Stardew Valley Mystery Box: Unlock Requirements, Farming Spots, and Full Drop Table

Mr. Qi has been hiding goodies behind cryptic puzzles since the day he first showed up on the Bus Stop, and Stardew Valley 1.6 keeps the tradition going with the Mystery Box. Crack one open and you get a random item from a very long table. Some drops are forgettable, a few are jackpot tier, and the only way to find out is to keep opening them.

This guide walks through the unlock requirements, every place you can farm Mystery Boxes, what to do with them once they pile up, and the full drop chances for each possible reward.

Unlocking the Mystery Box

Mr. Qi does not hand the Mystery Box out on day one. He waits for one of two triggers:

• You have played for at least 50 in-game days on the save file.
• You have picked up the 2nd Prize Ticket from Lewis's billboard.

Whichever happens first will fire off a short cutscene featuring Mr. Qi himself. Once that scene wraps, Mystery Boxes start dropping from the activities listed below. No cutscene, no boxes, so do not skip that morning.

Where to Farm Mystery Boxes

The number of farming methods available depends on whether you have completed Foraging Mastery. Without it, the box pool is already generous. With it, the pool roughly doubles and includes some very specific sources.

Without Foraging Mastery

These are the baseline sources available to anyone who has triggered the unlock event.

• Defeating monsters across the Mines, Skull Cavern, and Volcano Dungeon.
• Chopping trees with an Axe (each swing has a chance).
• Smashing crates and barrels in the Mines, Skull Cavern, and Volcano Dungeon.
• Opening the present train cars that show up during Winter.
• Shaking seed-bearing trees.
• Panning at river spots.
• Pulling Treasure Chests out of fishing bites.
• Opening Golden Fishing Treasure Chests.

With Foraging Mastery

Once you have hit Level 10 in all five skills, the on-screen prompt "You sense that a new way is open...." tells you the Mastery Cave at Cindersap Forest is now accessible. From there you can chase Foraging Mastery, which adds these extra sources:

• Buying boxes from the Calico Egg Merchant during the Desert Festival.
• Earning them as rewards from Squid Fest and the Trout Derby.
• Trading the Book of Mysteries to the Bookseller in exchange for a box.
• Digging at artifact spots.
• Opening chests inside the Skull Cavern.
• Opening Golden Mystery Boxes.
• Finishing Raccoon requests after the fifth one is done.
• Hitting the jackpot on the prize machine inside the Mayor's Manor.
• Leaving Milk or a Cookie on the farmhouse table on the night of Winter 24. By morning it will have been swapped for a Mystery Box.

Tip: Reading the Book of Mysteries permanently increases your chances of finding Mystery Boxes from the methods that respect it. Read it early.

What to Do With a Mystery Box

Mystery Boxes are not like Geodes. The Geode Crusher will refuse to touch them, so the only way to open one is to walk it over to Clint's Blacksmith shop. He charges 25g per box, which is basically pocket change once you have a stack of them.

A few side uses worth knowing:

• They count as a blue dye at the dye pots in Emily and Haley's house.
• They register as a cyan dye in the Sewing Machine spool.
• Most villagers hate receiving them as gifts. Haley, Harvey, Kent, and Maru in particular will not thank you. Save them for the dye pot or the blacksmith.

Full Drop Table

Below is the complete list of items a Mystery Box can produce, sorted from rarest to most common. Anything that depends on a season, skill level, or in-game date has the conditions tacked on.

Rare drops (under 0.5%)

• 1x Cherry Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Apricot Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Orange Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Peach Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Pomegranate Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Apple Sapling: 0.1%
• 1x Lucky Lunch: 0.13%
• 1x Stardew Valley Almanac: 0.13%
• 1x Bait and Bobber: 0.13%
• 1x Woodcutter's Weekly: 0.13%
• 1x Mining Monthly: 0.13%
• 1x Combat Quarterly: 0.13%
• Cooked dishes (each at 0.13%): Fried Egg, Omelet, Salad, Cheese Cauliflower, Baked Fish, Parsnip Soup, Vegetable Medley, Complete Breakfast, Fried Calamari, Strange Bun, Fried Mushroom, Pizza, Beet Hotpot, Glazed Yams, Carp Surprise, Hashbrowns, Pancakes, Salmon Dinner, Fish Taco, Crispy Bass, Pepper Poppers, Bread, Tom Kha Soup, Trout Soup, Chocolate Cake, Pink Cake, Rhubarb Pie, Cookie, Spaghetti, Fried Eel, Spicy Eel, Sashimi, Maki Roll, Tortilla, Red Plate, Eggplant Parmesan, Rice Pudding, Ice Cream, Blueberry Tart, Autumn's Bounty, Pumpkin Soup, Super Meal, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing.
• 1x Dressed Spinner: 0.16% (Fishing Level 6+)
• 1x Cork Bobber: 0.16% (Fishing Level 6+)
• 1x Emerald Ring: 0.16%
• 1x Ruby Ring: 0.16%
• 20x of any of these seeds: 0.16% in Spring, 0.05% in Winter. Parsnip, Bean Starter, Cauliflower, Potato, Corn, Wheat, Pepper, Radish, Eggplant, Artichoke, Pumpkin.
• 1x Magic Rock Candy: 0.2%
• 1x Aquamarine Ring: 0.3%
• 1x Jade Ring: 0.3%
• 1x Ossified Blade: 0.31%
• 1x Prismatic Shard: 0.4%
• 1x Book of Stars: 0.49%
• 1x Book of Mysteries: 0.49%
• 1x Pearl: 0.49%
• 1x Golden Pumpkin: 0.49%

Uncommon drops (0.5% to 1%)

• 1x Sturdy Ring: 0.6%
• 1x Amethyst Ring: 0.6%
• 1x Glowstone Ring: 0.6%
• 5x Mega Bomb: 0.63%
• 3x Triple Shot Espresso: 0.63% if Fishing Level < 6, 0.31% if Fishing Level 6+.
• 2x Dish O' The Sea: 0.63%
• 2x Lucky Lunch: 0.63%
• 20x Quality Fertilizer: 0.63%
• 20x Deluxe Speed-Gro: 0.63%
• 2x Life Elixir: 0.63%
• 3x Warp Totem: Farm: 0.63%
• 1x Quality Sprinkler: 0.63%
• 3 or 4x Mystery Box: 0.63%
• 8x Carrot Seeds: 0.63% (Winter 21 to Spring 23 only)
• 8x Summer Squash Seeds: 0.63% (Spring 24 to Summer 20 only)
• 8x Broccoli Seeds: 0.63% (Summer 21 to Fall 20 only)
• 8x Powdermelon Seeds: 0.63% (Fall 21 to Winter 20 only)
• 1x Treasure Chest: 0.8%
• Premium dishes (each at 0.86%): Chowder, Fish Stew, Escargot, Lobster Bisque, Maple Bar, Crab Cakes, Shrimp Cocktail.
• 1x Wallpaper: 0.95%
• 1x Mystery Shirt: 0.96%
• 1x Mystery Hat: 0.97%

Common drops (above 1%)

• 8x of any of these seeds: 1.51% in Spring (or Fall for Corn), 0.5% in Winter. Parsnip, Bean Starter, Cauliflower, Potato, Corn, Wheat, Pepper, Radish, Eggplant, Artichoke, Pumpkin.
• 2x Mystery Box: 3.62%
• 10x Quality Fertilizer: 6.03%
• 10x Deluxe Speed-Gro: 6.03%
• 1x Warp Totem: Farm: 6.03%
• 3x Coffee: 6.03%
• 5x Bomb: 6.03%
• 10x Hardwood: 6.03%
• 1x Warp Totem: Mountains: 6.03%
• 10x Mixed Seeds: 6.03%
• 10x Mixed Flower Seeds: 6.03%
• 1x Warp Totem: Beach: 6.03%

Mystery Boxes are essentially a slot machine with farming utility baked in. Most opens give you fertilizer or seeds, the occasional one drops a Prismatic Shard or Golden Pumpkin, and every now and then Mr. Qi gives you back two more boxes just to keep the cycle going. Hand them to Clint, watch the items pile up, and let probability do its thing.