Iridium Ore in Stardew Valley is a precious resource for crafting various items, including end-game tools. Some players may find it difficult to find this material, especially those new to the game. So, here’s a guide to help you farm this item so you’ll have an ample supply.

Iridium Ore Locations in Stardew Valley

Despite its rarity, Iridium Ore in Stardew Valley can be found in various locations, from shops to monster drops. Below are the ways you can find this material in the game:

• Light four candles on the Statue of Perfection (yields 2 to 8 Iridium Ore daily)
• Gather from panning points (about 1% chance to obtain one)
• Open from fished from Treasure Chests (1.1% chance to get one or two from a chest)
• Mine from a fallen meteorite on the farm (yields 6x Iridium Ore)
• Reach a population of nine Super Cucumbers at a Fish Pond (chance to produce 1 to 3 Iridium Ore)
• Low chance of dropping from high-level monsters, namely the Purple Slime, Iridium Bat, and Iridium Crab
• Low chance of receiving one from opening a Magma Geode, Omni Geode, or Golden Coconut
• Mine Iridium Nodes at the Skull Cavern and Volcano Dungeon
• Mine Mystic Nodes at Floor 100 and over in The Mines

Iridium Ore Farming

Despite the different locations to find Iridium Ore in Stardew Valley, stocking up on this material can be good. One way to achieve that goal is to mine the Iridium Nodes at the Skull Cavern. Start by preparing for your Skull Cavern Iridium Ore farming run. Craft as many Staircases as possible, but note that each unit requires 99x Stone. Alternatively, trade 1x Jade at the Desert Trader for 1x Staircase on a Sunday. You can exchange a Jade for a Staircase at this NPC unlimited times as long as you have sufficient resources. Next, craft as many Bombs as possible by combining 4x Iron Ore and 1x Coal for each unit. You can also purchase Bombs from the Dwarf and Desert Trader, albeit expensive at these NPCs. Once you’re ready, travel to and enter the Skull Cavern. Place as many Staircases as you can to descend as fast as possible. Remember, don’t waste your time using your Pickaxe to mine Iridium Ore from one Iridium Node. Instead, travel further down Skull Cavern until you see Iridium Node clusters. Once found, use Bombs to destroy those nodes, allowing you to gather multiple Iridium Ores quickly.

Iridium Ore Usage

Submit 1x Iridium Ore to complete the Engineer’s Bundle in the remixed Boiler Room of the Community Center. Players can also use an Iridium Ore as a Sewing Machine spool to make an Iridium Energy Shirt. Additionally, in its raw form, the Iridium Ore can only be used to craft two items in the game, which are the following:

• Deluxe Scarecrow: 50x Wood, 40x Fiber, and 1x Iridium Ore
• Warp Totem: Desert: 2x Hardwood, 1x Coconut, and 4x Iridium Ore

You can also smelt 5x Iridium Ore and 1x Coal for eight in-game hours at the Furnace to make 1x Iridium Bar. Use the Iridium Bar to craft more in-game items, which are the following:

• Iridium Sprinkler: 1x Iridium Bar, 1x Gold Bar, and 1x Battery Pack
• Iridium Band: 1x Iridium Bar, 50x Solar Essence, and 50x Void Essence
• Crystalarium: 2x Iridium Bar, 99x Stone, 5x Gold Bar, and 1x Battery Pack
• Slime Incubator: 2x Iridium Bar and 100x Slime
• Wedding Ring: 5x Iridium Bar and 1x Prismatic Shard
• Deluxe Fertilizer: 1x Iridium Bar and 40x Sap (yields five units per crafting session)
• Hopper: 1x Iridium Bar, 10x Hardwood, and 1x Radioactive Bar
• Slime Hutch: 500x Stone, 10x Refined Quartz, 1x Iridium Bar, and 10,000 gold pieces
• Earth Obelisk: 10x Iridium Bar, 10x Earth Crystal, and 500,000 gold pieces
• Water Obelisk: 5x Iridium Bar, 10x Clam, 10x Coral, and 500,000 gold pieces
• Desert Obelisk: 20x Iridium Bar, 10x Coconut, 10x Cactus Fruit, and 1,000,000 Gold Pieces
• Island Obelisk (introduced in version 1.5): 10x Iridium Bar, 10x Dragon Tooth, 10x Banana, and 1,000,000 Gold Pieces

Also, you can use 5x Iridium Bar to upgrade certain tools to their highest tiers. The tools you can upgrade using this material are the Hoe, Pickaxe, Axe, Watering Can, and Trash Can.