Mastery Cave is one of the most elite locations in Stardew Valley and is filled with mystery and rewards. Not everyone is worthy enough to enter Mastery Cave, however. So if you want to know what it takes to be allowed into the mysterious cave and learn how to claim all the treasures that await you, we have everything you need to know in this Mastery Cave guide.
What is Mastery Cave in Stardew Valley?
Mastery Cave is a skills hub where you can find five pillars dedicated to each skill. After earning one Mastery Point, you can return to Mastery Cave and spend it on a skill pillar of your choice to master that skill. Mastering skills gives you three skill-related rewards.
If you’ve been exploring Cindersap Forest since the 1.6 update and come across a small cavern carved into the cliffside, you’ve found Mastery Cave. But although the cave does look curious and you are guaranteed to want to explore it further, you can’t enter Mastery Cave unless you have reached level 10 in all of your key skills.
The skills in question are fishing, mining, combat, farming, and foraging. You can see what level you are by heading to the skills tab in the menu.
If you’ve not reached level 10 in all the above skills, bookmark this page and focus on grinding those skills. Once you master them all, you will be ready to explore Mastery Cave. Then you can return to this guide to learn how to master Mastery Cave itself! Or, you could just keep reading so you already know what it’s all about when you get there.
How to Earn Mastery Points in Stardew Valley
Upon entering Mastery Cave for the first time, you will be greeted with five skill pillars. These skill pillars offer rewards in exchange for Mastery Points.
Mastery Points are a new type of skill point that you can earn by filling up a green Mastery Gauge found on the skills tab in the menu. You can fill up your Mastery Gauge by earning EXP points. You will earn EXP points for using any of your skills in Stardew Valley, like growing crops, breaking rocks in the mines, killing enemies, fishing, and foraging. Simply going about your daily business is enough to fill up your Mastery Gauge eventually.
The amount of skill points you need to fill your Mastery Gauge increases by 5000 with each point you earn, so they become harder to get the more you have. You need 10,000 EXP to earn your first point, 15,000 EXP to earn your next one, and so on.
Redeeming your Mastery Point is as easy as approaching one of the pillars in Mastery Cave. Click the pillar to view the rewards, and click Claim to master that skill!
Mastery Cave Rewards
The rewards you collect for mastering skills are all extremely valuable and related to that skill in some way, often making it easier to use that skill in the future. Here is everything you can get in Mastery Cave!
- Combat: Anvil recipe, Mini-Forge recipe, and the ability to find Trinkets while exploring.
- Foraging: A crafting recipe for a new species of tree, a Treasure Totem recipe, and the ability to find Golden Mystery Boxes.
- Farming: Iridium Scythe, the Statue of Blessings recipe, and unlocks Golden Animal Crackers.
- Fishing: Advanced Iridium Rod, Challenge Bait, and unlocks Golden Fishing Chests.
- Mining: Statue of the Dwarf King recipe, Heavy Furnace recipe, and Gem Nodes will contain double gems.
Mastery Cave is just one of many new things to see in Stardew Valley. Check out the Full 1.6 Update Patch Notes to see what other incredible additions there are to explore!
