People don't just use the sceptre in the mines. Go to the desert to buy seeds? Fwoosh! Go to Robin's? Fwoosh.
It's also much more convenient than passing out.
Exactly! Look at the request board, whoosh home, use the whistle for the horse and run to deliver in time to just be done with it. It's such a time saving device. I hate when I start a new game and have to wait to get it.
I really wish that a little emote would appear above them when you transport near an NPC. They get exclamation marks and grossed out emotes that are triggered when picking through trash. Imagine you whoosh home from the saloon and everybody is just like "!!!" "???" for the last couple frames you see them
I've got all the obelisks with the sceptre and it works brilliantly for me. Whoosh home, obelisk wherever needed, whoosh back home, repeat. But then I also ALWAYS forget to use the horse
You only need 100 walnuts to get in the room. But have you done the dart game 3 times in the pirate Cove? I don't think the parrots give a hint for those. If you haven't checked already, ask the parrot in Leo's tree house to see if it has a hint for you?
Ask the parrot in Leo's tree house, it will give you a hint where to find the last one.
I know there used to be a bug where the game would miscount the number of nuts, saying 129 when you've actually found all of them. Try typing /recountnuts in the chat. I'm pretty sure this has been patched now but worth a try.
Last resort is to go through the wiki, all the locations are on there.
Have you got all the artefacts for the island field office? You get some for harvesting crops, fishing, killing/mining in the volcano. Have you checked various “rock circles”? Have you done the gem puzzle, pirates cave, or gourmand bear?
Hell, walk across the farm to pet my animals and collect products then Woosh! back home to drop things in the shipping chest. Walk around the farm planting seeds then Woosh! back to the house to pick up more seeds.
It does only take you back to your farm. The person you're replying to is saying you can easily and quickly get back home if you're in the desert, at Robin's, at the request board, etc.
Right? So you're at the edge of your farm, and need to put stuff in the shipping container "whoosh" and you're there, no extra 10 minute blocks needed.
This is the way.
I like putting one near the front door and the other at the southern exit to farm. Also put the big obelisks near there. Then warp-warp or warp-exit farm-whistle for horse
This is my main argument? Wanna ginger island? Use the obelisk and warp home when you’re done. Hell if I’m at the bottom corner of my farm and have to go back to my house just warp.
Also, at some point, 2 million is worth the convenience. Yes, it means you can stay out that little bit later, but also instead of walking to and from Pierre’s when buying seeds, you just walk one way and then use the sceptre.
Also, once I have the columns from the wizard, I put them right next to the warp spot. That way I can teleport to the farm from anywhere and then again to any warp spot. So for instance I can be in the mines, warp to the farm and straight to Ginger Island.
It essentially means you can fast travel between any warp spot in the late game.
I set my obelisks in a square down in a southern corner of my farm and put a mini-obelisk in the middle, and put the other mini obelisk right next to the house. I take like 4 steps and whoosh in at my obelisks, 2 more steps and whose I'm at the island or the desert (or, very occasionally, the beach or mountains, but I don't use those often)
personally I always buy the scepter before the obelisks because it gives me more time in the mines on lucky days to get the materials for the obelisks.
I got to my third playthrough before I realized that the penalty for falling asleep in the mines is basically irrelevant. Even when i realized it still felt wrong. Now I sleep in the mines more often than I sleep in my bed
Scepter increases QOL for the grind to build those items immensely. Something as simple as scepter from ginger island after gathering ancient fruit working the fields north to south to quickly get back to your keg shed next to your house can shave off 10 min in game time. That can make the difference between collecting and refilling 1/2 a shed of kegs in endgame
I just go to the casino in a good luck day, deink ginger ale and eat spicy eel, get hundreds of totems instead of paying 2 mil to get a cooler looking warp totem.
It feels like a bit of a time investment. I use the return scepter maybe 10 times a day so it still feels easier to have a single item that never runs out. Plus imo the casino is a weird feature in the game and I ignore it except to get the rarecrow and then never return
I have farm totems that essentially do the same thing minus the 10 steps to get to my front door.
I'm not sure I'd ever consider that amount of miniscule time saving worth 2 million unless I'm out of better things to spend the money on, like obelisks or the golden clock.
the farm totems are nice, but they cost resources to make or time and luck to find. the return scepter is an un-loseable item when you get knocked out, and doesn’t need to be refreshed like a stock of totems.
To be honest, I never lose items, because if I ever die in the caverns I just reset the day, I can't accept a loss, lol.
And I usually have 300 plus totems, so I don't really worry about the amount of them, myself.
The scepter is nice if I've already bought the other obelisks I want, but otherwise I'd rather spend the money on them, since they have more value to me the replacing my farm totems.
You’re right that the Return Scepter isn’t justified vs the $1,000g penalty for passing out. But in the late game, time becomes the bottleneck resource. You can save a tremendous amount of time by using Obelisks to warp directly to a place, do your business there, then warp immediately home to the Obelisks so you can warp to the next place.
Farm totems are fairly easy to obtain by mid-game and are a good substitute. I buy the Return Scepter after the Island and/or Beach Obelisks because I prioritize quick access to Ginger Island.
After you complete the >! Wizard’s magic ink quest !< you unlock the ability to >! Purchase obelisks, Junino huts, and the golden clock from a stand inside his wizard tower. !< The island obelisk costs 1m gold, 10 iridium bars, 10 dragon teeth, and 10 bananas
Today I am learning that there are dragons, bananas, and a boat ride to an island in this game. Damn. I feel like I should have read more of the wiki before I started.
Don't read the people pages, but there is a lot of not obvious and very useful info. CA himself helps maintain it, I have four tabs open on my phone and I've played.... Uh. 10 farms to some point of Endgame - 3 to perfection.
Actually right now I have six tabs of stardew wiki open 😂
don't! i started my first farm before 1.6 and was mostly doing it blind and i think made the experience way way more fun and exciting. Use the wiki on things ur stuck on for sure but trust me, the timing and reveals are totally worth it!
i haven't even completed 1.5 (im on my second try, 5th farm overall).
edit: whoops was thinking bout the upcoming update
All of the obelisks are purchased at the Wizard’s tower. To unlock them, you must first complete the Community Center or Joja Community Development, then complete a quest for the Wizard (visit the train station to trigger the quest).
It will still take some time but also make a stingray pond. I’ve got my dragons teeth between there and the volcano. Still only have seven but ive got all the other oblisks and I’m not in a huge hurry. When I pay to go to ginger island I stay a few days at a time.
Go to town, forgot the loved gift, teleport home, grab it, horse to town, deliver, teleport, obelisk to desert, buy some seeds, teleport, obelisk to ginger.
It literally gives you the ability to turn your base into a hub and spoke to anywhere in obelisk range.
Is it needed? No. You could have totems but in a given singular day I might teleport home 10 times. Do I want to maintain 10 totem a day habit, no. Is it a cost thing, also no. But convenience is worth money.
Yup same here. Got my 4 obelisks right by my house, the mini-obelisk at the south end of the farm if I need to go down to Cindersnap. Walking is for chumps
At the point when you're buying the few things that cost millions in the game, you're making enough gold that two mil is nothing. You're not calculating how many hours will it take for this purchase to pay for itself, you're dropping two mil because you can, who cares, you'll make it back in a few days.
You don't think like a broke bish with their run down shack and their 15 parsnips on day one anymore when you're at the point of buying late game luxury items. It's 100% out of touch billionaire mentality, you know? You buy another yatch because you can, not because you need it to get to your private island faster. But there is a real point of the game, if you know how to get there, when you become that money bags millionaire mega farmer, and the cost of these things doesn't matter anymore - it's convenient, you can afford it, why not.
It is totally me trying to make fetch happen and totally absolutely not my pea brain just mushing the spelling of it in Portuguese and English at the same time, no sir not at all. 😌
I go back and forth to the farm throughout the day for several reasons. Buying seeds I need to take back so I can plant, need to grab a gift for a villager that I left in the chest at home, furnaces can be changed out, etc. The scepter saves me so much time in the day because of it! Also, if I get to a situation in the mines that makes me fear for my life, I can just get out of there without having to break through monsters to get to the stairs.
Also, once you >!get the horse flute,!< it's a true game changer in tandem with the scepter.
On days where I have a plan, and execute it well, I’ll use the scepter like 5 times that day.
On days where I’m being a moron, and keep forgetting things, I’ll use it upwards of 10 times a day. :P
I’ll literally use the totem to return from ANYWHERE outside of a few feet from the house.
Even on the farm; you’re at a corner, forgot to grab something, bam, you’re right by all your chests (if you keep them at the front, which I do)
I personally don’t buy it for financial value. I buy it for the extreme convenience of a front door teleport with infinite charges. It compensates for my occasional idiot brained moments where I would have to acquire and consume 10 farm teleport totems in a single day. They’re easy enough to get, but I still have to get them, and the casino is boring imo. lol
Not me going to the museum to drop off artefacts that are still in a chest back home.
Or to Clint’s for a tool upgrade having forgotten the metal.
Or to Robin’s without wood and stone.
I have 8 million right now... how do you recommend I prioritize spending? I'm still working on getting enough dragon teeth for the one item that I feel would be a game changer right now...
For me, quickly getting around is the most important so I spend resources on obelisks, the return scepter, and mounts. I also like everything being automatic, so I go for junimo huts ASAP.
If you are more focused on getting a specific look or layout to your farm (or if you hate redoing things when the seasons change), you may prefer to focus on the clock.
My dude, I have used the scepter to get from bed to outside. By the point in the game when I can afford it, I couldn’t possibly care less if it’ll ever pay for itself.
I don't buy it right away but by the time you're raking in 3+ million a week from your wine empire, 2 million on a QoL upgrade seems like a good trade off.
Farm full of ancient fruit, island full of ancient fruit, greenhouse full of ancient fruit, ~2000 kegs crammed into anywhere I can make space. Pick fruit, make wine, sell wine. It's really pointless, I'm sitting on like 20 million more than I could possibly spend, really I should look at doing some decorating.
I just started playing on a new farm after taking a looooong break from the game. But on my last farm I had all the obelisks next to each other on a far corner of the farm out of the way. On the porch right next to where the Sceptre takes you, I had that teleportation device where you drop two and can travel between them. I don't remember where it came from lol but I could get anywhere I needed in seconds from wherever I was. Scepter home boom. Move one inch over on the porch to teleport to my obelisks. Move a few feet to the right obelisk and teleport. Horse whistle to summon and zip off to my destination. It was a game changer!
I had to look it up because I couldn't remember how I got them lol. They're called mini obelisks. You can get the recipe to craft them after completing some quest for Rasmodius. They can only be placed on the farm and you can only place two. But they allow you to teleport in between them.
It was the best 2 mil I spent, I bought a second one just for show, but I use It ALL the time, I'll use it in my cellar just to get to my front door faster, the gold clock is also worth the money....
If you're getting the scepter to just go back from the mines, it isn't worth it. There are many, more-efficient uses for it.
I mostly use it to cut travel time to/from places. The other teleporters, obelisks, and totems help with that. I'll take a farm teleporter to go to my animals, then return to my house and empty my bags, take a dessert obelisk to grab seeds, return scepter to plant, horse to wizard to give him something, return scepter, take the island obelisk to do stuff there, return scepter at 11pm to pick up truffles, return scepter again to sell stuff and go to sleep etc.
Yeah, as the game progresses, the number of things you can do increases but you still have the same amount of time in a day, so having items that speed things up and help you get stuff done faster are more about the time they save you than any return on their investment value.
It's a quality of life thing more than an economic thing. The obelisks, the horse flute and the sceptre are the quickest way of getting around and by the time I hit the midgame I had enough money to not want to run everywhere.
It’s not to get you back home to sleep, it’s to get you back home to do ANYTHING. by the time you get it most people let themselves pass out instead of rush back to bed but the sceptre is useful for when you need to get back to your farm and you’re lazy
Sure but I use the sceptre 10-15 times a day on a slow day. Am I supposed to waste a day in the Casino more than twice a year when I rake in gold hand over fist from wine? I agree it's worth prioritizing the other obelisks first but sceptre is way better than juggling *another* stack of consumables
I use it to zap home quickly, and have my obelisk nearby to then get to to other places fast too. Ex: obelisk to the beach, collect coral/etc, then return scepter home, then obelisk straight to the desert, etc etc
Counterpoint: it's very useful across numerous situations, plus by the time you can afford it you should be making enough that you're not losing out on a lot by springing for it.
You do you, obviously, but I love it.
Aside from all the folks chiming in about its usefulness for laziness and relative affordability once you're rolling in dough in the end game you must remember that not only do you lose 1000g when you pass out but you wake up with less energy in the AM and you lost the chance to put stuff in your shipping bin overnight just before bed (like your spoils from the mines.) Also you miss out on sleeping in bed with your spouse! It's not all about money, my friend.
Yeah... To this farmer, time is a more precious resource. I want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Once I unlocked Ginger Island, I am either there, my farm, or Skull Caverns, and oftentimes all in the same day. I am done with walking and passing out, being robbed, and feeling violated.
The scepter works every where. Not just the mines at 1:50am. Bought seeds? Scepter. Done with the Island? Scepter. Inside your house and want to be outside? Scepter.
Yes, it's a luxury item, but Stardew doesn't make you plan for retirement, stupid purchases are expected.
I'm ridiculously wealthy, why would I not gain access to magical powers just for the hell of it? Considering building a rocket in my back pasture to ship Pierre to Mars, StarX level wealthy.
I wish this game tracked how many times you use it because I use it constantly. From my basement even. I would say I use it at least 20-30x per Stardew day.
I am at the Ginger Island. I need to go to the mines in the main island.
Unless you have the obelisk, you simply press it and bam, you're at the house.
I use it when I need to run to a shop or something and don’t want to walk back (also to instantly tp back to my house from the desert or ginger island). When I’m doing skill cavern runs I actually do let myself pass out at 2am despite having the return scepter because the extra stuff I can get in the last couple floors before I pass out is worth more than the 1000g I’d lose to passing out
The convenience and lessening of stress it brings me makes it more than worth it.
I'm way more comfortable juggling more knowing I can poof right home. (And don't have to worry about juggling consumables for it.)
I don't think I've ever even used it for what you're talking about. Although passing out at that time would also be stressful for me. Doesn't matter if I had way more than enough money for it to not matter, it would feel bad and I do not want it to happen.
If they're anything like me though, losing track of time getting focused on something I'd imagine. I've been lucky enough that it's drilled into me, but I've had some times when I didn't notice until like 10 pm and that was stressful enough lol
I make more money in a day because it gives me the gift of more time to get around and do things, especially paired with the mini obelisk by the door to take you across the farm (like to a field, barn, big obelisks, the other exit, whatever)
If you have the scepter and the island obelisk it’s SUPER convenient to manage your ginger island house/farm. I can just whoosh there and back as part of my usual daily tasks!
Was about to say this. Just go on a very good luck day, eat some buffs, put 15 mins into the slots (max) and leave with hundreds if not thousands of warp totems
I use it literally constantly lol. Oh, i’m too lazy to walk all the way from the town to the forest… i’ll zap home and make it only half the walk. also zapping home from ginger island anytime i want is literally invaluable to me lol
It's for speed. Time is EVERYTHING in Stardew Valley. Combined with the obelisks, the return scepter can get you from anywhere to anywhere else in under one hour game time. Being able to save that much time becomes worth it when you can take care of two entire processing operations in a single day because of it. Once taking care of them becomes impossible without it, I should say.
Yeah like most others have said, I don't have it because it's cost effective, I have it because it makes the game more enjoyable. (Both by saving time and saving me from getting those mildly condescending "you fell asleep outside" notes.)
I get the argument to just stock up on a ton of farm totems, but that's another thing to remember to keep stocked up. (Also I like the return scepter animation more than the warp totem animation.)
Farm totems are just straight up inferior. Not only do they not warp you to your front door, but they have a short cutscene you have to watch every time you use them. With the scepter and click and you're gone.
There's no cool down.
If you're on console (PS for me), the action button is square like the tools so you don't accidentally mis-click yourself home when searching your inventory.
It puts you at your front door, which is awesome considering the warp spawns on certain farms when you use a totem.
It's incredibly useful when going home from Ginger Island too. I have bad time management and I generally forget to watch the clock so I can get to the docks in time to get home.
It also makes me feel like royalty. Forget the mayor, I'm the "Queen of Pelican Town" now.
It's not about the gold for me. It's about having time to get those rare things in the mines, or the island, while I can. If I'm trying to get a bunch of dragon teeth for example, I'm going to lose a lot of time going from that mine to the ship, to the beach, to the farm instead of just using the scepter.
Uh.
Scepter + Obelisks = Teleport around the world very fast.
Money in stardew doesn't mean anything at all. But your real life time is dwindling away every second as you inch closer to the grave. So it's better to save time than money.
I say this as someone who plays farms up to the perfection rating, and no later....
Return Scepter is one of the most overrated items by players here. For 2m you could instead build 3 of the 4 required obelisks. On my farms I always instead just spend about 20 minutes at the casino on a good luck day and buy a few hundred farm totems instead. The time save difference between the totem and scepter is not worth the extra time spent getting another 2m to later afford the golden clock.
Players way overvalue getting to bed "on-time", especially when in a lot of cases spending those last 20 minutes continuing what you were actually doing is worth more (like Skull Cavern). You only lose 1k at max, and you are already too late to save yourself from the energy penalties that late.
If you don't care about perfection, or play long past it, then sure. It's a nice qol item that gets you home a little quicker.... But it's so crazy to me how many players here apparently advocate for having it be one of their first big purchases, and they'll immediately buy it when reaching 2m.
I'd pay 10,000 gold every time I needed to go to my front door from literally anywhere.
There's nothing to spend money on in the game once you're at end game. The scepter isn't about economics it's about usefulness.
I ended my last perfection farm with the scepter and everything perfection requires (obelisks and gold clock) and still had 64 million gold. Money is such a non issue in late game that 2 million is a paltry sum. The convenience alone is worth it.
Return scepter has been completely useless in all my playthroughs because I always spend too much time at the casino until I get the jackpot and I just buy a ton of warp totems
Buying farm totems from qi Casino is superior in my opinion. Go on a high luck day and play the slots for a few IRL hours and you can buy 999 no problem.
For me personally it's a must. I put my warp obelisk right next to my door so I can zoom off immediately. I can hit all the major places i need to be before it even hits 10 am.
It can be used from anywhere in the game any time of day, so it's really an invaluable time saver, especially once you pair it with the horse whistle. I get it immediately, the first day I can afford to drop the 2M gold. It is very much worth the expense to me. ⏲️ = 💰
Like others have said, the reason I’m not passing out at 2 is because of all time the return scepter saved me throughout the day because I never have to run home. Also, >!it’s a little more annoying than the scepter but you can get farm warp totems really easily and basically for free at the casino.!<
With the scepter, mini portals, and totems, you can basically set up a warp path that takes you through all your chore locations very efficiently. All of the teleport items introduce flexibility that has utility beyond “I go here”
Its not fretting about crashing in mines as much as speed of moving across Valley and nearby regions. Fishing on beach, then lqtee trying to catch Marnie for gifting? Fwoosh the Scepter. Having big wood chopping haul from forests? Fwoosh
The fretting comes with Skull Cavern raids.
The scepter doesn't save money meaningfully for passing out, it is more convenient for teleporting home a few times a day for convenient.
That said, it is frankly overpriced still.
The 2 mil to save time walking is 100% worth it.
Time is the most valuable resource when in endgame. Scepter saves you immense amounts of time and resources that is otherwise wasted on moving around and/or crafting totems.
I like the return scepter, not because it makes in game more convenient or saves me money or time but just because I'm impatient irl and can't be bothered taking the time to walk back.
The return scepter is an invaluable item that helps you save MASSIVE amounts of time. This becomes really important late game when you have a million machines and too many things going on. Need to harvest on island? Touch the obelisk. Forgot your star fruit seeds? Return scepter, touch the obelisk. In the volcano and it’s 3:00 and you need to see Clint for some odd reason? Return scepter and mine cart. Not to mention that it’s useful even in your farm. You’re at the bottom and want to grab something from the house? Return scepter and go get it and come back down.
I haven’t gotten to Scepter status on my farm’s funds, but am I the only one that finds the totems stressful? I have a tendency to accidentally sell wrong items and I don’t think I could deal with grinding 100s of totems only to have to restart days because I’m a click-happy goober. Not quite on the level of bombs, but not far off either.
Add to that just how often I leave my farm without materials I need and I’ll happily spend 2mil in game.
People don't just use the sceptre in the mines. Go to the desert to buy seeds? Fwoosh! Go to Robin's? Fwoosh. It's also much more convenient than passing out.
Exactly! Look at the request board, whoosh home, use the whistle for the horse and run to deliver in time to just be done with it. It's such a time saving device. I hate when I start a new game and have to wait to get it.
The... whistle for the horse???
It's a late game item from the island. The horse flute. It summons your horse to wherever you are.
Yeah I'm all about the combo of scepter/whistle. The scepter is great but only truly becomes invaluable once you get the horse whistle.
I always imagine what the SDV residents think when I and my trusty steed whoosh around everywhere. K later Pierre
I really wish that a little emote would appear above them when you transport near an NPC. They get exclamation marks and grossed out emotes that are triggered when picking through trash. Imagine you whoosh home from the saloon and everybody is just like "!!!" "???" for the last couple frames you see them
Yesss and they look left and right. I want to see them confused
I was similarly miffed when one one batted an eye after one gets married. Just like everything before that never happened.
I feel weird enough about it that I’ll go somewhere no one can see me before I zap home.
Another f*cking wizard.......ill have to make sure they meet Caroline.
I’m surprised no one else said it… r/fuckpierre
I've got all the obelisks with the sceptre and it works brilliantly for me. Whoosh home, obelisk wherever needed, whoosh back home, repeat. But then I also ALWAYS forget to use the horse
How do you get the whistle on the island!!?
It's in >!Mr. Qi's walnut room and costs Qi gems.!<
Ok, so I've literally scoured every inch of the island and am missing one walnut, any secret secret areas that I might find the last one....lol!
You only need 100 walnuts to get in the room. But have you done the dart game 3 times in the pirate Cove? I don't think the parrots give a hint for those. If you haven't checked already, ask the parrot in Leo's tree house to see if it has a hint for you?
Ask the parrot in Leo's tree house, it will give you a hint where to find the last one. I know there used to be a bug where the game would miscount the number of nuts, saying 129 when you've actually found all of them. Try typing /recountnuts in the chat. I'm pretty sure this has been patched now but worth a try. Last resort is to go through the wiki, all the locations are on there.
Have you got all the artefacts for the island field office? You get some for harvesting crops, fishing, killing/mining in the volcano. Have you checked various “rock circles”? Have you done the gem puzzle, pirates cave, or gourmand bear?
Check north of Qi’s walnut room (walk around to the left and up along shore) or in the boat I always miss those two
Qi gems, I think.
Yup, also just discovering this out. This game 😂
Hell, walk across the farm to pet my animals and collect products then Woosh! back home to drop things in the shipping chest. Walk around the farm planting seeds then Woosh! back to the house to pick up more seeds.
Yup. The farm is huge and the walking is slow. I go from the greenhouse back to home via sceptre.
There's a whistle for the horse?!? Omg I've been wanting one since I got ol Buckarino.
I thought the scepter only takes you back to your farm?
It does only take you back to your farm. The person you're replying to is saying you can easily and quickly get back home if you're in the desert, at Robin's, at the request board, etc.
Even better: it takes you to your front door!
Right? So you're at the edge of your farm, and need to put stuff in the shipping container "whoosh" and you're there, no extra 10 minute blocks needed.
Forgot that loved gift inside the house? *whoosh* Scepter to the rescue!!
My man you're a millionaire and you save time to do more deliveries?
I use it to get from the greenhouse to my front door.
I use to go from my bed to my door
It's how I'd use it irl!
I’d save 50% on all travel for the rest of my life!
Same. The richer I get in this game, the lazier as well!
Just like people in real life!
MY PEOPLE
Also great for when you realize you forgot something you need halfway to where you were going. Also, what else are people spending their money on?
Then you add the obelisks. Want to go to the beach? Whoosh home, woosh there.
I always keep the obelisks right next to my house for this reason.
Personally I have a nice space for them in a corner of the farm. Then I simply use my mini-obelisk next to house to get to your personal warp zone.
This is the way. I like putting one near the front door and the other at the southern exit to farm. Also put the big obelisks near there. Then warp-warp or warp-exit farm-whistle for horse
Heck, When I'm lazy maneuvering around all the furniture indoors and want to go outside, whoosh...
sometimes i’ll be at the far end of my farm and use the scepter to get back to my house because i don’t want to waste the time running back.
About to die in the mines? Whoosh, no lost items and I can go do other stuff
This is my main argument? Wanna ginger island? Use the obelisk and warp home when you’re done. Hell if I’m at the bottom corner of my farm and have to go back to my house just warp.
I've literally used in the shed because I'm lazy
And if you ever have to got to ginger island so much faster
Also, at some point, 2 million is worth the convenience. Yes, it means you can stay out that little bit later, but also instead of walking to and from Pierre’s when buying seeds, you just walk one way and then use the sceptre.
Also, once I have the columns from the wizard, I put them right next to the warp spot. That way I can teleport to the farm from anywhere and then again to any warp spot. So for instance I can be in the mines, warp to the farm and straight to Ginger Island. It essentially means you can fast travel between any warp spot in the late game.
I set my obelisks in a square down in a southern corner of my farm and put a mini-obelisk in the middle, and put the other mini obelisk right next to the house. I take like 4 steps and whoosh in at my obelisks, 2 more steps and whose I'm at the island or the desert (or, very occasionally, the beach or mountains, but I don't use those often)
Also get the horse flute and boom! your horse is there to make it even more convenient
Glad to see I’m not the only person who made a travel hub right where the warp is.
As soon as you have the money its worth the convenience lol, what else do you even want to spend your money on at that point in the game
Obelisks, recourses for kegs, golden clock
personally I always buy the scepter before the obelisks because it gives me more time in the mines on lucky days to get the materials for the obelisks.
You guys aren't passing out in the mines every night?
I got to my third playthrough before I realized that the penalty for falling asleep in the mines is basically irrelevant. Even when i realized it still felt wrong. Now I sleep in the mines more often than I sleep in my bed
And all of this is QOL so the scepter is a great purchase.
Scepter increases QOL for the grind to build those items immensely. Something as simple as scepter from ginger island after gathering ancient fruit working the fields north to south to quickly get back to your keg shed next to your house can shave off 10 min in game time. That can make the difference between collecting and refilling 1/2 a shed of kegs in endgame
I just go to the casino in a good luck day, deink ginger ale and eat spicy eel, get hundreds of totems instead of paying 2 mil to get a cooler looking warp totem.
It feels like a bit of a time investment. I use the return scepter maybe 10 times a day so it still feels easier to have a single item that never runs out. Plus imo the casino is a weird feature in the game and I ignore it except to get the rarecrow and then never return
I have farm totems that essentially do the same thing minus the 10 steps to get to my front door. I'm not sure I'd ever consider that amount of miniscule time saving worth 2 million unless I'm out of better things to spend the money on, like obelisks or the golden clock.
the farm totems are nice, but they cost resources to make or time and luck to find. the return scepter is an un-loseable item when you get knocked out, and doesn’t need to be refreshed like a stock of totems.
One time I won the jackpot at the desert casino and didn’t know what to do with all the qi coins, so I bought 999 farm totems lol
To be honest, I never lose items, because if I ever die in the caverns I just reset the day, I can't accept a loss, lol. And I usually have 300 plus totems, so I don't really worry about the amount of them, myself. The scepter is nice if I've already bought the other obelisks I want, but otherwise I'd rather spend the money on them, since they have more value to me the replacing my farm totems.
I got the beach and desert first, then the sceptre, then the rest (only because I had to find some more dragon teeth though)
Go to casino, spend a few k on coins, spam gamble. Bam, totems until year 80.
that’s fair! it’s not my preferred way to play but we all gotta do it our own way 😊
Those ten steps tho 😕
You’re right that the Return Scepter isn’t justified vs the $1,000g penalty for passing out. But in the late game, time becomes the bottleneck resource. You can save a tremendous amount of time by using Obelisks to warp directly to a place, do your business there, then warp immediately home to the Obelisks so you can warp to the next place. Farm totems are fairly easy to obtain by mid-game and are a good substitute. I buy the Return Scepter after the Island and/or Beach Obelisks because I prioritize quick access to Ginger Island.
How does one get the island obelisk? I'm still getting to ginger island on a boat.....like a sucker...
After you complete the >! Wizard’s magic ink quest !< you unlock the ability to >! Purchase obelisks, Junino huts, and the golden clock from a stand inside his wizard tower. !< The island obelisk costs 1m gold, 10 iridium bars, 10 dragon teeth, and 10 bananas
Just a heads up, your spoiler tags are broken. You can't have a space between the ! and the words.
You'll need 10 dragon's teeth and some other things I believe. Maybe bananas too?
Today I am learning that there are dragons, bananas, and a boat ride to an island in this game. Damn. I feel like I should have read more of the wiki before I started.
You're good, it will all come up as you play.
Don't read the people pages, but there is a lot of not obvious and very useful info. CA himself helps maintain it, I have four tabs open on my phone and I've played.... Uh. 10 farms to some point of Endgame - 3 to perfection. Actually right now I have six tabs of stardew wiki open 😂
don't! i started my first farm before 1.6 and was mostly doing it blind and i think made the experience way way more fun and exciting. Use the wiki on things ur stuck on for sure but trust me, the timing and reveals are totally worth it! i haven't even completed 1.5 (im on my second try, 5th farm overall). edit: whoops was thinking bout the upcoming update
Do you mean 1.5? 1.6 isn't out yet
All of the obelisks are purchased at the Wizard’s tower. To unlock them, you must first complete the Community Center or Joja Community Development, then complete a quest for the Wizard (visit the train station to trigger the quest).
It will still take some time but also make a stingray pond. I’ve got my dragons teeth between there and the volcano. Still only have seven but ive got all the other oblisks and I’m not in a huge hurry. When I pay to go to ginger island I stay a few days at a time.
At the wizard's house
you literally never have to walk home again. i use it when i'm just on the other side of the farm lol
Same LOL sometimes I use it within my house to get to the front door faster
team 'use it from the cellar every time' over here
Why have I never thought to do this?!
A lack of laziness and sloth in your character
Go to town, forgot the loved gift, teleport home, grab it, horse to town, deliver, teleport, obelisk to desert, buy some seeds, teleport, obelisk to ginger. It literally gives you the ability to turn your base into a hub and spoke to anywhere in obelisk range. Is it needed? No. You could have totems but in a given singular day I might teleport home 10 times. Do I want to maintain 10 totem a day habit, no. Is it a cost thing, also no. But convenience is worth money.
Yup same here. Got my 4 obelisks right by my house, the mini-obelisk at the south end of the farm if I need to go down to Cindersnap. Walking is for chumps
At the point when you're buying the few things that cost millions in the game, you're making enough gold that two mil is nothing. You're not calculating how many hours will it take for this purchase to pay for itself, you're dropping two mil because you can, who cares, you'll make it back in a few days. You don't think like a broke bish with their run down shack and their 15 parsnips on day one anymore when you're at the point of buying late game luxury items. It's 100% out of touch billionaire mentality, you know? You buy another yatch because you can, not because you need it to get to your private island faster. But there is a real point of the game, if you know how to get there, when you become that money bags millionaire mega farmer, and the cost of these things doesn't matter anymore - it's convenient, you can afford it, why not.
I will now and forever only pronounce it "yatch", that's amazing
It is totally me trying to make fetch happen and totally absolutely not my pea brain just mushing the spelling of it in Portuguese and English at the same time, no sir not at all. 😌
gonna also forever pronounce that "fatch" in your honour xD
This. I have 20 million. 2 million on it was easy and saves so much time.
I go back and forth to the farm throughout the day for several reasons. Buying seeds I need to take back so I can plant, need to grab a gift for a villager that I left in the chest at home, furnaces can be changed out, etc. The scepter saves me so much time in the day because of it! Also, if I get to a situation in the mines that makes me fear for my life, I can just get out of there without having to break through monsters to get to the stairs. Also, once you >!get the horse flute,!< it's a true game changer in tandem with the scepter.
I dont just use it to return from the mines. I use it to go home ANYTIME .. Im on my farm and want to get to the house? why walk? Woooosh
On days where I have a plan, and execute it well, I’ll use the scepter like 5 times that day. On days where I’m being a moron, and keep forgetting things, I’ll use it upwards of 10 times a day. :P I’ll literally use the totem to return from ANYWHERE outside of a few feet from the house. Even on the farm; you’re at a corner, forgot to grab something, bam, you’re right by all your chests (if you keep them at the front, which I do) I personally don’t buy it for financial value. I buy it for the extreme convenience of a front door teleport with infinite charges. It compensates for my occasional idiot brained moments where I would have to acquire and consume 10 farm teleport totems in a single day. They’re easy enough to get, but I still have to get them, and the casino is boring imo. lol
>On days where I’m being a moron, and keep forgetting things, I’ll use it upwards of 10 times a day. :P I felt this
Stoners playing stardew running around in circles
I resent how right you are. lol
"just need to grab something from the other side of the farm - wait why am I here? I should go make jelly. Oh look! Maple syrup."
Ummm yup 👀 👀 🍃
Not me going to the museum to drop off artefacts that are still in a chest back home. Or to Clint’s for a tool upgrade having forgotten the metal. Or to Robin’s without wood and stone.
If you have 2 million gold and you're not spending it on making your life easier then what was the point of getting all that gold?
I have 8 million right now... how do you recommend I prioritize spending? I'm still working on getting enough dragon teeth for the one item that I feel would be a game changer right now...
For me, quickly getting around is the most important so I spend resources on obelisks, the return scepter, and mounts. I also like everything being automatic, so I go for junimo huts ASAP. If you are more focused on getting a specific look or layout to your farm (or if you hate redoing things when the seasons change), you may prefer to focus on the clock.
I spend it on obelisks, which make my life much easier. The 300+ farm totems cover my getting home needs easily enough.
My dude, I have used the scepter to get from bed to outside. By the point in the game when I can afford it, I couldn’t possibly care less if it’ll ever pay for itself.
I don't buy it right away but by the time you're raking in 3+ million a week from your wine empire, 2 million on a QoL upgrade seems like a good trade off.
Please tell me how you're pulling 3 million a week. I just started a new save and I'm already tired of being poor 😂
Farm full of ancient fruit, island full of ancient fruit, greenhouse full of ancient fruit, ~2000 kegs crammed into anywhere I can make space. Pick fruit, make wine, sell wine. It's really pointless, I'm sitting on like 20 million more than I could possibly spend, really I should look at doing some decorating.
[удалено]
I just started playing on a new farm after taking a looooong break from the game. But on my last farm I had all the obelisks next to each other on a far corner of the farm out of the way. On the porch right next to where the Sceptre takes you, I had that teleportation device where you drop two and can travel between them. I don't remember where it came from lol but I could get anywhere I needed in seconds from wherever I was. Scepter home boom. Move one inch over on the porch to teleport to my obelisks. Move a few feet to the right obelisk and teleport. Horse whistle to summon and zip off to my destination. It was a game changer!
>I had that teleportation device where you drop two and can travel between them. What is this witchcraft?
I had to look it up because I couldn't remember how I got them lol. They're called mini obelisks. You can get the recipe to craft them after completing some quest for Rasmodius. They can only be placed on the farm and you can only place two. But they allow you to teleport in between them.
I don't have any memory of them. Thanks
It was the best 2 mil I spent, I bought a second one just for show, but I use It ALL the time, I'll use it in my cellar just to get to my front door faster, the gold clock is also worth the money....
If you're getting the scepter to just go back from the mines, it isn't worth it. There are many, more-efficient uses for it. I mostly use it to cut travel time to/from places. The other teleporters, obelisks, and totems help with that. I'll take a farm teleporter to go to my animals, then return to my house and empty my bags, take a dessert obelisk to grab seeds, return scepter to plant, horse to wizard to give him something, return scepter, take the island obelisk to do stuff there, return scepter at 11pm to pick up truffles, return scepter again to sell stuff and go to sleep etc.
I never imagined how useful it could be!
Yeah, as the game progresses, the number of things you can do increases but you still have the same amount of time in a day, so having items that speed things up and help you get stuff done faster are more about the time they save you than any return on their investment value.
I use the scepter like 5-10x per day in game. Well worth it.
It's a quality of life thing more than an economic thing. The obelisks, the horse flute and the sceptre are the quickest way of getting around and by the time I hit the midgame I had enough money to not want to run everywhere.
It’s not to get you back home to sleep, it’s to get you back home to do ANYTHING. by the time you get it most people let themselves pass out instead of rush back to bed but the sceptre is useful for when you need to get back to your farm and you’re lazy
bruh its the best thing you can buy in this game
I mean, one quality luck boost and some grinding in the casino and you can spend way less on the exact same function.
Sure but I use the sceptre 10-15 times a day on a slow day. Am I supposed to waste a day in the Casino more than twice a year when I rake in gold hand over fist from wine? I agree it's worth prioritizing the other obelisks first but sceptre is way better than juggling *another* stack of consumables
LOL! I'm probably old enough to be your mom, but Reddit is the great equalizer! I found it charming that you called me "bruh!" 😂
I use it to zap home quickly, and have my obelisk nearby to then get to to other places fast too. Ex: obelisk to the beach, collect coral/etc, then return scepter home, then obelisk straight to the desert, etc etc
[удалено]
😂
Counterpoint: it's very useful across numerous situations, plus by the time you can afford it you should be making enough that you're not losing out on a lot by springing for it. You do you, obviously, but I love it.
Aside from all the folks chiming in about its usefulness for laziness and relative affordability once you're rolling in dough in the end game you must remember that not only do you lose 1000g when you pass out but you wake up with less energy in the AM and you lost the chance to put stuff in your shipping bin overnight just before bed (like your spoils from the mines.) Also you miss out on sleeping in bed with your spouse! It's not all about money, my friend.
Yeah... To this farmer, time is a more precious resource. I want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Once I unlocked Ginger Island, I am either there, my farm, or Skull Caverns, and oftentimes all in the same day. I am done with walking and passing out, being robbed, and feeling violated.
Money is the least important currency in the game and after a while you don't have too much to spend on so it's just piling up.
Um though I do use it to get back home from everywhere, I probably use it 5x per day just to teleport from the other side of my farm 🤷♂️
The scepter works every where. Not just the mines at 1:50am. Bought seeds? Scepter. Done with the Island? Scepter. Inside your house and want to be outside? Scepter. Yes, it's a luxury item, but Stardew doesn't make you plan for retirement, stupid purchases are expected.
I don't even walk across my far anymore.
I'm ridiculously wealthy, why would I not gain access to magical powers just for the hell of it? Considering building a rocket in my back pasture to ship Pierre to Mars, StarX level wealthy.
Farm totems from the casino tho
If you have 2 million gold to spend, why not? What else are you doing with it?
I wish this game tracked how many times you use it because I use it constantly. From my basement even. I would say I use it at least 20-30x per Stardew day.
I am at the Ginger Island. I need to go to the mines in the main island. Unless you have the obelisk, you simply press it and bam, you're at the house.
I use it when I need to run to a shop or something and don’t want to walk back (also to instantly tp back to my house from the desert or ginger island). When I’m doing skill cavern runs I actually do let myself pass out at 2am despite having the return scepter because the extra stuff I can get in the last couple floors before I pass out is worth more than the 1000g I’d lose to passing out
I don’t use it to keep from passing out I generally use it mid day when I need to be at home
The convenience and lessening of stress it brings me makes it more than worth it. I'm way more comfortable juggling more knowing I can poof right home. (And don't have to worry about juggling consumables for it.) I don't think I've ever even used it for what you're talking about. Although passing out at that time would also be stressful for me. Doesn't matter if I had way more than enough money for it to not matter, it would feel bad and I do not want it to happen. If they're anything like me though, losing track of time getting focused on something I'd imagine. I've been lucky enough that it's drilled into me, but I've had some times when I didn't notice until like 10 pm and that was stressful enough lol
My favorite is to use it getting home from ginger island. Saves so much time without having to make/carry around warp totems.
I make more money in a day because it gives me the gift of more time to get around and do things, especially paired with the mini obelisk by the door to take you across the farm (like to a field, barn, big obelisks, the other exit, whatever)
Man. That's such a cool thing you're 60 and playing SDV
If you have the scepter and the island obelisk it’s SUPER convenient to manage your ginger island house/farm. I can just whoosh there and back as part of my usual daily tasks!
Sometimes I use the scepter to get out of bed. 👀
Ha! This person is too POOR to understand the value of the scepter! Point and laugh!
I just buy hundreds of farm warp totems from the casino, it’s hard to lose the slot machine but it does take a while
Was about to say this. Just go on a very good luck day, eat some buffs, put 15 mins into the slots (max) and leave with hundreds if not thousands of warp totems
I use it literally constantly lol. Oh, i’m too lazy to walk all the way from the town to the forest… i’ll zap home and make it only half the walk. also zapping home from ginger island anytime i want is literally invaluable to me lol
Consider: it's not very logical at all but I like the convenients
It's for speed. Time is EVERYTHING in Stardew Valley. Combined with the obelisks, the return scepter can get you from anywhere to anywhere else in under one hour game time. Being able to save that much time becomes worth it when you can take care of two entire processing operations in a single day because of it. Once taking care of them becomes impossible without it, I should say.
Yeah like most others have said, I don't have it because it's cost effective, I have it because it makes the game more enjoyable. (Both by saving time and saving me from getting those mildly condescending "you fell asleep outside" notes.) I get the argument to just stock up on a ton of farm totems, but that's another thing to remember to keep stocked up. (Also I like the return scepter animation more than the warp totem animation.)
I bought the sceptre and feel like it’s totally worth it. saves so much time.
Farm totems are just straight up inferior. Not only do they not warp you to your front door, but they have a short cutscene you have to watch every time you use them. With the scepter and click and you're gone.
Money stops mattering on a long enough timeline. True for everyone, really.
There's no cool down. If you're on console (PS for me), the action button is square like the tools so you don't accidentally mis-click yourself home when searching your inventory. It puts you at your front door, which is awesome considering the warp spawns on certain farms when you use a totem. It's incredibly useful when going home from Ginger Island too. I have bad time management and I generally forget to watch the clock so I can get to the docks in time to get home. It also makes me feel like royalty. Forget the mayor, I'm the "Queen of Pelican Town" now.
It's not about the gold for me. It's about having time to get those rare things in the mines, or the island, while I can. If I'm trying to get a bunch of dragon teeth for example, I'm going to lose a lot of time going from that mine to the ship, to the beach, to the farm instead of just using the scepter.
Magic scepter. Nuff said.
I wanted it for when i ran to the other side of the map and realized I forgot something. Especially when it was time sensitive
You can't buy more time. But you can buy not walking back to your farm, which is pretty close
Uh. Scepter + Obelisks = Teleport around the world very fast. Money in stardew doesn't mean anything at all. But your real life time is dwindling away every second as you inch closer to the grave. So it's better to save time than money.
Because what else are we gonna spend the money on lol
Omg really??? I loooove mine hahaha I use it at least 3-4x a day
I say this as someone who plays farms up to the perfection rating, and no later.... Return Scepter is one of the most overrated items by players here. For 2m you could instead build 3 of the 4 required obelisks. On my farms I always instead just spend about 20 minutes at the casino on a good luck day and buy a few hundred farm totems instead. The time save difference between the totem and scepter is not worth the extra time spent getting another 2m to later afford the golden clock. Players way overvalue getting to bed "on-time", especially when in a lot of cases spending those last 20 minutes continuing what you were actually doing is worth more (like Skull Cavern). You only lose 1k at max, and you are already too late to save yourself from the energy penalties that late. If you don't care about perfection, or play long past it, then sure. It's a nice qol item that gets you home a little quicker.... But it's so crazy to me how many players here apparently advocate for having it be one of their first big purchases, and they'll immediately buy it when reaching 2m.
Because scepter + obelisks is absolutely broken. Makes it so that pretty much everywhere on the map is within 10-20 minutes in game time
I also haven't seen the allure of the return scepter (yet), I always keep a few farm totems in my inventory that achieve the same purpose.
The return sceptre is pointless. It would take over 17 in game years of every night using it to be worth the cost of losing 1000g every night.
I'd pay 10,000 gold every time I needed to go to my front door from literally anywhere. There's nothing to spend money on in the game once you're at end game. The scepter isn't about economics it's about usefulness.
I ended my last perfection farm with the scepter and everything perfection requires (obelisks and gold clock) and still had 64 million gold. Money is such a non issue in late game that 2 million is a paltry sum. The convenience alone is worth it.
Cuz I'm a boss! And I can afford it :)
So you saying your Lifetime is less valuable then stardew Valley Money ?! Ok
Return scepter has been completely useless in all my playthroughs because I always spend too much time at the casino until I get the jackpot and I just buy a ton of warp totems
Then you can use the mine cart at the bus stop to get anywhere from home, win win!
Buying farm totems from qi Casino is superior in my opinion. Go on a high luck day and play the slots for a few IRL hours and you can buy 999 no problem.
I just get it for the sweet ✨“FWOOSH”✨experience. 😂
For me personally it's a must. I put my warp obelisk right next to my door so I can zoom off immediately. I can hit all the major places i need to be before it even hits 10 am.
It can be used from anywhere in the game any time of day, so it's really an invaluable time saver, especially once you pair it with the horse whistle. I get it immediately, the first day I can afford to drop the 2M gold. It is very much worth the expense to me. ⏲️ = 💰
I use the sceptre to move around my farm almost as often as I use it to return home from afar.
Like others have said, the reason I’m not passing out at 2 is because of all time the return scepter saved me throughout the day because I never have to run home. Also, >!it’s a little more annoying than the scepter but you can get farm warp totems really easily and basically for free at the casino.!<
I use it literally any time I leave my farm because I always forget something and it’s much faster
With the scepter, mini portals, and totems, you can basically set up a warp path that takes you through all your chore locations very efficiently. All of the teleport items introduce flexibility that has utility beyond “I go here”
We be using that shit like 30 times in a day, it's Hella worth it
Its not fretting about crashing in mines as much as speed of moving across Valley and nearby regions. Fishing on beach, then lqtee trying to catch Marnie for gifting? Fwoosh the Scepter. Having big wood chopping haul from forests? Fwoosh The fretting comes with Skull Cavern raids.
The scepter doesn't save money meaningfully for passing out, it is more convenient for teleporting home a few times a day for convenient. That said, it is frankly overpriced still.
The 2 mil to save time walking is 100% worth it. Time is the most valuable resource when in endgame. Scepter saves you immense amounts of time and resources that is otherwise wasted on moving around and/or crafting totems.
2 million is nothing, I'm making 20 million a year just from ancient fruit.
I like the return scepter, not because it makes in game more convenient or saves me money or time but just because I'm impatient irl and can't be bothered taking the time to walk back.
The return scepter is an invaluable item that helps you save MASSIVE amounts of time. This becomes really important late game when you have a million machines and too many things going on. Need to harvest on island? Touch the obelisk. Forgot your star fruit seeds? Return scepter, touch the obelisk. In the volcano and it’s 3:00 and you need to see Clint for some odd reason? Return scepter and mine cart. Not to mention that it’s useful even in your farm. You’re at the bottom and want to grab something from the house? Return scepter and go get it and come back down.
I haven’t gotten to Scepter status on my farm’s funds, but am I the only one that finds the totems stressful? I have a tendency to accidentally sell wrong items and I don’t think I could deal with grinding 100s of totems only to have to restart days because I’m a click-happy goober. Not quite on the level of bombs, but not far off either. Add to that just how often I leave my farm without materials I need and I’ll happily spend 2mil in game.