Is Panning Worth It In Stardew Valley?

There are plenty of ways to spend time in Stardew Valley, and plenty of tools to use during that time. The standard tools - pickaxe, watering can, axe, and hoe - are all given to the player right away, while some tools, like the pan, have to be unlocked by finishing major quests. By completing the Fish Tank bundle in the Community Center, players will unlock panning.

This special tool allows you to find valuable ores in nearby waters without having to delve into the Mines. Despite how exciting panning sounds at first, constantly searching rivers and lakes for extra ore doesn’t usually pan out. SInce Stardew Valley's 1.6 update added a few more features to pans, the activity has gotten slightly better, but still not quite worth dedicating time to on a lucky day.

How Panning Works

Collect Ore Without Running Into Monsters

After the glittering boulder has been removed by the Junimos, you can acquire the pan by heading to the mountains to trigger a cutscene. There, Willy will speak to the player about shimmering light in the lake and how that indicates ores in the water. After speaking, he’ll give the player a copper pan so they can try their hand at it.

To pan, you will just need to find shimmering spots in the water just like the one Willy pointed out. The spots will randomly spawn, usually with a sound effect like something being dropped in the water. All players need to do is equip their pan and click on the spot to pan for ore.

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The main purpose of panning in the water is to gather ore without having to head down into the Mines, but it can also supply gems and special items. Most of the time, with a base copper pan, panning will turn up copper, gold, and iron ore, though there is a very small chance to get iridium ore.

Should You Be Panning In Stardew Valley?

Time Panning Would Be Better Spent Elsewhere

Panning is one of the least useful activities in Stardew Valley. It requires a fair amount of luck to turn up anything good, but any good luck days and buffs are more useful in the Mines. As of update 1.6, panning has been dramatically improved, but that doesn’t mean it’s much better than taking a pickaxe into the Mines to hunt for rare ores.

Before update 1.6, panning wasn’t worth the time. However, now that so many different items can be found in the rivers, lakes, and oceans, keeping an eye out for shimmering water can be worth it. Now in 1.6, players can find clothing, furniture, artifacts for the museum, bone fragments, and mystery boxes. The pan can also be upgraded, which increases the chances of spawning another pan spot and increases how many ores can be found from one attempt.

Because of this buff to panning, and the special items on Ginger Island, it’s worth a player’s time to have a pan on hand but not to spend too much time on it each day.

Panning around Pelican Town might add an extra ore or two to storage, but it could turn up rarer items on Ginger Island. By panning on the Ginger Island, players can find the fossilized tail near the dig site river or collect taro tubers everywhere else on the island.

Because of this buff to panning, and the special items on Ginger Island, it’s worth it to have a pan on hand but not to spend too much time on it each day. Thankfully, the pan doesn’t need to take up an inventory slot since it can be worn as a hat. The fact that the pan doesn’t have to take up precious inventory space, alongside the Stardew Valley 1.6 buffs, makes it worth it to pan, though any high luck days would still be better spent in the Mines.