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Learn about each farm cave type before you make this permanent decision
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Have you been confronted with one of your first big Stardew Valley decisions—should you pick mushrooms or fruit bats for your farm cave? There are pros and cons to both suggestions, though mushrooms tend to be the better choice for new players. If you'd like to learn more about why mushrooms are better or what exactly each type of cave will get you, keep reading!
Things You Should Know
- Once you choose between mushrooms or fruit bats, the decision is permanent. You can't switch between cave types.
- Mushroom caves are the overall best for new players or players that want to focus on mining and exploration.
- Fruit bat caves are best for players who want to befriend villagers faster, as fruit and artisan items make great gifts.
Steps
Section 1 of 4:
Which cave to pick?
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For new players, mushrooms are the better pick. Mushrooms are rare finds, especially during the early part of the game, and having access to Life Elixirs is very important if you want to explore the mines.
- Even if you don't want to mine, you can always use mushrooms to craft Life Elixirs to sell.
- Mushrooms are a more consistent source of income if you want to sell them instead of craft elixirs with them, as they show up with more regularity than fruit.
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If you're interested in befriending villagers, you may want to pick bats. While you may not get fruit as consistently as mushrooms, fruit and fruit-based artisan goods are very good gifts.
- Fruit can sell for more than mushrooms, and you have a chance of getting higher-quality fruit from the cave.
- If you make artisan products like wine or jam with your fruit, they sell for more gold than the base fruit.
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Ultimately, the choice is personal preference. Both caves have benefits and it comes down to your playstyle and what you want to get out of the game.
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Section 2 of 4:
Mushroom Cave: Pros and Cons
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Choosing mushrooms adds six boxes to the farm cave. Five different kinds of mushrooms will grow overnight in these boxes at random. The mushrooms will always be normal quality, even if you have the botanist profession. The mushroom types and their spawn chance are as follows:
- Common Mushroom : 69.8%
- Red Mushroom : 12.3%
- Morel : 8.1%
- Chanterelle : 7.3%
- Purple Mushroom : 2.5%
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Mushrooms are essential for creating Life Elixirs. If you plan to go into the mines a lot, Life Elixirs are very important, as this potion will restore your health to full. The four mushrooms needed to craft Life Elixirs all have a chance of spawning in the mushroom cave. [1] X Research source
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Some Community Center bundles also use mushrooms. Most of the mushrooms that spawn can be used in a number of different bundles, as described below:
- Common Mushroom : Fall Foraging Bundle
- Red Mushroom : Dye Bundle, Exotic Foraging Bundle
- Morel : Exotic Foraging Bundle, Field Research Bundle
- Purple Mushroom : Exotic Foraging Bundle
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Mushrooms don't make very good gifts. The Wizard is one exception—Purple Mushrooms are one of his most loved gifts, so if you want to befriend the Wizard, mushrooms could be a good option for you.
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Normal-quality mushrooms sell for a decent amount of gold. Some fruits sell for more, especially if they are higher quality, but as you can collect mushrooms from your cave with more regularity than fruit, you can earn gold more consistently.
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Section 3 of 4:
Fruit Bat Cave: Pros and Cons
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Choosing fruit bats will cause random fruit to spawn in your cave. Every night there is a chance of fruit spawning, but it depends on how many fruit are already in your cave. The average spawn rate is about 1 fruit per night. [2] X Research source
- Fruit will remain in the cave until you collect it. However, if you have uncollected fruit it will increase the chance that no new fruit will spawn, so you should collect it immediately.
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Both tree fruit and foragable fruit will appear in the cave. These fruits can be normal to gold quality, but will be iridium quality if you have the botanist profession. The list of fruits you can collect broken down by spawn chance are listed below:
- 20% chance : Spice Berry, Wild Plum, Blackberry, Salmonberry
- 3.6% chance : Cherry, Pomegranate, Peach, Orange, Apricot
- 2% chance : Apple
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Some Community Center bundles also use fruits. Most of the fruits that spawn can be used in bundles, which are listed below:
- Summer Foraging Bundle : Spice Berry
- Fall Foraging Bundle : Wild Plum, Blackberry
- Artisan Bundle : Cherry, Pomegranate, Peach, Orange, Apricot, Apple
- Enchanter's Bundle : Pomegranate
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Fruit are universally-liked gifts by Stardew Valley villagers. You can either gift the plain fruits, or turn them into artisan goods like wine or jelly. However, some fruits are especially loved by certain villagers.
- Elliot loves pomegranates, Robin loves peaches, and Gus loves oranges.
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Fruit sells for a decent amount of gold. However, as you aren't guaranteed to get a fruit every night, it might be difficult to earn a decent amount of early-game money by selling fruit.
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