Once you have earned 25,000g in Stardew Valley, you will be approached by an NPC known as Demetrius. While interacting with this NPC, you will be given the option to set up your farm cave. Wherein, you will have to select between Fruit Bats or Mushrooms to spawn in your farm cave. This decision is permanent and irreversible and hence, you should know the pros and cons of having both beforehand. That being said, check out this guide to know the better option between Mushrooms or Bats in Stardew Valley.
Should I Choose Fruit Bats or Mushrooms in Stardew Valley? (Pros & Cons)
Here’s everything you should know about Bats & Mushrooms before they spawn in your Stardew Valley Farm Cave.
Bats
Bats or Fruit Bats will drop a variety of Fruits in your Farm Cave. They show up overnight and spawn a random fruit from any season. For example, you can obtain a Cherry, which is found in Spring in Fall as well. This brings several benefits such as:
- Since the Fruits are Universal Like, you can gift them to an NPC.
- Further, you can use it to make Artisan Goods, etc.
- Also, it is useful while completing Bundles at the Community Center.
Speaking of the downside, here’s the spawn rate of the fruits overnight:
- No Fruit – 48%
- 1 Fruit – 25%
- 2 Fruits – 13%
- 3 Fruits – 7%
- 4+ Fruits – 7%
There are days when no Fruits will Spawn in your Farm Cave, so don’t be disheartened if you have chosen Bats. If Fruits spawn and you forget to collect them, then they will stack up inside the cave until you go and collect them. A good thing here is collecting Fruits boosts your Foraging Level significantly in Stardew Valley. Moreover, if you are a Botanist by profession, then you will obtain fruits of Iridium quality. If not, then the Fruits spawned will be of Normal, Silver, or Gold quality. Apart from this, if you are a Gatherer, then you have an increased chance of obtaining 2 Fruits.
Mushrooms
In Stardew Valley, choosing Mushrooms instead of Bats comes with its own benefits too. Six boxes will be placed inside the Farm Cave that will spawn 5 different types of Mushrooms. Good thing is that 4 out of those 5 Mushrooms are used as an ingredient while crafting Life Elixir. Here is the spawn rate of all 5 Mushrooms in the Farm Cave:
- Common Mushrooms – 69.8%
- Red Mushrooms – 12.3%
- Purple Mushrooms – 2.5%
- Chanterelle – 7.3%
- Morel – 8.1%
The cons of selecting Mushrooms weigh more than the pros. The Mushrooms spawning in the Farm Cave will always be of normal quality even if you are a Botanist. In addition, it does not reward the player with any Foraging exp upon collection. Unlike Fruit Bats, you will definitely obtain Mushrooms every 2nd day in Stardew Valley. You can obtain Mushrooms quickly if you rest late that day. For instance, sleeping past midnight will get you Mushrooms by the afternoon of that day.
Similar to that of Bats, you can use the Mushrooms to complete Bundles at Community Center as well. In addition, you can sell rare Mushrooms for a higher price and since they grow frequently, you can make good money from them.
Now that we have kept the pros and cons of both Bats & Mushrooms in Stardew Valley, it is time for judgment. So, which one should you choose? According to me, you should go for Mushrooms because opting for Bats is a complete gamble. While the spawn rate of Fruits is less than Mushrooms, the latter has good scope for making money.
That covers everything on Bat & Mushroom Caves in Stardew Valley. While you are here, make sure to check out our other Stardew Valley Guides on Gamer Tweak.