Do you want to be strong and almost immortal in Stardew Valley? How about the guarantee of surviving against a group of serpents and bats? Read this easy guide to know which profession can help you the most: Acrobat or Desperado?
Having the upper hand in combat can be life-saving, but it’s a lengthy process. In Stardew Valley, monsters lurk deep underground where all the riches are. You’ll need a tremendous amount of firepower to survive and reap the rewards.
Your progress to becoming a local hero starts by having the finest tools. Mining nodes, smelting ores, and a bit of good luck bring a big difference to your gameplay. As ridiculous as it sounds, spending more time in the Caves levels you up and makes you stronger.
As you become stronger, you’ll eventually meet four professions. Two of them will be subject to choosing whether Acrobat or Desperado is perkier. But don’t worry, we’ll teach you everything about the two talents, their pros and cons, and the better choice.
Scout Comes First
Dominating the S-Tier ranking, there are different reasons why combat professions are incredibly indispensable. In general, the better talent you have, the closer you are to immortality – but we’ll get to that part later.
As you enter the mysterious caves in the mountains, you’ll come across slimes, stones, and ladders. Forget the latter, as we only have to focus on the gooey and cute monstrosities terrorizing every floor in the mineshaft. Killing them can give you combat experience points that’ll eventually reach Level 5.
Sure, there may be random bugs, duggies, and other creepy crawlers you may encounter. They also give you decent points to level up your skill and pick between Fighter or Scout.
Progressing through Acrobat or Desperado requires you to pick Scout against Fighter. The Fighter profession deals 10% more damage to your enemies. It’s not much in reality, and it’s nothing compared to Scout’s 50% critical strike chance bonus.
Although hitting crits sounds satisfying, you may want to get a better weapon for more serious damage. Rusty Sword won’t be enough, so be sure to check the Adventurer’s Guild for stocks. Alternatively, you can catch weapons through fishing chests – but that’ll depend on your luck.
Benefits Comparison: Acrobat or Desperado
If you’re successful at reaching Level 10 in Combat, you may start choosing between Acrobat or Desperado. Here’s a table showing the permanent buffs you’ll get throughout Stardew Valley:
| Acrobat | Desperado |
| Halved CD for special moves. | Deadlier and stronger critical strikes. |
Minor Drawbacks of the Two Professions
These two talents are indeed the best route for a combat enthusiast. However, it doesn’t mean it’s perfect as you first thought. Let’s talk about the minor problems with Acrobat and Desperado with their “what-ifs” counterparts.
First on the line is Acrobat – a talent for reducing cooldowns of a special move by 50%. Is it enough to make a significant difference? For any non-sword weapon, yes! However, I feel like we’ll need some additional value here for the CD reduction. Something like 60% would be great to have a better edge.
Going to its counterpart, we have Desperado, which makes your critical strikes deadlier. The description for this profession is vague, but looking back at Scout’s perk, it’s a great complement. A 50% more chance for dealing critical strikes and deadlier damage is a game-changer.
A little math: getting the final critical strike chance can be done by multiplying 1.5 from your weapon’s crit chance. It dictates how deadly your damage is with Desperado.
This description’s vagueness can be confusing from a beginner’s standpoint. As a former Stardew Valley newbie, I chose Acrobat over Desperado because there’s no clear indication about the damage. Hopefully, ConcernedApe will patch this issue so more people can choose the right profession.
Acrobat: Best Choice for Daggers and Hammers
Hammers are slower than swords, while daggers trade attack speed for AOE. Unlike swords (which have an area of effect damage), these two weapons work best with Acrobat.
For example, a hammer may have a wider AOE than swords because of special moves, but you’ll have to trade a slower attack speed. The damage isn’t consistent and impressive at first, but a 50% cooldown reduction would help, especially on Infinity Gavel.
Daggers, on the other hand, can make you more vulnerable to attacks with less proper coordination. That’s because you deal damage depending on which direction you’re facing. However, you can deal a consecutive barrage of damage to the enemies with a special move.
There’s little cooldown when using a dagger’s special attack. Yet complementing it with the Acrobat profession can impact your game positively. Make sure to focus on the game to avoid missing damage and getting attacked instead.
All in all, the Acrobat profession helps Stardew Valley players play safer in the dangerous caves. You have a huge guarantee of taking less damage in the Skull Cavern, where many Serpents will swarm towards you.
Desperado: The Profession for Consistent Sword Damage
Killing a monster with a single sword swing is one of the best advantages in the game. Desperado makes all that possible with the inclusion of Scout’s crit strike chance bonus. Moreover, this profession is by far the most reliable to make you almost unkillable – let me explain.
In one of your ventures in Skull Cavern, chances are you’ll encounter the dangerous Serpent swarms. The odds are generally higher with a Royal Serpent once you’re on a quest to one of Qi’s Special Orders.
On a specific mission, consuming health-restoring items is not allowed. Well, you can’t just die on your way to the 100th level. You’ll lose your irreplaceable valuables and money in Stardew Valley if it happens. Nevertheless, this is where the profession comes to help.
Monsters always receive a health buff once the Skull Cavern is in its dangerous state. Their stronger tenacity makes it harder for your weapon to break their fleshy scales – but not with critical strikes! Equip the Vampire Ring, add a lifesteal perk to your sword, and eliminate the threat, and you’ll make it outside in one piece.
Exchanging CD reduction for special moves into damage is excellent – most players don’t even use their abilities. Plus, once you’re using the proper sword and gems, you’ll attack at a faster rate.
If you’re a consistent hammer user, Desperado can still be helpful. Large AOE and deadly damage mean better survival chances.
Should I Pick Acrobat or Desperado
Practically speaking, Desperado is the sure winner here. Greater damage, critical strikes, and chance? It’s a jack-of-all-trades! It has a higher pick rate among Stardew Valley players and offers a better outcome.
Acrobat may be on the “experimental” side since this profession is fun to use with daggers. At any second, you’re bursting damage against monsters, although it isn’t too much in consideration of the effort.
Overall, choosing between Acrobat or Desperado will depend on your play style and the weapon you use. Higher attack speed and more effort? Go for Acrobat. Deadlier and consistent damage? Desperado is your best bet.
