But it does have a tendency to get tedious when you’ve played it for eons. There’s only so many slimes you can whack or spots you can plow before you wish there was an automatic way to do things. Enter this list! We’ve organized a collection of QoL mods (in no particular order) that improve the quality of life in Pelican Town through automation, little switches, or new gameplay mechanics.
1. A Less Yellow Stardew
Check Out This Mod Sometimes a graphic change can make all the difference in the world. This mod recolors Pelican Town for the better, taking out some of the yellow tones to make the outdoors look more beautiful and vibrant. It’ll make the game feel like new! Talk about a facelift.
2. CJB Cheats Menu
Check Out This Mod Have you ever wanted to cheat Stardew Valley? What if I told you it was super easy? This mod straight-up adds a menu so you can check the boxes of cheats you want to use. One hit instakill? Maximum daily luck? There’s even free money adders! Who says you can’t get the backpack upgrade on day 1, am I right?
3. Look Up Anything
Check Out This Mod This is a really clever mod. By pressing F1, you can look up anything that’s under your cursor to see information like:
Hearts Daily gifts How long a crop will need before it can be harvested Really anything!
This mod would be especially great if you farm a lot, since you can see the length of time for crop harvesting. If you know you’re due for another rain and you only need one more day of watering before the season is up, you can just leave it – no need to bust out the annoying watering can!
4. Automate
Check Out This Mod Sometimes I wish that you could set up a bunch of ore to be smelted instead of standing around waiting. Well now you can, with the Automate mod. Simply place a chest beside a furnace, and it’ll use the raw ingredients to produce ingot after ingot. And this isn’t limited to just furnaces, either! This even works with other crafting machines, such as the recycling machine. That’s what I call convenience.
5. Tractor Mod
Check Out This Mod I’m genuinely surprised this feature never made it into the base game. As you can tell by the name, it’s a tractor mod. So your farmer can literally just purchase a tractor to ride around on and make their life easier. It’s a cute little doohickey that speeds up plowing, harvesting, and of course, getting around the farm.
6. Gift Taste Helper
Check Out This Mod If you’re anything like me, you play Stardew Valley with the wiki running in the background. Of course I’ve memorized some gifts, but you think I can memorize everything? No need to, with this handy-dandy mod! It’ll simply list the loved gifts for each character when you hover over them in the calendar. No more switching screens. Just pure, unadulterated convenience.
7. Skull Cavern Elevator
Check Out This Mod I must be a noob, because I just don’t understand how people reach level 100 in the Skull Cavern without using staircases. Those little flying snake things just get me every time! This mod makes it so that there’s an elevator in the cavern, the same as there is in the mines. It’s a really clever addition that saves a lot of time. So if you aren’t so into the gritty adventuring as some others, it’s definitely worth a download.
8. CJB Show Item Sell Price
Check Out This Mod It’s annoying when you have to sell your items to find out how much they’re worth. Well this handy mod shows you the sell price when you hover over them in the inventory. Neato!
9. Chests Anywhere
Check Out This Mod Ok, this is also a really helpful mod that allows you to access any and all storage containers from anywhere. Yes, anywhere. Super helpful if you’re out foraging or mining and run out of inventory space. Simply switch it over to a chest on the farm, and you’ll be good to go!
10. Better Ranching
Check Out This Mod Don’t you hate it when you go to harvest some milk and you have to click through a notification screen telling you that you’ve already milked that cow? Take the guesswork out with this nifty mod! It tells you when animals have products ready to harvest the same way other things do, like the preserves barrel or the wine cask. It also totally prevents any failed attempts to milk or shear!
11. Automatic Gates
Check Out This Mod I know the name sounds simple, and it is a simple mod. But it really helps a lot. I mean, automatic gates. Need I write more? No mucking around with buttons trying to shut the darn things before one of your chickens can escape. No more!
12. Happy Birthday
Check Out This Mod Everyone else in Pelican Town gets a birthday, so why not the farmer? I mean come on, we do so much else for everyone else! Even the Harvest Moon games let you pick a birthday (maybe we need a real crossover…) This mod allows you to set a birthday for the player character in Stardew. You’ll get letters from your parents, birthday gifts from your friends, and have a great day!
13. Friends Forever
Check Out This Mod Friendships in Stardew Valley are awfully fickle. I mean, why do I have to give so many presents? It doesn’t work like that in real life. Well with this mod, if you don’t have gifts to give (or if ignore your friends for a bit), the friendship level won’t deteriorate. I wish you could mod friends forever in real life too…
14. Simple Crop Label
Check Out This Mod It’s suuuuuper annoying when I’ve forgotten what I’ve planted where. So many of the seeds just look the exact same! This mod lets you see what you’ve planted just by hovering over with the mouse. So convenient. I’d say this is accurately labeled a QoL improvement.
15. Bigger Backpack
Check Out This Mod I don’t care how many upgrades the canon game has: There will never be enough backpack slots. This mod comes a little closer though, with a grand total of 48. That’s an extra row, for those of you at home counting. It’s definitely a helpful little mod to have if you’re anything like me (that is to say, a total pack mule!) Note: we have another list dedicated to inventory-focused mods, so check it out if you want more QoL backpack options.
16. Wear More Rings
Check Out This Mod I have ten fingers. I know that not everybody does, but most people do. Each of my fingers can wear at minimum one ring. Everyone with me so far? My farmer can wear two rings. I know for a fact that woman does not have two fingers, as she is farming, and those tools require quite the grip. So why can’t I wear more rings, huh? Well this mod lets you wear more. There, you’re welcome.
17. Skip Fishing Minigame
Check Out This Mod Ugh, I hate the fishing minigame! I get griefed every time. Whether you’re tired of it or just bad at it, take a look at this mod, which skips the fishing game entirely. Now when you hook the thing, you automatically pull it up. That improves MY quality of life, that’s for sure.
18. No Fence Decay
Check Out This Mod Fixing fences in Stardew is something I just can’t be bothered with. Fences don’t even decay that fast in real life, so why do they have to in what is meant to be a leisurely game? The “No Fence Decay” mod will make it so that fences don’t decay at all, which is frankly much better. Stone shouldn’t decay, anyway – it’s stone!
19. Stardew Valley Expanded
Check Out This Mod So let me clarify that this isn’t just a simple mod. This is a massive fan-made expansion pack for Stardew Valley. It includes a whole lotta stuff, such as:
Two new farm maps (Grandpa’s Farm & Immersive Farm 2 Remastered) Loads of new questlines Tons of new dialogue Remade vanilla areas 50 new areas 27 new NPCs And quite a bit more!
This is a huge project. It’s got to be nearly the size of the vanilla game, if not bigger. So if you need something new for a revamped Stardew brought into modern times, look no further – because here it is, friend!
20. Friendly Dialogue Expansion
Check Out This Mod Why do we play Stardew Valley? It isn’t much different from other farming sims on the market. I mean, it’s repetitive, and the graphics aren’t showstopping. So what’s the answer? We play for the characters, in my opinion, because we get attached. And it’s disappointing when we come to the end of things they have to say, and they start repeating themselves. This mod greatly extends the dialogue lines across 34 different characters, to make your game feel fresh again.
