3 NPCs You Should Befriend First in Stardew! #stardewvalley #letsplaystardewvalley #gaming

If you’re starting a new Stardw Valley save, in my opinion, these are the three best NPCs to befriend first. Not because they’re the nicest, but because they’re secretly super useful and very easy to befriend. Number three is Willie. Willie is a simple man. He loves fish and not much else. But if you build friendship with him, he’ll send you four cooking recipes by mail, and you need those for 100% completion. Just catch him extra fish and toss in his way. At number two, we have Pam. Pam might come off a bit rough at first, but befriending her is actually super worth it. She’ll send you battery packs and energy tonics through the mail. Both amazing for the mines and late game crafting. Aridium sprinklers, crystalariums, mini juke boxes. Battery packs are required for all of them. Just give her parsnips or buy her a beer at the saloon. Easy hearts. And finally, at number one, of course, it’s Lionus. Lionus is hands down the best early game front. At three hearts, he gives you the sashimi recipe, which lets you turn all the trash face you catch into energy or easy gold. And at four hearts, he gives you the wild bait recipe, which allows you to have a chance of catching double fish. Even better, he loves forageables. Just walk behind your farmhouse, pick up a dandelion or a horseradish, and hand it to him. Free friendship. Who do you normally befriend first? Let me know down in the comments.

36 Comments

  1. Kinda disagree

    You said best for > early < game, then mentioned Willy for the cooking recipes (which you can't even do untill you upgrade your house) and justified with "you'll need them to 100% the game", which is a late game goal. In the late game, you should befriend everyone, since that counts for perfection too. The recipes will come as a bonus when you do

    None of Willy's recipes are game changing early on, so he can be a late game friendship in my opinion

    My personal top 3 would be:

    3rd: Pam (battery packs are nice)
    2nd: Caroline (Tea Sapling. She used to be first, but the sapling got nerfed, but it can still make a lot if you plant them instead, but the extra work does make it a little worst)
    1st: Linus (sashimi is great as a money maker when you get cheap fish and can be a loved gift for Sebastian. Wild bait is just one of my essentials early on)

    Edit: typo

  2. I befriended Lewis and Pierre first because I thought they were going to be the most useful. Nope. One backstabs you and the other extorts money from the town. 😂

  3. I usually go for Caroline, Linus and Lewis, if possible Pierre a.s.a.p. I usually miss some money at the beginning and Lewis and Pierre just send you money.

  4. I give pam any joja cola I get in the trash/fishing since well its not worth much and she doesn't hate it. only her and sam dont hate it so i also give it to him.

  5. I start with Linus, Abigail, and Shane, Linus is such a chill guy and he gives me food and hood recipes, i love Abby, and Shane is a good man and deserves friendship, he also gives me good food items

  6. Pierre sends you straight money on the reg for max friendship. He is better than any of that stuff, which is very easy to get. Also you can get 8 hearts in 1 day if you know what you're doing. Any iridium quality gift on their birthday gives 4 hearts. I use iridium quality rabbits foot, which works for everyone except Penny, who for some reason hates them. Then add in a Stardrop tea for another 4 hearts, which stacks with the Iridium rabbit's foot for an easy 8 hearts in a single day.

  7. If your not a min/maxer a really easy way to befriend people is to plant flowers and walk around giving them to people. I sell the gold quality and give away the rest. It's a universally liked item. It's not the fastest but it's not terrible either.

  8. Emily stands out because she might gift me wool. In the early game, this can make getting the greenhouse all the quicker.

    With the Energy Tonic being nerfed, Pam's Energy Tonic gifts are a lot less useful, with energy being plentiful in the endgame. Perhaps in the early game, this can be useful, but it's easy to make hearts with Pam without even trying; there's so many ways to do so and her favorite gifts are cheap and easy to obtain.

  9. Linus, Caroline, and Emily. Caroline for the tea, Emily because i love using the sewing machine and making clothes, and Linus because hes my favorite ❤

  10. My list:

    #1 Lewis. Loves Hot peppers. Sends you money outright in the mail

    #2 Shane. Loves Beer, hot peppers, and Pizza. Sends you pizza and Pepper Poppers in the mail.

    #3 Clint. Loves all gems and Gold/Iridium Bars. Sends you copper, iron and gold bars in the mail.

  11. For 20 in game years only Elliot was my friend because I married him and he is a pixelated version of my ideal man. I had no other friends because I didn't care but now that I'm working for perfection on my farm, I'm making friends with everyone so I can get all of their recipes. Friendship in stardew valley is purely mercenary.