Grandpa's Shrine in Stardew Valley

One of the most mysterious parts of the early game in Stardew Valley is the Grandpa Shrine, which can be found in the North-Western corner of the farm. This Shrine is marked with a note stating that the player should return at the Dawn of Year 3—leaving it enshrouded in mystery up until that point. But what is Grandpa's Shrine in Stardew
Valley, and what does it actually mean for your game?

What is the Stardew Valley Grandpa Shrine?

If you've explored your farm at all, chances are that you'll have stumbled across the Grandpa Shrine. Indeed, Grandpa's Shrine is located in the top Northwestern corner of your farm, but for the first few years of the game, it is completely inaccessible. When the third year rolls around, though, you will be able to interact with the Grandpa Shrine for the first time.

Understanding Grandpa's Evaluation

At the start of the third year in Stardew Valley, you may notice that Grandpa's Shrine is decorated with a number of candles. This actually relates to a function known as "Grandpa's Evaluation," which measures your completion of the game up until that point. As such, understanding

How to Get 4 Candles in Stardew Valley's Grandpa Shrine

The number of candles that appear in Grandpa's shrine will depend on your performance in the game up until the evaluation time. Critically, this is determined based on a points system, where a total of 21 points are available (and a minimum of 12 are required to get the maximum of four candles).

There are numerous different ways that you can earn points, and the better your performance, the more points you'll receive. These are as follows.

Financial Points: Up to 7 Points

The most points available in one go are for your farm's financial success during the two-year window prior to the dawn of year three. This is based on a cumulative system of point scoring, where each earnings milestone awards
additional points. Each milestone is worth one point, with the exception of the final milestone that's worth two.

• 50,000g
• 100,000g
• 200,000g
• 300,000g
• 500,000g
• 1,000,000g

In total, players who have made 1,000,000 (one million) g during the two year window will automatically start out with 7 points towards the goal of 12. It is hence worth noting that, in order to complete Grandpa's Shrine, financial performance alone won't be enough; you will still need to complete other tasks, too.

Skill Points: Up to 2 Points

Another way to earn points that's relatively simple is to focus on skill. Indeed, there are five main skills in Stardew Valley, and Grandpa's Shrine awards one point for individuals with at least 30 levels in total. However, if you can max out every skill to level 10, you'll also receive an additional bonus point.

Achievement Points: Up to 3 Points

There are three in-game achievements that play towards the number of points you've earned. These are the Complete Collection, Master Angler, and Full Shipment achievements, and they provide one additional point towards your goal for each achievement accomplished in the game.

Relationship Points: Up to 4 Points

Making friends can definitely pay itself forwards in terms of Grandpa's Shrine. Indeed, with up to four points available, it can make a big difference. The four main relationship goals are as follows:

• Have a five-heart friendship with your pet
• Have an eight-heart friendship with five or more villagers
• Have an eight-heart friendship with ten or more villagers
• Have undergone two house upgrades and be married

Completing any of these will award one point; as such, for all four steps, you can potentially get up to four points for your relationships made along the way.

Community Center Achievements—Up to 3 Points

If you go down the Community Center route, you can potentially get up to three bonus points for completing the Center and attending the completion ceremony. This is one of the easiest ways to get extra points often, as most people will have been working towards this already. If you chose the Joja route, though, this option won't be available to you.

Key Points—Up to 2 Points

Obtaining both the Rusty Key and the Skull Key can offer one point each towards Grandpa's Evaluation. You don't necessarily need to have actively used the keys, though.

What if I Don't Get All Four Candles in my Evaluation?

If you don't get all four candles, don't panic; you can re-trigger Grandpa's Evaluation by putting a diamond into the Shrine and waiting until the next Stardew day.

What is the Reward for Getting All Four Candles?

The reward for getting all four candles is the Statue of Perfection. The Statue of Perfection generates anywhere between two and eight iridium ores per day idly, making it an incredibly useful tool. You will need to manually interact with the shrine once you've got all eight candles to claim this.

Of course, the lack of notice about the reward can leave people missing out. Fortunately, you won't have to worry about missing out on gaming time with a ScalaCube server, which offers 24/7 uptime. So, why chance it?

New For Stardew Valley 1.6: The Secret Grandpa Cellar

Another development in Stardew Valley version 1.6 is the introduction of a new feature: the secret Grandpa cellar, otherwise known as the Mastery Cave. The entrance can be found in Cindersap Forest (near where the spring onions grow), and it can only be entered once you have mastered all five skills in the game.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

The player's grandpa is an incredibly influential figure in Stardew Valley lore, being the person responsible for gifting the farm to the player in the first place. However, he had more than his fair share of secrets—and, with both the Grandpa Shrine and "Grandpa's Cellar" (the Mastery Cave) to discover, there's certainly a lot to learn. Hopefully, today's guide will have helped you find out a little more and prepare your gameplay accordingly.