One of the most important things you’ll need to plan as part of any early-game farm in Stardew Valley is when you’re going to upgrade tools (and which upgrades you really need). Indeed, Stardew Valley tools always start out at the basic level; however, you can upgrade your tools to much higher-quality materials, which can make your farming experience more worthwhile overall. Following this thought, today, we’re looking at some of the key things you should know about Stardew tool upgrades. Hopefully, this will help you decide if upgrading might be right for you.
Why are Stardew Valley Tool Upgrades Important?
Stardew Valley tool upgrades are often incredibly important, as they can help streamline your gameplay experience; some are even pivotal for certain actions, such as clearing boulders. As a result, you’ll likely want to consider investing in upgrades at some point in time to streamline your Stardew experience.
Of course, it doesn’t matter how high-quality your tools are if your game is lagging or crashing all the time. So, if this is an issue you’ve experienced with Stardew Valley, why not try upgrading to a ScalaCube server instead for instant access and 24/7 lag-free uptime?
How Do I Upgrade My Tools in Stardew Valley?
In order to upgrade your tools in Stardew Valley, you’ll need to pay Clint the Blacksmith a visit. Clint’s store is found to the far East of Pelican Town, south of the JojaMart store and North-West of the library.
The Blacksmith opens every day between 9 AM and 4 PM, so you don’t necessarily have much time to get there—it’s easy to forget until the store is closed! Keep in mind, though, that this changes after you have restored the Community Center; at this point, Clint will close on Fridays. The store is also closed at 10:30 AM on the 16th of Winter and during festivals.
To upgrade your tools, you’ll need to talk directly to Clint, who will allow you to select which tool you want to upgrade. You’ll need to upgrade your tools in order of quality: copper, steel, gold, and iridium, costing 2000g, 5000g, 10,000g, and 25,000g respectively.
Unfortunately, as with Robin’s shop, you will need to provide the materials for the upgrade. This equates to five solid bars of the appropriate ore type, meaning you’ll need to be able to smelt these before you can upgrade your tools.
In addition, we should stress that Clint will need to take the tool off you to upgrade it, and it takes two days to complete an upgrade; as such, you will temporarily be without the tool. This can be particularly problematic with watering cans, as you won’t be able to water your crops for a day.
Can I Upgrade Weapons in Stardew Valley?
If you need to upgrade your weapons in Stardew Valley, unfortunately, you can’t simply take them to Clint for a boost. However, you can often find better swords and weapons in the mind; alternatively, you can buy better swords from the Adventurer’s Guild.
What About Fishing Rods?
As with weapons, fishing rods aren’t upgraded by Clint as with regular tools. However, you can upgrade them by buying higher-quality rods, and using fish bait can further upgrade your fishing rods (provided you have enough bait, of course).
Which Tool Upgrades Are Worth Doing in Stardew?
It’s not necessarily worth upgrading all of your tools in Stardew Valley, so keeping this in mind is hugely important. Of course, there’s no simple way to say which options are right for you, since it will depend on your play style.
Watering Can
Perhaps the least useful upgrade is the watering can—particularly once you get to the Iron upgrade. Indeed, many people will choose to build sprinklers rather than watering by hand as soon as they start coming across the relevant ores, which can make it somewhat less useful to upgrade your can. With that being said, upgrading the watering can does mean you won’t need to dedicate space to sprinklers; so, this does allow you to grow more crops.
Axe and Pickaxe
Each upgrade of the axe and pickaxe reduces the number of strikes needed to break a boulder or tree. This can be a useful feature, but it’s not necessarily vital—especially if you mainly use the pickaxe in the mines. However, some boulders and log stumps can only be broken down if you have an upgraded tool.
Trash Can
The trash can is perhaps one of the more useful upgrades, as it allows you to reclaim some of an item’s value when trashing it (rather than just deleting it for free). However, even an iridium trash can only yields 60% of the deleted item’s value. As such, shipping the item will still be a better option—provided you have enough bag space, of course.
Why are Stardew Valley Tool Upgrades Important?
Stardew Valley tool upgrades are often incredibly important, as they can help streamline your gameplay experience; some are even pivotal for certain actions, such as clearing boulders. As a result, you’ll likely want to consider investing in upgrades at some point in time to streamline your Stardew experience.Of course, it doesn’t matter how high-quality your tools are if your game is lagging or crashing all the time. So, if this is an issue you’ve experienced with Stardew Valley, why not try upgrading to a ScalaCube server instead for instant access and 24/7 lag-free uptime?
How Do I Upgrade My Tools in Stardew Valley?
In order to upgrade your tools in Stardew Valley, you’ll need to pay Clint the Blacksmith a visit. Clint’s store is found to the far East of Pelican Town, south of the JojaMart store and North-West of the library. The Blacksmith opens every day between 9 AM and 4 PM, so you don’t necessarily have much time to get there—it’s easy to forget until the store is closed! Keep in mind, though, that this changes after you have restored the Community Center; at this point, Clint will close on Fridays. The store is also closed at 10:30 AM on the 16th of Winter and during festivals.
To upgrade your tools, you’ll need to talk directly to Clint, who will allow you to select which tool you want to upgrade. You’ll need to upgrade your tools in order of quality: copper, steel, gold, and iridium, costing 2000g, 5000g, 10,000g, and 25,000g respectively.
Unfortunately, as with Robin’s shop, you will need to provide the materials for the upgrade. This equates to five solid bars of the appropriate ore type, meaning you’ll need to be able to smelt these before you can upgrade your tools.
In addition, we should stress that Clint will need to take the tool off you to upgrade it, and it takes two days to complete an upgrade; as such, you will temporarily be without the tool. This can be particularly problematic with watering cans, as you won’t be able to water your crops for a day.
Can I Upgrade Weapons in Stardew Valley?
If you need to upgrade your weapons in Stardew Valley, unfortunately, you can’t simply take them to Clint for a boost. However, you can often find better swords and weapons in the mind; alternatively, you can buy better swords from the Adventurer’s Guild.What About Fishing Rods?
As with weapons, fishing rods aren’t upgraded by Clint as with regular tools. However, you can upgrade them by buying higher-quality rods, and using fish bait can further upgrade your fishing rods (provided you have enough bait, of course).Which Tool Upgrades Are Worth Doing in Stardew?
It’s not necessarily worth upgrading all of your tools in Stardew Valley, so keeping this in mind is hugely important. Of course, there’s no simple way to say which options are right for you, since it will depend on your play style.Watering Can
Perhaps the least useful upgrade is the watering can—particularly once you get to the Iron upgrade. Indeed, many people will choose to build sprinklers rather than watering by hand as soon as they start coming across the relevant ores, which can make it somewhat less useful to upgrade your can. With that being said, upgrading the watering can does mean you won’t need to dedicate space to sprinklers; so, this does allow you to grow more crops.Axe and Pickaxe
Each upgrade of the axe and pickaxe reduces the number of strikes needed to break a boulder or tree. This can be a useful feature, but it’s not necessarily vital—especially if you mainly use the pickaxe in the mines. However, some boulders and log stumps can only be broken down if you have an upgraded tool.Trash Can
The trash can is perhaps one of the more useful upgrades, as it allows you to reclaim some of an item’s value when trashing it (rather than just deleting it for free). However, even an iridium trash can only yields 60% of the deleted item’s value. As such, shipping the item will still be a better option—provided you have enough bag space, of course.
FAQs
Should I buy ores to upgrade my tools in Stardew Valley?
Generally speaking, buying ores from Clint the Blacksmith will be a waste of money, as the price of them is often very cost prohibitive. However, if you need to get your tools upgraded quickly and only need one or two more ores, it might be worth buying the last couple to ensure the work is started quickly.
Can Clint upgrade my fishing rod and sword in Stardew Valley?
Unfortunately, the only tools that Clint can upgrade are watering cans, hoes, pickaxes, axes, pans, and trash cans. As such, he cannot upgrade your fishing rod or sword; however, you can purchase higher quality versions of these tools.