For the past eight years, Stardew Valley has attracted and captured the hearts of over 30 million people with its comforting vibe and pleasantly easygoing objectives. With consistent bug patches and updates, this farming simulator has proven to be a perfect means of escapism—with the constant availability of quests, the player may not necessarily run out of things to do.
Particularly, the Special Orders board found just below Lewis’s house provides the player with a big task with big rewards. The board is installed by Robin on Fall 2, Year 1, and will contain larger orders than you would find on the Help Wanted board outside of Pierre’s shop. Because the orders are so big, you are allotted more time to accomplish them—but on the flipside, because these orders are so big, it may be difficult to get them done in time. So in this article, I’ll walk you through some tips on filling them before the timer runs out.
Crop Order
This quest from Lewis will ask the player to ship 100 of a specific crop (the crop will be random), and the first time that you do this quest, you will receive both a mini shipping box and 50% of the base quality crop price. Every other time you do this quest, because it’s a repeatable quest in all seasons except winter, you will mainly only get the aforementioned 50%. You have from the start of the season (or otherwise from the time that you accept the quest).
Crop Order is one of the more simple quests on the Special Orders board—but at the same time, depending on how far along in the game you are, it may be a little more difficult than, say, Community Cleanup. The reason for that depends on various things, particularly on when in the season you take the quest, which crop you are being asked to ship, whether you chose the tiller profession or not, and which level farming you are. So if you’re only at level one, even though this quest is pretty good for leveling up your farming attribute, it might be a little more difficult to fill on time.
The problem crops are problems because of how long they take—if you don’t have sprinklers and forget to water them, it’ll take even longer. The possible crops involved in this quest that take the longest will be:
Melons
Grapes
Pumpkins
Cauliflower
Blueberries
green beans
Tomatoes
The other crops don’t take as long so it isn’t an issue.
The key tips I have for you, regardless of level, are as follows: When planting, or getting ready to plant, either buy or make Speed-Gro. You can buy it for 100g in-game at Pierre’s, or if you’re level 3 farming and have pine tar and moss in your inventory, you can make a bunch. It will speed crop growth by 10% (or 20% if you chose the agriculturist profession).
Also, if you can, try sprinklers. It’ll water your crops for you.
Community Cleanup
This quest from Linus will ask the player to fish for trash. That’s pretty much it. You will have to collect 20 trash items, with a deadline of 7 days. The reward for this quest will be 500g, the fiber seed recipe, 250 friendship points, and a fun cut scene. This quest is available in every season. It should be noted, however, that Joja Cola will not count towards the quest, so you can either sell them, or gift them to Sam for friendship points—or just throw them away, it’s your choice.
This quest, honestly, is probably one of the easiest on the list. The key to fulfilling this quest is fishing in the farm pond. You have several options for how you want to go about it; you could either manually go fishing in the farm pond, set up crab pots (you will need bait for this route but if you have bug guts or a worm bin, you should be fine, otherwise the bait can be bought at Willy’s shop for 5g each) or a combination of both.
The Strong Stuff
The resident alcoholic (Pam) wants 12 potato juice. The reward will be 250 friendship points, 3000g, a cutscene in her trailer, and a new television channel on your TV. This quest is only available in the season and you have 14 days to do it.
Okay, this quest is pretty easy but I will say that kegs tend to take a while. Maybe it’s my anxiety talking, but if you take this quest, I would recommend either having the potatoes (12) on hand before you accept the quest, or having 12 kegs to make sure it all gets brewed, or both, that way you can, without a doubt, secure the reward.
Kegs cannot be sold—so you will need to make them. Since the keg recipe only comes when you reach Farming level 8, you will probably not be able to do this quest until after you've reached the aforementioned level 8.
However, if you are at level 8 farming or above, all you need to make a keg is 30 wood, 1 copper bar, 1 iron bar, and 1 oak resin.
Basically, the key is having plenty of kegs so that you aren't scrambling to produce enough juice (it takes about 4 days in-game) by having to wait to put the potatoes in.
Prismatic Jelly
This quest from the wizard, M. Rasmodius, will ask the player to go into the mines and find the prismatic slime to get prismatic jelly. You will have 7 days to complete this quest, and as a reward you will receive 5000g and the Monster Musk recipe.
Here's the thing; this particular quest isn't the easiest strictly because the prismatic slime is very difficult to find. Many players have a very difficult time with this quest and often don't fulfill it because they just cannot find which level that the prismatic slime will be on. It will be helpful if you have a sword or some kind of weapon, so make sure you stop by the Adventurer’s Guild next to the mines to pick a weapon if you don't have one yet.
The key; Go first thing in the morning to the mines, and spam level 5. What I mean by that is go to level 5 in the mines, check for the prismatic slime, and if it's not there, then go back to level 0, then go back to level five, and repeat until you find the prismatic slime.
I should note that it helps if your luck levels are high for the day—so if you eat lucky lunch right before starting the search, or check the fortune teller channel and find that there's a favorable outcome for you, you may have a higher chance of finding it. It helps to note that, in comparison to the other people in town, it seems that the wizard is perpetually awake so, if it came down to it, you could visit him day or night to deliver it, even if it's on the final day.
A Curious Substance
Yet another Wizard quest. He will ask you, this time, to find ectoplasm in ghosts you killed. You have 7 days to complete this quest. The reward will be 2,500g and a mini-obelisk recipe.
Alright, so this quest is a little less annoying than the prismatic jelly quest. Just as with the prismatic jelly quest, the odds of a ghost dropping ectoplasm isn't very high—and just like the prismatic jelly quest, it will probably take all day.
I would recommend going first thing in the morning to the mines to look for ghosts. You could get ectoplasm either from the regular ghosts you find on levels 51-79, the carbon ghosts you find in the skull cavern which only appear on mummy levels, or the putrid ghost (which only becomes available after activating the Shrine of Challenge, or during the Danger in The Deep quest) which will be in the local mines on floors 51-69.
Really, all you have to do is keep doing sweeps through levels 51-79—and it couldn't hurt to make sure your luck levels are high.
Juicy Bugs Wanted
This quest from our beloved fisherman, Willy, will ask players to obtain 100 pieces of bug meat. You will have 7 days to complete the task. The reward for completing this quest will be 3000g, the Quality Bobber recipe, and a brief cutscene on the docks.
This is another example of an easy quest—all you really have to do is go in the mines and kill bugs. If you usually use a sword, it only takes one strike. The key is to spam floors 15-29, where you will find grubs, cave flies, and bugs—it’s not always guaranteed that you’ll get bug meat from the bugs, but it’s a near 100% guarantee you’ll get it from the grubs and the flies.
I would also recommend going first thing in the morning, as with the other cave quests, because even though it’s easy, it’s still a little time consuming.
Tropical Fish
The second special order from Willy will ask the player to go to Ginger Island to catch 5 stingrays, 5 lionfish, and 5 blue discus. You will have 7 days to complete this quest. The reward will be 2,500g and a deluxe fish tank. It should be noted, however, that this quest will not be available until you have unlocked Ginger Island and built the Island resort.
You will need to go to Ginger Island for this one, specifically Pirate Cove. This one is a bit of a challenge only because of the blue discus. Both the lionfish and the stingrays are easier to catch because the stingrays are sinkers, meaning they move downwards faster than they move upwards, so there’s a clear pattern for capture. The lionfish move more smoothly so they also have a more discernible pattern that will make capture easy. But the blue discus moves more randomly, making them unpredictable.
It will help to have an iridium fishing rod, because you can then have both bait and a fishing tackle. I fully recommend a trap bobber, because it will drastically slow down the fish. You can buy it from Willy for either 500g after reaching fishing level 6, or you can craft it with 1 copper bar and 10 sap.
Pierre’s Prime Produce
This quest from Pierre will ask the player to bring 25 gold star vegetables to his shop (the submission box will be in the lower right hand corner of his store). You will have the whole season to do this. The reward will be 2500g, a mini-shipping bin, and a cutscene in the shop. This quest will not be available in winter.
First thing’s first; you’re gonna need a ton of vegetable seeds. I will say that this quest is probably also the easiest for the strict reason that the key is to choose a vegetable with a short growth time—since Pierre is only asking for ‘vegetables’, that gives the player more free reign over what they want to send in. Just for good measure, only vegetables grown during the quest will count towards it, so using vegetables you saved before the quest will not be beneficial.
First tip: get fertilizer. It doesn’t matter too much if it’s basic or quality fertilizer you use—the basic is just more accessible in the beginning of the game than quality fertilizer, since you get the recipe at farming level 1 and only need 2 sap to make it. Second tip: get 50 vegetable seeds of your choice, but stick to the veggies that don’t take as long to grow, like garlic or wheat. The second tip is much easier if you have a seed maker, but it isn’t a prerequisite.
If you have the quality sprinklers, that will make your life much easier but that’s also not a prerequisite.
Gus’ Famous Omelet
This quest from Gus will ask the player to collect 24 eggs and place them in the fridge behind the bar. The player will have 14 days to fulfill this quest. As a reward, you will receive 3000g, a minifridge, and a cutscene (but only after the first time). It should be noted that this is a repeatable quest—but the only reward you will get after the first time is 3000g.
Here’s what you’ll need for the quest; although not listed as a prerequisite, having a coop and several chickens will enable you to complete the quest. I would recommend having a minimum of 3 or 4 adult chickens to quickly collect eggs instead of relying on 2. If it’s any easier for you, you could have an autograbber collect the eggs for you—it will be 25000g, and is unlocked at farming level 10.
It should be noted that only eggs collected while the quest is active will be counted.
Fragments of the Past
Gunther’s quest will ask the player to collect 1000 pieces of bone fragments and drop them off at the museum. You will have 7 days to do this. The reward will be 3500g and a bone mill, which will produce fertilizer, quality fertilizer, speed-gro, deluxe speed-gro, and tree fertilizer.
This also is an easy special order to accomplish—you can turn in any combination of bone fragments that you find either from artifact spots all over Pelican Town/in the surrounding areas, as well as bone fragments you can collect from slaying skeletons in the mines.
If you can't find enough bones from artifact spots, you can pad out your findings by going and spamming mine levels 70-79. It should be noted that only the bones collected while the quest is active will count—if you use bones found before you took the quest, it won't count and you will still have to make up for the difference.
Gifts for George
Our favorite grandma Evelyn will ask the player to collect 12 leeks for George. You will have all season to collect them. As a reward, you will receive 2000g, a coffee maker, and a cutscene at George’s house.
The key to this particular quest is to grow leeks from Spring Seeds, which you have at foraging level 1. They cannot be sold so you will have to make them. One batch will require 1 horseradish, 1 daffodil, 1 leek, and 1 dandelion. It’s better to get them this way because if you don't have a very high foraging level, you'll have a harder time finding the leeks just by going around Pelican town.
You can also sometimes buy spring seeds or even just leeks from the Traveling Cart, but I would advise against this.
Cave Patrol
Mr. Simp (Clint) is a little bit of a chicken so his quest will ask the player to go into the mines and slay 50 of one of the following monsters (will not always be the same):
Bats
Dust sprites
Skeletons
Grubs
You will have 7 days to complete this. Your reward will be 6000g and a geode crusher, which will save you a ton of money in-game.
This particular quest isn't too bad but because you will need to slay a specific type of monster, I'll include tips for each of the monster types.
Go first thing in the morning to the mines.
For bats, you can find various types of bats from floors 31-119 in the local mines. Spam these levels. The best weapon against bats is a sword, since it has a bigger angle to strike from—and in addition to that, timing is key. A strategy that works is moving in a different direction than the bats, so that if they come from multiple directions, they’ll all be on one side.
For Dust Sprites, you'll find them on floors 41-79. Spam these levels. The best way to defeat them quickly is to corner them against a wall so that striking them with your sword or dagger won't knock them out of range.
For Skeletons, you'll find them on levels 71-79. Spam these levels. The key to defeating them quickly is to hit them before they can throw bones—so close quarter combat is a very good way to go for them.
Finally, for grubs, you will find them on levels 15-28. Spam these levels. Be warned that upon receiving critical damage, they will try to flee so that they can pupate—do not let that happen. You need to chase it down.
If you encounter a group of grubs, use the same approach as dust sprites—corner them so they can't run away and just keep hacking.
Biome Balance
Demetrius’ quest will ask the player to catch 20 fish from either the river, the lake, or the ocean. You will have 7 days to complete this quest. The reward will be 1500g and a farm computer recipe, which will give you your farm stats (ex: how much hay you have, how many ready crops, open tilled soil, etc).
Another very easy quest. You don't have to do anything with the fish, either, you can just sell them or keep them for cooking.
The key is to go early in the morning to the fishing spot, and have plenty of bait to catch fish faster. Tackles and bobbers should make it go much smoother—especially the trap bobber, which will slow the fish down.
Explain what the quest asks, when the deadline in-game is, who in the game has posted it, and what the reward/pay-off is.
Explain what works to make sure you fulfill the quest before the timer runs out.
Aquatic Overpopulation
Demetrius, for a second time, will ask the player to go collect more fish of a specific variety. Once again, you will have 7 days to complete this quest. The reward will be Gold equivalent to selling the fish and a farm computer recipe.
Okay, first thing’s first—if you already did the Biome Balance quest, you most likely have already received the farm computer, so all you're gonna get is a bunch of gold. Which is still a good thing.
The second thing that needs to be said is that the type of fish you will be asked to get will vary between the seasons, but all of the fish are relatively easy to capture.
The key, just as with Biome Balance, is to go early in the morning to the chosen fishing spot, which will either be the ocean, river, or lake.
Ocean fish will be:
halibut (Spring, Summer, and Winter: 6am-11am)
flounder (Spring and Summer: 6am-8pm)
squid (winter: 6pm-2am)
sardine (spring, fall, winter: 6am-7pm)
tuna (summer, winter (Ginger Island (except Island North): all): 6am-7pm)
red mullet (summer, winter: 6am-7pm)
tilapia (summer, fall: 6am-2pm)
albacore (fall, winter: 6am-11am, 6pm-2am)
River fish will be:
Sunfish (spring, summer: 6am-7pm)
Dorado (summer: 6am-7pm)
Rainbow trout (summer: 6am-7pm)
Salmon (fall: 6am-7pm)
Tiger trout (fall, winter: 6am-7pm)
Lingcod (winter: any time of day)
Perch (winter: any time of day)
Lake fish
Largemouth Bass (all seasons; 6am-7pm)
Midnight carp (fall, winter: 10pm-2am)
All you need is a good rod, some bait, and a trap bobber.
Island Ingredients
Caroline’s quest will ask the player to collect 100 one of 3 things—ginger, pineapple, or taro root. You will have all season (28 days) to fulfill the quest. The reward will be 50% of the base crop price and the solar panel recipe.
Firstly, before anything else, you have to have Ginger Island unlocked to access this quest. If it isn't, you just won't be able to access it.
If you have unlocked Ginger Island, make sure that you have plenty of money saved up because the ticket there will be 1,000g per ride.
On Ginger Island, you will have to trade Magma Caps (found throughout the Volcano Dungeon) for Pineapple Seeds in order to grow pineapple. These plants grow continuously, and are year-round fruits if they're growing on Ginger Island. If you're growing them on your farm, they can only grow in summer. They take about 14 days, with regrowth in about 7 days. Plan to plant at least 25 at the very start of the season.
For the Taro Tubers to grow Taro, you will need to get them from Tiger Slimes, Magma Duggies, or Common Chests. You can also find them via panning and from Ginger Island artifact spots. If you happen to have Taro Root already, you can even make seeds using Seed Makers. Taro Tubers take 10 days to mature in a regular farm tile, but 7 days if they're irrigated/placed within 3 tiles of a water source. So I would recommend irrigating them, and planting a minimum of 25 at the very start of the season.
As for ginger, this will be the easiest; you just have to go to Ginger Island and harvest it or get it from Tiger Slimes. Tiger Slimes can be found in Volcano Dungeon or in Tiger Slime Grove, which are both on Ginger Island.
The main key that I have for you is that you stock up on the seeds before the quest, that way you have everything you need. This means that you will have to visit Ginger Island often. I will also say that using speed-gro or deluxe speed-gro will make your life infinitely easier.
Rock Rejuvenation
Emily wants to lead friends of hers in a spiritual ceremony utilizing gem energy—so her quest will ask you to bring her 1 ruby, 1 jade, 1 topaz, 1 emerald, and 1 amethyst. You will have 7 days to fulfill the quest. The reward will be 1000g, 250 friendship points, a sewing machine, and a cutscene.
Firstly—this quest is not accessible if you don’t have access to Emily’s sewing machine.
Secondly—this quest is stupid easy if you're someone like me who naturally just tends to stock up on gems throughout the game. The easiest place to get gemstones would be the quarry—you won't have to go down the mines and fight monsters in the process of looking for the nodes.
If you go to the quarry and can't find the Gem Node (which will be a purple looking rock), then you can look for gem specific nodes—amethyst nodes will be on any floor, emerald nodes will be on floor 80+, Jade nodes will be on floor 40+, ruby nodes will be on floor 80+, and topaz will be on any floor. I should note that once you reach the bottom of the mines, jade, ruby, and emerald nodes will be on any floor.
You have two options for how to get each gem. You could open up Gem Nodes, which will produce either an amethyst, aquamarine, jade, diamond, emerald, ruby, or topaz at random. Or you can look for the gem specific nodes (ex. An amethyst node).
As a tip that will save energy, bombs are your best friends. They will blow up the node you're trying to open without expending too much of your energy.
Robin’s Resource Rush
This quest from Robin will ask the player to collect either 1000 pieces of wood or 1000 pieces of stone. The reward will be 2500g and the Stone Chest recipe. You will have 7 days.
If you have the stone version, your best bet is to stock up on bombs and maybe some edible items to restore energy, go first thing in the morning to the quarry, and simply blow up as many rocks as possible. If/when you blow up all the rocks, go into the mines and try to focus on the really big rocks that produce lots of stone. Also, if you have a gold pickaxe and a ton of boulders on your farm, you can break those up too.
If you have the wood version, stock up on snacks and a) go around your farm chopping down trees if you have any, then go to the woods by Marnie’s house and chop down as many trees as you can. Go first thing in the morning to do this.
This is a very, very simple task but because of the fact that things sometimes respawn slowly in Stardew Valley, it may feel mildly daunting to try and get that done in a week.
Robin’s Project
Robin, once again, has a request for the player to bring her resources—specifically 80 hardwood. The reward is 2000g, 250 friendship points, a deluxe double bed, and a cutscene at Robin’s house. You will have 7 days to fulfill the task.
Here's the thing about this quest; hardwood isn't really the easiest to come by, but it also isn’t the hardest thing to come by—there’s just slightly more work to it than chopping down a regular tree. You will need to either update your ax to copper to chop down large stumps, upgrade your ax to silver to chop down the massive logs, or plant mahogany trees (the seeds will come from chopping the logs and the stumps, or from the slimes in the secret forest).
My advice, for one, would be to visit the secret forest if you have access to it—the 6 stumps there respawn every day and will yield about 12. You could even go there every day of the 7 days to collect hardwood if you wanted to do it that way.
Depending on the type of farm you have, too, you could get hard wood from tree stumps there, too. If you have the Forest Farm, then there will be 8 more stumps at the left side that respawn daily, making 16 additional hardwood to harvest.
All it comes down to is patience and routine; definitely gain access to the secret forest before you take this quiz, then visit every day. Results will be quicker especially if you have mahogany trees already or a forest farm map.
Final thoughts
Simply put, the Special Orders aren't all that hard, overall—but it's nice to know some tips and tricks going into these quests. If you are a completionist like me, you may be interested in maxing out all attribute levels of your character, and if that's the case, then these quests are very good for helping you level up each attribute.
The most important thing you can do while playing this game is to not stress. The whole point of Stardew Valley is to find a nice escape from the hardships of our reality—so, as long as you don't stress, you should be fine. And if you don't complete a quest the first time, it's fine—it'll come back if you don't fulfill it.
