Stardew Valley Skull Cavern Guide - Location, Strategies, Treasure, & More

Don’t mistake Stardew Valley for not offering anything more than a lifestyle farming simulator. ConcernedApe’s hit title also has various dangers in it. However, brave these hazards and you can be graciously rewarded. One of the most dangerous locations you can face in Stardew Valley is Skull Cavern, and we’re here to guide you through this perilous space.

Stardew Valley Skull Cavern: An Overview

Similar to the Mines, Stardew Valley players must go through numerous subterranean floors that increase in difficulty. But unlike the Mines, the Skull Cavern in Stardew Valley has no elevator. That means you can’t skip floors and would always start from Floor 1 for each run. However, a ladder exists on every floor that’ll lead you back up to the surface if you want to quit the run. As for going down, you must search for holes that’ll drop you 3 to 15 floors at a time, depending on RNG. Note: Jumping down more than three floors will cause damage. Moving forward, the Skull Cavern is a great place to farm Iridium Ore. The chances of finding this valuable mineral increase as you go further down the dungeon. You may also increase the opportunities of Iridium Ore dropping from mineral deposits if exploring the dungeon during a lucky day, as dictated by the Fortune Teller on your farm’s Television. But be wary because Prehistoric Floors may randomly appear in Skull Cavern. You’ll know if you’re in one when Pepper Rexes (added in version 1.4) mostly appear on that floor. You must defeat all these enemies before you can proceed to the next floor. Also, dying while in Skull Cavern will respawn you in Harvey’s Clinic. But the town’s doctor will charge you 1,000 gold pieces for his services. Persevere and survive, you can reach the 100th floor, which is a guaranteed treasure room. But if you read Secret Note #10, this floor transforms into Mr. Qi’s hideout, where you can now trade items and take on additional side quests.

Location and Entry Requirements

Travel to the northwest area of the Desert to find the entrance to the Skull Cavern. The closed entrance prevents you from progressing without the Skull Key. So, venture into the 120th floor of the Mines to receive this item so you can enter the Skull Cavern. Note: You can also use the Skull Key to unlock the Junimo Kart arcade game in Gus’ Saloon.

Treasure Rooms

Also called treasure floors, these spaces can randomly appear after completing Floor 10 of Skull Cavern. The items you may receive from these rooms are the following:

• Apple Sapling
• Apricot Sapling
• Artichoke Seeds
• Auto-Grabber
• Auto-Petter
• Autumn's Bounty
• Bean Starter
• Beet Seeds
• Blue Cowboy Hat
• Blueberry Seeds
• Bok Choy Seeds
• Bomb
• Cactus Seeds
• Cauliflower Seeds
• Cherry Bomb
• Cherry Sapling
• Corn Seeds
• Cranberry Sauce
• Cranberry Seeds
• Crystalarium
• Dark Cowboy Hat
• Dish O' The Sea
• Eggplant Seeds
• Energy Tonic
• Fall Seeds
• Farmer's Lunch
• Garlic Seeds
• Iridium Bar
• Iridium Sprinkler
• Kale Seeds
• Life Elixir
• Mega Bomb
• Melon Seeds
• Miner's Treat
• Omni Geode
• Orange Sapling
• Parsnip Seeds
• Peach Sapling
• Pepper Seeds
• Pomegranate Sapling
• Potato Seeds
• Prismatic Shard
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Soup
• Purple Slime Egg
• Quality Sprinkler
• Radish Seeds
• Rain Totem
• Red Cabbage Seeds
• Red Cowboy Hat
• Red Slime Egg
• Rhubarb Seeds
• Roots Platter
• Seed Maker
• Spring Seeds
• Starfruit Seeds
• Stuffing
• Summer Seeds
• Super Meal
• Survival Burger
• Tomato Seeds
• Warp Totem: Farm
• Wheat Seeds
• White Turban
• Winter Seeds
• Yam Seeds

Enemies

Below is a list of monsters you'll likely encounter in Skull Cavern:

• Armored Bug
• Armored Bug (dangerous)
• Big Slime
• Carbon Ghost
• Iridium Bat
• Iridium Crab
• Lava Bat
• Mummy
• Mummy (dangerous)
• Mutant Fly
• Pepper Rex
• Purple Slime
• Purple Slime (dangerous)
• Royal Serpent
• Serpent

Strategies

Like taking on the Mines, trying to reach Floor 100 of Skull Cavern in Stardew Valley doesn’t require specific steps. Use different strategies and tactics to your liking to complete this in-game dungeon. Some of the ideas you may take advantage of are the following:

Use Explosives

Trying to find the hole in Skull Cavern to lead you to the lower levels can be tedious. Instead of cracking open each stone or mineral deposit on each floor, use explosives to search a wider area than the pickaxe.

Place Staircases

If you don’t mind going through the levels one by one instead of jumping down holes, bring Staircases with you to Skull Cavern. With this item, you don’t have to use your pickaxe or explosives to search for holes. However, crafting one Staircase requires 99x Stone. You can buy Stones from Robin’s Carpenter Shop for 20 to 100 gold pieces each. But buying one would cost 1,980 to 9,900 gold pieces, which can be fairly expensive for some new and veteran Stardew Valley players.

Bring Food

Often, you’d jump several floors to reach Floor 100 in Skull Cavern. But that also means damaging your health. Avoid dying before reaching the final floor by bringing food items. Some excellent examples include Maple Bar, Pumpkin Soup, and Crab Cakes since these options regenerate 200 health or more for each use.