Stardew Valley is still one of the best farming sims around, partly kept alive by its thriving community of modders.
You can do all sorts of things with mods in Stardew Valley, including adding tractors to the game or giving your villagers a new seasonally appropriate wardrobe. This list includes 10 of our favorite Stardew Valley mods of 2020, but you can find even more on the Stardew Valley Nexus hub.
Before you start modding in Stardew Valley, you must first install the Stardew Modding API (SMAPI). SMAPI is required to run most Stardew Valley mods, and it will automatically back up your save files before you start modding.
Stardew Valley Expanded
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Featuring over 21 new locations, over 100 new dialogue, and seven new NPCs, Stardew Valley Expanded is the biggest content mod to dramatically expand the number of things you can find and do in Stardew Valley.
In addition to the changes mentioned above, this mod adds a remastered immersive farm map, new fish, completely redone buildings (in some regions), and "mature" events that explore darker and more morally ambiguous subject matter.
NPC Map Locations
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It's annoying having to memorize NPC schedules for every day of every week (of every season), including holidays. Say goodbye to that silly little inconvenience with NPC Map Locations, a mod that actively displays the locations of every NPC in Pelican Town as icons on your map.
This mod also works with custom maps, like the one in the previous mod on this list. NPC Map Locations even works inside multiplayer mode.
Tractor Mod
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What better way to run a farm than your own handy tractor? The Tractor Mod lets you own and use a tractor, but that's not where the fun ends! With the aforementioned tractor, you can quickly and easily do all sorts of useful things, such as planting seeds or breaking rocks.
You start by building your own tractor garage through Robin, but the tractor itself is free. You can switch between functions (like axe, scythe, pickaxe, etc.) to choose whether or not the tractor automatically shaves crops or breaks up rocks.
Note that this mod conflicts with Save Anywhere, which is another mod we've included below.
Automate
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Managing large Stardew Valley vanilla supply chains is monotonous to downright impossible. For a double dose of convenience, you can download Automate, a mod that lets you process tons of crafts in one go.
Automation allows you to do just that. Likewise, by placing chests near item nodes (like crops, barrels, trees, etc.), you can reap their rewards without lifting a finger, easily and efficiently store items once they are ready to go.
Note that this mod is not compatible with quality products and AutoQualityPatch, but it works with craft quality products.
Save anywhere
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Sometimes it's a bit annoying that you can only save at the end of an in-game day. Save Anywhere lets you save literally anywhere, which makes Stardew Valley much more convenient.
Note that this mod conflicts with the Tractor Mod.
DeepWoods
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Have you ever wondered why there isn't a fleshed out area to explore in the forest like there is under the mines? U.S. too. Fortunately, the DeepWoods mod rectifies this by adding a procedurally generated forest area to Stardew Valley. Be warned, however! This area is designed for ready players and should not be approached early.
DeepWoods works in multiplayer and it's fully configurable for players, so you can create your own forest if you have the skills. Yes, you can even find iridium and hardwood in the forest added by this mod.
Canon-compatible dialogue extension for all friendly characters
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Dialogue in Stardew Valley tends to repeat once you've spent a few years in Pelican Town. That's okay, because with Canon's friendly dialogue expansion for all friendly characters, there are now over 2500 new lines of dialogue added for each of the 33 main characters inhabiting Pelican Town.
Babies take after spouse (plus new toddler hair and clothes)
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It is strange that the appearance of your spouse does not factor into the appearance of your baby. Babies take after the spouse and new toddler hair and clothes change all that. With the mod enabled, your child should now look like the legitimate children of the person you married.
Chests Anywhere
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Want to be able to access your storage chests, drawers, refrigerator, and even your shipping bin from anywhere? Chests Anywhere makes this possible. You can even name each storage container, allowing for much greater organization.
This mod helps a lot when you're in the cave or the DeepWoods, as you can basically teleport everything from your pockets to your farm, freeing you up to grab more items and supplies in one go.
Seasonal Villager Outfits
Download them here
It's easy to get tired of seeing all your NPCs in the same outfit every day. Seasonal villager outfits make this problem go away! With this mod enabled, villagers will now have weather-appropriate clothing that actually reflects the weather outside. It doesn't just work on seasons; if it is raining outside, villagers will switch to rain gear to keep themselves dry.
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These are some of the best Stardew Valley mods of 2020 so far. Which mods did we miss and which should be added to this list? Let us know and be sure to check out our other Stardew Valley mods articles.
Published on 8 April 2020
