Combat
Combat is the skill associated with fighting monsters in The Mines, The Skull Cavern, or on the Wilderness Farm.
During the first few days in Stardew Valley, the mines are closed due to an accident by Joja Corporation. On or around day 5, the player will receive a letter from Joja Corp. explaining that the landslide blocking the mines has been cleared, and the mine entrance will be open. At this point, combat becomes available to players who have not chosen the Wilderness Farm.
Combat is increased by killing monsters. Each increase in Combat Level adds +5 health and one or more Crafting recipes.
Combat
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafting Recipes: | Crafting Recipes: | Cooking Recipes: | Crafting Recipes: | Choose a Profession: | |
 Sturdy Ring Bug Steak
|
 Life Elixir
|
 Roots Platter
|
 Warrior Ring
|
 Fighter
|
 Scout
(Note that the increase is multiplicative. The formula is: critChance = critChance * 1.5) |
| Level 6 | Level 7 | Level 8 | Level 9 | Level 10 | |
| Crafting Recipes: | Crafting Recipes: | Crafting Recipes: | Crafting / Cooking Recipes: | Fighter: | Scout: |
 Oil of Garlic
|
 Ring of Yoba Thorns Ring
|
 Explosive Ammo
|
 Squid Ink Ravioli
|
 Brute
(Stacks multiplicatively with Fighter) |
 Acrobat
|
 Defender
|
 Desperado
(2x Critical strike damage) | ||||
Note that critical chance bonuses are multiplicative, not additive. Even with all possible bonuses, it's around 5-10% crit. chance at best (the actual base critical chance is unknown, and possibly influenced by Luck), so even with the Desperado Profession it can be difficult to justify over the flat damage increases of the Fighter branch.
Stat Bonus
Consuming certain foods or drinks, wearing particular Footwear or Rings, and choice of Weapon can all give Stat Bonuses that affect Combat.
Attack affects how much damage the player does with each weapon strike.
Crit. Power adds additional damage when hitting a critical strike.
Defense affects how much damage the player takes from enemy strikes.
Immunity affects the player's ability to recover after being hit by an enemy.
The 
Weight of a weapon affects how far an enemy will be knocked back when struck with the weapon.
Weapon Speed and 
Player Speed are also a factor in successful Combat.