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The Skull Cavern is the second mine you can unlock in Stardew Valley and one of the best places to find Iridium, the most valuable ore. Unlocking the Skull Cavern will require you to not only complete the first mine found in the Mountains, but you will also need to complete one of the Community Center bundles or unlock via the Joja Mart development form.
How to unlock the Skull Cavern
The Skull Cavern is located in the Desert, but it also requires a special key to open it. The Skull Key can be found on floor 120 in the mines, which is the final floor of the mines. You unlock an elevator stop every five floors, so you will eventually make your way to the bottom.
With the Skull Key, you will need to repair the bus, which can take you to the Desert. There are two methods of repairing the bus. The first is by completing the Vault bundles in the Community Center. The Vault is unlocked by completing four bundles from other parts of the community center. The Vault bundles don’t require specific items, but instead require a large amount of money. There are four bundles, totaling 42,500G. The second method is to outright buy it for 40,000G via the Joja Mart development, if you are doing that quest line.
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After completing either method, the bus will be repaired overnight. Pam is the bus driver and will arrive at the Bus Stop at 10 AM most days. A ticket to the Desert costs 500G, but it does include the return trip. The entrance to the Skull Cavern is located in the northwestern part of the Desert, near a small pond.
The Skull Cavern serves as a bottomless, randomly generated mine that offers large amounts of Iridium, especially as you get deeper. Since it is bottomless, you don’t unlock elevator checkpoints and must start at floor 1 every time. It also features some of the toughest monsters in the game, so you will need to be prepared before exploring.
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