In Stardew Valley, there are many different locations you can visit, but most are not open to the player immediately. The majority of the time, you must do something special to get to special areas, such as forming a close friendship with someone or beating enough floors in the mines. You need a skull key to access one of the endgame places, so don’t worry about finding it until you’ve beaten a lot of the game.
The Skull Key is used to unlock the Skull Cavern in the Calico Desert.
To access the Calico Desert, you must unlock the area from the bus stop. Complete the Vault Bundle at the Community Center or buy the Bus Repair for 40,000g at Joja Mart to unlock the Calico Desert. Another bonus to getting the Skull Key is that the Saloon has an arcade machine called Junimo Kart that you can play after obtaining the Skull Key. Junimo Kay is near another arcade machine, Journey of the Prairie King, on the far right of the room.
Upon beating the Progress Mode, you’ll receive a console version of the game that you can place in your home.
How to get the Skull Key in Stardew Valley
We recommend leveling up your Combat Skill and Mining Skill to 10 before even attempting to get the Skull Key. You can find a Skull Key on floor 120 in the mines, the lowest floor. When you’ve cleared all the mines, you’ll find the Skull Key waiting for you. The Skull Key unlocks the Skull Cavern, a more challenging version of the mines.
Each time you start in Skull Cavern, you will always start at the top. There is no fast traveling in Skull Cavern. There is a much higher probability of getting rare drops in Skull Cavern than in the normal mine in town, so you should use it if you want more rare loot. Most players use bombs to clear the paths at Skull Cavern since they are faster and don’t waste energy with the pickaxe.
If you plan to explore it, make sure you have lots of healing items with you. There is no bottom floor in Skull Cavern, so don’t bother trying to complete it. As soon as your food runs out or it’s getting dark, you’ll need to start to leave.
Be careful in the cavern, as fainting will cost you 1000G, some items, and your weapon. If you pass out, make sure you at least make it outside the mines.
