An Ultimate Guide to Caves In Stardew Valley

Here's the second half of the Mining guide: Caves and Level-up rewards! We're gonna go through the Quarry, the Mines, the Skull Cavern, and the Volcano, with a mention towards the dangerous dungeons. After this, we only have the combat guide left!
Sections:
0:00 - Intro
1:07 - The Quarry
2:34 - Mechanics of the Mines
4:18 - The Mines Biomes
9:06 - Remixed Mines Rewards
10:00 - The Skull Cavern
13:31 - The Volcano
17:26 - The Dangerous Dungeons
18:09 - Mining Level-up Rewards
Here's the lofi Stardew Valley music I use a lot:
djcutman.bandcamp.com/album/s...
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🐦 Twitter - / salmence100

[@ropeburn6684]

The golden scythe is actually a LOT better than the regular one. Not only does it cut grass completely instead of half, but the chance for getting hay is raised from 50 to 75%.

[@jigglypuff_foryoutube1700]

I didn’t know that about the hay increase!

[@robertorivas527]

And i heard concerned ape is thinking of adding an iridium scythe as well

[@Deeweiss7]

​@@robertorivas527 yea i want to see this one too 100% hay haha or 90% at least, i mean in real life i get 100% of the hay we chop xD

[@depthvorpa4460]

Does 13 damage too

[@codykaufman2835]

It’s better but not enough to go out of your way for lol

[@SimuLord]

Floors 11-29 are great for not just farming bug meat but completing the Adventurer's Guild challenge for killing cave insects. The reward, the Insect Head Sword, is viable for a long time if you get it early (10-20 damage.)

[@sobblegaming350]

Its not viable at all the wood club is at floor 24

[@SimuLord]

@@sobblegaming350 It's viable if you use swords for combat. I find clubs too slow and I'm not a Stardew pro who can use animation canceling to buff their attack speed.

[@sobblegaming350]

@@SimuLord the issue is that u have to grind or get lucky to get a decent weapon before floor 90. Also the hammer cooldown is so strong that u barely use the basic attack.

[@TimeLady8]

I never use the insect head. To me, it's just free gold.

[@Robin-ph1ss]

I do grind insects cus they have a decent chance for ancient seed but it's usually later so I can be speedy in the slaughter cus it may not drop. By then the insect head is backup if I forget the main at home or lose it.

[@thewolfofthestars1847]

I must also point out the extremely niche use for the Excavator profession, which is to grind for Omni Geodes in the Skull Caverns to buy the rainbow cowboy hat from the desert trader

[@slwrabbits]

Thank you for pointing that out! Re-speccing to Excavator now since I'm trying to collect omni geodes to trade for artifact troves. (Just ... need ... the dang ... bone flute ...)

[@haydenhunt5397]

Not all heroes wear capes

[@indie.101]

​@slwrabbits reading this the same day i got a bone flute from the normal caves in my latest year 1 playthrough 😭😭😭 wish you luck on your excavating bro!!

[@maeves.w.7156]

Exactly! Also for buying artifact troves for filling out the museum if you don't want to carry your hoe everywhere :P

[@extraterrestrial1614]

My current problem rn, I want one for my horse too 😤

[@jeancolley8908]

I used the transmute feature SO MUCH in my "no leaving the farm" run. Copper nodes spawned way more on the hilltop farm than iron or gold, so it was critical to my midgame

[@salmence100]

Ah that would make sense! I didn't think about the hilltop farm!

[@slwrabbits]

it's also nice if you just need one more bar and don't feel like running all the way to the mines

[@chubbybunny6975]

Ohh that's genius! I might give that a try

[@Ilikesceptile11]

Same here, I used it a lot in my first ever Stardew playthrough for when I didn't want to get to floor 40 of the mines to get iron.

[@farmerash]

I would argue that Prospector is very much worth grabbing when you hit level 10 mining. For me at least it seems I still need to MAKE a ton more bars for sprinklers, tappers, kegs, crystalariums, etc. And also stuff like Preserve Jars that need a lot of coal to craft. And because of that I'm usually not selling bars for at least 2-3 more seasons after getting to mining 10. So rather than the profession that does nothing at all, I'd rather grab the one that saves me some money and time in the present, and just reset the skill when I do start getting more bars than I need for crafting purposes.

[@Anolaana]

I usually get my coal from dust sprite farming personally! But being able to reset skills is super helpful these days.

[@ropeburn6684]

I usually tend to run a tree farm and two dozen kilns for industrial coal production instead 😂

[@samlewis6487]

I tend to sell iridium late game because it's not useful for that many recipes that you need to make a lot of (other than sprinklers and tool upgrades), so it's useful late but not until then

[@LAZERAK47V2]

Yeah, it's definitely a solid contender if you've hit lvl 10 Mining earlier in the game, because odds are, you aren't selling your bars at that point for money, so Blacksmith is basically providing nothing to you. Better to switch to it once you've essentially got everything you need all set up.

[@iBukko]

The easiest way to farm auto petters (imo) is by getting into the dangerous mines and finding infested floors, in which you'll find lots of slimes, they can drop auto petters (not only in the infested floors but these floors are full of slimes) AND infested floors will always be infested, if you find one, clear it up, and no auto petters were dropped, you can go out of the mines and tp to the infested floor so that you can try again, this allowed me to farm 2 auto petters in like a week, which might sound like too much time but trust me, they're so rare and worth it and will completely free you (when you have too many animals you can spend easily you entire morning just by petting them, which is a bit frustrating if you wanted to do something else)

[@ingridplata2411]

In the ice levels of the mines you've also got those crystals you can break with a weapon and have a low chance to drop refined quartz

[@rainboSnails]

for awhile i didnt know you could smelt quartz and i relied on the crystals to be able to make sprinklers lol

[@supervegito1356]

​@@rainboSnails😂😂 playing from 2020 never got a single refined quartz from crystals

[@schzleepy]

A little late but you can smelt quartz? I was just fishing on lvl 100 and hoping to get eyeglasses and broken cd for the refined quartz

[@samlewis6487]

​@@rainboSnails I always used the recycling machine and trash fishing on the farm.

[@leannam4000]

This might be kinda weird but stardew valley is a big comfort game to me, and your videos are actually really really helpful for me. I’m struggling lately with some stuff and I don’t really feel confident at night so I try to keep my mind busy, and while I make my art and no one else is awake I just listen to your videos. Sometimes I hate peoples voices from some sound sensitivity but yours hasn’t bothered me. When I watch your videos at night I don’t feel as scared or alone. Apologies if that’s weird, I just wanted to try to show some appreciation for helping me cope through some stuff.

[@momomartini]

i like that salmence doesnt tell you what to do he just gives you litterally everything and anything you need to make ur own decision based on ur run or playstyle 🥰🥰🥰

[@sobblegaming350]

Yay a new video! Btw every gem node can be found on any floor after finishing the mines. Also all enemies have 2x health after finishing the mines.

[@yoink297]

that explains why i sometimes dont one shot dust spirits with the lava katana

[@LAZERAK47V2]

Another niche fact about the Mines is that, while certain Gem nodes won't spawn until certain floors, if you happen to find a gem while Fishing, this allows that specific Gem Node to spawn on any floor. So if you find an Emerald in a chest early enough, you have a chance of finding Emerald nodes on earlier floors.

[@sobblegaming350]

@@LAZERAK47V2 I can't believe there's still things I don't know about this game!

[@bubbiemahoney8147]

Salmence uploaded so it is a good day :)

[@najkus0000]

agree

[@tobiasvaldez4816]

Very good indeed

[@obesus3248]

Today is a good day -Soldier TF2

[@brittany62rae]

That’s real

[@fuzyfuzfuz2]

YAAASSSS!!!!❤❤❤

[@davidci]

Finally, someone said it about Haunted Skulls dropping Skeletal Hands. The 1st drop I got from a Haunted Skull was a Skeletal Hand and I've just been so confused how that was even possible to get

[@bakes887]

I like to think that someone stole their bodies (the wizard?) and some of them managed to keep hold of one of their hands.

[@chrispalumbo5556]

Is it a Skeletron reference? (boss from terraria)

[@SwedePotato314]

These guide videos and the comments on them (and the whole community tbh) have been INSANELY helpful. I don’t get nearly as much time to play as I’d like and Sal and the comments have saved me soooo much time I would’ve wasted doing a lot of trial and error or just flat out wasted from doing things wrong or not at all. I love that this game can be played any way you want and I really just wanted a chill game to play after work before bed and I’ve been able to get that experience with you guys’ help. Thank you!! And and all newbie tricks are welcome! ❤

[@renoftheshadows]

There's also a small chance of getting an ancient seed if you cut the foliage on prehistoric floors! I often pick Prospector because I usually hit level 10 mining before I'm making a ton of money to buy coal and I'm always using so much wood for kegs that I don't use the charcoal kiln. I tend to make a ton of preserves jars for strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries and those require coal. So, that's why I often pick Prospector. Later game I would use the Statue of Uncertainty to change to Blacksmith to sell my bars since I tend to hoard. ^^;

[@mentalquorum3116]

I find that I don't much care for either of the level 10 upgrades as much as the plus one ore you can get at level 5. Though I don't normally have a lot of trouble with coal due to prioritizing the burglar ring

[@renoftheshadows]

@@mentalquorum3116 The burglar ring definitely helps!

[@mentalquorum3116]

@@renoftheshadows though, since you prioritize preserve jars, I don't know if that would keep up... I normally go after kegs by the time I'm ready to pursue artisan products (early to mid summer)

[@derpyturtle1155]

Prospector is also very nice for more casual playthroughs of the game newer players and very casual players often don't get hundreds of thousands a week and don't want to grind out the burglar ring, so having that doubled chance makes it a lot easier. The charcoal machine helps a bit, but also, a lot of casual players will use wood for decorations a lot, with fences, signs, path, etc.

[@ropeburn6684]

Although all those fruit are significantly more profitable when turned into wine. If you can't make wine fast enough, build more sheds and fill them with kegs. A tapping farm and tree farm using tree fertiliser helps a lot with that.

[@gamewrit0058]

I now want to put a rug in the mines entrance. It looks like a portal! Great tutorial. Still adore that intro, too.

[@sovietbot6708]

The floors with the haunted skulls don't start appearing until after you unlock the bridge to the quarry

[@ralcogaming7674]

I can say with absolute certainty this isnt true. It's rare but I think luck plays a part 4 bad luck days I got around 6 total 3 of them one after another. And u haven't completed any bundles yet

[@GamingWDesti]

there's a reason i love the floors 11-29. they help me get bug meat and complete the adventurer's guild insect challenges

[@salmence100]

It’s so useful for such an early part of the mines!

[@GamingWDesti]

@@salmence100 mhm!

[@el1ks1r]

You never have enough coal (i usually get mining 10 pretty early) so i always choose prospector. Statue of uncertainty helps with changing profession and selling the bars if needed. In speedruns/min-max runs Blacksmith is better for sure.

[@sobblegaming350]

Exactly prospector is so good early game, but usually by winter I get good skull cavern runs and get over 500 iridium ore, so selling the bars during that season where crops can't grow is amazing.

[@fifsqueak]

just put on burglar ring and go to town with the dust sprites for massive amounts of coal

[@sobblegaming350]

@@fifsqueak its not enough

[@sobblegaming350]

@@fifsqueak I'm grinding coal half the time and never have enough for the many preserve jars, bee houses, scarecrows, and metal bars that I need.

[@wonderlandzer0]

Same! I'm always needing coal so Prospector was a no brainer for me lol

[@i_am_ergo]

11:27 I think it was worth mentioning that Iridium Bats have a 5% chance to drop a battery pack, which is insanely good if you got unlucky with rain storms during the first summer. For instance, on my most recent playthrough, I only had two stormy days in the entire season. The bats basically saved the run.

[@kirbyjoe7484]

This right here is so true. Nothing is worse than a year one where you have a storm drought and the days it does storm are low luck so there isn't enough lightning to fill all your rods.

[@LAZERAK47V2]

Another (unreliable) way to get Battery Packs is to make friends with Pam. She actually sends you some great stuff, though the Energy Tonic did get nerfed slightly.

[@motz0cheeeow_rex]

Someone else has probably said this but you can get an auto-petter very rarely from boss slimes in the dangerous mines (I think it's like a 2% chance) Edit: Also Geologist can double geodes too

[@lilblondiebear]

I’ve just started playing SDV and this is exactly the subject guide I was about to search for! Talk about Impeccable timing!!

[@salmence100]

Glad it could help!!

[@extraflamey]

In my experience, rock crabs don't seem to spawn on "pyramid floors" (I call them "mummy floors"). This makes breaking iridium nodes a lot less dangerous. Of course, there are still mummies and ghosts you have to content with...

[@ralcogaming7674]

Iridium bats also have a small chance to drop battery packs. Which is great if you're trying to complete the boat in winter like I was.

[@meganhuwawei6814]

Don't forget to take your watering can to the volcano mines!

[@DanielSchmidt94521]

Thanks after watching your video for 2 minutes I already found out how to get lower in the caves by using the elevator I had no idea how they were getting down so far. I have yet to find the iridium and I appreciate your video. I've been playing this game for 2 months now.

[@samostraka9891]

I really appreciate the amount of work you put into these videos, keep it up!!

[@MeganBeaty]

Your videos have been so useful with helping me get back into stardew and teaching me a lot of new things , thanks for the great information!

[@always_player_2]

Love catching your videos right when I wake up bc it means it'll be a good day!

[@RetroYuuki]

I am enjoying Stardew Valley and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon music is good stuff. This does remind us of that game for the mines since the mines are random too

[@inkblotCrisis]

There's a lot to mining. You could say it's pretty deep.

[@linkatronic]

Great guide! I enjoy the breakdown on skills and what you recommend.

[@corratheangel3336]

That intro... i just... its perfect! Thank you for that simply incredible combination XD

[@GobiMastermind49]

Love your videos, they're so helpful! I'd love to see one about all of the professions and their pros and cons.

[@roberthiltz2741]

My wife and I are playing a split screen coop game right now so I am watching your videos with her so she can become a master like me ( a master only because I have enjoyed all of your content!) Thanks!

[@CapoFisk]

You know it’s gonna be a good day with a Salmence upload.

[@ALegendthateatslunchatam]

Pretty sure +Mining also buffs ur Pickaxe efficiency, but that doesnt really matter if u have lots of bombs in possession

[@mr.tophat2388]

I click on this to learn about caving and get greeted with the absolute best intro to something like this that I have ever seen

[@intel_coar6844]

What I like about the prospector job is that by the point in the game where I get it, I’ve got way better money making options with ancient fruits and barns full of pigs. The extra coal isn’t exactly game changing but it sure as hell is convenient, you can never have too much coal

[@somerobloxdude3699]

The use of Mining Melancholy in the video was very appreciated

[@alexisJonius]

Pog new guide dropped as im watchin the series for the third time

[@victoriasanderson3948]

With 1.6, the Quarry is so much more useful with tje amount of coal nodes in it!! Its so good for the occasional coal boost

[@chadchanokbeckwith8108]

I like when you talk slow and clear when you speak so it’s make me a lot easier to understand and get all of information and a trick in the game 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@jimmyrodriguez5670]

I got my first prismatic shard from the quarry. Love the DKC music btw.

[@matthewchandler7845]

Yuppers...another master class video! Well done!

[@dahnyul]

I love your content so much! Amazing info and so helpful! Thank you so much :-)

[@bruhdotwmv]

I legit forgot about this series. time to watch everything I missed.

[@sxnnykay]

YESSS THE AVATAR REFERENCE AT THE START! My favourite show combined with my favourite game is perfection ❤

[@magicalminis3684]

Bro, you do your job so well. I'm gonna have to start playing stardew again haha!

[@felipe8595]

The Donkey Kong Country 2 Soundtrack ❤ 2:34

[@jordynbeloved4268]

Thank you so much for this video. This helped a lot

[@Tiny-xbx]

I just started playing this game so I appreciate the timing of all these vids

[@justmeyo4589]

Same here. And I'm astounded by the depth. Here I am just struggling to get to mine level 10

[@darlenedarl9769]

man i love this intro i keep rewathcing it and never skipping ahah

[@Raquelinax]

intro is perfect *chefs kiss*

[@nolashtheartist]

I had no idea about the elavator. Thank you

[@Icecolten1]

Excellent choice of music for the regular mines. DK2 baby!

[@Pokeepogo]

Still one of my favorite series intros on youtube

[@table_the_god]

At 2:30 it's an EXTREMLY far stretch but it can potentially be a skeletron reference from terraria

[@KOtheRipper]

The M&L partners in time desert theme gave me nostalgia hard!

[@macazootie]

Not me, the Prospector, feeling some way about the shade dropped on my regular coal shortage. Now that I've got fat stacks of gold to just buy bombs from the Dwarf, which eat up coal, and I'm collecting too many metal & radioactive bars to use, it'll make more sense to change to Blacksmith, but I've only sold 1 of each to satisfy the items shipped collection so far, because I'm a terrible hoarder...you never know when something will come in handy.

[@CaitlynNeill0215]

Love the intro!

[@Sam-lr9oi]

aw I hadn't noticed before that the intro is other youtubers, that's sweet :)

[@mohatugm4953]

Another awesome video! I want to play paper Mario after watching this ;) Love that song

[@toffeejc]

The music from DK2 makes me so happy.

[@WaddenSeaSiren]

Loved this! Thanks!

[@theerfqueen3510]

I LOVE THE INTRO THOUGH

[@chubbybunny6975]

You can fall more than 15 floors in Skull Caverns! I've fallen 18 before, I didn't know it could be that many

[@alainaraquel4990]

PLS. THE INTRO ALONE GETS A SUB FROM ME 😭😭

[@Rabbitzan]

Okay Great video this exactly what I was looking for and will apply soon but right now it's raining in spring and i need to go catch a legend fish xD

[@StandAloneSoul]

I love this series! :)

[@AudioBoi234]

Great content , thank you ❤

[@RequiemFrost]

Im sure a lot of people know this, but if you're going for Willy's 100 bug meat challenge, be sure to hit the Mutant Bug lair everyday. Guarenteed 15 to 20 bug meat

[@avery4163]

Oooo where is that??

[@slwrabbits]

​@@avery4163Sewers, but you have to finish the community center or Joja first

[@Coccinelf]

On my first play through I was really bad with the mines. I was still on level 15 after 3 years. The first day I decided to wait until a good luck day before going in the mines, I got attacked by a hunted skull. In level 17 or something. But I’m sure it’s rare, on my second and third play through, I got to level 120 without any hunted skull killing my fun.

[@charlesdarwin4780]

Just for the intro, you get a like. Thanks for the video, good fun.

[@HappyNewtmas]

This intro is everything

[@xbane5109]

Nice a new upload thanks man greetings from Germany

[@potatoempress5731]

Propspector all the way for the coal. It's the most used fuel for basically 60% of production tbh. You even need the coal to make the metal bars for the Blacksmith proffession 🤷🏽‍♀

[@pubby1527]

Awesome video!!

[@stevejeffrey11]

That intro was amazing haha

[@matthewgladback8905]

19:40 I also find copper to be more scarce than iron. It has to do with the spawn rate for ore nodes; in the early levels of the mines where copper spawns, ore is simply rare in general, so you don't get much copper. The best place for copper in the regular mines seems to be the dark floors (which most players avoid, as it's annoying and there's not much else to find there.) Players generally won't unlock the Miner profession until well after they've left the copper section of the mines behind. In the end, the best place to farm copper that I know of is the early levels of the Skull Cavern. (The Skull Cavern is an abundant source of whatever.) Iron cohabits the frozen floors with the dust sprites most players will be grinding for unlocks (Burglar's Ring) and coal. The other reason is that I tend to use a lot more copper than iron. Copper bars for Crab Pots and Tappers, and ore for furnaces (I think this is a big one, frankly.) Meanwhile, iron bars are only used for the first two sprinklers, and what, Recycling Machines? Gold bars are far more limiting for the quality sprinklers, so iron never seems to be an issue. It might be a little different if the explosive ammo crafting recipe unlocked earlier. As it is, I usually unlock that after I've been farming the Skull Caverns for a while.

[@1lucia]

lol I love the creative intro

[@ham8426]

I swapped over to prospector in my last game, was running a ton of bee hives and between smelting the iron for bars and the raw coal cost of the hives it really hit my coal reserves hard, I also setup coal furnaces and a whole tree farm in the Quarry.

[@PoliticRevolutionnaire]

What would you say is the best way to find secret notes? I saw that monsters have a 3.3% chance of dropping them so I have gone back to the dust sprite levels but I've had poor luck recently and just want to complete all of them

[@dagreif187]

The golden scythe gives a better chance to turn grass into hay for those of us averse to Marnies hay prices 👍🏼

[@Gumygum62]

You can also get diamonds from the duggies in the earth floors, before you reach the bottom. At least that's what the wiki says. 1% chance

[@kennycarter5682]

more caves are always better. hopefully future updates add more caves to explore

[@avatarninjacat]

As a prospector stan, how dare you. (Joking here) I find it easier to grind the sprites with prospector and a burglars ring than burning all that wood into charcoal (wood is precious) or buying coal when saving for things like the golden clock. I never sell bars anyway because I'm so busy using them for crystalariums or kegs or whatnot. You also forgot to add that the grubs on the early mine floors have a higher chance to drop ancient seeds.

[@salmence100]

Wait, does prospector also affect the chance for coal drops from enemies? Because that kinda changes things

[@avatarninjacat]

@@salmence100 that has been my experience but I could be wrong. It might just be my imagination but I always felt like I got more from all sources.

[@avatarninjacat]

@@salmence100 it says find so I assume monsters also count

[@renoftheshadows]

@@avatarninjacat that's been my experience as well.

[@trumplostlol3007]

The flying skull head can also be present in the regular mine! I have encountered them a couple of time.

[@Rg-su9xl]

I started seeing them after lv. 100 in the regular mine and my blood pressure hasn’t been the same since

[@slwrabbits]

Yeah, it unlocks when you first visit the quarry mine. You get a small chance to spawn a skull floor. This was not something I wanted to learn by experiencing it first-hand (and then running for my life because I was very low level).

[@Krlytz]

Looking forward to the combat guide! It's by far the skill I'm worse at 😅

[@talosine2963]

I was just rewatching the series lmao

[@adianahernandez439]

I would recommend eating spicy eel if you go into the skull caverns they make you faster and give you lots of energy

[@aliciatherat6451]

The visuals you put in your videos are so useful would u ever put them in a google doc or something similar to have as a reference sheet?

[@Lillis_life11]

omg i LOVE the intro hahaha

[@leftoclock]

Woah, well done, this is a really good guide!! I mean… I didn’t even know that after skull cavern (where I still need to go 😢) there were other mines/caves 😂😂😭😭. Mines are definitely the worst part of the game for me, and it sucks bc the iridium is really needed to progress, so mines are a must 😢. These kind of guides are very useful!! 😊

[@slwrabbits]

I actually find the volcano dungeon easier than the skull cavern, as it's simply shorter. So I grind the volcano in order to prepare for skull!

[@leftoclock]

@@slwrabbits I still need to get the materials to got to the island so... 💀😂

[@slwrabbits]

@@leftoclock Just keep playing until you get through Grandpa's evaluation, then you should have plenty of iridium.

[@arikrex9978]

you forgot to add that enemies get some baffs after you reach floor 120

[@gamerman11x]

10/10 on the intro

[@adiksaff]

Endgame question. Does Miner's +1 ore apply to cinder shard nodes? I've been on the fence switching from Prospector -> Gemologist

[@commandertaboo7734]

you don't mention ancient seeds from the bugs come on

[@BrittniKent]

Adorable intro 😂 love it

[@radicaljoedst1365]

And here I thought I was special for finding my first mystic stone in the quarry, apparently everyone else found it there too and also got a prismatic shard out of it.

[@huenguyenthi6232]

What a great day today is