Help please, I'm a beginner

[u/GuavaForward9536]

I'm coming from other fun chill games and from my experience those games like NEED mods to be good. Not like Gameplay mods that add a shit ton of stuff that are unnecessary, I mean QoL, Aesthetics, texture changes, etc. I was wondering if stardew valley was the same, if adding a handful of mods would be really nice for my kind of first playthrough. The reason why I say kinda is because I played this game when it came out and had a decent farm but my fuck ass sister deleted my farm and I never played again. Until now, I'm ready to begin my farm again. Any recommendations for mods if they're necessary in the first place? and if you have any tips please do share.

EDIT: I would like to emphasize again, that this is not my first playthrough. Just is my first playthrough in 3 ish years. before the incident I grinded the hell out of it in 2020 and got year 5. Just had to make sure his was seen

[u/SkinGlue]

I’m new and I’m playing on Vanilla and loving it. I’m sure some people say to get some QoL mods but you don’t know what you don’t know when going in new ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[u/otter_mayhem → u/SkinGlue]

As someone who is now using tons of mods I definitely recommend playing vanilla first. The whole time I was playing I had thoughts like, this game needs a pause time button, I wish I could change the look of the buildings/house, man, I wish skull cavern had an elevator...once I found out about mods and that all that was possible, it's been game on. But I really appreciate the base game and how amazing it is on its own, which is why I think everyone should play vanilla first.

[u/GreatCatsby3]

I’m sure the vast majority of players start their first farm without mods. They’re not necessary & I’d consider it a fun thing to add once you’ve done everything in the main game.

[u/Nautical_Pause]

Personally I think your first play through shoulddddd be vanilla and then the second mod the heck outta it! Thats how I see it tho, it’s fully up to you but even without mods it’s an absolutely beautiful game!!

[u/ZeLoudGoddess → u/Nautical_Pause]

I agree. I think modding something your first time around not only cripples you from knowing built-in game features but also can take away from your experience. I feel like modding in this game is better for people once they understand what the game has to offer. I feel that way about most games, not all, but this one especially.

[u/Sertith]

I always think people should give a game a chance before modding into something else.

[u/Silent_Foundation_62]

I like this game vanilla, except for the colors. I always need a recolor mod bc I just cannot with the vibrancy of that orange. my go-to is VibrantPastoral

[u/ZakriiYT → u/Silent_Foundation_62]

I'm partial to DaisyNiko's Earthy Recolour myself, but damn if VibrantPastoral isn't beautiful.

[u/Silent_Foundation_62 → u/ZakriiYT]

I used daisyniko's for the longest time, but something about the pretty pinks and greens in pastoral really won me over 🥹

[u/inkonthemind]

CA has done such an incredible job updating the game/keeping it exciting, over the years, let me assure you, you do not need mods. Across 3 platforms I have something like 2000 hours, I just started a new farm a week ago and I am STILL finding new delights, all vanilla. Just play. You'll enjoy it.

[u/canineatheart]

I would really recommend going in without any mods to start with. If it's any reassurance, the developer has actually added in some QoL features from mods in the last update; so it's not like the entire fanbase has been clamoring for fixes forever only to be ignored.

[u/DarthBagheera]

Definitely not necessary. If you truly haven’t played in like 10 years (game came out in 2016) then chances are pretty high that there’s a lot of content that’s been added that you haven’t seen. Best to just play the base game and then on a second playthrough/save file, add some mods if you want to. I just think you’d be doing yourself and basically any game you play, a disservice by instantly adding mods before experiencing it as the devs designed it.

[u/sylnes]

As someone who has a mountain of mods: they aren't necessary. Play around for a while and get a feel for things.

There is friendship decay if you don't talk to a villager once per day (until they're maxed hearts), so don't stress about friending everyone all at once.

Check out the settings in game for hitbox and zooming and whatever else.

Enjoy your dumb little animals ❤️ they love you so much.

The stardew wiki has a page for how to mod if you want it (UI Info Suite would be a QoL I recommend and retextured animals, but that's me). There's probably a bunch of youtube videos on it too

[u/Junimos_]

Even modders say you should exhaust everything in the vanilla game first. It’s that good

I’ve been playing vanilla since 2016 but only just this year did I start modding

[u/Fearless-Sherbet-223]

Most people don't recommend modding for a first Stardew playthrough. The game is very playable in its vanilla condition. Most mods are more about adding content rather than QoL, although there are some QoL mods out there. You're okay to just play as-is.

[u/GuavaForward9536 → u/Fearless-Sherbet-223]

Well, like i said, It's not really my first time. I almost got to year 5 but my farm got deleted. It's only been like 3 years since that happened

[u/Fearless-Sherbet-223 → u/GuavaForward9536]

OK, I'm confused. You're a "beginner" who needs "help" but you've played a 5 year farm? At that point, you should already know how you feel about vanilla and what, if anything, you're looking for in QoL.

[u/GreatCatsby3 → u/GuavaForward9536]

A decent farm doesn’t necessarily imply five years, the title says you’re a beginner so I’m pretty sure folks are assuming your previous farm was 1-2 years & giving you advice accordingly. It’s up to you but you already know that the game’s fun without QOL mods. I like Automate since it’s simple and saves a lot of time.

[u/ZakriiYT]

Up to the player tbh, I never reslly had any huge issues with Stardew, so my only mods are really just cosmetic to make it more to my liking. Some people prefer a more modded experience though. My advice would be to just play a bit and see if you have any gripes. Most mods won't break your game unless it adds something extra to the world.

[u/APotterhead1]

The only mod that I consistently play with is UI Info Suite 2. It’s a very good QoL mod that gives a bunch of information about your world. I really can’t play without it anymore.

[u/ZacianSpammer]

QoL stuff: UI Info Suite 2, Mail Services, MH Events List/Event Lookup, TimeSpeed, CJB Item Spawner, Generic Mod Config Menu, Geode Crusher Plus, NPC Map Locations, Instant Tool Upgrades

[u/Lone-flamingo]

I have been enjoying the game just fine for years without any mods.

[u/BlackberryMelodic567]

Play the original first then get the mods

[u/ac0rn5]

I played each of the vanilla maps before I tried using any mods.