Retro-style farming simulator Stardew Valley has garnered a loyal and enthusiastic fanbase since its release in 2016. Despite having been out for nearly a decade, Stardew Valley is very popular. The pixel-art video game is almost always in the gaming charts of its numerous platforms. The intriguing characters, addictive gameplay mechanics, and beautiful presentation lure players back.
Mods help to keep Stardew Valley interesting after all these years. Stardew Valley‘s modding community has something for almost any taste or pet peeve. Some add quality-of-life features missing from the base game. Others add new tools or elements to give players more to work for. Others still overhaul significant parts of the game to make something new.
Updated on April 13, 2023, by Isaac Williams:Stardew Valley is a perfectly entertaining and charming game in its own right. However, some players want more after hundreds of hours of gameplay. We’ve updated this list to give more information about the best mods for Stardew Valley and to make it easier to find them.
10 Babies Take After Spouse Mod
A great source of joy for many Stardew Valley players is the ability to have children with their partner of choice. Unfortunately, all the kids look very similar in the base game. It’s not a big deal in reality, but it can dissolve some in-game immersion.
With the “Babies Take After Spouse” mod, the next generation of Pelican Town will actually inherit some of their parents’ looks. Their children will take after their spouse in eye and hair color. Players can alternatively customize their child to look like themselves and their spouse. Additionally, the mod includes cute and novel toddler outfits.
9 Balanced Mining Mod
In Stardew Valley‘s base game, Minerals and Artifacts have diminishing returns. After they’re donated to the museum, they become much less valuable. Players must put in far more effort for less reward with gems instead of farming or fishing. The “Balanced Mining” mod attempts to improve this aspect of Stardew Valley, rendering the nightly grind in the mines all the more worthwhile.
With this mod, gamers can finally earn proper revenue from the mines. Even monster loot increases in price. It even rewards other playstyles, with the chest rewards from fishing becoming worth more. This mod lets miners and prospectors contribute more to Stardew Valley‘s economy without feeling punished for their activity.
8 Perks Of Being Married Mod
“Perks of Being Married” incentivizes players to marry specific NPCs to gain access to various perks. For example, if players wed the adventurous Abigail, items like Slime Eggs become more profitable, and Combat Item Recipes have easier requirements. Every spouse comes with a similar benefit.
Practically every perk is worthwhile. Players can factor perks in when deciding who to marry alongside traits like the character’s personality, designs, and story. The “Perks of Being Married” mod expands the social side of Stardew Valley in other ways. It adds Custom NPCs with their own storylines, romances, and perks.
7 Tractors Mod
Stardew Valley‘s Pelican Town lacks modern technology. The “Tractors” mod goes some way to set this right. Players can purchase a Tractor, and a subsequent Tractor Garage, to work more efficiently on their farm. The expense shouldn’t be understated, though. A tractor costs 150000g and requires Batteries, Iridium, and Iron Bars.
The Tractor allows farmers to do everything their separate tools usually do, including scything grass, clearing rocks and twigs, fertilizing soil, and planting and watering crops. The “Tractors” mod doesn’t make the game easy. It instead gives players something to shoot for to improve their farm in the endgame.
6 Free Love Mod
With so many romantic options in Stardew Valley, choosing just one NPC to date and marry can be challenging. Players can date multiple characters in the base game at once. However, this almost always triggers a jealous group event with the romanced characters.
The “Free Love” mod allows a more positive, polygamous gaming experience. Players are welcome to have multiple spouses without anyone’s feelings getting hurt. However, players need to assign their “official spouse” by giving them a bouquet. Whoever the “official spouse” is at any given time will have the Farmhouse’s individualized spare room.
5 Chests Anywhere Mod
Item management can be one of Stardew Valley‘s most frustrating aspects. It does serve a gameplay purpose, limiting how much players can do at once and incentivizing upgrades. However, players can still feel annoyed having to sacrifice precious items to save space. Similarly, it’s a missed opportunity not to have an NPC’s favorite gift to hand if you run into them.
Stardew Valley‘s “Chests Anywhere” mod removes this frustration. Players can access their chests and other containers from anywhere. This does make Stardew Valley easier and makes certain upgrades obsolete. However, some players may consider it worth it for reduced frustration.
4 Range Display Mod
The “Range Display” mod helps Stardew Valley players out massively. Farmers will be able to see the range of their sprinklers as they place them down, ensuring that all their crops get all the water they need. In the base game, planning crop fields with sprinklers can take a lot of mathematical forethought and cross-referencing. “Range Display” simplifies this process.
But the mod doesn’t just work on sprinklers; it also shows the range of Scarecrows, Bee Houses, and Junimo Huts. This helps players create effective and aesthetically-pleasing farms without extensive referencing, busywork, or trial-and-error.
3 Holiday Sales Mod
Sometimes, the stores of Pelican Town have unreliable and frustrating opening times. Thankfully, the “Holiday Sales” mod puts that power in the player’s hands. Now, the player can decide when they want shops to open, preventing wasting precious in-game time.
This mod is invaluable for the various festivals Stardew Valley‘s Pelican Town celebrates throughout the year. Players might inconvenience NPC shop owners during the best events of any given season, but at least they’ll have unlimited access to the desperately needed resources.
2 NPC Map Locations Mod
Most Stardew Valley veterans know to rely on the Stardew Valley Wiki to track down specific NPC locations. Social interaction is a mainstay of Stardew Valley gameplay. However, each NPC moves on their own changing schedule. It’s almost impossible to remember where everyone will be at any given time.
However, the “NPC Map Locations” mod streamlines the process of keeping tabs on favorites. Players can instead know where NPCs are without having to access a website or make educated guesses. The “NPC Map Locations” mod includes a live, detailed map of where each NPC is in Pelican Town at any given moment.
1 Stardew Valley Expanded Mod
The “Stardew Valley Expanded” mod adds vast amounts of content to the base game. It resembles an expansion pack with 50 new locations, 27 extra NPCs, and 260 character events. It also reimagines and revamps base game areas and the world map. These additions recreate the excitement and pure magic of a first playthrough of this beloved, classic video game.
“Stardew Valley Expanded” also deepens Stardew Valley‘s gameplay with brand-new music, quest lines, festivals, and crops. It’s a wealth of free content that can give players hundreds more hours in Stardew Valley without running out of things to do.
