Is it just me or are the mines harder?

[Amethyst Stormbringer]

Hi, I know this game had a massive update at one point a few months ago. I hadn't played in a while, and I followed the advice to start a new save to best take advantage of enjoying the new events. I already came across some of the new content and experienced a "herring event" where I just got to fish tons of herrings which was super fun.

However, I'm having a lot of trouble with the mines. I was lucky enough to pick up a Level 2 Wooden Club from a random item excavation, but even with that it was still hard to fight certain enemies and it felt like my character was constantly running out of energy while mining. I couldn't even make it past level 3 yet, but to be fair I'm only on day 13 of spring of the first year. Am I just misremembering how hard it is to mine when you have other responsibilities like farming?

Also, this is completely unrelated, but in my first save (this is my third), my character is married to Leah and in her second year, but it seems like the more I had access to the more bored I became and it had nothing to do with the quality of the content. I loved having chickens, cows, and pigs, the greenhouse, crafting with Emily, bussing to Calico, etc., but it just got tiresome after a while. I know some of you have talked about Stardew Valley "fatigue" and I think maybe that's what I experienced back then, because I just played for 3 hrs straight. That, or I just enjoy the process of getting a farm started more than I do maintaining one. It's hard because I'd love to "perfect complete" a game one day but I can't seem to be able to commit.

[NBOX21]

At lower levels, you'll find yourself running out of energy a lot quicker. Not only will you have less energy, but your lower tier pickaxes require more hits to break rocks and with lower mining levels, you're more likely to use 2 energy per swing instead of 1.

The reason you're likely finding it easier to mine on earlier saves is because you've levelled up your farmer quite a lot and upgraded your tools, making mining much quicker and less tiring. The beginning of the game has the struggle that the late game doesn't.

Also remember whenever possible to bring plenty of good food items into the mines as they'll quickly restore your energy in a pinch.

[no1schmo]

No, nothing really changed with the mines. You just have low health, low energy, and the worst equipment. If the mines are bothering you, hold off on them for a bit.

[Draconifors]

Once you get a little further down in the mines, you can farm bugs to get the Insect Head, whose requirement was lowered from 125 to 80 cave insect kills and damage massively buffed. A very good weapon in the early game, and it's not too hard to get.

[Antidote#77]

The mine doesn't change much in the new update beside adding some new layouts once you have reached the bottom. My advice is that you should prioritize killing bugs to get the Insect Head.
As for getting bored of playing the game, you should mess around with some of the game settings like remixed bundles, or install some mods, you can look into modding on the Wiki.
https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Player_Guide/Getting_Started

[Nakos]

Originally posted by Amethyst Stormbringer:

I know some of you have talked about Stardew Valley "fatigue" and I think maybe that's what I experienced back then, because I just played for 3 hrs straight.

I like the beginning when you're struggling, and when every bit of cash matters. When you have too much to do, and not enough equipment and all your tools and skills are weak.

That's the fun part for me.

Once I reach the point where I've bought all/most of the basic upgrades, have decent tools and skills and can hit all the points on Grandpa's Evaluation ... I get bored.

I generally do a run about once or twice a year, but I always start a new save, because it's the beginning that's fun for me, not the later parts.

[Mharr]

Bombs bombs bombs, also staircases from the desert. Focus on getting to those 10x levels for the guaranteed gear upgrades.

[Endora]

Originally posted by Nakos:

Originally posted by Amethyst Stormbringer:

I know some of you have talked about Stardew Valley "fatigue" and I think maybe that's what I experienced back then, because I just played for 3 hrs straight.

I like the beginning when you're struggling, and when every bit of cash matters. When you have too much to do, and not enough equipment and all your tools and skills are weak.

That's the fun part for me.

Once I reach the point where I've bought all/most of the basic upgrades, have decent tools and skills and can hit all the points on Grandpa's Evaluation ... I get bored.

I generally do a run about once or twice a year, but I always start a new save, because it's the beginning that's fun for me, not the later parts.

My problem exactly. I lost count on how many new saves I created and once I get all the nuts on Ginger Island I start to get bored and start a new one... But it's ok, because I don't care that much for perfection so I'm ok in returning to the fun part of the game.

[Amethyst Stormbringer]

Thank you all for all your great comments and insights! I guess it's true that I'd never prioritized the mines early in the games before, and I'd never heard of the Insect Head, but I'll look into getting that item in the future.

[Amethyst Stormbringer]

Originally posted by Nakos:

Originally posted by Amethyst Stormbringer:

I know some of you have talked about Stardew Valley "fatigue" and I think maybe that's what I experienced back then, because I just played for 3 hrs straight.

I like the beginning when you're struggling, and when every bit of cash matters. When you have too much to do, and not enough equipment and all your tools and skills are weak.

That's the fun part for me.

Once I reach the point where I've bought all/most of the basic upgrades, have decent tools and skills and can hit all the points on Grandpa's Evaluation ... I get bored.

I generally do a run about once or twice a year, but I always start a new save, because it's the beginning that's fun for me, not the later parts.

I've tried to do different things to make it interesting in this save by experimenting with different layouts for my crops, and I [finally] chose the farm where the monsters come out at night to challenge myself because I typically don't like fighting. I'm also going to try to do something I didn't prioritize before--but had almost reached anyway--and try to ship one of every crop/item.

However, I completely relate to what you're saying. I think another thing to do would be to try to prioritize relationships with different villagers to see different storylines.