Game wiki
Stardew Valley Friendship and Marriage
Friendship and marriage guide for heart points, gift multipliers, birthday routes, decay, bouquets, Mermaid's Pendant, Krobus roommate path, children, and spouse Stardrop planning.
Quick facts
Each heart is 250 friendship points, and the social tab tracks hearts, gift boxes, and learned preferences.
Marriage candidates cap at 8 hearts until a Bouquet unlocks the ninth and tenth hearts.
Married spouses have a 14-heart meter, and the spouse or roommate Stardrop is a key perfection checklist item.
Build friendship efficiently
Friendship is strongest when daily conversation, birthdays, weekly gifts, quests, festivals, and movie routes are planned together.
- Save loved gifts for birthdays and use ordinary liked gifts for routine weeks.
- Use the calendar to prepare gifts before the birthday morning starts.
- Prioritize villagers who unlock recipes, bedrooms, marriage routes, or perfection progress.
Route romance and family systems
Romance has a clean order: 8 hearts, Bouquet, 10 hearts, farmhouse upgrade, Mermaid's Pendant, wedding, then spouse friendship and possible children.
- Repair Tide Pool access before searching for the Old Mariner on rainy days.
- Keep spouse contact regular because spouse friendship can decay.
- Use Krobus and the Void Ghost Pendant when a roommate route fits the save better than marriage.