There is always plenty to do in the world of Stardew Valley, from farming and fishing to exploring and mining. One of the other crucial elements of the game is socializing with the various people of Pelican Town. Becoming friends with people has its overall game advantages, plus some relationships may blossom into something more.
Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide and Walkthrough
Whether you're new to the Valley or champion of the Junimos, we have a guide to anything you might need.
Of course, not every individual in Pelican Town is looking for romance. Take 
Linus, a resident who lives his life in a tent in the woods. He isn't close with many people, but he is very kind to the player. If players want to become good friends with him, they'll need to know what he likes.
General Friendship Tips
While Linus is a unique character in the game, becoming friends with him works just how it may with anyone else. Friendship in Stardew Valley is measured in points. Players can earn these points by doing specific interactions when it comes to the person they are trying to befriend. This includes:
• Talking to them every day.
• Presenting them with a gift they like, love, or are neutral toward.
• Making certain choices when experiencing that person's "heart events."
• Completing specific quests for the person.
• Inviting them to see a movie they like (unfortunately, Linus doesn't like any movie).
• Buying concession food they like while at the movies.
Talking to Linus can earn players 20 points per day. Successful delivery quests could earn a player 150 friendship points, and other quests could award players in various ways. When it comes to Linus, he is not interested in any film. While players could buy him food that he likes at the concession stand, no points will be earned just by bringing him to the theater. Luckily, bringing a villager to a movie that they dislike won't cost any friendship points with them.
Reading the book 
Friendship 101 will permanently increase friendship gain by 10% across the board
What Gifts Does Linus Like
Gifts can come in all shapes and sizes in Stardew Valley. They can be purchased at various merchants, gathered from the environment, or crafted with materials that have been collected. There are five levels of gift interest for each person: Love, Like, Neutral, Dislike, and Hate.
There is a set number of friendship points players can gain or lose depending on where an item lands on this scale. These points change during the Feast of the Winter Star event (five times the point gain/loss) and during the individual's birthday (eight times the point gain/loss).
Gifts Linus Loves
Gifting Linus something he loves gives players an 80 point increase in their overall friendship. Just like with most people, there is a small collection of items that fall under this category. They include:
-
Blueberry Tart
-
Cactus Fruit
-
Coconut
-
Dish O' The Sea
-
Yam
-
The Alleyway Buffet
-
Golden Pumpkin
(Universal Love)
-
Magic Rock Candy
(Universal Love)
-
Pearl
(Universal Love)
-
Prismatic Shard
(Universal Love)
-
Rabbit's Foot
(Universal Love)
-
Stardrop Tea
(Universal Love; rewards a full heart)
If players do decide to bring Linus to the movies, players can get at least 50 friendship points by buying specific food at the concession stand.
- Salmon Burger
- Stardrop Sorbet
Gifts Linus Likes
Items that Linus likes still reap a nice friendship reward, earning the player 45 points with each gift.
All Foraged Minerals and almost all Gems that are usually liked by villagers are not liked by Linus. He does like Diamonds, though.
This category has a broader amount of items to choose from. The items he does like include:
- All Artisan Goods (Universal Likes) except Oil (Universal Dislike) and Void Mayonnaise (Universal Hate)
- All Cooking (Universal Likes) except for Fried Egg and Bread (Universal Neutrals), Strange Bun and Seafoam Pudding (Universal Hates), and Blueberry Tart and Dish O' the Sea (Linus Loves)
-
All Eggs (except Void Egg)
- Dinosaur Eggs are considered Artifacts, and Frog Eggs and Parrot Eggs are considered Trinkets
- All Flowers (Universal Likes) except Poppy (Universal Hate)
- All Fruit except Cactus Fruit and Coconut (Linus Loves both)
- All Fruit Tree Fruits (Universal Likes)
- Rainbow Shell (Universal Like)
- All Milk
- All Vegetables (Universal Likes) except Hops, Tea Leaves, and Wheat (Universal Neutrals) and Unmilled Rice (Universal Hate)
- Chanterelle
- Common Mushroom
- Daffodil
- Dandelion
- Diamond
- Ginger
- Hazelnut
- Holly
- Leek
- Magma Cap
- Morel
- Purple Mushroom
- Snow Yam
- Spring Onion
- Wild Horseradish
- Winter Root
Linus is the only villager who does not like receiving a Treasure Chest, and will in fact give it back to the player with unique dialogue stating his disinterest
If players bring Linus to the movie theater, he will like many of the concession items. This means players could earn at least 25 friendship points by purchasing anything except:
- Black Licorice
- Joja Cola
- JojaCorn
- Stardrop Sorbet and Salmon Burger (Linus Loves both)
Neutral
Items that slightly increase the overall friendship level can be worth giving to Linus as well. Generally, these gifts boost friendship by 20 points. These items include:
- All Fish except Snails (Universal Hate)
- All Books except The Alleyway Buffet (Linus Loves) and Price Catalogue (Universal Dislike)
- Bread (Universal Neutral)
- Clam
- Coral (Universal Neutral)
- Duck Feather (Universal Neutral)
- Fried Egg (Universal Neutral)
- Hops (Universal Neutral)
- Mystic Syrup (Universal Neutral)
- Nautilus Shell (Universal Neutral)
- Roe (Universal Neutral)
- Squid Ink (Universal Neutral)
- Sweet Gem Berry (Universal Neutral)
- Tea Leaves (Universal Neutral)
- Truffle (Universal Neutral)
- Wheat (Universal Neutral)
- Wild Bait
- Wool (Universal Neutral)
Heart Events
With every 250 points of friendship gained, players will gain a heart with that person. Up to 10 hearts can be earned for a particular person (except the spouse/roommate, who goes up to 14, including Krobus). After reaching a certain amount of hearts, players will be able to trigger heart events that give more insight into the person. For Linus, there are five heart events.
- At 50 friendship points, a heart event will already be available. Sometime after the seventh day of Spring, Year 1, players should enter the town between 8 p.m. And midnight to see a cutscene unfold. It must not be raining in order for the event to trigger.
- At three hearts, Linus will send the player a recipe for Sashimi.
- At four hearts, players who enter the mountain area near Linus' tent between 8 p.m. And midnight will be treated to some bonding time with him. It must not be raining for this event to occur.
- At seven hearts, Linus will again send a recipe in the mail, this time for Fish Tacos.
- At eight hearts, players who enter and then leave Robin's house between 9 a.m. And 5 p.m. Will experience the final heart event for Linus. The event happens only when it's not raining. Players can earn 250 friendship points in this scene if, when given the dialogue option, they express approval of the way Linus is currently living.
Other Ways to Earn Friendship with Linus
There are a few other simple methods for increasing friendship with Linus:
- Items that have quality levels can grant higher numbers of friendship points. Silver-quality gifts grant 10% more, gold grant 25% more, and iridium-quality gifts are worth 50% more
- Linus may post a Special Order called "Community Cleanup" that tasks the player with collecting 20 trash items and disposing of them in the bin north of Linus' home on the train platform. If completed, they'll earn some money, a new recipe, and 250 friendship points with Linus, which is equal to one full heart. Unfortunately, this quest can only be completed once.
- Linus, like many others, can post a "Help Wanted" message on the community message board out front of Pierre's. He'll request a random item, and if the player delivers it within the time frame, they'll receive 150 friendship points with Linus and gold equal to triple the item's base value.
- Linus has a unique quest called "Blackberry Basket," which he gives to the player via mail on Fall 8. The player must find his lost basket in the woods, and he'll reward them with a full heart of friendship.
- While friendship with most villagers decreases if they catch the player digging through the trash, if Linus catches the player, they'll instead earn +5 friendship points with him. Unfortunately, the only time Linus is ever close enough to catch the player is during the Desert Festival and while walking to the Night Market.
- The ingredient the player adds to the soup at the Luau will grant them an increase or decrease with almost all villagers, including Linus. If the best response is earned, players will earn 120 friendship points with Linus and everyone else in attendance. For good but not the best responses, players earn +60, and for a neutral response, they earn nothing. Bad and horrible responses from the governor cause the player to lose 50 or 100 points with everyone, respectively.
- Completing all of bundles on the Community Center's Bulletin Board rewards the player with 500 friendship with all non-datable villagers. If players have not yet met Linus, they won't earn any friendship points with him for this.
- If Linus is the player's giftee at the Feast of the Winter Star, they'll earn 5x the friendship points with him for giving him a gift. Warning, though: this also applies to disliked or hated gifts. If the player gifts him something he doesn't like, they'll be punished 5x over in terms of points.
- Giving Linus a gift on his birthday (Winter 3) will multiply the points (received or removed) by a whopping eight multiplier. This means a loved gift on Linus' birthday will reward the player with +640 friendship points, which is almost three full hearts.