Getting that first Ancient Seed in Stardew Valley is one of the most lucrative things that can happen during a playthrough of the game, but finding one to grow its fruits is easier said than done.
When it comes to the regular seasonal farming grind, the seeds sold by Pierre and Sandy are fine. Aspiring millionaires will want to be doing better than fine, though. The most profitable crops in Stardew Valley all require other means of procuring seeds, and one of those crops are Ancient Fruits.
While there’s a definite method to scaling up farming income in Stardew Valley, RNG still factors heavily into the experience and that’s especially the case with Ancient Fruits. Getting the first Ancient Seed might come early for some but it could be a brutally long process for others. Here are all the methods for getting them, and what to do with them.
How to get an Ancient Seed artifact in Stardew Valley
Players can get Ancient Seeds through most of Stardew Valley’s RNG-based item drops including fishing chests, artifact spots, and more.
There are many different ways to get the Ancient Seed artifact. The full list as of the Stardew Valley 1.6 update includes:
- Fishing up treasure chests
- Killing cave insects around Pelican Town
- Cutting down plants in prehistoric floors of Skull Cavern
- Cutting down plants in the mines while they’re dangerous via quests or the Shrine of Challenge
- Putting a plantable Ancient Seed into a Deconstructor
With the exception of using a Deconstructor, each of these methods have an extremely low chance of happening. The variety of options and the frequency with which these events occur allow players to get an Ancient Seed artifact without too much trouble by just passively playing the game. Those who don’t happen to get one naturally will be forced to grind, which may be a frustrating process.
The best way to get an Ancient Seed artifact in Stardew Valley is by killing cave insects across Pelican Town. This includes killing cave flies, grubs, and bugs in the mines. The best area for this is between floors 15 and 30, where all three of these can be found.
This can be done fairly easily in the early game, but those in the late game can also look to the mutant bug lair after gaining access to the sewers and having Krobus open it. The mutant grubs and mutant flies also have a chance to drop Ancient Seed artifacts. Each of these insects have a 0.5% chance of dropping the item, which can be improved with luck-boosting items like Cave Jelly.
Beyond this, players can only hope for the best. The one RNG-proof method for getting an Ancient Seed artifact is to get a plantable Ancient Seed and put it into a Deconstructor. This is a late-game option and is a sub-optimal method for acquiring one. Players would be better served by killing cave insects and resetting their day if they cannot get one after clearing out all viable areas.
How to get Ancient Seeds for planting
Players can get Ancient Seeds for farming purposes in Stardew Valley by crafting their artifacts or by using a Seed Maker.
Ancient Seeds that can be planted to acquire Ancient Fruits can be had as soon as players can craft a Seed Maker. The recipe is acquired after hitting level nine in the farming stat. As with killing cave insects, every time a fruit or vegetable is placed into the Seed Maker, it has a 0.5% chance of giving an Ancient Seed as a bonus.
For most players, the first opportunity to get an Ancient Seed for planting is by bringing the artifact versions of the item to the library. Donating an Ancient Seed artifact will yield both a plantable seed, as well as the recipe to freely turn artifact seeds into fruit-bearing ones.
What to do after getting an Ancient Seed in Stardew Valley
Players in Stardew Valley should plant Ancients Seeds in the greenhouse, then process the fruits into more seeds.
Ancient Fruits grow on a vine across all seasons except winter. The asterisk is it’s one of the slowest-growing plants in the game, requiring 28 days until the first fruit can be harvested. From there, another fruit can be harvested every seven days.
Because Ancient Seeds are a rare commodity, players should make absolutely sure to not waste their first by selling the fruit or letting a crow eat the seedling. The greenhouse both protects the plant and lets it produce Ancient Fruits indefinitely. Once it produces an Ancient Fruit, it should be placed into a Seed Maker to obtain another Ancient Seed, and repeat the process until the greenhouse is full.
After the greenhouse is filled, Ancient Fruits should be turned into wine, and then aged. Iridium-quality wine made with Ancient Fruits is a massive moneymaker in Stardew Valley, yielding 3,300g or 4,620g with the Artisanal Goods perk.
