Stardew Valley Maru guide

Stardew Valley's Maru is perhaps one of the nicest people to live in Pelican Town, and you'd do well to at least become friends with her, as she's both interesting and a genius. She has a passion for astrology, no doubt getting her love of science from her father. If, after spending time with her, you feel a connection, you might want to have a relationship with Maru, so let's look at how to marry her, as well as her heart events and gifts.

Like many Stardew Valley characters, Maru has ties to various residents, though the main ones are Demetrius, Sebastian, and Robin, who are her father, half-brother, and mother, respectively.

Here's everything you need to know about Stardew Valley's Maru:

What are the best Stardew Valley Maru gifts?

Talk about surprising, it's not every day that you encounter a woman who is just as happy to receive a battery pack as she is a diamond, but Stardew Valley's Maru is clearly an exception. Better still, she's not all that picky, liking and even loving a whole heap of items. Thanks to this, she's among the easiest residents to establish a friendship with, and it can give you a good foundation for a relationship, too.

The best gifts to give Maru are:

• Gold bar, diamond, battery pack, cheese cauliflower, iridium bar, pepper poppers, miner's treat, rhubarb pie, strawberry, dwarf gadget, radioactive bar, cauliflower, copper bar, quartz, chanterelle, radioactive core, morel, iron bar, magma cap, oak resin, purple mushroom, pine tar, all universal likes (except maple syrup, honey, and pickles), and all universal loves

The worst gifts to give Maru are:

• Common mushroom, salmonberry, blackberry, maple syrup, crystal fruit, pickles, truffle, holly, snow yam, honey, all universal dislikes (except gold bar, pine tar, battery pack, dwarf gadget, iron bar, oak resin, copper bar, iridium bar), and all universal hates (except radioactive bar and radioactive ore)

When is Maru's birthday?

Maru's birthday is Summer 10, so we suggest you get her a nice present she'll really like, as you get double friendship points on that day.

What are Maru's favorite movies and concessions?

Maru, will you marry me? Okay, maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but she at least likes every single movie and only dislikes a few snacks; this is a woman after my own heart.

What are Maru's heart events?

Like any other singleton in Pelican Town, Stardew Valley's Maru has her fair share of heart events for you to experience, which can help to strengthen your relationship with her, even if it's platonic rather than romantic. However, you must proceed with caution, as some events require you to make a choice that can either tear you apart or bring you closer together.

• Two hearts
  • Go to the Carpenter Shop when Maru is there. There are two options that can affect your relationship with Demetrius:
    • Say nothing - +10 friendship with Demetrius
    • "Actually, your dad was being weird" - -100 friendship with Demetrius
• Four hearts
  • Go to the clinic when Maru is there. There are options that can affect your relationship with her here:
    • "Just scoop it off the floor. He won't know the difference" - -50 friendship
    • "Tell Harvey it was my fault" - -20 friendship
    • "Tell Harvey it was an accident" - +50 friendship
• Six hearts
  • Go to the mountain between 9 pm and 11:40 pm on a sunny day. Again, there are dialog options:
    • "A beautiful planet" - +30 friendship
    • "A cold, dark abyss" - -30 friendship
• Eight hearts
  • Go to the carpenter's shop while Maru is there. You guessed it, there are options again:
    • "It's okay, it doesn't even hurt" - +30 friendship
    • "You'd better be. This hurts like crazy!" - -50 friendship
• Ten hearts
  • Go to the carpenter's shop while Maru is there. Once again, there are dialogue options:
    • "I'm so impressed with your inventions" - +50 friendship
    • "I'm disappointed… You should have made that robot your slave" - -50 friendship. There are three options to follow this up:
      • "MarILDA's just a piece of machinery designed to act human" - +50 friendship
      • "I was just kidding. MarILDA deserves her freedom" - +50 friendship
      • "I would've put her to work on the farm" - -50 friendship
    • "So is your Dad okay with 'us' now?" - no effect on friendship
    • Just stare at her and say nothing - no effect on friendship
• Group ten heart event
  • 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 event 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 week. After 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. First, enter the farmhouse between 6:10 am and 5 pm on any day that isn't Sunday and isn't in winter
• For the second part, go to the mountains between 10 pm and 1 am on a sunny day. None of the dialogue options here affects your friendship with Maru

What is Maru's quest?

Stardew Valley's Maru has but one quest for you to complete, and all you need to do is find the item that she's after and hand it over to her. For your trouble, you get triple what the item is worth in gold and 150 friendship points to help you strengthen your bond even further.

Can you marry Stardew Valley's Maru?

Yes, you can marry Maru in Stardew Valley. That's right, you really can make this lovely girl your wife, but you still need to go through the same steps as you do with the other singletons in Pelican Town. This means you need to offer her a bouquet when you reach eight hearts, and then give her the mermaid's pendant at ten hearts. But, before you take the leap, you need to upgrade your house and ensure there's space for Maru. After your engagement, you tie the knot three days later.

As is the case with any spouse, you can have two children with Maru. The gender of the first baby is random, but the second is guaranteed to be the opposite of your firstborn. Hopefully, you guys are a happy family; divorce is messy and expensive, even in the world of Stardew Valley. But hey, if things do go south, you can always rely on Stardew Valley's Krobus to become your roommate and babysitter.

When is Maru at Harvey's Clinic?

If you want to pay Maru a visit while she's at work, she's at Harvey's Clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays - she's one of the two people (the other being Harvey) from whom you can purchase medical goods while there. If she's not behind the counter, you're going to have to wait.