Summary

• There are a plethora of unnerving monsters lurking around the caves in Stardew Valley.
• While most are easy to defeat, a good portion of them are intimidating to face off against.
• Tackling the scarier ones is a daunting task for those looking to complete certain challenges or achieve perfection.

Though new mastery system in place), some of the monsters waiting in the various levels of the mines, Skull Cavern, and the Volcano Dungeon are no joke.

Of course, players will acquire various swords and weapons to use to their advantage when facing off against these foes, but even some of the most experienced players will find themselves quickly overwhelmed by swarms of some of the most unassuming monsters. Only confident farmers can survive their way to floor 100 of Skull Cavern — and the challenges only get harder from there.

10 Cave Flies (Mines)

A Small But Deadly Nuisance

Though cave flies quickly become one of the least-threatening monsters players face off against in the mines, they incite fear in new players (or those starting a new save file). The buzzing of the cave flies off in the distance before they fly toward the farmer can immediately put them on edge, especially when they have nothing but the Rusty Sword to defend themselves with.

A foe that requires the player to stop what they're doing if they don't want to end up at Harvey's Clinic.

Though they only have a measley 22 HP, the Rusty Sword only deals two to five damage per hit, making them a foe that requires the player to stop what they're doing if they don't want to end up at Harvey's Clinic in the early days of their save file.

9 Mummies (Skull Cavern)

Attack With Bombs Or They Won't Die

For those who are just beginning their venture into Skull Cavern, mummies are a particularly annoying foe to deal with. Though they're not threatening on their own, killing them is incredibly hard unless the player has a bomb ready. Mummies need to be knocked down first, during which time they'll lay immobilized on the floor of the cavern — but they're not dead yet. Without being properly executed, they'll stand back up at full health and return to their pursuit of the player.

Players then have to use a bomb to actually kill them, reducing the resources that otherwise would be dedicated to gathering ore and finding ladders and shafts to make their way further down. Though the mummies can drop a variety of useful items, like Solar Essence and Prismatic Shard, they require a lot of resources to successfully defeat.

8 Magma Sprites & Magma Sparkers (Volcano Dungeon)

Dont´t Let Them Surround You

The Magma Sprites and Magma Sparkers may not seem like formidable foes, but when multiple of them swarm a player, it's easy to fall to them. The Volcano Dungeon doesn't have a significant number of menacing enemies for players to battle as they make their way to the Forge on floor 10, but the Magma Sprites and Sparkers can easily stop a player in their tracks. As a flying enemy, it's really easy for them to swarm the player, and one that's not prepared may find themselves easily overwhelmed.

As a flying enemy, it's really easy for them to swarm the player.

The burnt debuff also deals some significant disadvantages to the player if they're hit by the Sparker. The player's attack and defense are reduced by three levels, while their speed is reduced by two for six seconds. Depending on how many of these flying fireballs are around, this could be the deciding factor as to whether or not the player es out before making it through the floor.

7 Spiders (Mines)

They Don't Take Damage While Jumping

The spiders don't show up in the mines until the Shrine of Challenge is activated, and they're much more dangerous than the common house pest. They often spawn in large numbers and are immune to damage while they jump (which they do often to move toward the player), requiring a bit more strategy than most monsters to defeat them.

Because of this, a player who doesn't have a particularly powerful weapon equipped may find themselves overwhelmed. Also, spiders on their own are already creepy -- and adding them to an otherwise relaxing game feels cruel.

6 Iridium Golem (Wilderness Farm)

Always Provide Level Matched Combat

Iridium Golems are only available as a monster to those who chose the Wilderness Farm, but they're constantly a threat to players. Though the other golems have a cap for their strength, the Iridium Golems are the only ones that will consistently scale to the player's combat level, meaning they'll never be particularly easy to defeat. Though they don't require much strategy to eliminate, they do require constant diligence when a player is doing deeds around their farm.

5 Squid Kid (Mines)

Slingshot Them Cause It´s Hard To Get Closer

Between their speedy flying ability and their fireballs, the Squid Kid is another enemy that makes certain floors in the mines particularly dangerous. Though they only have one health, getting next to them without taking damage can be difficult. It's one of the only monsters that makes the slingshot feel necessary, which takes up another slot of inventory that could otherwise go to the various treasures and ores hidden within the mines.

4 Haunted Skull (Quarry Mine)

They Surprise Attack And Leave Curses After Death

The Haunted Skull was first introduced to Stardew Valley in the 1.4 update, and will fly toward the player on various floors of the mines and in the Quarry Mine. Not only is it a little unsettling to see a skull with red eyes flying directly toward the farmer, but multiple skulls can quickly swarm a player, overwhelming them. They're periodically found throughout the floor the player is exploring, rapidly gliding toward the player, jaws gnashing; even once they've been defeated, there's always the chance another will fly in from off-screen.

Even once defeated, though, the threat of them is never really gone. Each Haunted Skull has a chance to drop a cursed mannequin, which brings a whole different set of horrors into one's home. Once the cursed mannequin is placed, it's incredibly hard to get rid of — and it'll cause some serious havoc around the farmer's house while it can.

3 Serpent (Skull Cavern)

A Fast Enemy That Requires Good Timing

The Serpent is one of the more menacing enemies players will come across in Skull Cavern, and its screech is particularly unnerving. It's one of the fastest flying enemies, moving in a beeline for the player as soon as they enter a new level of the Skull Cavern. Though it has a larger hitbox than some of the other monsters in the game, if the player swings their weapon too late, they can deal a significant amount of damage in just one hit.

The Serpents also spawn on every level of Skull Cavern, leaving the player constantly on guard when trying to mine some iridium ore. Even once killed, there's always the chance that more will spawn off-screen, ready to fly at the player and cause more damage.

2 Mayor Lewis's Shorts (Mayor's Basement)

A Flying Foe That Doesn´t Take Damage

While not technically a monster in Stardew Valley, Mayor Lewis's shorts are one of the only foes that doesn't take any damage when attacked. Any player daring to venture down into the mayor's basement to reclaim his lucky purple shorts for themselves will have to watch out for the flying foe. Once the shorts are retrieved, another pair comes flying toward the player off-screen, dealing damage every time it makes with the player.

There is no way to stop it from attacking the player.

The only way to stop oneself from ing out is to make one's way back through the maze or use a warp totem to leave the basement. There is no way to stop it from attacking the player, meaning they'll have to make sure they have enough health points to take the hit if they're determined to get a pair of the lucky boxers for themselves.

1 Royal Serpent (Skull Cavern)

The Multiple Tale Segments Multiply It´s HP

While the Serpent on its own is a particularly scary monster, the Royal Serpent is even worse. This monster only spawns when the player is doing the Skull Cavern Invasion quest, upping the danger players face on every floor. The Royal Serpents have multiple tail segments, and every additional tail segment adds 50 HP to its base 150 HP — meaning they'll require quite a bit of sword skill to reliably defeat. Even the most seasoned of players can still easily fall to these enemies.

What's worse is during the Skull Cavern Invasion quest, it's incredibly likely a player will have to fight off multiple Royal Serpents at once. The Royals Serpents still screech just like the base Serpents do, adding an additional level of paranoia to every Skull Cavern level the play ventures through. Between their threatening length and insistence on beelining right at a player as soon as they enter a new floor, these are easily the most unnerving monster in Stardew Valley.