Summary
I’ve been playingStardew Valleysince it launched in 2016, and because of the hundreds of hours I have logged between PC and my Switch, I fancy myself something of a master at the game. But while my farmers have all bested the best in terms of combat, what about me? What couldIhandle fighting in Stardew Valley?
I’m by no means a tough person, but with the right gear, I think I could handle a handful of these adorably aggressive monsters before I had to call for reinforcements. Serpents can stay away, but some other monsters? No sweat!
These picks are all fromthe regular Mines- I’ll admit up front that I wouldabsolutelynot stand a chance inthe Dangerous Mines!
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Location(s)
Levels 81-119 in the Pelican Town Mines
Metal Head is this far down on my list because I’m saying I could fight it, depending on the gear I have. I want to assume that, by the time I reach the deepest depths ofthe Pelican Town Mines, I’ll have visitedthe Adventurer’s Guildfor gear a time or two.
Although Metal Heads don’t succumb to knock back when you hit them and just keep coming, with enough whacks fromthe right weapon, these little dudes would only take a couple hits before they go down.
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Floors 2-29 in the Pelican Town Mines
Look, I’m not saying anything at all about the Lava Crabs inthe Volcano Dungeon, nor am I bringing up Iridium Crabs, who have awayhigher base HP. But the regular sort of Rock Crabs you’ll see in the earlier levels of the Mines? Oh yeah.
I’ll give it to the Rock Crabs that they’ll often make me jump when they start scuttering about as I’m digging around in the Mines, but a couple quick, low slashes froma good swordand they’re no match.
Green:Floors 2-39 in the Pelican Town Mines
Blue:Floors 31-79 in the Pelican Town Mines.
There is probably nothing I want less than to start beef with the red or purple variants of the Big Slimes, the giant, squishy creatures you’ll occasionally find on the monster-infested floors of the Mines.
The purple ones don’t even start to appear until you hitSkull Cavern, but my soft behind couldnever.
The green and blue Big Slimes, though? Bring them on. Even if they do have a really high chance of splitting into up to four other, regular-size Slimes, I’m not even a little afraid of those tiny guys.
Floors 41-79 in the Pelican Town Mines
I never remember what Dust Sprites are actually called, because I always tend to refer to them as Dust Babies (very much in a Linda Belcher kind of way). These bouncy little guys make a cute little squeaking sound as they jump around the Mines, and I find it pretty endearing.
Not only are they small and fairly simple to take out, they’re also the primary source for Coffee Beans in Stardew Valley. I might lean more into other,more profitable artisan goodson my farm in Pelican Town, but in real life, coffee is a must-have, so if anything, I’m actuallytargetingthe Dust Sprites just for their loot drops.
Floors 6-29 in the Pelican Town Mines
Duggies are more of a hindrance than an actual monster, in my opinion. Their sour little faces always seem to pop up out of the dirt in the Mines when I’m on a mission to do something else, and I neverintendto kill them when I go into the Mines, but when you pop up on me like that, you’ve got to go.
Able to sense your movements from a few tiles away, taking out a Duggy in Stardew Valley feels a lot like Whack-a-Mole. If you’ve gota good hammer weapon, you could even make your own little game of it in the Mines.
Slime
Green:Floors 2-29 in the Pelican Town Mines, and in the Secret Woods
Blue:Floors 41-79 in the Pelican Town Mines
Red:Floors 81-119 in the Pelican Town Mines
One of my favorite songs is“Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime”by Nena and Kim Wilde (love an 80’s pop icon mashup), but I’m changing that last word to “Any Slime” and singing it on repeat as I fight my way through the Mines. I knowthey challenge beginner players, but I’ve been in Pelican Town since 2016 – they’re no sweat for me.
I recently started a whole new playthrough to go throughthe complete Joja route, something I’ve never dared do before. It’s the first regular new playthrough I’ve begun in years (outside a randomized one, that is), and Istillfound myself yawning at these goopy little guys.
All Three:Bat Wingsand bombs
Bats:Floors 31-39 in the Pelican Town Mines, and on the Wilderness Farm
Frost Bats:Floors 41-79 of the Pelican Town Mines.
Lava Bats:Floors 81-119 of the Pelican Town Mines, and Skull Cavern
The really unfortunate thing about Bats (or any flying monster in Stardew Valley) is that I sort of suck atusing the Slingshot. Respect to ConcernedApe for giving us a ranged weapon to fire back at flying pests, but between not being good at using them and the fact that the better ones use your Stones as ammo, I’m not into it.
But when Bats get close to me? Or if I manage to creep up on them when they’re curled up on the floors of the Mines having a nap? It’s over. I’m even keeping Lava Bats in here, too, despite omitting most red variants of most monsters so far – bring ‘em on.
Iridium Bats, Dangerous Bats, and Dangerous Frost Bats, they can all still stay away, though.
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Bug Meat
Floors 2-29 in the Pelican Town Mines, and in the Witch’s Swamp
Bug fans should maybe turn away now, because I’m about to spend the rest of this list saying something incredibly mean things about your buggy buddies.
Bugs are gross. And to me, Bugs thatflyare even worse.
Cave Flies are little more than a nuisance when you’re spelunking your way through the Mines later on. They only appear in the earliest levels of the Pelican Town Mines, where you’re just getting the hang of things. Swatting them down there feels satisfying, even if it takes a couple hits before youlevel up or buff your Combat.
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Floors 1-39 in the Pelican Town Mines
I don’t really feel particularly good about killing the Bugs in Stardew Valley, and in fact, I often don’t. Since they fly in a set pattern, bouncing back and forth between two rocks or walls in a predictable way,Bugs in Stardew Valleyare incredibly easy to ignore.
But in terms of the Stardew Valley monsters I think I reasonablycouldtake out, they rank pretty high on my list. I’m not much a combatant in real life, so an easy mark would be, well, easy if I had to handlethe Monster Eradication Goalsmyself.
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Floors 15-29 in the Pelican Town Mines, and in the Witch’s Swamp
There’s never a time when I want to kill an insect in real life, but the Grubs in Stardew Valley are freakingoff-putting. Watching them shimmy and shirk around on the ground in the Mines makes my skin crawl right along with their gross little bodies.
With only 20 HP, it’s entirely possible to squish these little squirmers before they have the chance to turn into Cave Flies, but you’ll see them grouped in such gnarly numbers that they’re unsettling. Don’t even get me started on how weird I think how fast they go through an entire growth cycle is – I’m getting these Grubs out of my sight, on sight.
