AStardew Valleyplayer recently shared details of a painful in-game mistake on social media, prompting sympathy fromthe long-sufferingStardewcommunity. Although it has a reputation for being a relaxing game, and arguably sparkedthe cozy game golden age we now find ourselves in,Stardewisn’t always easy. Time is strictly limited, both by day and by season, and it’s all too easy to make a fatal mistake that costs you thousands of g and several one-of-a-kind items. This one player’s error wasn’t quite so drastic, but it did result in a devastating loss.
Reddit userLittleDJS1234commiserated with theStardew Valleycommunity after throwing their one and onlyAncient Fruitinto aSeed Maker, hoping to generate more Ancient Seeds. However,it instead spat out a handful of Mixed Seeds, a relatively low-value item that spawns a random crop based on when and where they’re planted. The player’s wording implies they didn’t have a living Ancient Fruit plant - just the one piece of fruit - so getting another would likely be time-consuming.
The player bears some fault here, but this is mainly the result of terrible luck. Whenever you put any crop into aSeed MakerinStardew Valley,there’s a very low chance - less than 2% - that it’ll produce a bundle ofMixed Seedsinstead of the seeds for the input crop. In general, it’s best not to put such a rare piece of fruit into a Seed Maker until you have at least two, but the chances of that going wrong are so miniscule that anyone could be forgiven for making this mistake.
Why Losing Ancient Fruit Is Such A Big Deal
And How The Community Responded
Ancient Fruit is one of the most profitable crops inStardew Valley, but it’s also one of the hardest to obtain.Ancient Seedscan be purchased for 1,000g a pop, but they’re rarely found in stores. Instead, most get their first pouch of seeds by discovering them in Artifact form - anAncient Seed- anddonating it to the museum. This only gives you a single seed, but luckily, Ancient Fruit plants are perennial, and will continue to produce fruit every seven in-game days.
Starfruitsells for more than Ancient Fruit, and its seeds are less expensive, but Ancient Fruit produces more money over time since it’s a perennial plant.
Losing an Ancient Fruit to a Seed Maker is tragic, not only because they’re so rare, but also becausethey have so many uses. They’re one of the components in the Missing Bundle, and can also be used to set up a lucrative Ancient Fruit Wine operation. Thankfully, some players, likesparklebaby1402, offered excellent bits of advice.
That’s right: just as there’s a tiny chance of any crop producing Mixed Seeds in a Seed Maker,there’s an even tinier chance of any non-Ancient Fruit crop producing Ancient Seeds. The odds are incredibly poor - just 0.5% - but it’s possible to game that system. By setting up several Seed Makers, LittleDJS1234 could probably manage to passively produce a usable Ancient Seed without too much effort. Others, likecoalcrossinghad a simpler suggestion.
Sometimes,restarting the day (theStardewequivalent to loading your most recent save) is all you can do. As long as the player found the Ancient Fruit a day before, they’d be able to start again with it in their inventory, and could try it in the Seed Maker again until it produced the right kind of seed.
Screen Rant’s Take: Stardew Mishaps Happen To Everyone
We’re All Guilty
Stardew’s community was able to offer so much sympathy here becausewe’ve all done something similar. Just last night, I was trying to complete Willy’s quest to catch aLingcod, which I abruptly realized had been sitting in my quest list for at least a year. I spent a full day trying, finally caught one, and returned home with an inventory full of fish. Without thinking, I popped one in myFish Smokerat random to smoke overnight before climbing into bed. I woke up to find, to my horror, that I had smoked my only Lingcod.
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So I spent the next day fishing, too, and managed to catch one a little earlier. I rushed into the main square withLingcodin hand, hoping to catch Willy as he arrived at the saloon. But I got stuck between the door and Marnie, also arriving for her nightly tipple, and when I pressed the button to head inside,I instead handed the fish to a confused (but good-natured) rancher.
On the third day, I finally managed to catch a Lingcod and deliver it to Willy without incident, for a limp-fish reward of 550g. Was it worth the effort? Absolutely not. Have I found myself in near-identical situations time and time again? Absolutely. For that reason, I completely understand the pain of accidentally giving up your only Ancient Seed inStardew Valley, and I’m sure the rest of the community can, too.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a charming indie farming scene that took the world by storm. After inheriting a run-down farm from their grandfather, the player moves to Stardew Valley to start a new life away from the city. Grow crops, raise animals, befriend the villagers, and discover the secrets the valley has to offer.
