Favorite Thing In Stardew Explained: Ideas, Easter Eggs, and Gifts (2023)

When starting a new character in Stardew Valley, you always start with the Character Creator Menu.

One of the fields to be filled in the menu is for the character’s “favorite thing”.

This seems like it could be an extremely important piece of gameplay, albeit a somewhat mysterious one.

What does it do? How does it impact the game?

Don’t fret, there are no wrong answers regarding your character’s favorite thing!

Here is everything you need to know about Stardew Valley’s favorite thing mechanic, plus some extra tips and tricks to get all of the fun you can from it!

What Does the Favorite Thing Do in Stardew Valley?

Favorite Thing In Stardew Explained: Ideas, Easter Eggs, and Gifts (1)

The favorite thing mechanic in Stardew Valley is a required field on the character creator menu.

When you find one of the rare, energy-increasing food items called Stardrops during gameplay, the answer you provided for your favorite thing will add a personalized touch to the text given after eating.

The purpose of the favorite thing is to allow the player to choose a personality trait for the character they will be playing with.

As stated above, this personality trait will be incorporated into the gameplay whenever your character eats a Stardrop. These special fruits increase your total energy bar by 34 points.

Upon receiving it, your character will immediately eat the Stardrop, and the game will randomly give you one of two personalized messages.

The two messages are:

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  1. You found a Stardrop! It’s strange, but the taste reminds you of [favorite thing].
  2. You found a Stardrop! Your mind is filled with thoughts of [favorite thing].

There are exactly seven Stardrops to be found in the entire game. There are various points of the game where you can earn, find, or purchase one of the seven Stardrops.

Here are all of the Stardrops in the game and how to get them:

Location/SourceHow to Get
Stardew Valley Fair’s ShopEarn 2000 Star Tokens
The MinesWork your way down to the 100th floor of The Mines and open the treasure chest
Spouse/RoommateEarn a friendship level of 12.5 hearts
The SewersBuy for 20,000g from Krobus
WillyEarn the Master Angler Achievement and receive in a letter the following day
Secret WoodsSolve Old Master Cannoli’s riddle and present him with the correct item
MuseumDonate all 95 artifacts, minerals, and gems

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Does the Favorite Thing Affect Stardew Valley Gameplay?

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The favorite thing does not affect Stardew Valley gameplay, except for mentioning it in the personalized text given when the character eats a Stardrop.

At no other point in the game is the favorite thing mechanic incorporated or used. The game will remain the same no matter what answer you provide.

Therefore, you can pick whatever you would like without worrying about negatively affecting your game down the road.

Favorite Thing Easter Eggs and Secrets

There are a few hidden Easter Eggs in the game that you can find by choosing a couple of specific things as your favorite thing.

Each of these secrets is case-sensitive, so type them with the proper spelling and capitalization if you want to check them out!

Favorite Thing Secret #1: Stardew Everything and Anything

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If you are overcome with love with all things Stardew Valley, you might decide to make your favorite thing something Stardew-related.

By choosing anything with ‘Stardew’ in the text as a favorite thing, you will see a unique text after eating a Stardrop!

Stardew Message:

You found a Stardrop! You feel an unwavering connection to the valley itself.

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Note that you must capitalize ‘Stardew’; otherwise, this will not work.

Favorite Thing Secret #2: The Father of Stardew

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The creator of Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe, is another Easter Egg that can be found with the favorite thing mechanic.

If you choose to enter ‘ConcernedApe’ as your favorite thing, this will give another unique message after eating a Stardrop.

ConcernedApe Message:

You found a Stardrop! Your mind is filled with thoughts of… ConcernedApe? (Well, thanks!).

Read more: Sprinker Types Explained in Stardew Valley

Some Favorite Thing Ideas

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The sky’s the limit when it comes to picking your favorite thing!

Well, the limit is actually 13 characters, but they can be whatever you’d like!

You may want to choose something that is one of your IRL favorite things. Many use their favorite food, flower, or person.

Others prefer to use this as a chance to make their character have a personality of their own!

For example, if you are playing a character that always picks the nicest dialogue options, you may want to make their favorite things something sweet or pretty.

Things like sunflowers, peanut butter, or freshly baked bread!

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If the character is going to be blunt or otherwise unpleasant, then maybe the favorite thing could be something that reflects this.

Items like anchovies, pineapple pizza, or spiders come to mind.

Finally, you can’t go wrong by choosing something humorous as a favorite item! Imagine eating a Stardrop just to be reminded of Mayor Lewis’ purple shorts!

Stardew Characters’ Favorite Things

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Not only does your character have a favorite thing, but so do all the NPCs!

Each of the NPCs has a whole set of things that they love, like, dislike, and hate.

To gain their friendship, you want to give gifts that they love and like while avoiding gifting items they dislike or hate.

There is a small set of items that are known as Universal Loves. These items are a safe bet for any of the NPCs since all of them love them.

Here are the Universal Loves:

  • Golden Pumpkin
  • Magic Rock Candy
  • Pearl
  • Prismatic Shard (except Haley)
  • Rabbit’s Foot (except Penny)

In addition to the Universal Loves, each has their own unique favorite items.

Below, you can find a complete list of the NPC’s most loved items!

CharacterFavorite Things
AbigailAll Universal Loves
Amethyst
Blackberry Cobbler
Chocolate Cake
Pufferfish
Pumpkin
Spicy Eel
AlexAll Universal Loves
Complete Breakfast
Salmon Dinner
CarolineAll Universal Loves
Fish Taco
Green Tea
Tropical Curry
Summer Spangle
ClintAll Universal Loves
Gemstones
Gold Bar
Artichoke Dip
Fiddlehead Risotto
Omni Geode
DemetriusAll Universal Loves
Strawberry
Bean Hotpot
Ice Cream
Rice Pudding
DwarfAll Universal Loves
Gemstones
Omni Geode
ElliotAll Universal Loves
Crab Cakes
Duck Feather
Lobster
Pomegranate
Tom Kha Soup
EmilyAll Universal Loves
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Cloth
Emerald
Jade
Ruby
Survival Burger
Topaz
Wool
EvelynAll Universal Loves
Beet
Chocolate Cake
Diamond
Fairy Rose
Stuffing
Tulip
GeorgeAll Universal Loves
Fried Mushroom
Leek
GusAll Universal Loves
Diamond
Escargot
Fish Taco
Orange
Tropical Curry
HaleyAll Universal Loves (except Prismatic Shard)
Coconut
Fruit Salad
Pink Cake
Sunflower
HarveyAll Universal Loves
Coffee
Pickles
Super Meal
Truffle Oil
Wine
JasAll Universal Loves
Fairy Rose
Pink Cake
Plum Pudding
JodieAll Universal Loves
Chocolate Cake
Crispy Bass
Diamond
Eggplant Parmesan
Fried Eel
Pancakes
Rhubarb Pie
Vegetable Medley
KentAll Universal Loves
Fiddlehead Risotto
Roasted Hazelnuts
Krobus All Universal Loves
Diamond
Iridium Bar
Pumpkin
Void Egg
Void Mayonnaise
Wild Horseradish
LeahAll Universal Loves
Goat Cheese
Poppyseed Muffin
Salad
Stir Fry
Truffle
Vegetable Medley
Wine
LewisAll Universal Loves
Autumn’s Bounty
Glazed Yams
Green Tea
Hot Pepper
Vegetable Medley
LinusAll Universal Loves
Blueberry Tart
Cactus Fruit
Coconut
Dish O’ the Sea
Yam
MarnieAll Universal Loves
Diamond
Farmer’s Lunch
Pink Cake
Pumpkin Pie
MaruAll Universal Loves
Battery Pack
Cauliflower
Cheese
Cauliflower
Diamond
Gold Bar
Iridium Bar
Miner’s Treat
Pepper Poppers
Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry
PamAll Universal Loves
Beer
Cactus Fruit
Glazed Yams
Mead
Pale Ale
Parsnip
Parsnip Soup
Pina Colada
PennyAll Universal Loves (except Rabbit’s Foot)
Diamond
Emerald
Melon
Poppy
Poppyseed Muffin
Red Plate
Roots Platter
Sandfish
Tom Kha Soup
PierreAll Universal Loves
Fried Calamari
RobinAll Universal Loves
Goat Cheese
Peach
Spaghetti
SamAll Universal Loves
Cactus Fruit
Maple Bar
Pizza
Tigerseye
SebastionAll Universal Loves
Frozen Tear
Obsidian
Pumpkin Soup
Sashimi
Void Egg
ShaneAll Universal Loves
Beer
Hot Pepper
Pepper Poppers
Pizza
VincentAll Universal Loves
Cranberry Candy
Ginger Ale
Grape
Pink Cake
Snail
WillyAll Universal Loves
Purple Mushroom
Solar Essence
Super Cucumber
Void Essence
WizardAll Universal Loves
Purple Mushroom
Solar Essence
Super Cucumber
Void Essence

Mods to Simplify Gift Giving

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If you often forget who likes what, loves what, and hates other items, some mods can help you navigate friendship and giving gifts!

Of all, the simplest and easiest to manage is the Gift Taste Helper mod.

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Simply download this into your mod file, and the game will now show everyone’s favorite gifts when you hover the pointer on their name!

If you are new to modding, here is the detailed guide with everything you need to know to get started!

There are thousands of different mods, from the small quality of life improvements to transforming your horse into an Abigail Centaur.

Can You Change Your Favorite Thing in Stardew Valley?

Favorite Thing In Stardew Explained: Ideas, Easter Eggs, and Gifts (8)

You can change your favorite thing in Stardew Valley. If you have a friendship of four hearts with the Wizard, just enter his basement and offer 500g to the Shrine of Illusions.

This will let you edit your entire character, including your favorite thing. Otherwise, you can also do this by tweaking your character’s save file.

If you are not yet close enough friends with the Wizard to be allowed in his basement, it is much safer to increase your friendship rather than going into the save file.

To increase the friendship level quickly, give the Wizard two weekly gifts of his most loved items: purple mushrooms, solar essence, void essence, super cucumber, and the universally-loved items.

You can edit your save file if you absolutely must change your favorite thing immediately and don’t have access to the Shrine of Illusions.

Here are the steps for changing the save file:

  1. Make a backup of the save file, just in case.
  2. Open the file titled SaveGameInfo. It should open up in a Notepad application.
  3. Press CTRL+F to open the Find tool
  4. Type in favorite
  5. Replace the old favorite thing with your new favorite thing.
  6. Save and exit.

Changing text in a save file can corrupt the entire save, so be extra careful and always make a backup save file before proceeding.

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