From crafting to using, here’s a complete guide about the staircase in Stardew Valley. It’s a simple item you can make with a significant gameplay edge while mining or fighting.
We’ve been in a situation where it’s taking time to find the ladders below the Mines. At some point, too many monsters are overwhelming, so crafting a DIY ladder is the best solution to save time and health. That item will make or break challenging challenges like Skull Cavern Invasion and Qi’s Hungry Challenge.
Who would spend an eternity breaking rocks with Pickaxe or Mega Bombs and killing enemies with different weapons to progress? Unless you’re doing it for fun, there’s no need for a shortcut. However, this guide will cover everything about the item, from unlocking and crafting to purpose and secrets.
Quick But Expensive Route – Staircase
A staircase comes in handy for desperate Stardew Valley players stuck in the Cavern or Mines. It’s a single-use item – meaning you can’t retrieve it after placing it in a suitable place. Moreover, you can’t put it on Level 1 and 120 Mines floor since the entrance has a ladder, and the 120th floor is a dead end.
Like standard ladders, a staircase functions the same and advances one floor upon interaction. You can’t pick it up nor see it again after leaving a specific area.
Different Ways to Get Staircases
One of many staple mining items among Stardew Valley players is staircases. That’s why missing out on the item can cause a significant disadvantage.
For example, you encounter a floor infested with monsters. You’ll need to kill each of them before proceeding to the next room. It’ll take time to reveal your way down without a makeshift ladder, and it costs time and effort!
Consider staircases as a game-changer as you can save time and mine more resources while never worrying about getting late.
Another scenario where you’ll need the ladder at one point is completing missions. There’s a handful of Qi’s Special Orders with hardcore difficulty. It’s a big precautionary measure to have at least ten on your inventory, but that’s not enough.
Since a staircase has varying potential, here are two ways you can get the item and its crafting recipe. We’ll also include the do’s and don’ts to save your gold.
Crafting
After reaching Level 2 in Mining, an in-game prompt will appear once you sleep. Break rocks along the way, as you’ll need 99 of them to create one.
Although many players don’t like spending, there’s a good use of money. Robin offers a piece of stone for 20g in Year 1 – that’s 1980g for a staircase. The price will clock at 9900g Year 2 onwards as the stone’s value is 100g.
A good piece of advice: take advantage of the high discount as you’ll save up to eight staircases in the long run. Investing in them will get you somewhere, and you’ll be in shock with the results after investing versus being passive.
We don’t recommend using lots of bombs to break rocks for beginners since it’s costly and inefficient. However, it’s another choice if you plan to spend gold on seeds and wine-making.
Desert Trader
Trading exotic goods for another can be a challenge. To reach the Trader from Calico Desert, you’ll need to fix the Bus from one of the Community Center bundles. Alternatively, you may use a Warp Totem: Desert or Desert Obelisk, and you can still get back home free of charge.
The Desert Trader is open every day regardless of season, weather, or time. However, she’s closed from Winter 15 to 17 during the Night Market.
Basics-aside, you can browse a complete list of her goods, and one of them is the staircase. It’s available on Sundays, and you’ll need to trade a Jade for it.
Since the mineral is pretty rare and needs some luck, you can build multiple Crystalarium to farm Jade. It takes a day to produce one (which isn’t that long), and you can exchange it for staircases!
Helpful Reminders and Secrets When Using a Staircase
A quick escape can sometimes be beneficial for mining and combat. Having the item is a matter of either bringing home loot or losing them!
Speaking of which, the 1.4 update brings stacking staircases as part of the “quality of life”. Feel free to get as many makeshift ladders without worrying about inventory space.
When using the item, don’t place it on brick patterns or tillable floors inside any cave. It’s especially handy for speedrunners as it’ll delay the progress from reaching the bottom. Unfortunately, it won’t work inside the Volcano Dungeon in Ginger Island and Quarry Mines.
As a bonus, you can equip a staircase. It’d convert into a Trimmed Lucky Purple Shorts, which belongs to nobody in the Town.
