Befriending Maru in Stardew Valley: Gift Preferences and Heart Event Choices

Maru is one of the bachelorettes you can woo and eventually marry in Stardew Valley. Her shy, gadget loving personality makes her pleasant company once you break the ice, though a clumsy gift choice can sink your friendship faster than a Joja survey. This guide walks through which items she actually wants and how to handle every Heart Event without accidentally insulting her father.

Where to Find Maru

Maru splits her time between two locations. She works as a nurse at the clinic, so you can usually catch her there during shifts. Outside of work, she lives next to Robin's Carpenter Shop, tinkering on the "big project" she rarely stops talking about. Her birthday is Summer 10, which is your one chance per year to land a gift with quadruple friendship value.

Keep in mind that her father, Demetrius, comes as part of the package. Lose points with him during a Heart Event and you can drag Maru's affection down too, so think before you pick dialogue options near him.

How Gift Reactions Work

You can hand Maru up to two gifts per week, plus a bonus on her birthday. Her response tells you exactly where the item lands on her scale:

• Love: "Is that...? Oh wow, (player name)! This is spectacular!"
• Like: "This is a super gift! Thank you!"
• Neutral: "Thanks."
• Dislike: "Oh... That's for me? I'll just put it over here..."
• Hate: "Yuck! You thought I would like this?"

Her tinkerer streak is the trick to gifting. Anything mechanical, refined or shiny tends to be a hit. Anything sticky, fermented, or pulled straight from a tree trunk usually is not.

Loved Items

These gifts grant the maximum friendship boost:

• Battery Pack
• Cauliflower
• Cheese Cauliflower
• Diamond
• Gold Bar
• Iridium Bar
• Miner's Treat
• Pepper Poppers
• Radioactive Bar
• Rhubarb Pie
• Strawberry

Liked Items

Solid choices for filling weekly slots:

• Copper Bar
• Iron Bar
• Oak Resin
• Pine Tar
• Quartz
• Radioactive Ore
• All Universal Likes except Honey, Pickles, and Maple Syrup

Neutral Items

Won't hurt you, won't help much either:

• Chanterelle
• Daffodil
• Dandelion
• Ginger
• Hazelnut
• Leek
• Magma Cap
• Morel
• Purple Mushroom
• Wild Horseradish
• Winter Root
• All Universal Neutrals except Truffle
• All Eggs except Void Egg
• All Fruit except Blackberry, Strawberry, Salmonberry, Crystal Fruit, and Fruit Tree Fruit
• All Milk

Disliked Items

Stay clear when stocking your gift bag:

• Blackberry
• Common Mushroom
• Crystal Fruit
• Maple Syrup
• Salmonberry
• All Universal Dislikes except Battery Pack, Copper Bar, Gold Bar, Iridium Bar, Iron Bar, Oak Resin, and Pine Tar

Hated Items

The fastest way to wreck your progress:

• Holly
• Honey
• Pickles
• Snow Yam
• Truffle
• All Universal Hates except Radioactive Bar and Radioactive Ore

Heart Events

Heart Events fire on each even friendship level, regardless of whether you have been showering her with diamonds or not. A 14-heart event was added in version 1.4, but you must be married to Maru before you can trigger it.

Two Hearts

Walk into the Carpenter's Shop while Maru is home. You'll catch her testing soil samples with Demetrius. Once Maru steps out, her dad gets sentimental about his "special little girl." When she returns, pick carefully:

• (Say nothing): +10 friendship with Demetrius
• "Actually, your dad was being weird.": -100 friendship with Demetrius

Four Hearts

Visit the clinic while Maru is on duty. Your sudden entrance startles her and a beaker hits the floor. Your reply matters:

• "Just scoop it off the floor. He won't know the difference.": -50 friendship
• "Tell Harvey it was my fault.": -20 friendship
• "Tell Harvey it was an accident.": +50 friendship

Six Hearts

Head to the mountain on a sunny night between 9 pm and 11:40 pm. Maru will be at her telescope and will offer you a look:

• "A beautiful planet.": +30 friendship
• "A cold, dark abyss.": -30 friendship

Eight Hearts

Return to the Carpenter's Shop with Maru inside. She's deep into a new project when something goes wrong and hurts your character. How you react decides the friendship swing:

• "It's okay; it doesn't even hurt.": +30 friendship
• "You'd better be. This hurts like crazy.": -50 friendship

Ten Hearts

Come back to the Carpenter's Shop between 9 am and 4 pm. Maru has finally finished her project and proudly shows it off. Let the scene run until she asks for your opinion:

• "I'm so impressed with your inventions.": +50 friendship
• "I'm disappointed... you should have made that robot your slave.": -50 friendship
• "MarILDA's just a piece of machinery designed to act human.": +50 friendship
• "I was just kidding. MarILDA deserves her freedom.": +50 friendship
• "I would've put her to work on the farm.": -50 friendship
• "So is your Dad okay with 'us' now?": no effect
• (Just stare at Maru and say nothing): no effect

Pile up enough loved gifts and survive the Heart Events without insulting either Demetrius or his robot daughter MarILDA, and Maru will happily move into your farmhouse.