Alright, folks, figured I’d share my dumb experiment with lightning rods in Stardew Valley today. Seriously, those suckers baffled me forever. Where do you plop ’em down to actually get batteries?
So here’s what went down:
First off, I built like five rods – needed more ore, cursed at Clint while crafting – you know the drill. Placed ’em all randomly across my messy farm near the cabin because, duh, easy access. Thought rain would be my friend.
Wrong. Total flop. Days of thunderstorms rolled through Pelican Town… and zip. Zilch. Nada. Maybe got one battery pack? I started suspecting Pierre sold me knockoffs.
Got fed up. Started googling – apparently, WHERE you put these metal sticks actually matters. Who knew? The game doesn’t exactly shout it at you. Decided I needed a plan, not vibes.
Trial Run Phase 1:
Slapped three rods down right in the middle of my open farmland where crops are. Figured wide open sky? Easy lightning? Big open space? Seems logical.
- Outcome: Got hit with storms two days later. Checked rods… ONE measly battery pack. Ugh. Felt like getting ripped off by Joja.
Trial Run Phase 2:
Moved ’em all. Crawled up the mountain area near Robin’s place. Found a flat spot below the little summit pond thing. Plonked three rods there. Also tossed two more into the Quarry that morning because, why not? Rocks weren’t doing much.
- Outcome: Next big thunderstorm came. Stomped up to the mountain spot first. JACKPOT! All three rods blinking! Grabbed THREE batteries! Did a little happy dance right in front of Linus’ tent (sorry, Linus).
- Ran to the Quarry next. Both rods had zapped a battery too! Total haul? FIVE batteries in one storm! Best day ever!
Trial Run Phase 3:
Got cocky. Wanted to max it out. Built 10 more rods (that copper grind, seriously). Followed the pattern:
- Mountain Top Zone (near the little pond/lake above Robin’s): Packed like 6 rods there.
- Quarry: Slammed in another 4.
- Regular Farmland: Left my original lone rod near the house as a sad control group.
Waited for storms like Willy waits for a rainy fishing day. Got two big ones back-to-back.
- Mountain Top Zone: Hit 90% of the time! Like magic. Six rods gave me five or six batteries consistently per storm.
- Quarry: Solid again! Four rods? Got three or four batteries each time.
- Regular Farm? That control rod? Still pathetic. Maybe one battery per three storms. Useless.
The Big Reveal:
Yeah, location ain’t just fluff. Higher, rockier ground = lightning magnet. Like Grandpa’s shrine area? Open Quarry tiles? GOLD. Wide open grass on my farm? Seems obvious, but the lightning just ignores it like Marnie ignoring the shop counter!
Funny side note? My ex once told me I waste time chasing pixels like these batteries. That’s why she’s my ex, and I’m here drowning in batteries. Karma.
So there you have it, learned it the hard way with lots of cursing and ore farming. Want max battery drops?
- Cluster your rods up on the Mountain by the little pond/lake thing below the summit. That spot’s on fire.
- Fill empty spaces in the Quarry. It loves striking metal among rocks.
- Forget wide open farm grass. Lightning apparently hates it. Stick to the high, barren spots.
Now my chests are overflowing with batteries. Making iridium sprinklers like they’re going out of style. Next experiment? Figuring out why Abby eats rocks. Peace out.
