In the 1.5 update, one of Stardew Valley‘s most mysterious figures makes another appearance. After unlocking the Walnut Room on Ginger Island, players once again meet Mr. Qi — and big surprise, he has more challenges to test their greatness. Once the player completes one of Mr. Qi’s new “Qi Challenges,” he will reward them with Qi Gems that they can redeem for highly useful items. All of these quests can be repeated for an indefinite number of Qi Gems. Some of these tasks are fairly simple, while others are nigh impossible.
Among the endgame content, Mr. Qi’s Qi Challenges are among the most entertaining ways players can spend their time. Some are fairly simple, but very time-consuming; others require intense strategizing and skill. All challenges reward the player with Qi Gems, which they can exchange for special rewards in Qi’s Walnut Room. As they vary widely in difficulty, the rewards vary as well. Whether players are looking for a quick reward or a true challenge, here’s how they stack up against each other in difficulty.
Updated April 10, 2024, by Demaris Oxman: Years after its initial release, Stardew Valley remains a haven for fans of farming sims and anyone who loves cozy games. With the 1.6 update recently releasing for PC, plenty of newcomers and veterans alike are exploring the new content available. But of course, new content isn’t the only thing that players can expect in version 1.6. A few quality-of-life features and balancing changes have been made as well.
The latter type has affected one of the Qi Challenges that players can receive in Mr. Qi’s Walnut Room. Considering that the “Four Precious Stones” quest has been made more difficult, this guide has been updated to explain the changes and alter its place in the ranking.
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About Qi Challenge Time Limits
Much like the tasks on the Community Bulletin Board, the Challenges in Mr. Qi’s Challenge Room refresh every in-game Monday, and the time limit begins to decrease once they are posted. For example, if the player accepts “Qi’s Crop” on the Monday of that week, they will have 28 days to complete the challenge; if they accept it on Tuesday, they will only have 27 days. For this reason, it is best that players accept Qi Challenges on Mondays in-game to get the maximum timeframe.
About Qi Gems
All Qi Challenges reward the player with a set number of Qi Gems, which can be used to buy items in Mr. Qi’s Walnut Room. Here, players can purchase blueprints for extra-efficient versions of items like Tappers and Fertilizer, rare crafting materials like Radioactive Ore, and other late-game items like the Horse Flute.
10 Qi’s Prismatic Grange
Gather 100 Items Of Each Color
- Time Limit: 14 days
- Reward: 35 Qi Gems
This challenge calls for the most items out of any other, as it requires 100 each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple items. The trickiest part of this quest is figuring out which items count for which colors.
Most categories contain items that can be found in large quantities, such as fiber for green and copper ore for orange. Fortunately, it’s not necessary to collect the items themselves within the time limit. Players can gather the necessary items before accepting the challenge, and then deposit them in the collection box for some easy Qi Gems.
How To Complete It
Amass 100 items of each color, and drop them in the box. Note that these do not have to be the same item; for example, a player can use 40 fiber, 55 green beans, and 5 radioactive ore to complete the “green” color. Some of the easiest items to collect for each color include:
- Red: Cranberries, tomatoes, magma geodes
- Orange: Copper ore, earth crystal, winter root, pumpkin
- Yellow: Cheese, solar essence, hay
- Green: Fiber, green algae, green bean
- Blue: Blueberry, blackberry
- Purple: Iridium ore (plentiful if the player has the Statue of Perfection), void essence, grapes
9 Qi’s Kindness
Give 50 Loved Gifts in One Week
- Time Limit: 7 days
- Reward: 40 Qi Gems
In this quest, Mr. Qi challenges the player to become a beacon of generosity, delighting their friends by giving them their favorite items. Though it seems intimidating at first, this quest becomes quite easy once the player gets to know their friends’ and neighbors’ favorite things.
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As with previous challenges, stocking up on items beforehand makes this goal easier to reach. Take some time to learn about who loves which gifts, or things that are universally loved. Collect these items to give out and spread joy once the challenge is active.
How To Complete It
Before accepting the quest, take time to learn what gifts are Loved by which villagers. Players can see their preferences by clicking on them in the character menu screen. Once some of these favorites have been revealed, stock up on those items before accepting Qi’s quest. Additionally, keep universally Loved gifts in mind.
8 Extended Family
Catch the Relatives Of All the Valley’s Legendary Fish
- Time Limit: 3 days
- Reward: 20 Qi Gems
Essentially, this challenge asks players to catch all of the Legendary Fish (or specifically, their relatives) within three days. There are only four of these fish, but they’re not easy to catch by any means.
Recipes that raise the Fishing skill are helpful here, such as Dish o’ the Sea or Seafoam Pudding. Using the right tackle can help as well. More than that, though, this quest takes a lot of patience. It might take a few tries for some players to complete.
How To Complete It
Each required fish can be found in the same location as their Legendary relative. For practice, reel in the Legendary fish themselves – once the player has done it once, they can do it again! The best tackle options include the cork bobber, which increases the size of the fishing bar, and the trap bobber, which decreases the rate at which the “catching” bar on the right falls.
7 Qi’s Cuisine
Ship 100,000g Worth of Cooked Food
- Time Limit: 14 days
- Reward: 25 Qi Gems
This quest asks the player to become a prolific gourmet chef. It’s important to note that items cooked before the start of the challenge don’t count; instead, the player must both cook and ship their products within the time limit. As such, stocking up on ingredients before beginning is the key to success.
Planning ahead is key in this challenge. Don’t be afraid to do some research into which recipes are the most valuable, and store their ingredients in the fridge. For late-game players, 100,000g might not seem like a vast amount, but many will soon see that it’s hard to earn with food alone.
How To Complete It
One way to accomplish this (without spending a lot of money) is to brew vast amounts of coffee in kegs before starting the challenge. Players can then use this to make Triple Espresso, which can be sold for 450g. 223 Triple Espressos will meet the goal. Since the coffee itself is the ingredient, brewing it ahead of time is just fine. The Triple Espressos themselves, however, must be made after the challenge has begun.
Other high-value recipes include Fish Taco, Tropical Curry, and Pink Cake. Players should take advantage of these if they can, but their ingredients can take a bit more effort to gather reliably.
6 Danger In The Deep
Complete the Mines At A Much Higher Difficulty
- Time Limit: 7 days
- Reward: 50 Qi Gems
In this quest, the mine elevator is reset and each area of the mines takes on a new appearance with more difficult enemies. The player has a week to make it to the bottom.
Since the Stardew Valley mine has an elevator, the player can advance a few levels per day. This makes the challenge less gut-punishing than the Skull Cavern ones, which require reaching level 100 in one go. However, it’s still no pushover, considering the new threats to contend with.
How To Complete It
In order to finish the challenge in the allotted time, players need to advance by 20 levels each day, with little wiggle room. Be sure to pack plenty of consumables and bombs to avoid death by the new monsters. Additionally, bring a warp totem or return scepter along, to maximize the time the player can spend in the mines before returning to the farm.
5 Qi’s Crop
Grow and Harvest 500 Qi Fruit
- Time Limit: 28 days
- Reward: 100 Qi Gems
For this challenge, players must find Qi Beans hidden throughout the world, plant them, and harvest and ship 500 Qi Fruit in a month. Beans can be found in artifact spots, by fishing, chopping down trees, mining, etc.
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Tracking down 500 of these beans can be incredibly frustrating. However, players can gain an advantage by using Seed Makers, turning each Qi Fruit harvest into twice as many seeds. Alternatively, players can save up Qi Beans while the quest is active, and wait until time runs out without planting them. Then, accept the challenge again at a later date, and use the previously collected Qi Beans to complete the challenge.
How To Complete It
Players must ensure they have plenty of space to farm vast amounts of Qi Fruit; the Ginger Island farm is a great place for this. As stated above, Seed Makers are the player’s best friend in this challenge. Don’t ship the first few Qi Fruit harvests; instead, turn them into more Qi Beans. This is a far more reliable method of finding seeds than hunting for them willy-nilly. Only start shipping fruit towards the end of the challenge, and until then, keep making and planting more seeds.
4 Let’s Play a Game
Score 50,000 Points in Junimo Kart
- Time Limit: 7 days
- Reward: 10 Qi Gems
Junimo Kart, found on one of the arcade machines in the Stardrop Saloon, is deceptively difficult. Achieving the score of 50,000 can prove time-consuming, especially when the player has a farm to run. Many players — even if they enjoy the minigame itself — don’t find this quest worth the effort.
Considering “Let’s Play a Game” only nets the player ten Qi Gems, it’s a lot more trouble than it’s worth. For players who’ve mastered Junimo Kart, it might pose a fun challenge, but more often it’s a source of frustration.
How To Complete It
Practice plenty before accepting the challenge, and memorize strategies for each level. This challenge really just requires quick reflexes and an understanding of the Junimo Kart mechanics, so master the minigame before taking it on.
3 Four Precious Stones
Collect Four Prismatic Shards
- Time Limit: 28 days
- Reward: 40 Qi Gems
Before version 1.6, this quest was relatively easy to complete: simply deliver four Prismatic Shards to Mr. Qi. The latest update, though, added a small but pivotal change: those Prismatic Shards must be collected within the time limit of 28 days. The player cannot complete the quest by using a stack of shards that they had beforehand.
With the rarity of Prismatic Shards, it’s no wonder that this task is challenging. Some players don’t find one for a full in-game year or more, and so collecting four of them in a single month takes concentrated effort and huge amounts of luck.
How To Complete It
Look for Prismatic Shards in the deeper levels of the mines and Skull Cavern. Though rare, players have the best chance at finding one the more Iridium Nodes and Omni Geodes that they find. Players can increase their chances by eating Luck-boosting foods, like the Magic Rock Candy or Lucky Lunch. The deeper the floor in Skull Cavern, the greater a player’s chances, so gear up and get ready for a spelunking trip.
2 Skull Cavern Invasion
Reach Level 100 in Skull Cavern, with Stronger Monsters
- Time Limit: 7 days
- Reward: 40 Qi Gems
Most Stardew Valley players know the epic struggle of trying to reach level 100 in Skull Cavern – Mr. Qi’s original quest. This challenge asks them to do this again, but this time facing even stronger enemies as they delve through the dungeon.
Players shouldn’t undertake this goal lightly. Stock up on healing items and bombs, wield the Infinity Sword, and don’t be afraid to build staircases. There’s no such thing as cheap tactics to win here – the player must fight for survival.
How To Complete It
Food items that boost speed, luck, defense, and combat are especially useful as the player fights their way to victory. Spicy Eel is a great option here, as are Crab Cakes. Players can also use Stone to build Staircases, as using them to get to lower floors will not incur any penalties. This challenge will take practice, so don’t get discouraged after a few failed attempts.
1 Qi’s Hungry Challenge
Reach Level 100 in Skull Cavern, Without Consumables
- Time Limit: 7 days
- Reward: 25 Qi Gems
Once again, Mr. Qi has put a new twist on his old challenge. Though Skull Cavern’s monsters are at their usual level of power, the player cannot eat or drink anything this time as they journey to Level 100.
Skull Cavern’s enemies are dangerous even at their usual level, so being unable to restore health makes this challenge absolutely brutal. Above all, players must try not to lose their patience — it can take several tries to achieve this nigh-impossible feat.
How To Complete It
One strategy is to build dozens of staircases, using them one after the other. Even so, it can be difficult to avoid damage while placing them. Since players are welcome to chow down before entering Skull Cavern, grab a snack with a Defense or Speed buff first.
Another strategy is to equip the vampire ring, which restores a small amount of HP each time the player slays a monster. In the same vein, take advantage of the Big Slimes in this challenge that show a heart inside; they will drop this upon death, allowing the player some healing.
Stardew Valley
- Released
- February 26, 2016
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
