get annoying, monster loot tables are lackluster, any map can spawn monsters later in the game

The advantage of starting with the wilderness farm is somewhat negated by giving a strange bun to the Dark Shrine of Night Terrors in the Witch's Hut; the wilderness farm can also be disabled using the same pocess.

Tip: Don't attack with your axe. Your sickle is your best friend until the mine is unlocked and you can get your sword.

By the Numbers

From the Farm Type Buildable Area Comparison Guide, here's the quick breakdown for each farm:

Resources/Further Reading

Resources