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.
How to get the Skull Key
The Skull Key is a key item (pun intended) that can only be obtained in one way. This is going to be a grind, so make sure you get yourself some strong weapons like Meowmere if you can.
Step 1: Reach the very bottom floor of the Mines.
The Mine isn't an endless dungeon — it actually has a bottom floor. Once you manage to work your way 120 floors down, you will be at the very bottom and find a chest holding the Skull Key.
Step 2: Take the Skull Key to the Skull Cavern in the desert. If you haven't opened up this region yet, you need to finish the Vault Bundle in the Community Center. Once there, interact with the door, and you will use the key to open up access to the Skull Cavern.
Besides being generally more difficult than the Mines, the Skull Cavern also does not allow you to save progress every few floors. This means you need to go as far as possible in a single trip without dying or falling asleep to reap any rewards. While you won't unlock any elevators, thankfully there will always be a ladder back to the surface on each floor if you need to make a tactical retreat. Technically, there is no end to the Skull Cavern, and the farther down you go, the better the rewards, so good luck!
