You know about swords and daggers, but have you ever heard of Slingshots? These ranged weapons can be extremely potent, and they’re fun to use! Read on to learn where to find Slingshots and how to make the best out of them.
Weapons in Stardew Valley
There are four different weapon types in Stardew Valley:
- Swords
- Daggers
- Clubs
- Slingshots
On the whole, swords are the most average of the weapons. They have decent damage, speed, and critical chance and are generally not heavy. Its primary attack will hit several nearby enemies, and its secondary attack allows you to block an incoming attack. Your first weapon will always be a sword – Marlon gives you the Rusty Sword when you enter the Mines for the first time. New Swords can be bought at the Adventurer’s Guilt or found in the mines.
Daggers favor speed over might. These weapons are generally faster than other weapon types and tend to have high critical strike chance and critical strike damage. Its primary attack will hit only the closest target, and its secondary attack will unleash four attacks at once. You will always find the Crystal Dagger on the 60th level of the Mines.
Clubs are weapons that favor might instead. They deal a hefty amount of damage, at the cost of attack speed. You’ll hit fewer, but strike harder when you use a maul. Its primary attack is slow and will hit in a wide arc, and its secondary attack causes a small quake and knocks enemies back from you. You can purchase your first club in the Adventurer’s Guild after reaching the 40th floor of the Mines.
Finally, there are Slingshots – the primary focus of this article! These weapons require ammunition, and the better the ammo is, the more damage the weapon does. There is no such thing as “standard ammunition” – if you don’t load ammo into the weapon, you won’t be able to use it at all. Uniquely, these weapons are ranged – you can attack enemies from afar using a Slingshot.
Types of Slingshots
Unlike Swords, Daggers, and Clubs, which have many different options, there are only two types of Slingshots in this game:
- Standard Slingshot – found at level 40 of the Pelican Town mines.
- Master Slingshot – found at level 70 of the Pelican Town mines.
Types of Ammunition
The Standard Slingshot does anywhere between 1 and 101 damage, depending on the kind of ammo you place in the weapon. The Master Slingshot uses the same ammo, but the ammo will deal approximately double the damage it deals when in a Standard Slingshot.
There are ten different ammo types. We will list each ammo type and write down how much damage they deal with a Standard, and how much with a Master Slingshot in parenthesis. These are ordered from least to most effective.
1. Eggs
1-3 damage (2-6 damage)
Eggs are some of the weakest ammo types in the game. Eggs are some of the weakest ammo types in the game. You can get eggs from Chickens, Ducks, Ostriches, or Dinosaurs, which you can raise in Coops. Different egg types and egg qualities produce differently priced eggs. However, every single egg – no matter the size or quality – only deals 1-3 damage (2-6 with a Master Slingshot). Therefore, if you really want to use eggs, use the lowest quality eggs you have.
Since they deal so little damage and are otherwise very valuable – they can be sold or used to make mayonnaise – they are a bad choice for ammo even if you’re very desperate.
2. Fruits and Vegetables
1-3 damage (2-6 damage)
You can grow fruit and vegetables by purchasing seeds from Pierre or Jojamart and cultivating them in the appropriate season.
Like eggs, fruits and veggies can be used as ammo. However, they are very valuable – they can be used to make pickles, jelly, or wine, which sell for high profits. In the early game, even normal quality crops, unprocessed into artisan goods, are worth a lot of money. No matter the quality – Silver, Gold, or Iridium – fruits and veggies will only do 1-3 damage, so it’s really not worth using this ammo no matter what.
3. Wood
1-5 damage (2-10 damage)
You can collect Wood by chopping down Trees on your farmstead or in the Cindersap Forest. You can also buy Wood from Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop for 10 gold in Year 1, and 50 gold from Year 2 onwards.
Wood does a bit more damage than eggs and fruits and veggies, but still a pretty small amount. Furthermore, Wood is also very valuable for crafting. In the early game, you’ll want to keep all the Wood you collect for other uses. As such, this is not a great choice for ammo either.
4. Stone
3-11 damage (6-22 damage)
You can collect plentiful amounts of Stone in the mines or purchase them from Robin for 20 gold in Year 1, and 100 gold from Year 2 onwards per piece.
If you spend a lot of time in the mines, you’re sure to eventually have a large quantity of stone just sitting in your chests as home. As such, Stone is a great starting option for ammo. Another plus is that you’ll be unlikely to run out of this ammo type while you’re in the mines themselves – you are constantly surrounded by more ammo.
5. Copper Ore
5-21 damage (10-42 damage)
You can find the highest amount of Copper Nodes between the second and 39th floors of the mines. You can also purchase a single Copper Ore for 75 gold in Year 1 and 150 gold, from Year 2 onwards, at Clint’s Blacksmithy.
Copper Ore deals about double the damage that plain Stone does. Although a lot of early-game recipes require Copper Ore, Copper is essentially unlimited. You can spend a day or two just focusing on collecting Copper, then have enough ammo to last you a very long time. Grabbing the Miner profession can greatly help you collect more ore for ammo.
6. Coal
8-31 damage (16-62 damage)
You can find Coal in the mines by mining rocks and killing Dust Sprites. You can also use a Charcoal Kiln (acquired at level four of Foraging) to convert 10 Wood into one piece of Coal. Finally, you can purchase a single piece of Coal for 150 gold in Year 1, and 250 gold from Year 2 onwards, at Clint’s Blacksmithy.
While Coal does do more damage than Copper Ore, it’s a lot harder to collect. You can’t guarantee to find a large quantity of Coal when you go into the mines as you can with Ore. You also need Coal to smelt Ore into bars, and you’ll need Coal for that for the entire duration of the game. Having a big collection of Coal is important, and as such, we don’t recommend wasting Coal as ammo.
7. Explosive Ammo
10-41 damage (20-82 damage)
This is the only crafted type of Slingshot ammo in the game. You get the recipe by reaching Combat level 8. It requires one Iron Bar and two pieces of Coal to craft. Fortunately, this recipe produces five pieces of ammo, rather than just one.
Explosive Ammo works like cherry bombs. Once you sling the ammo, it’ll explode in a small radius around the target it hits, damaging other nearby enemies. It’s expensive to craft but quite formidable. If you have an excess of the resources required to make this ammo type, then the reward might be sweet enough to justify the cost.
8. Iron Ore
10-41 damage (20-82 damage)
You can find the largest quantity of Iron Ore between floors 41 and 79 in the mines. You can also purchase this type of Ore at Clint’s Blacksmithy for 150 gold in Year 1, and 250 gold after Year 2.
Like Copper Ore, Iron Ore is a good choice, as long as you’re willing to take the time to amass a large quantity of Ore.
9. Gold Ore
15-61 damage (30-122 damage)
You can find the largest quantity of Gold Ore past the 80th floor of the Pelican Town mines. You can also purchase this type of Ore at Clint’s Blacksmithy for 400 gold in Year 1, and 750 gold after Year 2.
Like Iron Ore, Gold Ore is a good choice, as long as you’re willing to take the time to amass a large quantity of Ore.
10. Iridium Ore
25-101 damage (50-202 damage)
The most valuable type of Ore in the game, Iridium Ore can be difficult to find. Check out our article to learn how to amass Iridium Ore with ease. In short, the best place to find Iridium Ore is the skull cavern in the Calico Desert. Unlike other Ore, you cannot purchase Iridium from Clint’s Blacksmithy.
Iridium Ore is the strongest type of ammunition in the game. It’s necessary to kill late-game monsters, dealing nearly double the damage of the next best ammunition. However, Iridium is rare and highly valuable, so you’ll need to work hard to make sure you have enough of this ore to be wasting it on combat.
How to Use a Slingshot
Just getting the Slingshot is not enough. Unless you load some ammunition into the weapon, you can’t use it. To add ammo, select your desired ammo in the inventory, then right-click on your Slingshot.
Before the projectile launches from your Slingshot, you must first aim. You can’t simply click on the left-click button to attack like you can with other weapons. Press the left-click button on your mouse and hold. After a couple of seconds, you’ll have aimed your weapon and can shoot. There is a small red target symbol on your screen when you’re aiming, and it indicates the direction your projectile will go once you release the trigger.
Once you’ve selected your target and you’ve aimed the weapon, release your mouse button to shoot!
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Acquire a Slingshot
- Acquire Slingshot ammo (for example, Stone or Copper Ore)
- In your inventory, select the ammo and right-click on your Slingshot while holding the ammo.
- Hold left-click to aim your Slingshot
- Release the left-click after a couple of seconds to shoot.
- Loot the body!
The Advantages of Slingshots
The Only Ranged Weapon
Swords, Daggers, and Clubs are great – but they are all melee weapons. Slingshots are the only type of weapon that deals ranged damage. Slingshots allow you stay safe and keep your health up, since you don’t have to get too close to your enemy to damage them.
Ignores Rock Cover
Not only do you not need to be next to your target to hurt them, but you also don’t even need a clear path to them. You can hit enemies with your Slingshot even if there are rocks in the way. The only things that provide cover are the large walls that surround the mines. If you miss your enemy and your shots hit the wall instead, you’ll lose that ammo for good.
Large Ammo Variety
Though there are only two types of Slingshots in the game, there is a wide variety of ammo to choose from. This means that you’ll never be in danger of running out of things to shoot with. It also provides a unique challenge – you’ll need to manage resources and make sure you have enough materials to shoot with, and enough still to use for crafting.
The Disadvantages of Slingshots
Ammo Management
While the aforementioned resource management might be an interesting and challenging gameplay aspect for some, for others, this may be tedious and boring. After all, spending the whole day in the mines to collect 50 Copper Ore to use as ammo, doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.
Vulnerable in Melee Range
The Slingshot keeps you safe when you can afford to stay far back, but if an enemy can reach your melee range, you’re in danger. The little red target indicators aren’t just to show you which direction your projectile will go, it’s also the minimum range at which an enemy must be. If they’re closer, you won’t be able to hit them. The most dangerous are flying enemies, such as the Serpents from the skull cavern. They deal massive damage and fly in at great speeds.
You will need to carry a melee weapon as backup in case any enemy gets too close.
Some Enemies are Tough
There are certain enemy types in Stardew that are simply designed in a way where ranged weapons aren’t effective. Duggies, as pictured below, are enemies that hide below the soil in the mines. They only appear when you step on them, which means they only ever show up when they’re already in your melee range Similarly, Rock Crabs are impervious to damage unless they peek out of their shell, and they won’t do that unless you’re very close to them.
Lack of Weapon Options
You can find dozens of Swords in the game, with different pros and cons to each, but there are only two Slingshots weapons available to you.
The Galaxy Slingshot?
Interestingly, while there is a Galaxy Sword, a Galaxy Dagger, and a Galaxy Club, there’s no Galaxy Slingshot in the base game. However, it does exist somewhere in the files, which indicates that at some point, ConcernedApe intended to include it in the game.
There is one way to access this, and other so-called “Unobtainable Weapons” – by using the CJB Item Spawner mod. You can learn all about this mod by reading our nifty CJB Item Spawner guide below:
