Friendship

Friendship can be earned with Pelican Town's villagers. As friendships deepen, the villagers' dialogue lines become more friendly, cut-scenes called heart events occur, villagers are more likely to send gifts in the mail, and marriage is possible with one of the datable villagers.

Friendship mechanics

Point system

Each villager has a friendship score represented by a ten-heart meter, except the player's spouse or roommate, who has a fourteen-heart meter. A marriage candidate who has not received a bouquet has the last two hearts grayed out.

 

Each heart is 250 friendship points. All heart meters can be viewed on the social tab of the game menu.

When talking to villagers, a circle will appear next to their portrait. Its color will depend on the number of hearts the player has with the villager. Blue denotes 0-1 hearts, green for 2-3, yellow for 4-5, red for 6-7, purple for 8-9, and at 10-14 hearts a purple star will appear. Hovering the mouse over the circle will display the number of hearts out of 10, if not married.

 

Friendship points can be increased with each villager by:

  • talking to them once per day (normally +20; otherwise +10 if the villager is in the middle of a special animation, like exercising or using a camera)
  • completing an item delivery quest (+150)
  • giving a gift they love, like, or are neutral towards (see Gifts)
  • giving the maximum two gifts in one week (+10, awarded on the next Sunday)
  • inviting them to the Movie Theater (+200 if loved, +100 if liked)
  • purchasing a snack for them at the Movie Theater (+50 if loved, +25 if liked) (see Movie Theater)
  • making certain choices in heart events
  • kissing your spouse (+10, only for the first kiss of the day); does not apply if Krobus is your roommate

Friendship points can be decreased by:

  • not giving a daily greeting (see Decay)
  • giving a gift they dislike or hate (see Gifts)
  • hitting them with a slingshot (-30 per hit)
  • making certain choices in heart events
  • rummaging through a Garbage Can when they're within 7 tiles of the player (-25, except Linus who increases: +5). They will speak to indicate that they have seen them. If more than one villager is within 7 tiles of the player when they rummage, only one will speak and lose friendship.

The player may enter a villager's bedroom when the relevant heart meter reads at least 2 hearts. This level improves access to the villager for talking and gifting. Once opened, the room is permanently unlocked even if the heart meter goes below 2 hearts.

Friendship points can increase up to a maximum of 2749 (one point less than 11 hearts) for non-marriage candidates.

With marriage candidates, the meter pauses at 8 hearts. It will not increase unless you give the candidate a bouquet to indicate your romantic interest. If you do so, that meter is unlocked and operates as before until ten hearts is reached. (Note that after reaching 8 hearts pre-bouquet, friendship points can continue to rise to just below 9 hearts (2249 points) and will not decay until the candidate is given a bouquet.) It is possible to give a bouquet to any and all marriage candidates, and raise all their friendship levels to 10 hearts, without damage to your relationships with other romantic partners, so long as you have not yet proposed. (If you have proposed, are married, or have a roommate, there is a chance your fiancé/spouse/roommate may become jealous.) Breaking up with them will instantly lower the relationship meter to 5 hearts, but it can be increased back to 8 hearts.

Dating all bachelors or bachelorettes may result in a Group Ten Heart event, which does not affect friendship, but may prevent the player from giving gifts to them for one week afterwards.

When you propose marriage, the heart meters of all other marriage candidates convert to the behavior of all other villagers, since none are marriage candidates any longer. However, their entries in the social tab still show whether you have previously given them a bouquet. In addition, after marriage, romantic heart events can still be triggered with other marriage candidates if they have previously been given a bouquet. After the marriage ceremony, your spouse's meter unlocks once again and can rise as far as 14 hearts. Friendship points can then increase up to a maximum of 3749 (one point less than 15 hearts).

Decay

Each day, not talking to a villager will slightly decrease their friendship unless their heart meter is full.[1] If the player is married, decay never stops with their spouse even if the player is at 14 hearts with them. Calling a villager using the Telephone does not count as talking to the villager.

Relationship Decay rate When decay stops
Married -20/day Never
Gave bouquet -10/day 10 hearts
Pre-bouquet -2/day 8 hearts
Not romanceable -2/day 10 hearts

Gifts

You can give each villager one gift per day, up to two gifts per week, as indicated by the checkboxes in the social tab. You can review the villager's gift preferences by clicking on their row in the Social Tab to open the "Gift Log". This log keeps track of gifts given, and gift preferences learned via Secret Notes and dialogues with their family and friends. Any previously-given gifts that are currently in inventory will have a blue backpack icon in the lower right.

For the purpose of gift-giving, the week begins on Sunday. If you give a villager two gifts in a week, their heart meter will rise by an additional 10 friendship points on Sunday morning when you wake up.

You can always give a birthday gift to a villager, even if you've already given them two other gifts that week.

You can give your spouse one gift every day of the week, but any friendship gain or loss is halved.[2]

Each villager has individual likes and dislikes, which affects how many friendship points are gained or lost when you give them a gift. The friendship points are multiplied on their birthday (×8) and Feast of the Winter Star secret gifting event (×5):

Gift Taste Normal Winter Star (×5) Birthday (×8)
Love +80 +400 +640
Like +45 +225 +360
Neutral +20 +100 +160
Dislike -20 -100 -160
Hate -40 -200 -320

If a gift is liked or loved, the points gained will be further affected by the quality of the item:

Quality Multiplier Effect
Normal ×1 +0%
  Silver ×1.1 +10%
  Gold ×1.25 +25%
  Iridium ×1.5 +50%

On any given day, gifting a normal quality loved item always gives more points than gifting an iridium quality liked item to a given villager.[2]

For liked or loved gifts, the equation is Event Multiplier × Preference × Quality Multiplier, where Event Multiplier is 1 (any day), 5 (the player's Winter Star recipient), or 8 (their birthday), Preference is 80 (loved gifts) or 45 (liked gifts), and Quality Multiplier is 1, 1.1, 1.25, or 1.5. (For neutral, disliked, or hated gifts, the equation is simply Event Multiplier × Preference.) The highest friendship points possible from a single gift would be to gift someone an iridium-quality loved gift on their birthday, which would yield 960 points, just short of 4 hearts.

Gift Preference Dialogues

If the player's friendship level with a villager is at least 1 heart, the villager may display a dialogue about a gift that is hated or loved by a family member or friend. Shown below is a collapsable table of all family and friends for whom a villager may show a gift preference dialogue. Villagers not included in the table will never show a gift preference dialogue.

Villager May display dialogue for: 
Family Non-family

  Abigail

  Caroline

  Pierre

  Alex

  Evelyn

  George

  Caroline

  Abigail

  Pierre

  Clint

  Emily

  Demetrius

  Robin

  Maru

  Elliott

  Willy

  Emily

  Haley

  Evelyn

  Alex

  George

  George

  Alex

  Evelyn

  Gus

  Pam

  Haley

  Emily

  Jas

  Vincent

  Jodi

  Kent

  Sam

  Vincent

  Kent

  Jodi

  Sam

  Vincent

  Lewis

  Marnie

  Marnie

  Jas

  Shane

  Lewis

  Maru

  Demetrius

  Robin

  Sebastian

  Pam

  Penny

  Gus

  Penny

  Pam

(Note that Penny will never suggest Beer, Mead, Pale Ale, or Wine)

  Pierre

  Abigail

  Caroline

  Robin

  Demetrius

  Maru

  Sebastian

  Sam

  Jodi

  Kent

  Vincent

  Sebastian

  Sandy

  Emily

  Sebastian

  Maru

  Robin

  Sam

  Shane

  Marnie

  Vincent

  Jas

  Willy

  Elliott

Note that stone may be included in a gift preference dialogue, despite the fact that it is disliked, not hated.

Heart Events

Gaining friendship with each villager will unlock unique events (see each villager's article for the requirements). It's possible to permanently miss some events, though most events can be viewed anytime (with some time restrictions) or out of order. In some heart events, it is not possible to increase or decrease friendship with anyone, even if dialogue choices are available. However, in certain heart events, making certain choices can either increase or decrease friendship with certain villagers involved. The maximum possible friendship points that can be earned in one single heart event is +250 from Linus' 8 heart event, while the maximum possible friendship points that can be lost is -1500 from Penny's 8 heart and 10 heart events.

Romance

Main article: Marriage

Some villagers can be romanced by the player (see marriage candidates). Once the player has reached eight hearts with an eligible villager, the player can give them a bouquet to unlock the ninth and tenth hearts. Once the player has reached ten hearts with an eligible villager, the player can give them a Mermaid's Pendant to propose marriage, which the villager always accepts. Alternatively, at 10 hearts, the player can give Krobus a Void Ghost Pendant to indicate they'd like to move in together as roommates, which Krobus always accepts.

After becoming the player's spouse or roommate, the villager moves into the player's house and their friendship meter expands to fourteen hearts. After reaching 12.5 hearts (3125 points), the villager will give the player a stardrop if the player has not received a stardrop in this manner previously.

Quests

Main article: Quests

The game-opening Introductions quest, when completed, increases by 100 the player's friendship points with each of the 28 starting townspeople. (The Wizard is not included among these villagers.)

Some Story Quests and Special Order Quests will raise friendship with certain villagers.

Completing an Item Delivery Quest awards 150 friendship points with the requesting villager.

Festivals

Main article: Festivals

20 friendship points are earned for speaking to villagers at festivals, the same as any non-festival day. Three festivals can have special effects on friendship points with villagers:

  • The Flower Dance increases friendship by 250 points (one heart) with the player's dance partner.
  • The Luau can increase or decrease friendship points with all villagers except Sandy, the Wizard, Krobus, and the Dwarf. This depends on the ingredient that was added to the soup.
  • The player's gift to their secret friend at the Feast of the Winter Star is worth 5x the normal amount of friendship points.

In addition, giving gifts to villagers at the Night Market will increase friendship with them, in the same way as it does outside of festivals.

Bulletin Board Bundles

Main article: Bundles

Completing all Bulletin Board bundles improves the player's friendship rating with non-datable villagers by two hearts (500 points). Note that this applies only to non-datable villagers whom you have met in person. Villagers who do not show on the "Social" tab of the player menu and villagers whose names appear as "???" will not receive 500 points.

The player does not have to understand Dwarvish for the Dwarf to receive 500 points. In contrast, they do have to understand Dwarvish for gifts to affect friendship with the Dwarf.

Universal Gifts

   Warning: Spoilers   

This page or section contains unmarked spoilers from update 1.6 of Stardew Valley. Players may want to avoid or be cautious toward reading this article/section.

See also: List of All Gifts

Below are lists of items that are universally loved, liked, considered neutral, disliked, or hated. Note that there are some exceptions and that individual villager tastes override any universal tastes.
Preferences for Eggs, Milk, Fruit, and most Foraged Items vary by villager, and are generally not listed here.

Note that Dinosaur Eggs are considered Artifacts and not Eggs for gifting purposes.

Universal Loves

This is a list of items that almost every villager loves to receive as a gift. These items are guaranteed to give the most points (80) towards your relationship, but may be difficult to obtain.

When given a loved gift, villagers usually respond with a heart dialogue bubble.  

  Stardrop Tea grants 250 friendship points (equal to one full heart) when given to any villager, and is not subjected to the weekly gift limit. Does not count for Qi's Kindness.

Universal Loves exceptions

Universal Likes

Though worth fewer friendship points than a loved gift, a liked gift increases friendship by 45 points (just over half that of a loved gift) and is often much easier to obtain.

Universal Likes exceptions

Below is an Expandable table of all Universal Likes exceptions, listed by Villager. (See also: List of All Gifts)

Villager Loves Likes Neutrals Dislikes Hates 

  Abigail

Gems: Amethyst
Cooking: Banana Pudding, Blackberry Cobbler, Chocolate Cake, Spicy Eel
Vegetables: Pumpkin
All Vegetables except Pumpkin (specifically loved)

  Alex

Cooking: Complete Breakfast, Salmon Dinner

  Caroline

Artisan Goods: Green Tea
Cooking: Fish Taco, Tropical Curry
Flowers: Summer Spangle
Vegetables: Tea Leaves Artisan Goods: Duck Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise
Vegetables: Amaranth

  Clint

All Gems except Diamond (universally liked)
Cooking: Artichoke Dip, Fiddlehead Risotto
All Flowers (except Poppy, universally hated)

  Demetrius

Cooking: Bean Hotpot, Ice Cream, Rice Pudding

  Dwarf

All Gems except Diamond (universally liked)

  Elliott

Cooking: Crab Cakes, Tom Kha Soup
Fruit Tree Fruit: Pomegranate
Rainbow Shell Cooking: Pizza Vegetables: Amaranth

  Emily

Artisan Goods: Cloth
Cooking: Survival Burger
All Gems except Diamond (universally liked)
Cooking: Fried Eel, Ice Cream, Rice Pudding, Spicy Eel Cooking: Fish Taco, Maki Roll, Salmon Dinner, Sashimi

  Evelyn

Cooking: Chocolate Cake, Stuffing
Flowers: Fairy Rose, Tulip
Gems: Diamond
Vegetables: Beet
Cooking: Fried Eel, Maki Roll, Sashimi, Spicy Eel, Trout Soup
Vegetables: Garlic

  George

Cooking: Fried Mushroom All Flowers (except Poppy, universally hated)

  Gus

Cooking: Escargot, Fish Taco, Tropical Curry
Fruit Tree Fruit: Orange
Gems: Diamond
Cooking: Coleslaw

  Haley

Cooking: Fruit Salad, Pink Cake
Flowers: Sunflower
All Vegetables (except Hops & Wheat, universally neutral)

  Harvey

Artisan Goods: Coffee, Pickles, Truffle Oil, Wine
Cooking: Super Meal
Artisan Goods: Cheese, Goat Cheese
Cooking: Blueberry Tart, Chocolate Cake, Cookie, Cranberry Sauce, Fried Mushroom, Glazed Yams, Hashbrowns, Ice Cream, Pancakes, Pink Cake, Pizza, Rhubarb Pie, Rice Pudding
Rainbow Shell

  Jas

Cooking: Pink Cake, Plum Pudding
Flowers: Fairy Rose
All Vegetables (except Hops & Wheat, universally neutral) Piña Colada
All Artisan Goods (except Honey, Jelly, universally liked; and Oil, universally disliked)
Cooking: Triple Shot Espresso

  Jodi

Cooking: Chocolate Cake, Crispy Bass, Eggplant Parmesan, Fried Eel, Pancakes, Rhubarb Pie, Vegetable Medley
Gems: Diamond
Vegetables: Garlic

  Kent

Cooking: Fiddlehead Risotto, Roasted Hazelnuts Piña Colada Cooking: Algae Soup, Sashimi, Tortilla

  Krobus

Gems: Diamond
Vegetables: Pumpkin
Cooking: Seafoam Pudding All Cooking except Bread, Fried Egg, universally neutral; and Strange Bun, & Seafoam Pudding universally hated
Misc: Life Elixir

  Leah

Artisan Goods: Goat Cheese, Wine
Cooking: Poppyseed Muffin, Salad, Stir Fry, Vegetable Medley
All Foraged Minerals except Earth Crystal (universally liked)
All Gems except Diamond (universally liked) & Prismatic Shard (universally loved)
Cooking: Carp Surprise, Cookie, Ice Cream, Pink Cake, Rice Pudding, Survival Burger, Tortilla
Cooking: Hashbrowns, Pancakes, Pizza

  Leo

Cooking: Poi Artisan Goods: Coffee Artisan Goods: Pickles
All Cooking except Bread, Fried Egg, Poi, Mango Sticky Rice, Strange Bun, Seafoam Pudding, & Triple Shot Espresso
Misc: Life Elixir
Piña Colada
Artisan Goods: Beer, Mead, Pale Ale, Wine
Cooking: Triple Shot Espresso

  Lewis

Artisan Goods: Green Tea
Cooking: Autumn's Bounty, Glazed Yams, Vegetable Medley

  Linus

Cooking: Blueberry Tart, Dish O' The Sea
Vegetables: Yam
Treasure Chest
All Foraged Minerals
All Gems except Diamond & Prismatic Shard

  Marnie

Cooking: Farmer's Lunch, Pink Cake, Pumpkin Pie
Gems: Diamond

  Maru

Cooking: Cheese Cauliflower, Miner's Treat, Pepper Poppers, Rhubarb Pie
Gems: Diamond
Vegetables: Cauliflower
Misc: Maple Syrup Artisan Goods: Honey, Pickles

  Pam

Piña Colada
Artisan Goods: Beer, Mead, Pale Ale
Cooking: Glazed Yams, Parsnip Soup
Vegetables: Parsnip

  Penny

Cooking: Poppyseed Muffin, Red Plate, Roots Platter, Tom Kha Soup
Gems: Diamond, Emerald
Cooking: Algae Soup, Pale Broth Piña Colada
Artisan Goods: Beer, Mead, Pale Ale, Wine

  Pierre

Cooking: Fried Calamari All Foraged Minerals
All Gems except Diamond (universally liked) & Prismatic Shard (universally loved)
Cooking: Parsnip Soup, Tortilla
Vegetables: Corn, Garlic

  Robin

Artisan Goods: Goat Cheese
Cooking: Spaghetti
Fruit Tree Fruit: Peach

  Sam

Cooking: Maple Bar, Pizza All Vegetables (except Hops & Wheat, universally neutral) Artisan Goods: Duck Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise, Pickles

  Sandy

Cooking: Mango Sticky Rice
Flowers: Crocus, Sweet Pea

  Sebastian

Cooking: Pumpkin Soup, Sashimi
Foraged Mineral: Frozen Tear
All Flowers (except Poppy, universally hated) Piña Colada
All Artisan Goods (except Coffee, Green Tea, universally liked; and Oil, universally disliked)
Cooking: Complete Breakfast, Farmer's Lunch, Omelet

  Shane

Artisan Goods: Beer
Cooking: Pepper Poppers, Pizza
Artisan Goods: Pickles

  Vincent

Cooking: Cranberry Candy, Ginger Ale, Pink Cake All Vegetables (except Hops & Wheat, universally neutral) Piña Colada
All Artisan Goods (except Honey, Jelly, universally liked; and Oil, universally disliked)
Cooking: Triple Shot Espresso

  Willy

Artisan Goods: Mead
Gems: Diamond
Vegetables: Pumpkin
Cooking: Seafoam Pudding (universally hated) Cooking: Dish O' The Sea, Maki Roll, & Sashimi All Cooking except for Dish O' The Sea, Maki Roll, & Sashimi as specifically neutral, and the following dishes he likes: Baked Fish, Carp Surprise, Chowder, Crab Cakes, Crispy Bass, Fish Stew, Fish Taco, Fried Calamari, Fried Eel, Lobster Bisque, Salmon Dinner, Trout Soup & Seafoam Pudding
Misc: Life Elixir

Universal Neutrals

This is a list of items that will elicit a neutral response from the villagers, and give 20 points toward friendship. There are some exceptions.

Universal Neutrals exceptions

Universal Dislikes

This is a list of items that will decrease friendship by 20 points when given as gifts.

Universal Dislikes exceptions

Universal Hates

This is a list of items that will decrease friendship by 40 points when given as gifts.

When given a hated gift, villagers usually respond with a hate dialogue bubble.  

Universal Hates exceptions

Achievements

There are 6 Achievements related to Friendship:

  • A New Friend (Reach a 5-heart friend level with someone)
  • Best Friends (Reach a 10-heart friend level with someone)
  • The Beloved Farmer (Reach a 10-heart friend level with 8 people)
  • Cliques (Reach a 5-heart friend level with 4 people)
  • Networking (Reach a 5-heart friend level with 10 people)
  • Popular (Reach a 5-heart friend level with 20 people)

References

  1. See Farmer::resetFriendshipsForNewDay in the game code.
  2. 2.0 2.1 See NPC::receiveGift in the game code.

History

  • 1.07: Decay will now stop if a villager is at max hearts (except when married).
  • 1.3.27: The Golden Pumpkin is now a universal love instead of a universal hate. Added new item, the Pearl, as a universal love.
  • 1.4: Friendship can now be increased by talking with NPCs at Festivals. Removed glitch where a birthday gift would remove a checkbox on the social tab. Removed bugs where cooking recipes would be sent at the wrong friendship level, and where 10 heart-events were unlockable without a bouquet. Added Gift Logs, accessed by clicking on the villager in the Social tab. Changed jealousy of player's spouse to only apply to marriage candidates who have received a bouquet. Harvey now dislikes many cooked dishes. Willy is neutral towards Maki Roll, Sashimi, and Dish O' The Sea. Vincent loves Snails. Dwarf likes Cave Carrot. Vincent & Jas like Honey and Jelly. Sebastian hates Mead.
  • 1.4.4: Mermaid's Pendant and Void Ghost Pendant can no longer be given as gifts at the Feast of the Winter Star. Jas & Vincent now hate Triple Shot Espresso. Dwarf now loves Lemon Stone.
  • 1.5: Penny and Dwarf now like all artifacts. Artifacts changed from Universal Hate to Universal Dislike for all other NPCs. Fixed bug where the friendship boost for giving a villager two gifts would not apply if they were given a third gift on their birthday.
  • 1.6: Rainbow Shell and Treasure Chest are now universally liked. Added Stardrop Tea, which gives 250 friendship points when given to any villager. Many individual gift tastes changed. Some items now trigger unique dialogue when gifted to a certain villager.