This article is part of a directory: Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide and Walkthrough

Stardew Valley is quite a grind-heavy game, though players can take their time when it comes to accomplishing the various tasks and goals in the game. However, those who want to be a bit more efficient will soon realize that to get everything done, the game requires a lot of tedious and repetitive work.

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One of the ways to make things easy is to buy various machines to automate tasks. The Auto-Petter is one of such machines, but considering what it does and how powerful it is, players do have to pay a bit of a price to get their hands on it. So, is the Auto-Petter in Stardew Valley worth it, or not?

What Is The Auto-Petter?

Stardew Valley Auto-Petter Inside Barn

The Auto-Petter is a machine that automatically pets any animals inside the barn or coop that it's placed in. The machine does this on a daily basis without the player having to interact with the animals individually.

The Auto-Petter only works when placed inside a specific barn or coop, and only works for the animals living inside that building. Placing it outside, even though animals might walk outside, will nullify its effects.

How To Get The Auto-Petter

Stardew Valley Joja Warehouse

There are a few different ways for players to get their hands on the Auto-Petter machine.

  • Find it in a Golden Mystery Box: There is a narrow 0.5% of Golden Mystery Boxes containing an Auto-Petter.
  • Buy it at JojaMart: This is only available if the player chooses to complete the Joja Warehouse instead of the Community Center. The Auto-Petter can be bought of 50,000 gold.
  • Find it in Skull Cavern: Lucky players might be able to find the Auto-Petter randomly in a treasure chest. It's a 3.6% chance.
  • Danger In The Deep quest: While this quest from Mr. Qi is active, players can find the Auto-Petter in the Mines whenever they slay enemies or break containers.
  • The Shrine of Challenge: After completing the quest Danger In The Deep, if players activate this shrine, the chance to find the Auto-Petter in the Mines by slaying enemies or breaking containers increases.

Is The Auto-Petter Worth It?

Stardew Valley Auto-Petter In Inventory

As seen above, getting an Auto-Petter requires a bit of work and luck from players. So, is it worth grinding for? Here are the pros and cons of getting the Auto-Petter.

Pros:

  • It's a guaranteed purchase at 50,000 gold when choosing the JojaMart path.
  • It automates a time-consuming task for players who have a lot of animals. Animals won't suffer from any mood or friendship decay
  • It can help to build up friendship with animals quicker if paired with manual interactions.
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Cons:

  • Friendship gained from the Auto-Petter is only half of that gained from manual interactions with animals from the player.
  • To get it reliably, players need to abandon the Community Center path, which feels bad.
  • Those who choose the Community Center path have to rely on luck to get it, which is time-consuming.

The Best Use For An Auto-Petter In Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley Coop Filled With Eggs

All in all, the most important consideration for players is whether or not the Auto-Petter will come in handy. Players with only a few coops and barns might not need an Auto-Petter. It could be much faster to just brew coffee every morning and use the speed boost to pet animals.

However, those who rely on animal products for their main income in Stardew Valley will definitely benefit from this time-saving machine a lot. It takes a huge weight off a player's shoulder, leaving more time for other tasks.

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Stardew Valley Tag Page Cover Art

Stardew Valley
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RPG
Simulation
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
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Released
February 26, 2016
ESRB
E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
Developer(s)
ConcernedApe
Publisher(s)
ConcernedApe
Engine
Proprietary
Multiplayer
Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Stardew Valley does not currently support crossplay between different consoles and PC
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Genre(s)
RPG, Simulation
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, Android, iOS, PS4, Switch
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty