Excavator or Gemologist? An often asked question in Stardew Valley. Much like the forester profession, you will have a choice to make when mining.
Collecting and obtaining resources in Stardew Valley doesn’t only require grinding – you must also have good skill combinations. These will come in handy once you started leveling up your skills, that’s when you can easily obtain and stock resources.
Among the five variants of skills that you can learn in Stardew Valley, the mining skill will help you most if you plan on exploring the mines, and collecting enough gems, ores, and other rocks.
Breaking rocks using a pickaxe, a bomb, or by the action of monsters increase your mining skill experience. The additional experience is only rewarded to you once you finally destroyed a rock. Aside from the mining skill experience, every rock destroyed also adds +1 to your pickaxe proficiency.
Each skill comes with ten levels with respective rewards upon completion. Obviously, the last level offers the best rewards. Take note that the rewards vary from one skill to another.
For levels 1 to 4 and levels 6 to 9, you can receive different crafting recipes. Here is the list of crafting recipes that you can obtain upon reaching specific levels:
Level 1: Cherry Bomb
Level 2: Staircase
Level 3: Miner’s Treat
Level 4: Glowstone Ring and Transmute (Iron)
Level 6: Bomb
Level 7: Transmute (Gold)
Level 8: Mega Bomb
Level 9: Crystalarium
Now, the more exciting rewards can be claimed once you reach levels 5 and 10. Once you reach level 5, you will choose either one of the two professions – the miner or the geologist. Each of these professions grants you a perk depending on which one you chose.
The miner profession grants you +1 ore per vein while picking the geologist gives a higher probability of gems appearing in pairs.
Once you have chosen your player’s profession, the next thing you will do once you reach level 10 is to pick one from the two specializations offered by the chosen profession. The miner profession offers blacksmith and prospector, while the specializations offered in the geologist profession are excavator and gemologist. And today, we are going to focus on excavators and gemologists.
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Excavator and Gemologist: What’s the Difference?
It is understandable that these two specializations have their own edge over each other. Most players are also having a hard time whether which one of the two will they choose. Having said that, this section aims to explain each specialization and its perks.
Excavator
Excavator is one of the professions you can choose under the geologist skill. Basically, choosing an excavator allows you to have a high chance of doubling the geodes you can find. Since a single geode contains different other materials and minerals, this perk can be beneficial for you if you still lack some resources and items.
Aside from using the items inside your geodes as one of the crafting recipes, you can also donate some of them to the museums. Doing this will also help you in unlocking further secrets. This is a good opportunity for you to unlock more rewards that can help you gain more progress in the game. For example, the Desert Trader would want your Omni geode, which is hard to find, in exchange for his rare item collections. This can be a win-win situation for both of you.
Gemologist
Gemologists, on the other hand, have the perk of increasing the value of gemstones by 30%. So, picking a gemologist is a good strategy to earn more money. Although Stardew Valley is not a game that focuses on earning money, this is still a good shot at earning money if planting and farming are both not available.
Aside from that, choosing this is also a good help for your gems business and makes it more profitable. For an instance, you can sell replicated diamonds for 1000 gold instead of just 750 gold.
Excavator and Gemologist: Which Is Better?
There are actually no right and wrong answers in choosing whether you have to choose excavator or gemologist as your player’s specialization. This is very subjective and varies depending on your goals and needs. If you were to ask which one should you choose, you must be first decided on what track you are going to take.
If you are still lacking items, equipment, and other resources, it would be better for you to pick an excavator. While a gemologist is the best choice if you plan on growing your money.
Despite these perks, there are also some disadvantages in picking them. If you chose the gemologist who increases the value of gemstones, it will be quite unfair once you start selling them. The value of these gemstones is very low when compared to the effort the player put forth in mining them, since you didn’t choose an excavator. Imagine risking the life of your character in entering and exploring the Skull Cavern to collect geodes and still costs low when sold. But relative to the normal prices, these values are okay.
On the other hand, an excavator is essential during early mining games. But over time, it depreciates its value when donated to the museum.
Can I Change My Profession in Stardew Valley?
We cannot deny that most players are really having a hard time weighing which specialization must be chosen. Should they choose Excavator or Gemologist in Stardew Valley? Having said that, some players are left dissatisfied with the perk they chose and ask if there’s any way to change their choice. Luckily, there is the Statue of Uncertainty. By donating 10,000 gold to the statue, you can freely change the skill you have chosen.
