Iridium or Bust

A no-frills plan for fast-tracking your way to iridium bars.

Purpose of the Guide

This guide is intended for those who:

• Want an alternative means of obtaining iridium as opposed to the popular method of purchasing Omni Geodes from the desert shop on Wednesdays and having the blacksmith process them in hopes of looting iridium ore.
  
• Either desire or are willing to prioritize the gathering of iridium over almost all other objectives until they decide their iridium needs are met, save the objectives that are required to reach this goal. This includes, but is not limited to, giving gifts and restoring the Community Center.

Part I - Overview of the Method

This method for obtaining iridium focuses on progressing as deep into the Skull Caverns as possible to increase the spawn rate of Iridium Ore. Your method of progression into lower levels will be to use Bombs to clear dense collections of stones - the more cluttered with stones the area, the better, as this maximizes your chances that you uncover a stairway while using fewer Bombs.
Your primary healing comes from large amounts of prepared Sashimi and your method of escape is Warp Farm totems.
You will typically collect large amounts of stone using this method, which in turn can be used to create Staircases which are good for bypassing levels of the Skull Caverns that have few stones or are infested with enemies. If your first few levels are not worth using Bombs on, a Steel Pickaxe is sufficient to break stones until you reach layers worth using your Bombs on.
These are the basics of this method, though there are additional insights and tips for making it work most effectively for you, which the guide will elaborate on in the next segments.

Part II - Early Game

SEASONAL AND DAILY ROUTINES
Follow the typical advice of repairing the bridge on the beach within a few days, though you'll also need to set up your chests. Thus, your first few days are probably going to be spent cutting down trees with the energy you have left from planting and watering crops (see below). Rainy and stormy days are your best time to go fishing for rare fish if you want them, but remember that this guide is focused on getting iridium as quickly as possible. That in mind, you should consider mining on your rainy days and on normal days as well - whatever energy you have left is best used progressing in the mines.

MAKING PROFIT
It goes without saying that you can't do anything without money in Stardew Valley, so some normal gameplay is required. Your goal with this, however, is to minimize the time spent caring for your farm and making only what money you need to progress to the hunt for Iridium. Quality Sprinklers are a good early goal, but the crops you choose are also important.
In the first few seasons, dedicating Winter to fishing and mining, you will want to sell harvested crops as soon as you can, preferrably on the same day by visiting Pierre's store (except on Wednesdays, when you have to deposit them in your bin). Then, purchase enough seeds to replant and possibly expand, though you should stop when you approach an amount of crops that tending to taxes you to about 30% to 35% of your Stamina (so that you have something left over for other chores that need doing).

The crops to focus on for pure profit are listed below. This does not take into account the Community Center or miscellaneous quests.

• Spring - Plant potatoes and however many Strawberry plants you can afford seeds for, or have left/produced from last year.
  
• Summer - Plant blueberries.
  
• Fall - Plant cranberries.
  
• Winter - Fish, mine, forage, and improve your farm.

Part IV - Profession Choices

Your profession choices are one of the fundamentals of the effectiveness of this guide's method. The choices and the reasoning behind them are described below. This method can still be used if you do not have a high enough skill level for all of the professions listed, but as professions are gained, the synergies increase and the method becomes that much more effective. Strive to raise your skills as much as possible!

Farming
Level 5 - Tiller.
Level 10 - Agriculturist.

There are reports that Agriculturist is currently bugged to be more effective than the tooltip would indicate. If this is true, if and when the bug is corrected, Artisan may be more worthwhile. However, at the moment Agriculturist can squeeze more yields into your seasons while most artisan products require a large amount of time to pay off, and in my experience the hassle of interacting with the objects that produce artisan goods, not to mention the investment in creating these objects in the first place, is not worth what profit you can more than likely make back by selling multiple harvests. Finally, you do not want to spend more time on your farm than is absolutely needed - your primary interest is mining (and in a supportive role, lumbering and fishing).

Mining
Level 5 - Miner.
Level 10 - See below.

The essential skill to level for the purpose of this method. Miner will earn you more ores of all types, though I currently need to do more testing to know if it functions even when you do not use your pickaxe to break the ore. If it does, all the better. This profession both quickens your preperation for trips to the Skull Cavern and earns you more iridium when you do find it. A win-win situation. The iron and coal you gather in layers 40-80 of the mines (and the Skull Cavern, and from miscellaneous sources) that is not required for progression or creating other items needed in this method should be devoted to the crafting of Bombs.
As for the decision between Blacksmith and Prospector, I have to vote for Blacksmith for four main reasons:

• Your primary method of obtaining coal is the dust mites in layers 40-80.
  
• You can purchase coal from the blacksmith.
  
• Coal is not found often enough to begin with for twice the chance to find it to be effective enough to warrant choosing Prospector.
  
• Eventually, you will meet your primary iridium needs, but should you continue gathering it, excess iridium ore and/or bars can be sold for a tidy profit due to Blacksmith increasing its already notable sale value by 25%.

Foraging
Level 5 - Forester
Level 10 - Lumberjack

A supportive skill, the main rewards of leveling your Foraging skill will be the Tapper, Warp Farm totem, and Rain Totem. Forester is lackluster, but leads the way to Lumberjack, which keeps you in a steady supply of Hardwood to craft these totems and whatever else you may still need Hardwood for by the time you have earned the profession, such as your second house upgrade or additional crafting/production stations. However, be warned that Foraging can be very labor and time intensive to level, and you will have to choose to place your tappers on your farm, in the countryside (yes, you can do that!), or some balance between the two.
You will initially need maple syrup to produce bee houses for their honey, which allows you to create Warp Farm totems. The Rain totem, once you have established truffle oil production, will be indispensable for earning more time away from your farming duties, though a sprinkler network can accomplish the same goal. Althought a sprinkler system can accomplish the same thing, and it's up to you to decide which method you prefer, you will definitely want to level Foraging to at least level 8 to earn the Warp Farm totem as this is your primary method of being able to stay as long as possible in the Skull Caves and quickly return home when needed.

Fishing
Level 5 - Trapper
Level 10 - Mariner

Your other, perhaps more important, supportive skill. Although it can be difficult for some to learn how to play the fishing "mini-game", with dedication and practice it is possible to even come to enjoy an occassional fishing break. Many rare fish are only available when it rains, which is a win-win situation as rain eases your farming duties. However, the main purpose of leveling Fishing (as far as this method is concerned) is to provide a cheap, renewable source of healing through Sashimi.
You will need to reach at least three hearts in your relationship with Linus to be gifted the recipe. When you've opened the desert, Linus loves both Cactus Fruits and Coconuts, but Yams are also one of his favorites. If you want to befriend him earlier, viable gifts include nearly all forageable items (berries, any mushroom other than red mushrooms, and seasonal forage).
Once you know how to cook Sashimi and you have unlocked your first house upgrade (adding the kitchen), you will want to level Fishing as much as possible outside your normal schedule of mining to unlock the level 5 and level 10 professions (if you haven't already).
The strategy is that you supply yourself with bait from Bug Meat earned from the first 40 levels of the mines, (though a Worm Bin or two might be a good supplemental choice), and use it to bait crab pots that always produce a fish-category item thanks to the Mariner profession. The primary location for this network of crabpots should be the two ponds on your farm for ease of access and to cut down on time spent collecting your catches, though if you find yourself needing even more Sashimi, you can craft Warp Beach totems (if you've been leveling your Foraging) to include more crabbing in your schedule. For those who would think to choose Luremaster, baiting the pots takes inconsequential time as you collect the catch, and junk catches eat into this method's sustainability moreso than needing to supply bait. As a fringe benefit, this can also keep you supplied with Quality Fertilizer (you can collect Sap while collecting Hardwood with Lumberjack!).

Combat
Level 5 - Fighter
Level 10 - Brute

By taking the time to clear enemies out quickly but carefully, you should be able to level Combat along with Mining. The Fighter and Brute path supports a quick style of charging in and taking enemies out, or dealing maximum damage to enemies that fly towards you with proper timing before they connect. The Iridium Band and a ring such as the Slime Charmer ring, Vampire Ring, or Ruby Ring is a potent combination, and the other benefits of the Iridium Band make it a personal favorite for the choice of what item to dedicate your first Iridium Bars to. Your supply of Sashimi (see above) should make choosing Defender redundant.

Part III - Preperation for the Skull Cavern

This method requires an amount of preperation - primarily, the collection of iron ore and coal in large amounts to produce a viable number of bombs to make your trips worthwhile. Your trip will probably not be worthwhile if you do not bring at least 100 bombs. This can take a few days of farming levels 40-80 in the mines, and you also have profit to earn and skills to level as well.

ITEMS
You do not want to enter the Skull Caverns with anything less than a Lava Katana (preferrably the Galaxy Sword if you're lucky enough to discover a Prismatic Shard before serious forays into the Skull Caverns), Space Boots, and potentially a Vampire Ring, Slime Charmer Ring, and/or Ruby Ring. Your healing will come from easily sourced Sashimi (see Professions segment).
A Steel Pickaxe should suffice, though upgrade to Gold if you prefer. Your other most important gear are your Bombs and Staircases. Use bombs on levels with lots of tightly packed stones, and staircases on levels with few stones or monster infestations, or in emergencies. You may want torches or the Glow Ring earned by completing the Night Fish bundle in the Community Center to help reach level 40, but I've never needed them once I'm there.

FARMING IRON AND COAL
When you're ready to fully focus on preperation for Skull Cavern trips, focus entirely on quickly scouting the entire level in levels 40-80 of the mines for iron ores while prioritizing dust mites (the enemies that look like bouncing black balls) over other enemies in your kill order. These are your chief source of coal for Bombs, smelting, and other crafting needs.
Taking time to mine gems or break crates only detracts from your goal of mining iron, killing dust mites for coal, and finding the next stairwell (I suggest breaking stones as much as possible as you move through an area). It may help to work on the Sashimi set-up (see Professions) before dedicating time to iron farming, so that you have a source of health and energy restoration.

Part V - Other Tips

MUSHROOMS OR FRUIT BATS?
Though you can forage common mushrooms in Fall, the other mushrooms are rare otherwise, and purple mushrooms (especially silver and gold star quality) are amazing as a food choice. I always choose mushrooms; fruit is relatively easy to obtain.

TOOL UPGRADES
Your most important tools are your pickaxe, your fishing rod, your axe, and your watering can, in that order. However, your pickaxe and axe serve just fine as Steel. Your Watering Can should ideally be at least Gold. The straight line of five tiles and the three-by-three tile choices should serve most needs. However, if you've already reached a balance of profit with a number of sprinklers, your watering can is only needed to water crops planted in a position where a sprinkler has not yet watered the tiles, which is a rare enough occurance that a lower tier of watering can can serve fine. A Fiberglass Fishing Rod makes leveling fishing more comfortable until you are done focusing on gathering iridium, after which you can pursue your fishing goals as you desire.

ADVENTURER'S GUILD RINGS
The vampire ring looks nice on the surface, but is most effective if you can time your strikes so that you're hit as little as possible. This makes the health gained from the ring mean something. If you get really good at this, you might even be able to make it help you recover damage from jumping into pits.
The slime charmer ring is a nice choice due to the sheer number of slimes, both normal varieties and the smaller slimes produced when a large slime splits. Your mileage may vary based on enemy spawns.
The burst of movement ring can help get you around quicker, but only if there are enemies to keep the buff triggered. Again, you don't want to lose health needlessly, so practice makes perfect.
The looting ring is more likely put to better use in layers 40-80 of the normal mines, to earn more coal from the easy slaughter of Dust Mites.

[Rhombicosidodecahedron]

@Zapper this is the traverling mechant not only does she sell iridium rarly but also sells rare seeds and out of season item

my way of getting iridium is to day skip alot. this can spawn rare metiorites on ur farm which can be mined for iridium. it also spawn iridium nodes at the quarry.

[Cramboui The Stupid]

Well, I found another way of getting iridium ore, and it's more rare : Friday and Sunday there's that one trader at the south of the farm that may sell iridium ores... it's really rare tho, she once sold me 5 iridium ores for 500 g each, it's worth it too but rare...

[FranklintheTMNT]

@Infected Stray in case you want to change your professions without restarting your save, here is a way to modify the save file https://steamcommunity.com/app/413150/discussions/0/405693392908264326/

[Stray]

AWESOME guide. I'm now in year Winter Year 2 and your guide has made me rethink the professions I've taken.