Even though you start as a farmer in the Stardew Valley, there are several professions you can advance into as you level up your skills. For example, at level 5 of farming, you are given the choice between Tiller and Rancher. While both have advantages and disadvantages, they are well balanced, often making it difficult to decide. Additionally, further leveling up in those lets you select between even better professions with greater benefits.
If you are stuck on this choice and unsure about which one is more suitable for your gameplay style, this guide with the pros and cons will help you make the decision.
Should You Choose Rancher or Tiller in Stardew Valley
Rancher Pros & Cons
When you take this profession, all the animal products you sell give 20% more gold. This includes everything from mayonnaise and cheese to wool and cloth. Players with the Meadowlands Farm have an advantage in the profession, as they get a coop and two chickens with the map. They wouldn’t have to spend money on building the structure and buying these animals and could advance faster.
When you reach level 10 of the profession, you get to specialize between Coopmaster and Shepherd. Coopmaster increases the incubation time of the eggs and lets you befriend coop animals faster. As for the Shepherd, it increases the wool production speed and lets you befriend the barn animals faster.
Talking about the cons, it doesn’t decrease any speed or price; however, you cannot specialize as an agriculturist or artisan, as they are the professions of Tiller. You can change your selected profession by visiting the Statue of Uncertainty in The Sewers and paying 10,000g.
Tiller Pros & Cons
As the name suggests, it is focused on farming, so your crop’s worth increases by 10%. Any vegetable and fruits that you have grown and not foraged will give you the benefits of the profession. The biggest advantage of this profession is that you can ripe the profits on any map. However, we wouldn’t recommend Beach Farm. Sprinklers don’t work on the beach’s sandy soil, making it difficult to maintain a farm. The best map for this would be Standard, as it has the most farmable area.
At level 10 of the Tiller, you get to choose between Agriculturist and Artisan. All your crops will grow 10% faster with Agriculturist. As for the Artisan, the sale prices of all the artisan goods (excluding oil) will increase by 40%. Similar to the Rancher, it doesn’t decrease any price or growth rate; however, you cannot become Coopmaster and Shepherd unless you pay to the Statue of Uncertainty.
This concludes our comparison of the Stardew Valley Rancher or Tiller professions. Since you must increase your level to select a profession, you should learn how the Mastery System works and what rewards you get with it.