At the end of Ginger Island's Volcano Dungeon, players can discover a unique feature: a mysterious forge. This isn't your typical forge; it's a magical enhancement station where Stardew Valley players can upgrade their tools and weapons using valuable gemstones and crystals. The trade-off is definitely worth the investment, as it opens up a plethora of new gameplay possibilities.
The Volcano Forge may initially seem complex, but it's actually quite user-friendly once players grasp the various effects they can apply to their items. This guide will walk you through each possible effect and help you decide which enhancements will be most beneficial for your Stardew Valley journey.
Updated January 6, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: Stardew Valley's 1.6 update has introduced a host of new features, including the Mastery system, and expanded existing elements like weapon forging. Players can now enchant the Pan alongside other tools and explore innate enchantments for weapons. This guide has been revised to reflect all the changes and additions related to the Volcano Forge in Stardew Valley 1.6, helping players fine-tune their tools and weapons to perfection.
Obtaining Cinder Shards
All the Volcano Forge's functions require 
Cinder Shards, which players can find throughout the Volcano Dungeon. To fully enchant and forge a tool or weapon, players will need at least 65 Cinder Shards per item. Here are the methods to collect these elusive crystals:
- Mining a Cinder Shard node in the Volcano Dungeon, which looks like other mineral nodes but with pink-orange specks.
- As drops from specific enemies in the Volcano Dungeon, including:
- Magma Sprite: 50% chance to drop
- Magma Duggy: 40% chance
- Magma Sparker: 50% chance
- False Magma Cap: 50% chance to drop
- Produced from a fishing pond with 7 or more Stingrays, which may spawn 2-5 Cinder Shards with a 7-9% daily chance.
Note that Cinder Shards cannot be replicated in the Crystalarium since they are classified as a resource, not a gemstone.
The Mini-Forge
Once players achieve Combat Mastery, they unlock the crafting recipe for the 
Mini-Forge, eliminating the need to trek to the Volcano Dungeon for forging. This mini-forge mirrors the functionality of the larger volcano version and can be placed anywhere on the farm. To craft it, players need:
- 5
Dragon Tooth - 10
Iron Bar - 10
Gold Bar - 5
Iridium Bar
Weapon Forging
With enough Cinder Shards, players can use gemstones to forge their weapons, enhancing their stats. Each weapon can be forged up to three times, with the stat boost increasing at each level. Forging is exclusive to weapons and does not apply to tools like the Axe, Hoe, Watering Can, or Pickaxe.
The cost of forging increases with each level: 10 Cinder Shards for the first, 15 for the second, and 20 for the third. Each gemstone corresponds to a specific enhancement:
Amethyst: Increases knockback by +1 per level.
Aquamarine: Boosts critical hit chance by 4.6% x forge level.
Emerald: Enhances weapon speed with +2, +3, and +2 at each level.
Jade: Increases critical hit damage by 10% x forge level.
Ruby: Boosts weapon damage by 10% x forge level.
Topaz: Increases defense by 1 x forge level.
Alternatively, using a 
Diamond will add three random upgrades at once for 10 Cinder Shards.
Best Upgrades To Pick
Choosing the right gems for weapon forging depends on your play style and objectives. For those looking to maximize monster slaying, the Emerald and Ruby enchantments are key, as they significantly boost speed and damage. Pairing these with either Aquamarine or Jade can enhance critical hits.
For players focused on survival, such as during Qi Challenges, Topaz and Amethyst are beneficial, providing increased defense and knockback to create distance from enemies.
Unforging Weapons
If players want to reset their weapons to their original state, the process is straightforward. Simply place the weapon in the left square slot of the forge and select the red X symbol. This action will remove all forging and restore the weapon's appearance, recovering some Cinder Shards but not the gemstone used. No additional materials are needed for this process.
While unforging removes all forged upgrades, it does not affect enchantments, which are discussed below.
Infinity Weapons
Players with the 
Galaxy Sword, 
Galaxy Dagger, or 
Galaxy Hammer can upgrade these to Infinity Weapons at the Volcano Forge. This requires three Galaxy Souls, each needing 20 Cinder Shards. The upgraded weapon retains any existing forged upgrades or enchantments.
Galaxy Souls
Galaxy Souls are challenging to obtain and require completing some of Stardew Valley's toughest challenges. Basic methods to acquire them include:
- Purchasing from Mr. Qi in Mr. Qi's Walnut Room for 40 Qi Gems each.
- Encountering a Big Slime with a Galaxy Soul in Dangerous Mines, Mr. Qi's "Danger in the Deep" quest, or his "Skull Cavern Invasion" quest.
After killing at least 50 Dangerous Monsters, additional methods unlock:
- Buying from the Island Trader on the last day of the season for 10
Radioactive Bar each. - Galaxy Souls occasionally dropping from Dangerous Monsters.
Enchantments
Enchantments add unique effects to weapons or tools, enhancing their utility. These can improve efficiency or resource preservation. Any tool or melee weapon can be enchanted using a 
Prismatic Shard and 20 Cinder Shards.
Enchantments are applied randomly, but players can re-enchant if they're unhappy with the result, though this consumes more materials.
Weapon Enchantments
Possible weapon enchantments include:
- Artful: Halves cooldown for special moves.
- Bug Killer: Doubles damage to bugs and allows killing Armored Bugs.
- Crusader: Doubles damage to undead and permanently kills mummies.
- Vampiric: 9% chance to regain health upon killing a monster.
- Haymaker: Increases chance to drop fiber and hay from weeds.
Bug Killer and Crusader are often the most useful due to their effectiveness against tough enemies. Haymaker, however, is typically the least useful as fiber and hay are easily obtainable.
Innate Enchantments
Using a Dragon Tooth, players can apply innate enchantments to melee weapons. These fall into two sets, and a weapon can receive one from each set. The first set guarantees an enchantment:
The second set might provide an additional enchantment:
Tool Enchantments
There are twelve tool enchantments, each specific to a tool's function. The axe, pickaxe, watering can, hoe, fishing rod, and pan can be enchanted, receiving a random compatible effect:
Best Enchantments For Each Tool
Each enchantment offers unique benefits, and preferences may vary based on play style. Players can re-enchant tools at the Volcano Forge if the current enchantment no longer suits their needs, provided they have the required materials.
- Axe: Shaving for increased resource yield, or Swift and Efficient for faster and energy-efficient chopping.
- Watering Can: Bottomless for an endless water supply, a game-changer for farming.
- Hoe: Generous for more clay and artifacts, Archeologist for museum collectors, or Reaching and Efficient for large-scale farming.
- Pickaxe: Swift and Powerful for faster and more effective mining.
- Fishing Rod: Preserving to conserve bait and tackle, though Master can help with Fishing level.
- Pan: Generous and Reaching to maximize artifact and treasure finds.
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