Stardew Valley Forester or Gatherer: Which Profession Is Better?

Everyone knows that foraging is an important role for completing the Stardew Valley, but as you get closer to the endgame, you still need to consider your profession, and at level 5 whatever you choose be it Forester or Gatherer can determine a lot, so which of these professions is better?

Taking the pros and cons of both professions into consideration, the Gatherer is the best Forager profession. Although being a Forester can yield better quality of Hardwood, being a Gatherer can make the player more money in Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley offers players quite a lot of choices to make on how they want their gameplay and mechanics to be throughout their gameplay. So sometimes it is important to know exactly what you are about to get into before deciding to do so. Being a Gatherer might be the better profession, but there are some instances where it is okay to be a Forester.

Of course, I can already tell that you would want to know why I said being a Gatherer is better than being a Forester. I will be giving you my reasons later on and I will also tell you everything you need to know about both professions. So let’s get started.

Forester Profession

As the name implies your job as a Forester is pretty much straightforward, you cut down trees and sell them for more profits, or you can use them to build more facilities like fences and bridges.

To be a Forester all you’ll be needing is an Axe to cut down the trees and maybe a pickaxe so that you can occasionally mine some stones. Foresters generally need a lot of wood to fully utilize their perks and to make maximum profits.

Advantages

Foresters technically produce faster and more income from farms out of every other profession in the game since the trees are in abundance. If you aim to make high profits then being a Forester is not a bad choice.

Trees can be used to upgrade your tools which saves you time and resources unlike let’s say mining, where you have to spend your money to buy resources for an upgrade.

Trees are more resourceful when used to make building objects, it also makes them more effective than other raw materials like clay and stone.

As a Forester, you don’t have to be online all the time for you to make money unless of course you are addicted. The income is so easy to generate, and all you need to do is to send an ax then collect the money whenever you are ready.

Disadvantages

Once the trees are depleted your only source of income and steady cash flow stops as well. The player also spends a lot of time doing nothing during this time at least until the trees regenerate.

Getting wood can be quite tedious and difficult to pull off if you don’t fully understand how the mechanics work. The fastest way to get lots of wood is by cutting down a Birch tree, considering that they drop the most wood when compared to others. However, the downside is that they are very rare unless you have an area where all three types of trees grow(That is Pine, Birch, Oak).

The cost of repairing and upgrading both your ax and pickaxe is relatively high, repairs cost $200, and Upgrading cost $550 for both. My advice would be to save up some money for a moment like this when you’ll need to upgrade your tools.

Forester Specialisations

There are 2 different upgrade paths for the Forester profession once you reach level 10 in Foraging. These 2 specializations include the Lumberjack and the Tapper.

Lumberjack

Being a lumberjack gives players the perk that grants all trees the chance to drop hardwood when they are cut down. This is a pretty good feature especially because they are highly useful in the late game. Taking this area of specialization means that you won’t have to spend too much time searching for hardwood spawn points.

Tapper

Saps and Syrups generate huge profits for players, however, sitting in one place and waiting for these resources could waste a lot of time. It generates a lot of profit, but it still can be quite exhaustive. Also, there is the case that Foresters don’t get to receive the default bonus from cutting down trees.

Forester – Conclusion

Based on the stats and perks I’d advise that you go with the Lumberjack specialization, just because it makes more sense. Although both have their perks and if you’re up for the wait then you can as well give Tapper a try.

Gatherer Profession

The Gatherer profession mainly focuses on the items found in the mines from which there are dozens, which mostly includes minerals, metals, and sometimes weapon artifacts that can be sold for profits.

All a Gatherer needs is a pickaxe which you have to consider upgrading immediately, some safety equipment for mining which is also very important, and a weapon for protection. You also need to eat a lot of food or take occasional naps to gain enough stamina for exploring the mines since it is a very wide area.

Advantages

It produces the fastest and most income for your farm when compared to other professions mainly because it is easy money. If your main aim is to generate as much profit as possible, then this is a good option.

The minerals you find can be used for building purposes, it also makes them a lot more effective compared to other raw materials like clay and stone. 

Getting ore from the mines can be difficult and tedious if you don’t fully understand how the mechanics work. To get a lot of ores/materials from a mine, all you have to do is find a visible gold spot, or dig downwards and hope for the best. The mines only spawn 3 types of minerals, Iron, Copper, and Coal all of which can be sold for $50 each.

Disadvantages

According to statistics, it takes an average of over 10 hours of gameplay in Stardew Valley before a player can afford their first pickaxe upgrade. So the process can take a lot of time, days or maybe weeks, although this is based on if you never sold anything from your farm.

Finding minerals on your first day in the mines is possible, but in some cases, you’ll have to wait way longer than that before you can find anything worthwhile.

Getting minerals can be a bit difficult if you don’t fully understand the mechanics of how it works. To get ores you’ll need to find an area where the minerals spawn.

Gatherer Specialisations

There are 2 possible areas of specialization in the Gatherer profession, which include Botanist and Tracker.

Botanist

This expertise gives you a guaranteed high quality on every material you find except Iridium quality items. As a Forager, this is a huge buff especially if you want to maximize and boost your profits. There is also a 50% chance that your gold will be boosted, and when combined with the Gatherer buff, players can get 2 guaranteed high-quality products for free.

Tracker

Trackers can know exactly where every trackable item is. Although with a perfect understanding of Stardew Valley and its map in general, the Tracker trait might not be useful.

Gatherer – Conclusion

When compared to Botanist, taking the Tracker trait at level 10 isn’t exactly as effective. In hindsight, the Botanist is the best choice amongst the two.

Which Profession Is Better in Stardew Valley: Forester or Gatherer?

When compared with each other, both professions do have their standout traits and perks.

Comparison

Forester	Gatherer
At level 5, there is a 50% increase in the worth of woods.	You can gain a 20% chance for a double harvest at level 5.
At level 10, Tapper’s syrups become worth 25% more.	At level 10, you gain the highest quality of foraged items if you have the Botanist traits.
Lumberjack chop down trees with their ax.	Trackers at level 10 can find foraged items by using the tracking tool.

However, the question still stands, which of these two professions is the best? My thoughts on both are;

the Gatherer is best if you have the patience to wait until level 10 for the Botanist trait. You get the best raw materials at the highest quality. Players also tend to find a lot of useful items in this profession.

While

the Forester is great if you have enough dedicated time to cut down a lot of trees for wood. If you are using the forest map, then this profession helps you with about eight renewable large stumps which produce hardwood.

Forester Vs. Gatherer – The Bottom Line

Despite all that, the Gatherer profession is by far the best going into the late game, especially when combined with the Botanist specialization. It gives you a lot of high-quality resources and generates enough useful profits.