Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To Sprinklers

Stardew Valley, the hit farming-RPG from independent developer Concerned Ape, remains one of the most popular titles in its genre. The game begins with players quitting their big-city job for a quiet life renovating their grandfather’s farm in the titular Stardew Valley.

A farmer’s work is never done however, and Stardew Valley’s players will often find themselves starting each day with a series of chores. One of the most time-consuming of these chores is watering crops, which is necessary every day that it isn’t raining. Fortunately, players can eventually free themselves from the daily grind of watering through the use of Sprinklers, essential tools that will automatically water nearby tiles.

RELATED: Stardew Valley: What To Do With Thunder Eggs

What Are Sprinklers in Stardew Valley?

Sprinklers are some of the best tools in Stardew Valley, as the time they save the player each day can allow for increased progression in other areas. There are three tiers of Sprinkler, starting with the basic version:

• Sprinkler: Unlocked at Farming Level 2, and waters the 4 tiles that are orthogonally adjacent to the Sprinkler (i.e.; directly above, below, and to either side). Requires:
  • 1 Copper Bar
  • 1 Iron Bar
• Quality Sprinkler: Unlocked at Farming Level 6. Waters all 8 adjacent tiles. Requires:
  • 1 Iron Bar
  • 1 Gold Bar
  • 1 Refined Quartz
• Iridium Sprinkler: Unlocked at Farming Level 9. Waters all tiles within 2 tiles of the Sprinkler, 24 in total. Requires:
  • 1 Gold Bar
  • 1 Iridium Bar
  • 1 Battery Pack

Once placed in a player’s fields, Sprinklers will work automatically at the start of each day without any further input. It’s worth noting, however, that Sprinklers won’t water untilled tiles. Players who till new tiles within range of a Sprinkler will have to manually water those tiles on the first day.

The Best Way to Use Sprinklers in Stardew Valley

Despite being available very early in the game, the basic Sprinkler doesn’t really cover enough ground to be worth its cost. Therefore, it’s recommended that players don’t make heavy use of Sprinklers until they’ve at least unlocked the Quality Sprinkler. A group of just four Quality Sprinklers can keep a 6×6 area of farmland watered indefinitely, saving players plenty in watering. Quality Sprinklers are especially useful in greenhouses, with only a few needed to cover the entire space, meaning that players only ever need to enter the greenhouse to harvest their crops.

The top-tier of Sprinkler usage is the Iridium Sprinkler, which is expensive but will allow players to create huge self-watering fields. However, all Sprinklers can also be boosted by a pair of late game items that are only readily available after players have reached Qi’s Walnut Room:

• Pressure Nozzle: Increases the range of any Sprinkler it is placed on to match the next tier. For Iridium Sprinklers, it increases the range to reach everything within 3 tiles.
  • Price: 20 Qi Gems
• Enricher: Allows players to load Fertilizer into a Sprinkler, causing it to automatically fertilize nearby tiles when they are planted.
  • Price: 20 Qi Gems

It’s also possible that monsters may drop a Pressure Nozzle or Enricher during the Qi’s Hungry Challenge, Skull Cavern Invasion, or Danger in the Deep quests, or when the Shrine of Challenge has been activated in the mines.

Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

MORE: Stardew Valley: Where To Find Leeks