Stardew Valley’s Maru is a kind soul who happens to be a bit of a genius if that robot of her’s in anything to go by. She also has a keen love for astrology, no doubt her love of science comes from her dad. As a sweet, caring, and bright girl, you might find yourself drawn to Maru, be that purely for friendship or something more. Either way, knowing her favorite gifts and movies can help your relationship blossom, as can knowing what to say during her heart events.
Like many Stardew Valley characters, Maru has ties to various residents, though the main ones are Stardew Valley’s Demetrius, Stardew Valley’s Sebastian, and Stardew Valley’s Robin, who are her father, half-brother, and mother, respectively. There’s also Stardew Valley’s Harvey, who’s not only her boss but an apparent love interest should you not pursue a romantic relationship with Maru yourself.
Here’s everything you need to know about Stardew Valley’s Maru:
What are the best Stardew Valley Maru gifts?
Two sayings come to mind regarding gifts for Maru, and they contradict each other; ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ and ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend.’ Basically, she likes the pretty things you may expect a girl to enjoy while also appreciating things most other villagers would be offended to receive.
| Reaction | Gift |
| Love | Universal loves, gold bar, diamond, battery pack, cheese cauliflower, iridium bar, pepper poppers, miner’s treat, rhubarb pie, strawberry, dwarf gadget, radioactive bar, cauliflower |
| Like | Universal likes (except maple syrup, honey, and pickles), copper bar, quartz, chanterelle, radioactive core, morel, iron bar, magma cap, oak resin, purple mushroom, pine tar |
| Neutral | Universal neutrals (except truffle), all eggs (except void egg), all milk, all fruit (except strawberry, crystal fruit. Fruit tree fruit, salmonberry, and blackberry), ginger, leek, winter root, daffodil, hazelnut, wild horseradish, dandelion |
| Dislike | Universal dislikes (except gold bar, pine tar, battery pack, dwarf gadget, iron bar, oak resin, copper bar, iridium bar), common mushroom, salmonberry, blackberry, maple syrup, crystal fruit |
| Hate | Universal hates (except radioactive bar and radioactive ore), pickles, truffle, holly, snow yam, honey |
What are Stardew Valley Maru’s heart events?
As with any singleton in Stardew Valley, Maru has a fair few heart events for you to get through, many of which revolve around her work and hobbies. If you want to romance her, make sure you pick the right options, which usually involves being a good, honest person.
| Event | How to trigger |
| Two hearts | You need to enter the carpenter’s shop while Maru is there. You see her and her dad testing oil samples. When she goes to get more samples, Demetrius tells you he wouldn’t want anything getting in the way of Maru’s bright future, and you have two options when Maru returns: -Say nothing -Say her dad was being weirdNo matter what, your friendship with Maru is fine, but telling her Demetrius is being weird costs you 100 friendship points with him while saying nothing rewards you with plus ten points |
| Four hearts | You need to enter the clinic while Maru is there. This startles her and causes her to drop the glass beaker she’s holding. In a panic, she asks you what she should do as she’s worried about how Harvey will react, and you have three options: -Tell her he won’t know the difference if she scoops it off the floor -Tell her to tell Harvey it’s your fault -Tell her to be honestThe first two options result in you losing 20 or 50 friendship points, respectively, while the third option rewards you with an additional 50. No matter what, your friendship with Harvey isn’t affected |
| Six hearts | Go to the mountain between 9pm and 11:40pm on a sunny day. Here, you find Maru looking through her telescope. She encourages you to look through her telescope and tell her what you see. You have two options: -say it’s a beautiful planet -claim it’s a cold, dark abyssUnsurprisingly, going for the second option removes 30 friendship options, while seeing the beauty in space rewards you with 30 |
| Eight hearts | Go to the carpenter’s shop while Maru is there. She shows you a project she’s been working on, but after she asks you to put your hand on it for a demonstration, it electrocutes you. Maru treats your burn and apologizes. You can give two different reactions: -say it’s alright and that the burn doesn’t hurt -tell her she should be sorry and that it does really hurtBeing a good sport about everything rewards you with 30 friendship points, while laying on the guilt takes away 50 |
| Ten hearts | Go to the carpenter’s shop while Maru is there. She takes you to her workshop, where she shows you the robot she’s created. After a bit of conversation, you get four different options on how to respond: -Say you’re impressed -Tell Maru she should have made the robot her slave -Ask if her dad is okay with you two now -Stare at her and say nothingThe best option is to say you’re impressed, as it rewards you with 50 friendship points, while the last two have no impact on your relationship. However, telling her she should have made the robot her slave costs you 50 points, though you can get those back if you follow up with the following: -Say the robot is machinery designed to act like a human -Say you were jokingBoth of those options give you the 50 friendship points back. You do have a third option here; you can say that you’d make the robot work on the farm, which costs you an extra 50 points, meaning you lose a total of 100 friendship points with Maru |
| Group ten hearts | You need to go through the ten hearts event with all of the bachelorettes and then go to Stardew Valley Haley and Stardew Valley Emily’s house to trigger a cutscene (completing Haley’s ten hearts even automatically loads this cutscene). One of two things will happen: -If you have a rabbit’s foot in your inventory, the girls will gossip about Stardew Valley Lewis’ and Stardew Valley Marnie’s relationship -If you don’t have the rabbit’s foot, the bachelorettes will tell you off for dating them all at the same time, resulting in the silent treatment for a weekAfter the week is up, all interactions and dialogue return to normal, so there’s no permanent damage done |
| 14 hearts |
There are two parts to this event. The first requires you to enter the farmhouse between 6:10am and 5pm on a non-sunday, non-winter day. Maru tells you about a rare astronomical event happening the following night, asking you to meet her there. That leads to the second part: you need to go to the mountains between 10pm and 1am on a sunny day. You stargaze together and see a comet. She tells you to make a wish and wants to know what you’ll ask for. There are three options: No matter what you choose, it has no impact on your friendship with Maru |
What are Maru’s favorite movies and concessions?
Going to the movies with Maru is nice and easy, there isn’t a single film she doesn’t like, and only three concession items she doesn’t enjoy.
| Movie | Concession | |
| Love | Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World, Wumbus | Stardrop sorbet, star cookie |
| Dislike | N/A | Jojacorn, Joja cola, black licorice |
| Like | The Zuzu City Express, The Miracle At Coldstar Ranch, The Brave Little Sapling, Journey Of The Prairie King: The Motion Picture | Everything else |
Can you marry Stardew Valley’s Maru?
Yes, you can marry Maru in Stardew Valley. However, as is the case with any blossoming relationship in Pelican Town, you need to reach eight hearts with her and then offer her a bouquet. After that, it’s a case of nurturing your love until you get to ten hearts; this is the threshold to give a mermaid’s pendant, the item that symbolizes engagement in Stardew Valley. Remember, you need to upgrade your farmhouse at least once and have access to the Tide Pool area of The Beach before you can pop the question. Following your engagement, you get married three days later.
With that, you know all of the important details about Stardew Valley’s Maru. If it’s just a friendship in your future with her, maybe give our Stardew Valley Elliot or Stardew Valley Abigail guides a read to see who else is open to a relationship.