Other than farming, one of the first skills that Stardew Valley players will be using is the foraging skill. This skill is reliant on and improves gathering the forage items around the world and chopping down trees.

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As players level up their foraging skill, they will eventually be given the option to pick between two professions. These are the Forester and the Gatherer professions. Each of them have their own benefits that can help players as they go through the game with both of them also being able to branch out into even more professions.

Updated August 2nd, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Stardew Valley contains a lot of depth for a 2D farming simulator. At the start, players may feel like the release is pretty simple, but it quickly shows its depth as would-be farmers begin to pick their professions and gain experience in a variety of skills. As players reach specific experience milestones, they’ll need to make informed choices and morph into a variety of “professions.” Some professions are a lot easier to choose between than others. To better help players choose Forager or Gatherer in Stardew Valley, the following guide has been updated and now includes even more information about the Foraging skill overall.

Forester

The Forester profession becomes available to Stardew Valley players once they get to level five in foraging. If players choose it, they will gain 25% more wood from chopping down trees, stumps, and logs. This makes it very helpful when trees are sparse and players need a lot of wood for crafting or making farm buildings.

If players choose the Forester profession and get to level ten in foraging, they will get the option to pick between two more professions. These are the Lumberjack and Tapper professions. The Lumberjack profession makes it so that every tree that players chop down has the chance to produce hardwood, while the Tapper profession makes it so that syrups are worth 25% more when sold.

The big advantage of the Forester profession is getting that extra wood. It adds up over time and allows players to have more access to a useful resource. This alone makes Forester recommended, but the addition of also getting later access to the Lumberjack profession also helps with getting that valuable hardwood.

Gatherer

The Gatherer profession is the other option players can choose when they reach foraging level five. This profession makes it so that players have a 20% chance for every foraged item they pick up to be doubled.

Like the previous profession, this one also gives players two more profession options at foraging level ten. These options are Botanist and Tracker. The Botanist profession makes it so that foraged items are always at their best quality and Tracker gives players tracking arrows to follow that reveal every forage location.

While this profession isn’t as recommended as Forester, the Tracker profession can be helpful for players going for museum completion. This is due to this profession also tracking the locations of artifact spots.

Should You Pick Forester Or Gatherer In Stardew Valley?

Both Level 5 choices offer their own perks and bonuses but which one is better? Although the question itself really boils down to playstyle, on paper, it’s generally a better choice to choose Gatherer. Both perks provide great boons to players just starting their adventure but there’s a clear-cut difference once players hit level 10 in Foraging and are able to take the next perk in their tree.

Although Forester will give players 25 percent more wood at the start of their journey, its two Level 10 Foraging choices aren’t nearly as strong as Gatherer. Players will be able to choose between:

Lumberjack - All trees have a chance to drop hardwood. Tapper - Syrups are worth 25 percent more.

These two choices are “okay,” in their own rights but Gatherer presents the following paths:

Botanist - Foraged items are always the highest quality. Tracker - The location of forageable items is revealed.

Because of the choices presented to the player at Level 10, it’s a better choice overall to take Gatherer at Level 5. Botanist is an incredibly useful skill, making sure that whatever players forage in the future will always be the highest quality possible.

An Expanded Look At Foraging

Although the above outlines the “best” choice for progression in Stardew Valley, players shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with what fits the best with their personal playstyle. To give would-be farmers a better idea of exactly what they can expect when going down the path of Foraging, this section outlines exactly what players can expect at each specific level of Foraging, including what rewards they will receive, and when.

All Rewards For Foraging

Stardew Valley is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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