How to get Refined Quartz in Stardew Valley

By Jesse Lennox Published January 7, 2025

Fighting slimes in the mines of Stardew Valley. — ConcernedApe

Besides the basics of farming and giving gifts to other villagers in Stardew Valley, one of the first tips and tricks you learn is the importance of mining. Unless you are willing to use some cheats, this is the only way to get the proper materials to craft new and better versions of items. Quartz is a very common material that you can find almost anywhere, but Refined Quartz takes a few extra steps to get. It isn’t hard once you know how it’s done, and it will open up tons of new possibilities, so let’s learn how to get Refined Quartz as fast as possible.

How to get Refined Quartz

A farmer collecting refined quartz in Stardew Valley. — ConcernedApe

There are three basic ways you can approach getting your hands on Refined Quartz. The first is by far the easiest and most reliable, so long as you have a furnace, some regular Quartz, and coal. If you don’t have a furnace, you can make one with just 25 stone and 20 copper. Drop your coal into the furnace with coal powering it and leave it for half an in-game hour. Once it has been smelted, you will get a bar of Refined Quartz. However, if you find some Fire Quartz and smelt it, then you will get three Refined Quartz instead of just one.

Recommended Videos

The second method requires a recycling machine and two specific types of trash: broken CDs and broken glasses. If you recycle these in the machine, it will spit out Refined Quartz.

Finally, Rare Quartz has a few rare spawns you can try for. It can sometimes pop out of crystals inside the Mines, be dropped by Ghosts between floors 51 and 79, or be dropped by Carbon Ghosts in the Skull Cavern. The odds on these drops are 10% at best, so you should stick to smelting if possible.

Refined Quartz can be used to make a ton of items, such as crystal floors, a farm computer, a quality sprinkler, a solar panel, and more.

Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Topics

How-To Guides

Gaming

How to get Nautilus Shells in Stardew Valley

A farmer holding a nautilus shell in Stardew Valley.

It won't take you many seasons to learn most of Stardew Valley's tips and tricks and become familiar with how to get the more common materials you need. On the other hand, there are some more mysterious items that you will need from time to time but have no idea where to find. The Nautilus Shell isn't that great of a gift, but it is required for a few specific quests and for dyeing. If you've been searching the beach all summer long but haven't found one, you're close but not quite there yet. Here's how to get Nautilus Shells.
How to get Nautilus Shells
Nautilus Shells are most easily found on the beach by foraging through the sand, which is probably where most people would think to look for them. However, if you look during the summer, when you would most likely be at the beach, you won't find any. That's because the only time you can forage a Nautilus Shell from the beach is when it is winter.

Besides foraging in the cold sand, there are a few other ways you can get Nautilus Shells, but they are all up to chance. They can be received as a gift from Demetrius at any time or from any villager during the Feast of the Winter Star. If you have either the Shrine of Challenge or Danger In The Deep quest enabled, they can spawn within the first 29 levels of the Mines.

Gaming

How to get Skull Key in Stardew Valley

Fighting slimes in the mines of Stardew Valley.

Being a good fighter isn't necessarily one of the top tips and tricks for Stardew Valley, but it does make the game more fun and allows you to get a lot of rare resources you can use for giving as gifts or crafting. The Mines are your standard dungeon, but there is a far more dangerous and lucrative area called the Skull Cavern. If you've found it, you will see that it is locked and requires a hidden key to open. Technically, you could cheat your way into opening the door, but we suggest taking a look below on how to get the key the intended way first.

Gaming

How to get Pale Ale in Stardew Valley

stardew valley pale ale

While we could never suggest drinking as one of our tips and tricks in real life, there's no harm in brewing a pale ale or two in Stardew Valley if you're looking for a cold drink or valuable item to sell. Plus, depending on who you are pining over, pale ale also makes a great gift for certain villagers. If you're not a master brewer yet, there's no need to turn to mods because we will show you the exact recipe for pale ale in Stardew Valley.