Maru loves Battery Packs, Diamonds, Cauliflower, Cheese Cauliflower, Gold Bars, Iridium Bars, Radioactive Bars, Dwarf Gadgets, Miner's Treats, Pepper Poppers, Rhubarb Pie and Strawberries. She is the resident inventor and part-time nurse of Pelican Town, so her taste in gifts follows her science and tinkering personality: ores, refined metals and gadgets over flowers and forage. Her birthday is Summer 10, a key date to keep in mind.
You can give her up to 2 gifts per week, plus one on her birthday for a massive 8x friendship bonus. Everything below is accurate for Stardew Valley 1.6.
Maru at a Glance
| Birthday | Summer 10 (8x gift bonus that day) |
| Lives | 24 Mountain Road, the Carpenter's Shop north of town |
| Job | Nurse at Harvey's Clinic (Tuesdays and Thursdays) |
| Family | Demetrius (father), Robin (mother), Sebastian (half-brother) |
| Marriage candidate | Yes |
| Best budget gift | Quartz, free from the mines |
| Best value gift | Battery Pack, renewable and always loved |
Maru's Loved Gifts
These give the highest friendship boost (+80 points, or +640 on her birthday).
| Gift | How to Get |
|---|---|
| Battery Pack | Produced by a Lightning Rod after a storm, or a Solar Panel |
| Cauliflower | Grow in Spring |
| Cheese Cauliflower | Cook: Cauliflower + Cheese |
| Diamond | Mined from gems and geodes, or Mystic Stones (Mines floor 50+) |
| Dwarf Gadget | Artifact found in the Volcano Dungeon and dwarf areas |
| Gold Bar | Smelt 5 Gold Ore + 1 Coal in a furnace |
| Iridium Bar | Smelt 5 Iridium Ore + 1 Coal in a furnace |
| Miner's Treat | Cook: 2 Cave Carrots + Sugar + Milk |
| Pepper Poppers | Cook: Hot Pepper + Cheese |
| Radioactive Bar | Smelt Radioactive Ore (recipe from Qi's Walnut Room) |
| Rhubarb Pie | Cook: Rhubarb + Wheat Flour + Sugar |
| Strawberry | Grow in Spring (seeds from the Egg Festival) |
She also loves every Universal Love: Golden Pumpkin, Magic Rock Candy, Pearl, Prismatic Shard, Rabbit's Foot and Stardrop Tea.
Tip: she takes the leftovers nobody wants. Maru is one of the few characters who loves Radioactive Bar and only likes Radioactive Ore, items most villagers hate. If you are deep into late-game mining, she is the perfect recipient for materials you cannot offload anywhere else.
Maru's Liked Gifts
Liked gifts give +45 friendship points. These are good backups when you have no loved item on hand.
| Gift | How to Get |
|---|---|
| Copper Bar | Smelt 5 Copper Ore + 1 Coal |
| Iron Bar | Smelt 5 Iron Ore + 1 Coal |
| Quartz | Extremely common in the Mines, great early-game filler |
| Radioactive Ore | Dangerous Mines and Qi challenges |
| Oak Resin | Tapper on an oak tree |
| Pine Tar | Tapper on a pine tree |
| Chanterelle | Foraged in Fall, or from the mushroom cave |
| Magma Cap | Foraged in the Volcano Dungeon |
| Morel | Foraged in Spring, or in the Secret Woods |
| Purple Mushroom | Found deep in the Mines |
She also likes all Universal Likes, with three exceptions: Honey, Maple Syrup and Pickles, which she does not care for.
Disliked and Hated Gifts
Disliked (-20 friendship): all Universal Dislikes, except the metal bars, Battery Pack, Dwarf Gadget and resins she likes. On top of that: Blackberry, Common Mushroom, Crystal Fruit, Maple Syrup and Salmonberry.
Hated (-40 friendship): all Universal Hates, except Radioactive Bar and Radioactive Ore. On top of that: Holly, Honey, Pickles, Snow Yam and Truffle.
Truffles are one of the best money-makers from pigs, so it is tempting to hand one over. Do not. Maru hates Truffles. Sell them or give them to Leah, who loves them.
The Best Gift for Maru
The best gift depends on where you are in your save:
- Early game, cheapest: Quartz. You pick up dozens for free in the Mines and it is a reliable +45. Perfect before you have a furnace running.
- Mid game, best value: Battery Pack. Set up a couple of Lightning Rods and every storm hands you free loved gifts, with no farming or cooking required.
- Late game, most convenient: Gold Bar or Iridium Bar. Once your furnaces are running you have a permanent stock of loved gifts sitting in a chest.
Because you only get two gifts per week plus one on her birthday, quality matters far more than quantity. Always spend your two weekly slots on loved items.
Maru's Birthday: Summer 10
Gifts given on a villager's birthday are worth 8x their normal value, which makes Summer 10 the single fastest friendship day of the year for Maru.
- A loved gift on Summer 10 is worth +640 friendship instead of +80.
- One Diamond or Battery Pack on that day moves her nearly 1.5 hearts in one go.
Plan ahead and keep a Diamond or a Battery Pack in reserve for Summer 10. It is worth more than a full week of normal gifting.
Where to Find Maru (Schedule Overview)
Maru splits her time between three main spots, and her routine shifts with the season and the day.
Mornings: In her room or in the lab inside the Carpenter's Shop, north of town.
Tue / Thu: Working as a nurse at Harvey's Clinic, roughly 9am to 4:45pm.
Afternoons and evenings, most days: On a bench near the Community Center or the Saloon, often with Penny.
Clear summer nights: Stargazing through her telescope outside her house, which is also the setting of one of her heart events.
Rainy days: Tinkering indoors in her room or the lab all day.
Fastest way to find her: Catch her at the clinic on a Tuesday or Thursday, or at home in the morning. She stays put for hours in both spots.
Maru's Heart Events and the Right Dialogue Choices
Even-numbered heart levels unlock cutscenes. The right answer adds friendship, the wrong one costs you a lot. Here is the cheat sheet.
- 2 hearts: Enter the Carpenter's Shop. Demetrius is being overprotective. Say nothing (+10 with Demetrius). Do not throw him under the bus.
- 4 hearts: Enter the clinic. Maru drops a beaker. Choose "Tell Harvey it was an accident" (+50). Blaming her or covering it up loses points.
- 6 hearts: Enter the mountains on a sunny night between 9pm and 11:40pm. At her telescope, choose "A beautiful planet" (+30). "A cold, dark abyss" costs you 30.
- 8 hearts: Enter the Carpenter's Shop. Her machine shocks you. Say "It's okay, it doesn't even hurt" (+30).
- 10 hearts: Enter the Carpenter's Shop between 9am and 4pm and meet MarILDA, her robot. Say "I'm so impressed with your inventions" (+50). Any answer supporting the robot's freedom is a safe +50.
- 14 hearts (post-marriage): A two-part comet viewing event. No wrong answers, every wish is friendship-neutral.
Dating and Marrying Maru
- Reach 8 hearts with regular loved gifts and her heart events.
- Buy a Bouquet from Pierre's General Store (250g) and give it to her to start dating.
- Reach 10 hearts, then give her a Mermaid's Pendant (5,000g from the Old Mariner, who shows up on rainy days at the beach once you have upgraded your house at least once).
Once married, Maru moves to the farm, sets up a workshop behind the house, and keeps her clinic shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She regularly leaves you handmade gifts: on rainy mornings expect a Warp Totem, Quality Fertilizer, Refined Quartz, a Gate or a Bomb, and on rainy nights a homemade dessert like Chocolate Cake or Blueberry Tart.
How to Raise Friendship Fast
- Automate her gifts. A single Lightning Rod turns free storms into loved Battery Packs. It is the lowest effort way to keep two loved gifts ready every week.
- Dump your late-game junk on her. Radioactive Bars and Radioactive Ore are hated by nearly everyone, but Maru loves the bar and likes the ore.
- Bank a birthday gift early. Set one Diamond or Battery Pack aside for Summer 10 and cash in +640 friendship.
- Use the Help Wanted board. Maru sometimes posts a request outside Pierre's shop. Fulfilling it grants 150 friendship plus 3x the item's value, far more than a standard gift.
- Talk to her every day. A simple conversation adds a small bump and stops your relationship from decaying. Pair it with your two weekly gifts.
- Skip the flowers and forage. Unlike most bachelorettes, Maru is neutral or negative on foraged flowers and fruit. Stick to metals, gems, gadgets and her cooked dishes.
Quick-Reference: Best Gifts by Availability
| When | Best Gift | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Year 1 | Quartz (mined) | Free, liked, no effort |
| Spring Year 1 | Cauliflower or Strawberry (grown) | Loved, cheap seeds, easy to farm |
| After your first Lightning Rod | Battery Pack | Loved, renewable, zero cost |
| Once you have a furnace | Copper or Iron Bar | Liked, always in stock |
| Mines floor 50+ | Diamond | Loved, easy to stockpile |
| Endgame | Iridium Bar or Radioactive Bar | Loved, max points, nobody else wants them |
| Summer 10 | Any loved gift | 8x bonus, +640 friendship |
The main things to remember about Maru:
What does Maru like the most in Stardew Valley?
Her loved gifts are all worth +80: Battery Pack, Diamond, Iridium Bar, Gold Bar, Cauliflower, Strawberry, Cheese
Cauliflower, Pepper Poppers, Rhubarb Pie, Miner's Treat, Dwarf Gadget and Radioactive Bar. Battery Pack is the
easiest to farm repeatedly.
What is the best cheap gift for Maru?
Quartz. It is a liked gift (+45) that you collect for free by the dozen in the Mines, ideal before you can smelt
bars or cook her loved dishes.
When is Maru's birthday?
Summer 10. Gifts that day are worth 8x normal, so a loved gift grants +640 friendship.
Does Maru like Quartz or Refined Quartz?
Both, but plain Quartz is the more common and reliable pick. Refined Quartz is a Universal Like, regular Quartz
is a specific like at +45.
What gifts should you never give Maru?
Truffles, Holly, Honey, Pickles and Snow Yam, which she hates. Also skip Blackberries, Common Mushrooms, Crystal
Fruit, Maple Syrup and Salmonberries, which she dislikes.
Can you marry Maru in Stardew Valley?
Yes. Reach 8 hearts and give her a Bouquet to start dating, then reach 10 hearts and give her a Mermaid's Pendant
to propose.
