Summary
Befriending villagers is an integral part ofStardew Valley, but it tends to be neglected in the early stages of the game.Universally loved gifts are difficult to find, and villagers' schedules can be hard to remember, making achieving friendship quite hard.
However,some villagers are easier to befriend than others. The following villagers are a good place to start when climbing Pelican Town’s social ladder, as some of their liked and loved gifts are available early in the game.
10Penny
The Villager With The Most Loved Items
Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update introduced 26 readable books to the game, entailing special powers and skill upgrades.All of these books are loved giftsforPenny.
Book powers can only be received once. If a player acquires a duplicate of a previously read book, reading it will do nothing. When finding spare books, the best option is to give them to Penny for easy friendship points.
9Vincent
Has A Loved Item Available Across Two Seasons
Vincenthas quitean early birthday, which means that it is easier to earn friendship points with him sooner. He likesDaffodil, which is aspring forageable and can be easily acquiredright from day one of spring. Giving a Daffodil to Vincent for his birthday will gain players 360 friendship points with him.
One of Vincent’s loved items is Grape, which can be collected over two seasons, as it is a crop in fall and a forageable item in summer. It is also available to grow throughSummer Seeds, making it easy to stockpile throughout the seasons as gifts for Vincent.
8Haley
Has An Easily Renewable Loved Item
As with Vincent,Haleylikes Daffodil and also has an early birthday, so players can earn 360 friendship points minimum within the first season by giving her a birthday gift.
One of Haley’s loved gifts is Sunflower, which isa Summer crop that can renew itself. When harvesting Sunflowers, players can get up to 2Sunflower Seedsback, making them an easily accessible and renewable gift for Haley.
7Willy
A Loved Item From The Trash Can
One ofWilly’s loved items isCatfish, whichhas the chance of appearing in Garbage Cans throughout spring and fall. Catfish are also available to catch in these seasons on rainy days, but at a difficulty level of 75,a higher fishing level may be requiredto catch them (depending on the player’s fishing ability).
Gold Oreis available via several means. In the early game, it can be bought from the Blacksmith, dropped from breaking barrels or boxes in the mines, in beachfront artifact spots, or bought from the Traveling Cart. Smelting 5 ores with 1 coal in a furnace for 5 in-game hours creates aGold Bar, which is one of Willy’s loved items.
6Linus
Likes Almost All Forageables
Linushas avery easy schedule to follow, rarely leaving The Mountain area, making him easier to track and gift to. One of his loved gifts isYam, which can be grown in fall or dropped from Duggies in levels 6-29 of The Mines at a 3% drop rate.
Linus is very easy to build friendship with as he likes almost all forageable items, including the four Spring forageables:Leek,Wild Horseradish,Dandelion, and Daffodil.
5Maru
Loves A Spring Crop And An Easy-To-Cook Item
MarulovesCauliflower,a spring crop that can be grown in 12 days fromCauliflower Seeds. These seeds can be found at Pierre’s shop for 80g.
Maru is particularly easy to build a friendship with due tothe simplicity of some of her loved items- including Omelet, which is made using 1 milk and 1 egg.
At level 3 foraging, players are given a recipe for aCookout Kit, which unlocks cooking before having to acquire a kitchen. Using cookout kitssaves a lot of gold and resourcesthat would be spent on upgrading the farmhouse early in the game.
4George
Loves A Spring Forageable And Has An Easy Schedule
As mentioned previously, Leek is a Spring forageable item - making it super easy to acquire early in the game.George, famously, loves Leek. There is even a quest fromEvelyncentered entirely around George’s love for Leeks.
George’s schedule is perhaps one of the simplest to remember, as he rarely leaves his home in Pelican Town - only for regular visits to Harvey’s clinic and the statue of Yoba in Pierre’s store. Overall, George is very easy to build friendship with due to the convenience of his loved items and his simple schedule.
3Clint
Convenient Gifting At His Shop
Clintis close to the top of this list simply forconvenient gifting.In the Blacksmith shop, Clint sells various items, includingCopper Ore,Iron Ore, Gold Ore, andCoal, all of which can be smelted when placed in aFurnace. The shop’s inventory is highly convenient for early players, as his liked items includeCopper BarandIron Bar, and he loves Gold Bar.
Moreover, when going to Clint’s to openOmni Geode, players can easily keep one aside for him, as he loves those, too.
2Shane
Purchase His Loved Gifts From The Saloon
Half ofShane’s four loved gifts areavailable for purchase in the Saloon, making gifting to him easy and convenient in the early stages ofStardew Valley. However, at the Saloon, Beer costs 400g and Pizza costs 600g, which can be quite expensive for new players. But given Shane’s birthday is late in spring, players can purchase Beer or Pizza as a one-off birthday present to earn 640 friendship points.
Furthermore, Shane also loves Hot Pepper, which is a renewable and fairlycheap summer crop to grow. With his availability for early morning conversations on his way to the Joja Mart, Shane is definitely an easy villager to befriend early on (despite his reluctance).
1Pam
Loves The Easiest Gift Item For New Farmers
As with Shane, players can purchase Beer forPamat the Saloon as one of her loved gifts. However, there is an even easier item to gift to Pam for maximum friendship points: Parsnip.
On the first in-game day of all farmsapart from Meadowlands Farm,Lewisgives the player 15Parsnip Seedsfor free. These can be planted and grown in just 4 days. If 8 out of the 15 Parsnips are given to Pam throughout the first Spring (2 per week, including one on her birthday on Spring 18),players can earn 1,200 friendship points/almost 5 hearts with Pam without even speaking to her. This makes Pam theeasiest villager to befriend inStardew Valley, as the player can repeat this gifting process each spring or even every season if they acquire enough Parsnips.
