Stardew Valley: A Comprehensive Guide to Friendship

Forging strong relationships is crucial in Stardew Valley. As a newcomer to Pelican Town, building bonds with your neighbors through kindness and generosity is key to integrating into the community, whether your goal is friendship or romance.

While most players understand that conversations, gifts, and dialogue choices impact friendship levels, the specifics can be unclear. Not all actions are equal; some significantly boost relationships more than others. This guide details how to maximize your friendships in Stardew Valley.

Updated January 4, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: The 1.6 update has revitalized interest in this charming farming simulator. While the friendship system remains largely unchanged, new additions in 1.6 are highlighted here for players aiming for valley-wide camaraderie.

Understanding the Heart System

Access your relationship status with each NPC via the in-game menu's heart tab. This shows each NPC and their current friendship level (hearts). Reaching higher heart levels unlocks special events, mailed recipes, and unique dialogue options. However, the heart display doesn't fully explain how friendship points are earned.

Earning Friendship Points

Each heart increase requires 250 friendship points. Most interactions—talking, gifting—affect friendship. Positive actions earn points, while ignoring or negatively interacting with NPCs decreases friendship.

Accelerating Friendship

To boost friendship gains, acquire the "Friendship 101" book. This book, obtainable as the ninth Prize Machine prize (Mayor's Mansion), or with a 9% chance from the Bookseller (Year 3 onwards), costs 20,000g. Reading it grants a permanent 10% friendship point bonus on all friendship-increasing interactions. Note: This bonus doesn't affect friendship decreases.

Friendship Point Values: Interactions

Numerous actions impact friendship points. Many involve direct interaction with villagers.

Daily Interactions

• Talking: Generally +20 points. If the NPC is busy, it's +10 points. Daily interaction prevents friendship decay. A checkmark in the Social menu indicates daily interaction.
• Bulletin Board Deliveries: +150 points with the recipient.
• Ignoring NPCs: -2 points per day (or -10 with a bouquet given, -20 for spouses).

Gifting

Gift preferences vary.

• Loved Gifts: +80 points
• Liked Gifts: +45 points
• Neutral Gifts: +20 points
• Disliked Gifts: -20 points
• Hated Gifts: -40 points

Gifts given during the Feast of the Winter Star are 5x value; birthday gifts are 8x value. This multiplier applies to negative values as well.

Stardrop Tea

Stardrop Tea is a universally loved gift, granting +250 points (+750 on birthdays/Winter Star). It can be obtained from the Prize Machine, Golden Fishing Chests, the Helper's Bundle, or from the raccoon for completing high-level requests.

Movie Theater

Invite NPCs to the movies using a Movie Ticket (1000g).

• Loved Movie: +200 points
• Liked Movie: +100 points
• Disliked Movie: 0 points
• Loved Concession: +50 points
• Liked Concession: +25 points
• Disliked Concession: 0 points

Conversations and Dialogue

Dialogue choices can yield +10 to +50 points or decrease friendship. Positive, empathetic responses generally work best. Heart Events offer similar opportunities with potentially higher point impacts (+/- 200 points).

Festivals and Events

• Flower Dance: Dancing (4+ hearts) grants +250 points.
• Luau: Soup contributions affect friendship. Best soup: +120, good: +60, neutral/no item/Lewis' shorts: 0, bad: -50, worst: -100.
• Community Center: Completing the Bulletin Board bundles grants +500 points with each non-dateable villager.

This comprehensive guide provides a solid framework for building strong relationships in Stardew Valley. Remember that consistent positive interactions are key to unlocking the full potential of your friendships.