Cozy game and indie sensation, Stardew Valley, released a massive patch last March, and now will finally be coming to consoles on November 4, 2024. The changes that this update brings are so large in scope that it revitalized the game. With a new farm to choose from, more festivals, oodles of new furniture and decorations, and so much more, console players have been anxiously awaiting this update for several months.
Bringing patch 1.6 to consoles took Stardew Valley developer, ConcernedApe, much longer than he initially thought, but his focus on quality means that this lengthy delay should pay off. Beginning November 4, players on console and mobile can enjoy all the new content which is added with this update, which might feel a bit overwhelming to some. There is so much new content to discover, it could take a long, but relaxing, time to uncover it all, and here are some things to start checking out to see what 1.6 has to offer.
10 Check Out The New Furniture Catalogues And Other Items
Tons Of New Furniture And More To Decorate With
Decorating the farmhouse just got a lot more enjoyable, with Stardew Valley 1.6 adding in several catalogues with themed furniture for the game. Although players will have to hunt down these catalogues, which can cost quite a lot of money from some vendors, once obtained, the items within the catalogue are free to purchase.
Catalogue | Price | Where To Find |
|---|---|---|
Joja Furniture Catalogue | 30,000 (Cart) or 25,000 (JojaMart) | Traveling Cart or JojaMart |
Junimo Catalogue | 70,000 | Traveling Cart |
Retro Catalogue | 110,000 | Traveling Cart |
Trash Catalogue | Free | Trash Cans |
Wizard Catalogue | 150,000 | Krobus’ Shop |
Unsurprisingly, the Trash Catalogue is free, although players may have to dig through quite a few trash cans before they can stumble across this catalogue of junk. Once players have gotten their hands on a catalogue, all the items listed within are free, with unlimited amounts. These collections can have roughly between 17 and 70 new items listed to decorate a home with, including wallpaper and flooring options.
Obtaining the catalogues can be a bit of a hunt, as they only have a small chance of appearing in the shops each day. For example, the Junimo Catalogue only has a 10% chance of being listed in the store inventory, and only after players have completed either the Community Center Bundles or the Joja Community Development Form.
9 Chat With The Golden Joja Parrot To Find All 130 Golden Walnuts
That Parrot Is Expensive, But Helpful For The Hard To Find Walnuts
In patch 1.5 Stardew Valley introduced the new Ginger Island location which can be visited after repairing the boat inside Willy’s Fish Shop. On the island, there are 130 Golden Walnuts hidden around the different areas, and some can be incredibly difficult to find. These Golden Walnuts are important for purchasing rewards from the parrots around the island.
With 1.6, there is a new Golden Joja Parrot which can be found on Ginger Island, which will find any Golden Walnuts that players have been unable to find, but they don’t come cheap. Depending on how many walnuts are left to find, this parrot could cost hundreds of thousands to finish this little Easter egg hunt.
8 Talk To Everyone For Some Fun, New NPC Interactions
New Dialogue For Better Interactions And Immersion
Stardew Valley characters got a bit more personality with the 1.6 patch, which added new NPC cutscenes and dialogue for interactions. These changes can help add a bit more life to the game, particularly for players who have been talking with these NPCs for several years in real life, and makes the game feel a bit more immersive.
NPCs also will now (thankfully) simply move a chest out of their walking path rather than immediately destroying it as they did previously.
Each character has a few new responses to different gifts or from things that happened. For example, villagers now may take notice and comment when the player character begins dating one of the other NPCs, or even become excited about a recently harvested crop.
7 Visit The New Bookseller
Books Of Power Can Give Valuable Perks
There are 19 Books of Power in Stardew Valley, and while some come from quest rewards or rare drops, others can simply be purchased from the new Bookseller in the game. The Bookseller is a hot air balloon store which will land twice every season on random dates, which are noted on the calendar by a balloon. The books available for purchase will be random selections each time, and players can also trade books that they already have.
Purchasing books can give perks and experience in certain skills. The coveted Book of Stars will give some experience in all skills, while some others may be specifically targeted at fishing, mining, combat, etc. Some can also increase running speed or even help players become friends with NPCs faster.
6 Gather Moss For New Crafting Items
Watch For The Green Rain Event
Gathering moss in Stardew Valley might not sound like the most fun thing to do, or even that important, yet this new feature has many benefits. During Spring, Summer, and Fall, some of the common trees around the valley have a chance to grow moss. Moss is used in crafting items such as the Statue of Blessing, Deluxe Worm Bin, Mushroom Log, and more.
Whenever a Green Rain event occurs in the summers, moss will cover many of the possible trees and some can grow Mossy Seeds that can grow Green Rain Trees. A fully grown Green Rain Tree with moss on it can spread moss to common trees nearby it, helping to spawn more moss for the player to use.
5 Fishing Got A Lot More Fun
New Fish, Fishing Festivals, And More
Players who enjoy fishing can have a lot to love with patch 1.6. Two fishing related mini-festivals, the Trout Derby and SquidFest, have been added to the game, as a new fishing frenzy mode in winter. A new fish, the goby is only found in the waterfall, but can be caught in any season. There are also new baits that can make fishing easier, including some species-specific baits that can be either bought or crafted.
To make it a little bit more fun from a cosmetic approach, there are several types of bobbers, one of which can even tell players what fish is on the line before reeling it in. Once a player has caught some fish, the new Fish Smoker artisan item can make the fish much more valuable to sell.
4 Plant All The New Crops
Carrots, Summer Squash, Broccoli, And Powdermelon
Stardew Valley is naturally a game with a heavy focus on farming, and with patch 1.6 there is now one new crop for each season.
- Carrots in Spring
- Summer Squash in Summer
- Broccoli in Fall
- Powdermelon in Winter
The only merchant that sells these seeds is Mrs. Raccoon who will have to be unlocked after doing the Giant Stump Questline. Even if someone has not yet done that questline, however, there are still some other ways of obtaining the new seeds. Some Artifact Spots and Golden Fishing Chests may have them, as well as some Skull Cavern barrels or even the Prize Machine in Mayor Lewis’ house.
3 Obtain The New Meowmere Sword
A Secret Weapon Based On Terraria
A special, if unusual, new weapon is available in Stardew Valley with this update: The Meowmere. This secret sword is based on a weapon of the same name that is in the game Terraria and has a colorful and very unique appearance. When used in combat to slay an enemy, the monster will explode into rainbow sparkles. Interestingly, this is also the only sword in the game which will do exactly the same amount of damage with every attack.
The Meowmere can only be found by placing a Far Away Stone on the plant pedestal in the basement of the Wizard’s Tower. Getting the Far Away Stone is no simple task, with players having to go through a convoluted series of steps to get it, all of which mimics a similar ritual in Terraria.
2 Begin The Giant Tree Stump Quest
Meet Some New Raccoon Neighbors
One random morning, players will get an announcement of a strong windstorm that happened during the night. During this storm, the large tree that was west of Marnie’s Ranch became a Giant Tree Stump, and has a quest available. Although it seems a bit strange to donate supplies to a tree stump in order to repair said stump, doing so will eventually lead to meeting a Raccoon with several quests.
The Raccoon Family, which builds their home in this stump, becomes a fun addition to Stardew Valley, and after a long series of quests, Mrs. Raccoon will open a shop. Her store will sell the new seeds that have been added with 1.6, as well as furniture, a Book of Power, and more.
1 Start A New Game On The Meadowlands Farm
Livestock Focused Farm With Two Chickens
Another new farm layout has been added with update 1.6, the Meadowlands Farm. Each farm map seems to have a focus for what it is best for. Riverland Farm is good for fishing, Forest Farm is great for foraging, and so forth. This new Meadowlands Farm is perfectly set up for players who want to raise animals on a ranch, with areas of blue grass and a coop with two chickens already on the farm.
These things are just a small segment of the new content in the game, which even includes giving the player character the ability to drink mayonnaise, or having multiple pets. Console players have had to wait many months for this release, but now will have plenty to keep them busy for a long while in Stardew Valley.
