How to Enchant Weapons & Master Weapon Forging in Stardew Valley

This guide explores the Volcano Forge in Stardew Valley, detailing how to enhance tools and weapons. The forge, located at the end of Ginger Island's Volcano Dungeon, allows players to apply magical upgrades using Cinder Shards and gemstones.

Obtaining Cinder Shards:

Cinder Shards are crucial for all forge functions. Acquire them by:

• Mining Cinder Shard nodes (pink-orange specks) in the Volcano Dungeon (pictured above).
• Receiving them as drops from Magma Sprites, Magma Duggies, Magma Sparkers, and False Magma Caps. Drop rates vary (50%, 40%, 50%, 50% respectively).
• Harvesting them from a fishing pond with 7+ Stingrays (2-5 shards, 7-9% daily chance).

Note: Cinder Shards, unlike gemstones, cannot be replicated in the Crystalarium.

The Mini-Forge:

After achieving Combat Mastery, craft a Mini-Forge (pictured below) for convenient on-farm weapon forging and tool enchanting. Requires: 5 Dragon Teeth, 10 Iron Bars, 10 Gold Bars, 5 Iridium Bars.

Weapon Forging:

Gemstones enhance weapon stats (up to three times per weapon). Each forge level requires more Cinder Shards (10, 15, 20 respectively) and a gemstone:

• Amethyst: +1 knockback per level.
• Aquamarine: +4.6% critical hit chance per level.
• Emerald: +2/+3/+2 speed per level (cumulative).
• Jade: +10% critical hit damage per level.
• Ruby: +10% damage per level.
• Topaz: +1 defense per level.
• Diamond: Three random upgrades (10 Cinder Shards).

Optimal Weapon Upgrades: For maximizing damage, prioritize Emerald and Ruby. For survivability, choose Topaz and Amethyst.

Unforging Weapons: Reset weapons to their original state using the red 'X' in the forge. Some Cinder Shards are returned, but not the gemstones.

Infinity Weapons:

Upgrade Galaxy Sword, Dagger, or Hammer into Infinity Weapons using three Galaxy Souls (20 Cinder Shards per Soul). Galaxy Souls are obtained via Mr. Qi's quests, killing Big Slimes, or the Island Trader (after killing 50 Dangerous Monsters).

Enchantments:

Enchantments add special effects to tools and weapons (requires Prismatic Shard and 20 Cinder Shards). Effects are random but repeatable.

Weapon Enchantments: Artful, Bug Killer, Crusader, Vampiric, Haymaker. Bug Killer and Crusader are generally most effective.

Innate Enchantments: Apply using a Dragon Tooth. One enchantment is guaranteed from each of two sets (see original text for details).

Tool Enchantments: Twelve enchantments exist, each specific to certain tools (see original text for a complete list). Bottomless (Watering Can), Shaving (Axe), and Preserving (Fishing Rod) are often considered highly beneficial.

This updated guide incorporates changes from Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, including the Mini-Forge and expanded enchantment options. Remember to experiment and find the best upgrades for your playstyle.