This guide details how to use Stardew Valley's Volcano Forge to enhance tools and weapons. The forge, located at the end of Ginger Island's Volcano Dungeon, allows for forging and enchanting.
Obtaining Cinder Shards:
Cinder Shards are crucial for all forge functions. Acquire them by:
- Mining Cinder Shard nodes (pink-orange specks) in the Volcano Dungeon.
- Obtaining them as drops from Magma Sprites, Magma Duggies, Magma Sparkers, and False Magma Caps. Drop rates vary.
- Harvesting from a fishing pond with 7+ Stingrays (7-9% daily chance).
Cinder Shards cannot be created in a Crystalarium.
The Mini-Forge:
After achieving Combat Mastery, craft a Mini-Forge:
- 5 Dragon Teeth
- 10 Iron Bars
- 10 Gold Bars
- 5 Iridium Bars
The Mini-Forge functions identically to the Volcano Forge.
Weapon Forging:
Gemstones enhance weapon stats (up to three times per weapon). Costs increase with each forge:
- First forge: 10 Cinder Shards + Gemstone
- Second forge: 15 Cinder Shards + Gemstone
- Third forge: 20 Cinder Shards + Gemstone
Gemstone effects:
- Amethyst: +1 Knockback per forge.
- Aquamarine: +4.6% Critical Hit Chance per forge.
- Emerald: +2/+3/+2 Speed per forge (cumulative).
- Jade: +10% Critical Hit Damage per forge.
- Ruby: +10% Damage per forge.
- Topaz: +1 Defense per forge.
- Diamond: 10 Cinder Shards for three random upgrades.
Best Weapon Upgrades: Emerald & Ruby (increased DPS) are generally best for combat. Topaz & Amethyst prioritize survivability.
Unforging Weapons: Place the weapon in the left slot and select the red X to remove all forging (some Cinder Shards are recovered, but not the gemstone). Enchantments remain.
Infinity Weapons:
Upgrade Galaxy Sword, Dagger, or Hammer into Infinity Weapons using three Galaxy Souls (20 Cinder Shards each). Forged upgrades and enchantments are retained.
Galaxy Souls:
Obtain Galaxy Souls by:
- Purchasing from Mr. Qi (40 Qi Gems each).
- Dropping from Big Slimes in Dangerous Mines or specific Mr. Qi quests.
- Purchasing from the Island Trader (10 Radioactive Bars, last day of season).
- Dropping from Dangerous Monsters (after killing 50).
Enchantments:
Enchant tools/weapons (excluding slingshots) using a Prismatic Shard and 20 Cinder Shards. Enchantments are random.
Weapon Enchantments:
- Artful: Halved special move cooldown.
- Bug Killer: Double damage to bugs, kills Armored Bugs.
- Crusader: Double damage to undead, permanently kills mummies.
- Vampiric: Chance to regain health upon killing a monster.
- Haymaker: Double fiber/hay chance from weeds.
Bug Killer and Crusader are generally most useful.
Innate Enchantments: Use a Dragon Tooth for additional enchantments on melee weapons. Two sets of enchantments can be applied.
Tool Enchantments: Twelve enchantments exist, each tool-specific. Examples include:
- Auto-Hook (Fishing Rod): Instantly hooks fish.
- Bottomless (Watering Can): Unlimited water.
- Efficient (Various): Tools don't drain energy.
- Preserving (Fishing Rod): 50% chance to save bait/tackle.
Best Tool Enchantments: Generally, Bottomless (Watering Can) and Preserving (Fishing Rod) are highly recommended. Other optimal enchantments depend on individual playstyle. The forge allows re-enchanting for better results.
