The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley added enough new content to make even the game’s most-seasoned players dive in like it’s brand new again. There’s a litany of new items for players to parse through and use (though it may be best to stay away from the big chests for now), and players are already finding creative ways to use the new items to maximize efficiency.

Reddit users on a post made by user goboking shared how they’re using the new text sign to further min/max their playthrough, and it’s a great way to remember when money-making artisan goods are ready for collection. Goboking shared a photo of their standing next to a text sign reminding them to “check the traveling cart,” and other Redditors stated they use it to remind themselves about the product they’ve been aging in their cellar.

“This can be useful in aging wines, i.e. ‘Come back at X X,’” user ZacianSpammer noted. Aging artisan goods can only be done in a player’s cellar, despite players technically being able to place them anywhere. Adding a text sign outside the stairs to the cellar with the harvest date of the items aging prevents players from spending the extra time to pop downstairs and check on them (or forgetting entirely).

Some Artisan Goods Take A Whole Season To Mature

Iridium Wine Takes Two Seasons

Players can unlock the cellar as part of the final upgrade to the Farmhouse, and it comes pre-stocked with 33 casks. These casks will age cheese, mead, beer, pale ale, and wine, though each item takes a different amount of time to cure. Cheese and goat cheese only take 14 days to reach iridium quality, while beer and mead will need 28 days (a whole season) to reach the same quality. Pale ale takes 34 days, and all wines need 56 days.

Letting an artisan good mature to iridium quality doubles its sale value. While it seems like a long time to wait, this is a great way to passively work toward a big payday. Certain fruits, like ancient fruit or starfruit, can bring in thousands of gold a bottle if matured to iridium quality, which is why these wines are particularly popular with longtime Stardew Valley players.

Players Are Also Using The Text Sign To Leave Themselves Notes

It’s A Great Tool For Helpful Reminders

The text sign is one of the new items added to the 1.6 update, allowing players to leave themselves written notes instead of using item icons like the wood and stone signs required. For those who aren’t playing for hours at a time or know they’ll be walking away from their save file for a few days, leaving behind notes about goals is a great way to stay on track.

“Just finished my first perfection run and this was a LIFESAVER!!” Reddit user iagoruby commented on goboking’s Reddit post, noting they left notes as they squeezed in playtime around their work schedule. “It worked wonders and I was much more organized than in my previous runs!”

Players on PC can also utilize the built-in Steam overlay for notes by clicking shift+tab. The opacity of these notes can be adjusted as well, so it doesn’t block the screen while playing, though Steam notes aren’t available to others this way if working on a shared farm with friends. Instead, the Stardew Valley text sign leaves notes all players can check, regardless of if the designated note taker is available to visit the farm.

Source: goboking/Reddit, ZacianSpammer/Reddit, iagoruby/Reddit