Best Stardew Valley Mods

Stardew Valley is just one of those games that can be hard to put down once it has stuck its claws in you.

Despite having three “official” endings, the game never really concludes, meaning you could spend the rest of your life forming relationships with the citizens of Stardew.

However, even the best video games can start to feel stale after a while, leading many gamers to rely on mods to help keep things feeling fresh.

Here, I will be highlighting our favorite Stardew Valley mods on PC. Make sure to check back as we will be updating this list in the future with new entries.

If you would like to receive more gaming recommendations, consider reading through our other curated lists:

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The first mod you will want to install is the Stardew Modding API (SMAPI). This community-made API allows you to install more complex mods that drastically affect gameplay. It goes hand in hand with the Stardew Valley Mod Manager (SDVMM), which is useful for installing and updating SMAPI in addition to keeping track of all your existing mods and monitoring for conflicting ones.

The Stardew Valley Content Patcher is also a useful tool, capable of loading a myriad of different mods without altering their XNB files, making the entire process of installing and removing mods less painful. With these three installed, your chances of accidentally deleting the wrong file or placing something in the wrong folder are significantly reduced.

The Stardew Valley Expanded mod adds a substantial amount of new content beyond the base game, including 18 new locations, 74 new character events, 4 new NPCs, a new village to explore, over 500 location messages, remastered maps, and much more.

What we like most about SVE is how true it stays to its source material, with dialogue and character designs matching the tone and aesthetic of Stardew Valley. If you find yourself feeling bored after completing the main story, this mod provides the perfect opportunity to explore completely new areas and meet new characters.

The Perks of Being Married mod gives the concept of marriage a lot more value in Stardew Valley. Now when you move past the courting phase with an NPC and finally get them to say “I do,” you can feel secure in knowing you’re about to inherit some neat skills in exchange for sacrificing some living space in your home.

The mod includes one triggering event for each NPC in the game, along with some context dialogue. Each perk is different based on the NPC you’ve managed to woo and ranges from lower building costs to more valuable rewards. Additionally, it’s compatible with the SVE mod, assigning each of the new custom NPCs their perk.

Anyone who’s played Stardew Valley for a decent amount of time will know how frustrating it can be to have an entire day planned go to waste simply because you were tending to your farm longer than you had hoped to. The Tractor mod lets you buy the tractor garage along with the tractor itself from Robin, although you’ll have to wait until she’s done building it.

Once you have access to the tractor, you can say farewell to using individual tools again. While riding it, you can select and use each available tool along with plant seeds and fertilizer. The mod can also be configured to spawn the tractor anytime at your current position using a hotkey.

One of the more annoying aspects of Stardew Valley is learning the various habits and paths of each non-playable character. Given the limited nature in-game events such as birthdays, it can be a hassle to search all over town for a specific character before the day finishes, resulting in many undelivered gifts that are now collecting dust.

Thankfully, modder Bouhm has created the NPC Map Locations mod, which displays every NPC’s location on an adjustable minimap that conveniently blends in with the game’s HUD, a larger, more detailed map, that can also be opened at any time while playing. The mod includes options for customizing when different NPCs appear on the map and is compatible with many other custom mods.

The easiest way to breathe new life into a game is to install mods that add more visual elements. The More Festive Stardew Valley mod redesigns the vanilla farm buildings, town maps, outdoor tiles, and some sprites to create a more vibrant feel all year round, with different looks to reflect the in-game seasons.

This contains different main menu screens, billboards, Help Quest screens, and Junimo notes. Themes last for the entirety of a particular season and focus on a specific holiday—spring’s Egg Festival (Easter), summer’s Luau, fall’s Spirit’s Eve (Halloween), and winter’s Feast of the Winter Star (Christmas).

The fishing mini-game in Stardew Valley sucks. There, we said it. However, that doesn’t mean you’re simply stuck suffering through it every time you decide to throw your line into the water. With the Easy Fishing mod, your chances of successfully catching a fish are instantly increased.

This mod reduces the amount of movement fish have once you’ve entered the mini-game. It can be adjusted so that every catch is just about guaranteed.

The life of a farmer in Stardew is not easy as you’re expected to juggle dozens of tasks, all while still monitoring your health, stamina, and social standing within the community. The Daily Tasks Report mod provides you with a complete report detailing which activities you’ve yet to complete along with optional notification bubbles that appear over items.

This makes it so much easier to keep track of crops that need watering and items that are ready to be collected.  It can really boost your productivity and time management when combined with other mods on this list, such as the Tractor mod.

We’ve all been there before; you’ve managed to make it pretty far into the mines despite constant attacks from slimes and other monsters. You come across a shiny gem and realize your inventory is completely full, forcing you to either leave the item behind or discard something from your pouch.

The Chests Anywhere mod makes inventory management a total non-issue, granting you access to each of your chests from anywhere on the map. Additionally, the mod lets you access your fridge, shipping bin, and Junimo huts remotely.

Some of the best mods are the ones that completely change the way a game is meant to be played by giving you access to every item in the game. The first one we’re recommending you install is the CJB Item Spawner mod, which lets you spawn a host of in-game items including tools, crops, gems, you name it.

If you want to go beyond, adding the CJB Cheats Menu mod will provide numerous game-altering options like unlimited health/stamina, quicker movement speed, and teleportation.

Although cheats can sometimes devalue the experience of playing a video game, they can also be a lot of fun.