Mastery Cave - Stardew Valley Wiki (2024)

The Mastery Cave is an area located in Cindersap Forest. It is unlocked after the player has achieved level 10 in all 5 skills. It can be accessed right after the player reaches level 10 on the fifth skill; there is no need to wait until the next day. Inside, the player finds a letter from Grandpa in the southeast corner, a pedestal in the middle of the cave that reads "The Last Path" and displays the mastery progress bar, and the five pillars, each describing a mastery of a skill.

If the player attempts to enter before reaching level 10 in all skills, a message will display: Only a master of the five ways may enter (X/5), where X is the number of skills in which the player has already reached level 10.

If the player does not enter the Mastery Cave the day they reach level 10 in all skills, the next day there will be a message saying "You sense that a new way is open...".

Grandpa's Letter

In the southeast corner Grandpa has left a letter for the farmer. The letter will read the following:

Masteries

Mastery points are used to unlock a series of masteries. Each mastery is associated with one skill, and each is represented on a pillar on the cave's back wall. At any time, the player can view the special items and benefits associated with a mastery by visiting its pillar.

Mastery points are equivalent to "excess" skill experience points, above those needed to achieve the initial level 10 skills. They are accumulated only after reaching level 10 in every skill. Farming experience points only contribute to mastery points at a 50% rate, while experience points for the rest of the skills contribute to mastery points at a 100% rate.

Experience points after reaching skill level 10 that were earned playing an earlier version of the game do not carry over as mastery points in v1.6. They are collected and grouped as a single quantity regardless of the skill type associated with the experience, and may be used to award any mastery. A mastery can be unlocked at a pillar only when a sufficient number of mastery points has accumulated. The player may pick which masteries to unlock in any order. Each mastery picked costs progressively more mastery points than the previous one, defining five levels of costs. The player can track the current progress towards the next level in the Skills tab.

The following table shows the costs to unlock each mastery:

When the player accumulates enough mastery points to unlock a new mastery, the game shows a message saying "You've reached a new level of understanding...". The cave's pillars are then available for unlocking a mastery of the player's choice. Masteries achieved are shown on the tab of the player's inventory.

Name	Rewards
Farming Mastery		Iridium Scythe	Can be used to harvest any crops. It's also excellent at gathering hay.
		Statue Of Blessings Recipe	Touching the statue gives a unique blessing every day.
		You can now find Golden Animal Crackers, which permanently doubles a farm animal's produce. Doesn't work on pigs.
Mining Mastery		Statue Of The Dwarf King Recipe	Choose from two mining-related powers each day.
		Heavy Furnace Recipe	It's more efficient than a regular furnace. Requires 25 pieces of ore and 3 coal per use.
		Gem-bearing rocks now grant twice the gems.
Foraging Mastery		Mystic Tree Seed recipe	This can be planted to grow a special tree.
		Treasure Totem recipe	Use on diggable terrain to summon a ring of treasure spots.
		You can now find Golden Mystery Boxes, which contain superior items.
Fishing Mastery		Advanced Iridium Rod	Use in the water to catch fish. Up to two bobbers can be attached at once.
		Challenge Bait recipe	A "perfect" catch yields triple the fish. However, each time a fish escapes the "fishing bar", the catch is reduced.
		You can now encounter Golden Fishing Treasure Chests.
Combat Mastery		Anvil recipe	Allows you to re-forge trinkets, randomizing their stats. Costs 3 iridium bars per use.
		Mini-Forge recipe	Now, you can use a dwarvish forge from the convenience of your home.
		Unlocks a new equipment slot for trinkets. Trinkets can be found while adventuring and grant special powers.

Completed Mastery Skills

After unlocking all 5 masteries, a candle will light above each of the pillars, Grandpa's letter will be removed, and a hat will appear on the pedestal between the combat and the foraging mastery pillars. There will also be a message saying "You feel Grandpa's hand patting your shoulder... "

Trivia

• In Secret Note #27, Grandpa mentions a "very special secret" he hid somewhere in the valley, referring to the Mastery Cave.

History

• 1.6: Introduced.
• 1.6.4: All experience now contributes to mastery experience at a 50% rate.
• 1.6.6: Now only farming experience contributes to mastery experience at a 50% rate, as originally intended.