Did you know that you can upgrade your tools in Stardew Valley? You don’t have to stick with your mediocre devices once you get their better versions. Here’s a complete guide to enhancing them!
Resorting to your starter tools’ limited function causes you a lot of Energy. If you want to save your stamina efficiently, you can upgrade them and lessen your workload. Here’s a full guide to the benefits of getting these enhancements and their features!
Important Questions
How to Upgrade Tools?
Enhancing tools like Axe, Pickaxe, Hoe, Watering Can, and Trash Can require a hefty amount of gold and a few resources. You may pay Clint, the town’s Blacksmith, to upgrade them. However, remember that it takes two days to complete the process. You’ll find the shop across the town’s river to its bottom right.
Each item requires certain amounts of gold and resources. Here are the prices and materials you need per upgrade:
| Upgrades | Materials | Prices |
| Copper Upgrades | Copper Bars (5) | 2,000g |
| Steel Upgrades | Iron Bars (5) | 5,000g |
| Gold Upgrades | Gold Bars (5) | 10,000g |
| Iridium Upgrades | Iridium Bars (5) | 25,000g |
Other devices like Fishing Rods and Scythes are beyond the Blacksmith’s scope. But you can still get better versions of them by visiting the Fish Shop and Quarry Mines. And if you find their upgraded counterparts lacking, going to the Forge might add great features to your tools.
Axes
This tool primarily helps cut down trees and helps you gather resources like saps, hardwood, and regular wood. Purchasing its enhancement allows you to get these items in-game quickly.
Moreover, a regular Axe takes ten clicks before successfully chopping a tree while it takes five hits to break a stump.
| Upgrades | Features |
| Copper Axe | • Chops a fully grown tree in eight strikes. • Destroys large stumps. • Takes four hits to eliminate small stumps. |
| Steel Axe | • Chop large stumps. • Cuts down matured trees in six hits. • Requires three blows to break a small stump. • Breaks Stage 4 trees in three hits and two strikes for Stage 3 trees and below. • Used to eliminate the large log blocking the Secret Wood’s entrance. |
| Gold Axe | • 4 bursts for fully-grown trees, two for small stumps. • Takes two strikes to break Stage 4 trees and one hit for Stage 3 and below. |
| Iridium Axe | • Two hits to chop a fully-grown tree and a single tap to destroy a small stump. • Takes one burst to chop a Stage 4 tree. |
Hoe
A hoe helps till the soil on your Farm, but you can also use it to acquire loots from Artifact Spots. Upgrading them lets their function cover a greater area to till, while its starter counterpart can only till one tile at a time. Here are the advantages of getting its improved versions:
| Upgrades | Features |
| Copper Hoe | • Tills three consecutive tiles instantly. |
| Steel Hoe | • Tills five successive tiles in one go. |
| Gold Hoe | • Covers an area of 3×3 tiles. |
| Iridium Hoe | • Affects an area of 6×3. |
Pickaxes
It’s a tool simply used to destroy and collect items like resources and minerals. You can also use it to remove things like sprinklers, paths, and artisan equipment. And it can help in eliminating accidentally tilled dirt tiles.
Starter Pickaxe breaks rocks after several hits. It busts small rocks anywhere, but it takes two hits to break stones from levels 1 to 40 of the Mines. This tool also takes three whacks before getting Copper Ores and multiple smashes to get rid of boulders.
The advantage of upgrading lets obtaining loots requires fewer hits. Here are the benefits of getting them:
| Item | Features |
| Copper Pickaxe | • Destroys all stones on levels 1 to 40 in one hit. • Busts rocks from levels 40 to 79 within two hits. • Takes two hits to break Copper Nodes. |
| Steel Pickaxe | • Breaks boulders on your Farm. • Burst rocks from level 40 to 70 in the Mines with one hit. • Destroys rocks in the Quarry Mines with two hits. • It can break Copper Nodes (1 hit), Iron Nodes (2 hits), Gold Nodes (3 hits), Iridium Nodes (6 hits), and large rocks (4 hits). • Eliminates the large boulder between you and the Dwarf in the Mines. |
| Gold Pickaxe | • Break meteorites. • Destroy rocks on levels 80 to 120 in the Mines with a single strike. • Break Copper and Iron Nodes (1 hit), Gold Nodes (2 hits), and Iridium Nodes (4 hits). |
| Iridium Pickaxe | • Destroys rocks in Skull Cavern in a single blow |
Watering Can
This simplistic tool helps in preventing your plants from withering. It’s very functional if you don’t have a sprinkler. You can refill it from any water source like a kitchen sink, pond, or well. If you didn’t know, your first Water Can contains 40 charges before requiring replenishment.
| Upgrades | Features |
| Copper Watering Can | • Holds a water capacity of 55 charges. • Waters three consecutive tiles at a time. |
| Steel Watering Can | • Charges get increased to 70. • Waters five straight tiles instantly. |
| Gold Watering Can | • Takes 85 charges before refill. • Covers an area of 3×3, which equates to 9 tiles. |
| Iridium Watering Can | • It has 100 charges. • Covers a maximum area of 6×3, equating to 18 tiles. |
Trash Cans
Whenever your inventory runs out of space, you can always throw them in your Trash Can. A regular Can only deletes the item, but enhancing it returns some value depending on the upgrade.
Moreover, their prices are also different when it comes to this tool. These are the specifics for each touch-up:
| Item | Cost | Materials | Features |
| Copper Trash Can | 1,000g | Copper Bar (5) | Returns 15% of the items’ value. |
| Steel Trash Can | 2,500g | Iron Bar (5) | Reclaims 30% of the value. |
| Gold Trash Can | 5,000g | Gold Bar (5) | Sends back 45% of the loots’ value. |
| Iridium Trash Can | 12,500g | Iridium Bar (5) | Reclaims 60% of the items’ price. |
Fishing Poles
After your first Fishing Rod from Willy, you may want to upgrade it to something better. You no longer need to visit the Blacksmith to enhance it. All you need is to visit the Fish Shop and purchase new rods.
However, some of them have specific demands relating to your Skill Level. Here are the
improved poles that you can get:
| Item | Prices | Feature | Requirements |
| Training Pole | 25g | Easy to use but can only catch common fish. | None |
| Bamboo Pole | 500g | None | None |
| Fiberglass Rod | 1,800g | Can use bait on it. | Fishing Level 2 |
| Iridium Rod | 7,500g | Can use bait and tackle. | Fishing Level 6 |
Scythe
It’s a tool that helps you cut grass, small trees, and weeds. You can’t upgrade it with the help of the Blacksmith or the Fisherman. However, getting its better counterpart is possible if you reach the bottom of the Quarry Mines.
Additionally, it has a 50% chance of adding single hay if you have a Silo. You may also use it to inflict one to three damage on mobs.
Golden Scythe
This golden counterpart is the better version of the regular Scythe. You can’t purchase it in any store in Stardew Valley, but you can get it at the end of the single-floor Quarry Mines at the Grim Reaper Statue.
It offers these benefits:
- It has a wider radius when compared to a standard Scythe.
- Yields more hay and cuts more grass in its area.
- It has a 75% chance of yielding more hay when harvesting them from grass.
- Inflicts damage 13 when used as weapons.
Facts and Information
Enchantment
Weapons aren’t the only items you can upgrade in the Forge. You can also use it to add enchantments to your tools. However, this comes randomly, and you can’t apply it on tools like Copper Pan, Return Scepter, Scythe, Golden Scythe, and Trash Can.
Moreover, you’ll need a Prismatic Shard and Cinder Shards (20) to get these charms. Here are the possible enchantments you can get:
| Enchantment | Axe | Rod | Hoe | Pickaxe | Watering Can | Effect |
| Auto-Hook | ✓ | • Automatically gets junk/fish when in use. Catching a fish also begins the fishing mini-game. | ||||
| Archaeologist | ✓ | • Doubles the probability of getting artifacts in Artifacts. | ||||
| Bottomless | ✓ | • Contains infinite water. | ||||
| Efficient | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | • Eliminates depletion of Energy. |
| Generous | ✓ | • 50% chance of getting double items when digging. | ||||
| Master | ✓ | • Adds an extra fishing level when in use. | ||||
| Powerful | ✓ | ✓ | • Adds an extra power level on Pickaxe and two for an axe. | |||
| Preserving | ✓ | • 50% for the tackle and bait to not get consumed | ||||
| Reaching | ✓ | ✓ | • Elevated charge-up capacity leading to more coverage. • Covers 5×5 tiles. | |||
| Shaving | ✓ | • Get three extra regular wood from Palm, Oak, Maple, Pine, and Mahogany Trees. • Obtain three pieces of wood from Mushroom Trees. • Gives more chances to get extra hardwood from stumps and produce from Giant Crops | ||||
| Swift | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | • Using them becomes 33% faster than usual. |
