What Does the Earthquake Do in Stardew Valley?
If you’ve been playing Stardew Valley for a while now, you have probably experienced an earthquake. While it might seem irrelevant at first, this event is a big deal, since it opens up important locations for you to explore that the game doesn’t otherwise tell you about.
Whether you’re removing bushes or rotating furniture, during your first summer you will experience an earthquake in Stardew Valley. Keep reading to learn about what the earthquake means and where to go once it occurs.
Table of Contents
What Does It Mean?
The earthquake event will occur during your first summer in Stardew Valley. It will be accompanied by the following message:
“There was an earthquake during the night.”
This is completely normal and happens to every player. An earthquake means that a new area has been unlocked for you to explore.
If you’ve been exploring the area outside your farm, you’ve probably seen the boulder that blocks some stairs in the north region of Pelican Town.
Once the earthquake happens, the boulder will be removed, and there will be a new area open for you to explore.
When Does It Happen?
The earthquake will happen during the third night of your first summer in Stardew Valley. It’s classified as a random event, and there is nothing you can do to avoid it.
If you’ve already made it through your first summer and you don’t remember seeing a message, it already happened and you likely missed the message.
The game doesn’t really make a big deal about it or tell you what to do once an earthquake occurs, so it can be easy to miss.
If don’t remember seeing the earthquake in the night message, there’s an easy way to find out if it’s already happened. If the boulder in front of the steps pictured below is gone, then it’s already happened.
Where to Go After
After you receive the earthquake in the night message, you’ll want to head toward the mountains in the northern part of the map.
From your farm, go out of the north exit. Head up the stairs and follow the path on your right until you reach a house with a blue roof.
Walk a few steps north and you’ll see a set of stairs that were previously blocked by a boulder. This is the area that was unlocked by the earthquake.
The earthquake event will unlock a few important things that the game doesn’t tell you about. Here are the four main things that are unlocked:
- The Spa
- The Railroad
- The Wizard’s Quest
- The Summit
These four things will be completely new to you, but you’ll definitely want to be aware of them. Below is some additional info about each one.
The Spa
Once you head into the area unlocked by the earthquake, you’ll find a spa. It will allow you to quickly restore energy and health.
Head inside and walk into the appropriate changing room. On your right, you’ll see an area with blue tile — that’s the spa.
You’ll notice that once you walk into the spa your character will change into a swimsuit and your energy and health will be restored at 10 points per second.
Fun Fact: Your swimsuit will be the same color as your pants. So, if you’re wearing blue pants, you’ll be in a blue swimsuit. If you’re wearing red pants, you’ll be in a red swimsuit.
In addition to restoring your health, the pond outside of the spa also has a few secrets to uncover.
However, before you can catch anything valuable, you’ll need to find some Secret Notes. Specifically, you need to find Secret Note #25.
Once you find it, you can go fishing in the pond and pull out the Vista painting and an Ornate Necklace.
Oh, and you won’t be able to fish in the pond during the winter season, seeing as how it’s frozen over.
The Railroad
Despite what it might look like, you won’t be able to take a train ride anywhere. Instead, you’ll be able to collect materials that are dropped by the passing train cars.
A train will pass through on random days between 9 am and 6 pm. It will drop things like stone, coal, iron ore, wood, and geodes every time it comes through town.
Thankfully, as long as you’re outside when the train is passing through, you’ll hear the whistle and will receive a notification when a train is passing through.
Even better, you don’t need to be present to pick up the items. Simply visit the train tracks sometime after the train has gone by, and you’ll be able to pick up whatever items were dropped.
Just be sure to visit sometime before you save your game in Stardew Valley, or the dropped items will disappear.
There are a few different trains that can come through, but the drops seem to be mostly random.
Wizard’s Quest
Another thing that the earthquake will unlock is the Wizard’s questline.
If you head northeast from the train platform, you’ll find a passage that’s blocked by an object. When you interact with it, you’ll receive a message with a bunch of question marks.
To interact with the statue, you’ll need to have completed the Community Center or the JojaMart restorations.
Once completed, the first time you head into the area, a cutscene will play that will prompt you to find a Dark Talisman.
After you complete the Dark Talisman quest, you’ll gain access to the Witch’s Swamp. This will unlock the Witch’s Hut and some new questlines.
The Summit
While the earthquake event unlocks the path to The Summit, it can only be reached once you’ve achieved Perfection.
There are 11 different tasks you’ll need to complete to reach Perfection.
- Cook every recipe
- Craft every item
- Reach Level 10 in every skill
- Catch every fish
- Find all Stardrops
- Build the Golden Clock
- Find all of the Golden Walnuts
- Reach max hearts with every villager
- Complete all of the monster eradication goals for the Adventurer’s Guild
- Build all four Obelisks on your farm
- Ship at least one of every crop and forage item
You can also check your progress by visiting the Perfection Tracker statue on Ginger Island. It’s located in Qi’s Walnut Room.
Expert Tip
After the earthquake, the game doesn’t tell you about any of the new areas that are unlocked. However, they are worth visiting and exploring.
For example, if you want to easily regenerate your health, you’re going to want to know where the spa is located. Or if you like to do quests, you’ll definitely want to work through the Wizard’s questline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Earthquake Damage Crops?
Don’t worry! Your crops will not take any damage as a result of an earthquake happening. If your crops are dead, it’s because the season has changed or you didn’t care for them properly.
Does the Earthquake Damage Buildings?
Fear not! Your buildings will be completely fine after the earthquake event.
Can You Trigger the Earthquake?
Nope! The the earthquake will happen naturally as you progress through your first summer.
How Many Times Does the Earthquake Happen?
The earthquake only happens one time per game. Once you’ve gone through your first summer, you won’t experience another one.
What Day Does the Earthquake Happen?
The earthquake will happen during the third night of your first summer. Once you go to sleep, you will hear a rumbling noise and wake up to a message saying, “There was an earthquake during the night.”
What Happens When There Is an Earthquake?
In Stardew Valley, an earthquake opens up the Railroad, Spa, the Wizard’s Quest, and the Summit. You won’t be able to visit these areas prior it, nor will you be able to avoid it. It’s simply something that will eventually happen as you naturally progress through the game.
