How do you level up all skills in Stardew Valley?

Work hard to raise your skills.

World Seed 269733094 in Stardew Valley with characters walking around a farm area with trees and a fence.
Image via ConcernedApe

Stardew Valley has a variety of skills, which make the game simpler in their own ways as the player learns the basics of farming and other activities.

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There are five skills: Mining, Foraging, Combat, Fishing, and Farming. You can improve skills by performing tasks related to the skill you need to improve. Experience points are awarded to those skills, increasing proficiency.

Here are the skill levels.

LevelTotal Experience NeededExperience needed from last level
1100100
2380280
3770390
41300530
52150850
633001150
748001500
869002100
9100003100
10150005000

The concept of proficiency is relatively straightforward. Your character will waste a lot of energy when they start doing anything. Increasing proficiency reduces the energy required to complete tasks over time. The energy required to perform some tasks decreases by .1 with each skill increase. Since watering cans use two energy at level 0, they will only use one energy at level 10. To get better at anything you do in Stardew Valley, you must level up your skills.

As you level up each skill, you can unlock professions. You can unlock your first profession at level five, and then you can unlock more professions that branch from there at level 10. Having a profession just makes certain tasks easier that involve that skill. It is possible to switch professions later in the game, but it is costly, so you should read them carefully before making your decision.

Below, you’ll find how to increase each skill, what rewards come with increasing skills, and the various professions you can earn from skills.

How to level up all skills in Stardew Valley

How to level up Farming in Stardew Valley

You only get farming experience by harvesting fruits and vegetables or taking goods from your livestock. You will level this skill very quickly regardless of the quality. XP gained from harvestable depends on how quickly they grow, so choosing fast-growing vegetables will earn you fast experience, while choosing slower crops will result in higher returns.

Farming Professions

  • Tiller – Increases the value of crops by 10 percent
    • At level 10 players can become an Artisan, which makes Artisan goods like wine, oil, cheese, etc. worth 40 percent more. They can also be an Agriculturist, which makes crops grow 10 percent more.
  • Rancher – Increases value of animal products by 20 percent
    • At level 10 players can become a Coopmaster, which cuts incubation time in half and makes coop animals friendlier. Players can also be a Shepard, which makes sheep produce wool, and makes barn animals friendlier.

We recommend choosing Tiller as your first profession. Animal products would be wasted if sold as-is because crafting them into other products for sale would make more money. The Artisan profession is also a great choice as a secondary profession. Artisans make a lot of money selling their goods, which is better than growing them faster.

Farming Crafting Recipes

LevelCrafting Recipe
1Scarecrow and Basic Fertilizer
2Mayonnaise Machine, Sprinkler, and Stone Fence
3Bee House, Speed-Gro, and Farmer’s Lunch
4Preserves Jar, Iron Fence, and Basic Retaining Soil
5Profession
6Hardwood Fence, Quality Sprinkler, and Cheese Press
7Quality Retaining Soil and Loom
8Keg, Delux Speed-Gro, and Oil Maker
9Iridium Sprinkler, Quality Fertilizer, and Speed Maker
10Profession

How to level up Fishing in Stardew Valley

You can level up your Fishing Skill in Stardew Valley by fishing or getting fish from your Crab Pot to level up your Fishing Skill. You gain more experience based on the quality of fish you catch.

Fishing Professions

  • Fisher – Fish gain 25 percent more value
    • At level 10 players can become an Angler, making fish worth 50 percent more, or a Pirate, which doubles the chance to find treasure.
  • Trapper – Fewer resources required to craft Crab Pots
    • At level 10 players can become a Mariner, which prevents Crab Pots from producing junk items, or a Luremaster, which keeps Crab Pots from needing Bait.

There’s no doubt about this unless you’re given the option, which is when you’ll doubt it. Choose Fisher, as it is the best option, and then choose Angler. In fishing, it’s all about getting a lot of money or catching good fish, and Angler makes every catch more valuable.

Fishing Crafting Recipes

LevelCrafting Recipe
1You can cast further
2Bait
3Dish O’ The Sea and Crab Pot
4Recycling Machine
5Profession
6Trap Bobber and Spinner
7Treasure Hunter and Cork Bobber
8Dressed Spinner, Worm Bin, and Barbed Hooked
9Magnet and Seafoam Pudding
10Profession

How to level up Mining in Stardew Valley

Mining ore veins and ore mounds will give you the most XP. The best place to do this is to just go to a mine and mine ore veins to level up your mining skill.

Mining Professions

  • Geologist – 50 percent chance for gems to come in pairs
    • At level 10 players can become an Excavator, which doubles your chance to find geodes, or a Gemologist, which adds 30 percent value to gems.
  • Miner – +1 ore per vein
    • At level 10 players can become a Blacksmith, increasing the worth of Metal bars by 50 percent, or a Prospector, which doubles the chance to find coal.

It’s obvious that you’re mining for profit, so you should select Geologist. You gain Gold more consistently with the extra gems than you do with slightly more ore. You’ll find you have more money than you know what to do in the long run if you choose Gemologist after Geologist since you’re still going for profit.

Mining Crafting Recipes

LevelCrafting Recipe
1Cherry Bomb
2Staircase
3miner’s Treat
4Transmute (Fe) and Glowstone Ring
5Profession
6Bomb
7Transmute (Au)
8Mega Bomb
9Crystalarium
10Profession
Crafting Recipe

How to level up Combat in Stardew Valley

In Stardew Valley, you must kill monsters with a weapon to level up your combat skill. Buying better weapons will speed up the process of killing monsters. You gain five HP with every level you gain, so you can get 50 HP just from leveling Combat to 10.

Combat Professions

  • Fighter – Increase damage dealt by 10 percent and HP increases by 15 points
    • At level 10 players can become a Brute, who can deal 15 percent more damage, or a Defender, which increases HP by 25 points.
  • Scout – Increases critical strike chance by 50 percent
    • At level 10 players can become an Acrobat, whose cooldown is halved, or a Desperado, who can deal 2x more critical strike damage.

It may be difficult to choose a fighter if you’ve never played an RPG, but you’ll benefit from the increased damage and HP boost. Lastly, we recommend Defender, not really because HP boosts are important, but because you get more HP boost than damage boost.

Combat Crafting Recipes

LevelCrafting Recipe
1Bug Steak and Sturdy Ring
2Life Elixer
3Roots Platter
4Warrior Ring
5Profession
6Oil of Garlic and Slime Egg-Press
7Ring of Roba and Thorns Ring
8Sime Incubator and Explosive Ammo
9Iridium Band and Squid Ink Ravioli
10Profession

How to level up Foraging in Stardew Valley

In Stardew Valley, you can level up your foraging skill by harvesting items on your farm or in the valley or cutting down trees. When you harvest items on your farm, you will gain experience based on their value.

Foraging Professions

  • Gatherer – 20 percent increased chance of double rewards for harvests
    • At level 10 players can become a Botanist, which makes all foraged items become the best quality, or a Tracker, which reveals the location of all forageable items.
  • Forester – Gain 25 percent more wood from trees, stumps, and logs
    • At level 10 players can become a Lumberjack, which gives all trees a chance to drop hardwood, or a Botanist, which increases the value of syrups by 25 percent.

When choosing your profession, go for the long-term gain rather than the short-term gain. Select Gatherer and then go to Botanist. Foraged goods must be of high quality, which you cannot overstate. It helps with how filling it is and how much money you earn.

Foraging Crafting Recipes

LevelCrafting Recipe
1Field Snack and Wild Seeds (Sp)
2Survival Burger
3Tapper
4Charcoal Kiln and Wild Seeds (Su)
5Profession
6Warp Totem: Beach, Wild Seeds (Fa), and Lightning Rod
7Wild Seeds (Wi), Tree Fertilizer, and Warp Totem: Mountains
8Warp Totem: Farm
9Cookout Kit and Rain Totem
10Profession

How to increase skill-based titles in Stardew Valley

You can find your Title under the player’s name in the Skills tab of the Player Menu based on their total skill level. You can find your level and title by hovering over your picture on the Inventory tab of your Menu. A skill level is calculated by adding up all your skills and dividing them by two. In other words, your total skill level is the average of all your skill levels.

  • Level 1 – Newcomer
  • Level 2 – Greenhorn
  • Level 4 – Bumpkin
  • Level 6 – Cowpoke
  • Level 8 – Farmhand
  • Level 10 – Tiller
  • Level 12 – Smallholder
  • Level 14 – Sodbuster
  • Level 16 – Farmgirl/Farmboy
  • Level 18 – Granger
  • Level 20 – Planter
  • Level 22 – Rancher
  • Level 24 – Farmer
  • Level 26 – Agriculterurist
  • Level 28 – Cropmaster
  • Level 30 – Farm King
Author
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Jorge Aguilar
The Weekend Editor for Dot Esports. Aggy loves the video game industry and loves telling stories. Aside from that, he is an Author, Illustrator, and Computer Animator. https://linktr.ee/SirAggy