Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To Enchantments & Weapon Forging

At the heart of Ginger Island's Volcano Dungeon lies a mysterious forge that offers Stardew Valley players the chance to imbue their tools and weapons with magical enhancements. While the cost in gemstones and crystals may be steep, the benefits of these upgrades make it a worthwhile investment for any dedicated player.

Navigating the Volcano Forge might seem daunting at first, but once players grasp the range of effects they can apply, a whole new realm of gameplay possibilities opens up. This comprehensive guide will walk players through every possible effect achievable at the forge, and help them make informed decisions about which enhancements will best suit their Stardew Valley journey.

Updated on January 6, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley has introduced significant changes, ranging from quality-of-life improvements to major new features like the Mastery system. Enhancements to the game's existing mechanics, including weapon forging, have been expanded. Players can now enchant the Pan alongside other tools, and explore innate enchantments for weapons. This guide has been meticulously updated to reflect all the new developments and additions to the Volcano Forge in Stardew Valley 1.6, ensuring players can continue to refine their tools and weapons to their heart's content.

Obtaining Cinder Shards

All the Volcano Forge's functions hinge on Cinder Shards, which players can gather throughout the Volcano Dungeon. To fully forge and enchant a tool or weapon, players will need at least 65 Cinder Shards per item, necessitating some time spent farming these elusive crystals. Here are the ways to obtain them:

• Mine a Cinder Shard node in the Volcano Dungeon. These nodes resemble other mineral nodes but are distinguished by their pink-orange specks, as circled in the image above.
• Defeat specific enemies in the Volcano Dungeon, each with their own drop rates:
  • Magma Sprite: 50% chance to drop
  • Magma Duggy: 40% chance
  • Magma Sparker: 50% chance
  • False Magma Cap: 50% chance to drop
• Harvest from a fishing pond with 7 or more Stingrays, which has a 7-9% daily chance to yield 2-5 Cinder Shards.

Note that Cinder Shards are categorized as a resource, not a gemstone, so they cannot be replicated in the Crystalarium.

The Mini-Forge

Upon achieving Combat Mastery, players unlock the crafting recipe for the Mini-Forge, eliminating the need to trek to the Volcano Dungeon for forging. The Mini-Forge operates identically to its larger counterpart and can be conveniently placed anywhere. To craft it, players will need:

• 5 Dragon Tooth
• 10 Iron Bar
• 10 Gold Bar
• 5 Iridium Bar

Weapon Forging

With a sufficient stock of Cinder Shards, players can enhance their weapons using gemstones, significantly boosting their stats. Each weapon can be forged up to three times, with each successive level offering a greater stat increase. Forging is exclusive to weapons and cannot be applied to tools such as the Axe, Hoe, Watering Can, or Pickaxe.

The cost escalates with each forge level, requiring 10 Cinder Shards for the first forge, 15 for the second, and 20 for the third. Each gemstone used corresponds to a unique enhancement:

• Amethyst: Increases knockback by +1 per level.
• Aquamarine: Boosts critical hit chance by 4.6% per level.
• Emerald: Enhances weapon speed by +2, +3, and +2 across the three levels.
• Jade: Increases critical hit damage by 10% per level.
• Ruby: Amplifies weapon damage by 10% per level.
• Topaz: Boosts the wielder's defense by +1 per level.

Alternatively, using a Diamond grants three random upgrades at once, costing 10 Cinder Shards.

Best Upgrades To Pick

Choosing the right gems for forging depends on the player's style and objectives. For those focused on monster slaying, combining Emerald and Ruby enchantments significantly increases damage per second (DPS). Adding either Aquamarine or Jade can further enhance critical hits.

For players prioritizing survival, particularly during Qi Challenges, Topaz and Amethyst are invaluable, boosting defense and knockback to keep enemies at bay.

Unforging Weapons

To revert a weapon to its original state, players can simply place it in the left square slot of the forge and select the red X symbol. This process will remove all forged upgrades and restore the weapon's appearance, recovering some Cinder Shards but not the gemstone used. No additional materials are needed for unforging, though it does not affect enchantments, which are covered in the next section.

Infinity Weapons

Players possessing the Galaxy Sword, Galaxy Dagger, or Galaxy Hammer can transform them into Infinity Weapons at the Volcano Forge. This upgrade requires three Galaxy Souls, each forged from 20 Cinder Shards. The resulting Infinity Weapon retains any existing forged upgrades or enchantments.

Galaxy Souls

Galaxy Souls are challenging to acquire, necessitating the completion of some of Stardew Valley's toughest challenges. Here are the primary methods to obtain them:

• Purchase from Mr. Qi in Mr. Qi's Walnut Room for 40 Qi Gems each.
• Encounter and defeat a Big Slime with a Galaxy Soul inside it in areas with Dangerous Monsters, such as the Dangerous Mines (activated at Level 120), Mr. Qi's "Danger in the Deep" quest, or his "Skull Cavern Invasion" quest.

After defeating at least 50 Dangerous Monsters, two more acquisition methods become available:

• Purchase from the Island Trader on the last day of the season for 10 Radioactive Bar each.
• Galaxy Souls may occasionally drop from Dangerous Monsters.

Enchantments

While forging boosts stats, enchantments add unique effects that enhance the functionality of weapons and tools. Any tool or melee weapon can be enchanted at the forge using a Prismatic Shard and 20 Cinder Shards.

The enchantment process is random, and players cannot select the effect they receive. However, if an enchantment is undesirable, players can re-enchant using the same materials to try for a different outcome. It's crucial to use Prismatic Shards judiciously due to their rarity.

Weapon Enchantments

Possible weapon enchantments include:

• Artful: Halves the cooldown for special moves.
• Bug Killer: Doubles damage to grubs, flies, spiders, bugs, and rock crabs, and can kill Armored Bugs.
• Crusader: Doubles damage to mummies, skeletons, ghosts, and void spirits, and can permanently kill mummies.
• Vampiric: 9% chance to regain health equal to 10% of a monster's max health upon killing it.
• Haymaker: Doubles the chance to drop fiber and adds a 33% chance to drop hay when cutting weeds.

Among these, Bug Killer and Crusader are highly valued for their ability to deal extra damage to specific, challenging enemies. Haymaker, on the other hand, is often considered the least useful due to the ease of obtaining fiber and hay.

Innate Enchantments

Innate enchantments, akin to weapon forging, can be applied using a Dragon Tooth at the forge. These enchantments come in two sets, and a weapon can receive one from each. The first set guarantees one enchantment:

The second set of enchantments is not guaranteed:

Tool Enchantments

There are twelve tool enchantments, each specific to the tool's function. The axe, pickaxe, watering can, hoe, fishing rod, and pan can all be enchanted, receiving a compatible random effect:

Best Enchantments For Each Tool

While all enchantments have their uses, players may prioritize certain enchantments based on their play style. If an enchantment no longer suits a player's needs, they can re-enchant at the Volcano Forge using the necessary materials:

• Axe: Shaving is excellent for gathering resources, while Swift and Efficient save energy and time.
• Watering Can: Bottomless is unbeatable, ensuring an endless water supply.
• Hoe: Generous aids in maintaining a supply of clay and artifacts, while Archeologist helps complete the museum collection, and Reaching or Efficient are ideal for large-scale farming.
• Pickaxe: Swift and Powerful are top choices for maximizing mining efficiency.
• Fishing Rod: While Master boosts Fishing level, Preserving extends the life of bait and tackle, making it the most practical choice.
• Pan: Generous and Reaching enhance artifact and treasure hunting by increasing drops or expanding the area of effect.