Stardew Valley remains one of the most popular Indie titles of the past decade, with regular updates drawing fans back to Pelican Town again and again. Despite being a farming simulator at heart, there's plenty to do in Stardew Valley that doesn't involve fruits and vegetables. Players can even go on an RPG adventure to the Mines or Skull Cavern, defeating monsters and earning new swords, daggers, and magical rings.
While there are many different kinds of weapons available to dungeon-delvers in Stardew Valley, only two of them can be used from range. The Slingshot and Master Slingshot are Stardew Valley's only projectile weapons, and many players tend to avoid them for that reason. In addition, they're rather more complicated than the other weapons and can feel very weak if not used properly.
How to get the Slingshot in Stardew Valley
In order to acquire the Slingshot weapon in Stardew Valley, players will need to descend to Floor 40 of the Mines. This is exactly a third of the way through the multi-level dungeon, and should be fairly easy for players to reach even in the early game. The Slingshot is given as a level reward and will be available in a chest as soon as players reach level 40.
Similarly, the Master Slingshot is also available in the Mines, but quite a long way down. Players who reach level 70 of Stardew Valley's Mines will be able to retrieve the Master Slingshot from another reward chest. This is near the end of the Frost section of the Mines, so players looking to reach the chest will need to be prepared to fight Frost Jellies, Frost Bats, and Ghosts.
How to use the Slingshot in Stardew Valley
The first thing that Stardew Valley players will notice about their new Slingshot is that it requires Stones for ammunition, which can be loaded by picking them up and right-clicking on the Slingshot. However, what isn't so obvious is that the Slingshot can actually use many different items for ammo:
- Fruits, Vegetables, and Eggs: 1-3 Damage
- Wood: 1-5 Damage
- Stone: 3-11 Damage
- Copper Ore: 5-21 Damage
- Coal: 8-31 Damage
- Explosive Ammo: 10-41 Damage over an area
- Iron Ore: 10-41 Damage
- Gold Ore: 15-61 Damage
- Iridium Ore: 25-101 Damage
The Master Slingshot deals exactly twice as much damage as the normal Slingshot, so simply double these figures. While it's not advisable to start using precious Iridium Ore as ammunition, there is a unique use for Explosive Ammo in particular.
The recipe for Explosive Ammo is first unlocked when a player reaches Combat Level 8 in Stardew Valley, at which point it will also become available for purchase in the Adventurer's Guild for 300g. While Explosive Ammo isn't particularly useful against late-game monsters, it's an incredibly good mining tool. By aiming the Slingshot at walls that have rocks nearby, or at enemies near rocks, players can instantly mine the toughest ore deposits. This is also a great way to descend through the Mines or Skull Cave, as clearing rocks quickly will soon lead to players finding a route down.
Stardew Valley is available now for mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.