Stardew Valley Expanded is a huge undertaking of a mod. It brings so much life to the vanilla game that it pretty much has its own community of dedicated fans. It expands the map significantly and adds new recipes, fish, food, farms, events, and so much more. One of the most beloved features of Stardew Valley Expanded is the dedication to NPCs, both old and new, and the addition of new bachelors and bachelorettes.
Magnus was a character that existed in the Stardew Valley vanilla game. He was reasonably fleshed out, being giftable and having several quests vital to the plot, but many players wished they could romance the mysterious man in the tower. Thanks to Stardew Valley Expanded, players can live out their dreams of marrying the Wizard and learn a little more about what brought him to the valley in the first place.
Key Tips for Romancing Magnus
There are a few things players should keep in mind if they want to romance Magnus.
- Magnus' birthday is Winter 17. Giving gifts on villagers' birthdays gives 640 friendship points, the equivalent of two (and a bit) hearts. Each heart represents 250 friendship points.
- Loved, Liked, Neutral, Disliked, and Hated gifts give different amounts of points depending on quality. Loved gifts give 80 points, Liked gifts give 45 points, Neutral gifts give 20 points, Disliked gifts give negative 20 points, and Hated gifts give negative 40 points.
- Gifts give more points depending on quality. If a character likes or loves a gift, Silver quality gifts give 10% more points, Gold quality gifts give 25% more points, and Iridium quality gifts give 50% more points.
- It is possible to get Magnus for the Feast of the Winter Star. If the player randomly gets him as their Secret Friend, that gift will give 5x as many points as usual.
- Magnus can pretty much always be found in his tower, to the east of Cindersap Forest. There are a few exceptions which will be detailed below.
Magnus' Schedule
Magnus' schedule is one of the most simple in the game, as it rarely varies. He can usually be found in various locations in his tower, typically on the carpet in the center of the main room, by the Magic Circle, or in the renovated basement looking at his library. Here are all the important details:
All Seasons
- Monday-Thursday, all day: In the tower.
- Friday, 6:10-1:30: In the tower.
- Friday, 1:30-4:40: Meditating on the cliff outside the tower.
- Friday, 4:40 onwards: In the tower.
- Saturday, all day: In the tower.
- Sunday, 6:10-6:30: In the tower.
- Sunday, 6:30-8:30: Meditating on the cliff outside the tower.
- Sunday, 8:30-10:50: In the tower.
- Sunday, 10:50-1:00: In the garden outside the tower.
- Sunday, 1:00 onwards: In the tower.
Rain
If it rains, Magnus remains in the tower all day, regardless of his usual schedule.
Year 3+ Variations
On Days 2, 3, 7, 13, 18, and 26, Magnus can largely be found in the same place as usual, but he will also be tutoring Morgan in magic.
1st & 15th After Magic Questline
After the Magic Questline is complete, Magnus will meet Camilla in the tower on the 1st and 15th of the season.
The Best Gifts for Magnus
The gifting mechanic in Stardew Valley Expanded remains exactly the same - the fastest way to raise friendship/gain hearts with NPCs. Raising friendship will unlock access to special recipes and, most importantly, gives players access to romance and marriage with prospective bachelors and bachelorettes.
Anything generally mystical will usually be a hit with Magnus. It can be hard to figure out the pattern exactly, but he responds well to Geode Minerals, Potions, or anything in the 'Void' or 'Solar' category. It's best not to bother with monster loot - he likes it more than most townsfolk will, but not enough to justify wasting a potential gift slot on.
Items marked with a * are exclusive to Stardew Valley Expanded.
Loved Gifts
'Ahh, this is imbued with potent arcane energies. It's very useful for my studies. Thank you!'
- All Universal Loves
- Armor Elixir*
- Haste Elixir*
- Hero Elixir*
- Frog Legs*
- Purple Mushroom
- Solar Essence
- Super Cucumber
- Void Essence
- Void Delight*
- Void Salmon Sushi*
- Void Pebble*
- Void Shard*
Liked Gifts
'Many thanks. This item has some very interesting properties.'
- All Universal Likes
- All Geode Minerals
- Aged Blue Moon Wine*
- Blue Moon Wine*
- Big Bark Burger*
- Glazed Butterfish*
- Frog*
- Kittyfish*
- Quartz
Neutral Gifts
'Thank you, this will prove useful, I think.'
- All Universal Neutrals
- All Fruit (except Fruit Tree Fruit and Salmonberry)
Disliked Gifts
'This?... I suppose I'll cast it into the flames and see what happens.'
- All Universal Dislikes (except Geode Minerals, Solar Essence, Void Essence and Super Cucumber)
- Butterfish*
- Chanterelle
- Clownfish*
- Common Mushroom
- Daffodil
- Dandelion
- Ginger
- Hazelnut
- Holly
- King Salmon*
- Leek
- Magma Cap
- Minnow*
- Morel
- Puppyfish*
- Salmonberry
- Slime
- Snow Yam
- Starfish*
- Void Eel*
- Wild Horseradish
- Winter Root
Hated Gifts
'Ughh... These are utterly mundane. Please refrain from bothering me with this in the future.'
- All Universal Hates (except Slime)
- Grampleton Orange Chicken*
- Razor Trout*
- Rusty Blade*
The Movie Theater
In the later game, the player has access to the Movie Theater and can choose to take Magnus to see a movie. The Movie Theater either takes the place of JojaMart if the player takes the Community Center route or can be purchased if the player chooses the JojaMart route. The player can purchase a ticket for 1,000g and go alone if they choose or purchase another ticket for another villager.
To invite a villager to the movies, players should gift the ticket to their selected NPC and go to the Theater on the day the villager suggests, usually the same day. The ticket will be useless on any other day, just like real-life movie tickets. If the player takes Magnus to the Movie Theater, they can receive a huge boost in friendship points depending on the selected movie. Here are all of Magnus' movie preferences.
Loved Movies
- Mysterium
Liked Movies
- None
Neutral Movies
- None
Disliked Movies
- Brave Little Sapling
- Journey Of The Prairie King: The Motion Picture
- Miracle at Coldstar Ranch
- Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World
- Wumbus
- It Howls in the Rain
- Zuzu City Express
Hated Movies
- None
At the Movie Theater, players can purchase certain concessions for the villager they are with for a fee. Depending on the villagers' preference, this can also earn the player a good amount of friendship points. Here are all of Magnus' concession preferences:
Loved Concessions
- Black Licorice (25g)
- Star Cookie (150g)
- Stardrop Sorbet (1,250g)
Liked Concessions
- Cotton Candy (50g)
- Jasmine Tea (50g)
- Ice Cream Sandwich (150g)
- Jawbreaker (250g)
- Rock Candy (250g)
- Salmon Burger (150g)
- Sour Slimes (80g)
Disliked Concessions
- Joja Cola (large) (40g)
- JojaCorn (10g)
- Popcorn (120g)
- Nachos (100g)
- Fries (100g)
- Salted Peanuts (120g)
- Truffle Popcorn (180g)
- Hummus Snack Pack (90g)
- Kale Smoothie (120g)
- Apple Slices (100g)
- Panzanella Salad (200g)
- Personal Pizza (150g)
- Chocolate Popcorn (1130g)
- Cappuccino Mousse Cake (220g)
Magnus' Heart Events
As in Stardew Valley vanilla, heart events are pre-programmed cutscenes that trigger when a player grows close to a particular character by reaching certain heart-level milestones. These heart events are often particularly revealing about the characters' backstories and personalities and can feel particularly personal compared to the rest of the game.
In the case of Magnus, the Expanded mod adds seven new heart events for players to discover, revealing far more about the Wizard than the vanilla game. It should be noted that while these heart events are based on canon information revealed by ConcernedApe, they are not explicitly canon, as this is still a fan mod.
- Two Hearts: Enter Cindersap Forest on a Sunny day in any season, 6AM-6PM.
- Four Hearts: Enter Magus' Tower at any time, weather, or season after receiving a letter about the Shrine of Illusions.
- Six Hearts: Exit Magnus' Tower on a Sunny day in Spring, Summer, or Fall, 6AM-6PM.
- Eight Hearts: Enter Magnus' Tower at any time, weather, or season.
- Ten Hearts: Enter Cindersap Forest during any weather or season, 1:30PM-4:30PM, after receiving a letter from Magnus.
The information about Magnus' Ten Heart event has been taken from the official wiki. However, in practice, some players may have to exit Magnus' Tower at exactly 2:00PM, as his letter specifies.
- Fourteen Hearts (1): At the Farmhouse during any weather or season, 6:00PM-2:00AM. The player must have seen Magnus' ten-heart event and have unlocked the Farmhouse on Ginger Island.
- Fourteen Hearts (2): On Island West (Ginger Island) during any weather or season, 10:00AM-5:00PM. The player must have seen part one of Magnus' fourteen-heart event.
Magnus Post-Marriage
Unlike most spouses, once married, Magnus will not live on the farm full-time. He remains rather busy protecting the valley. He can still be found at his tower Monday-Thursday, following the same schedule as detailed above. Friday-Sunday, Magnus will remain at the farm and behave like a typical Stardew Valley spouse: fixing fences, feeding farm animals, giving the farm pet water, or watering crops. This is unless Morgan has been introduced to the game, in which case he will remain in his tower on certain days for training sessions.
In the morning, when spoken to, Magnus can gift the player a Triple Shot Espresso. In the evening, for dinner, he can gift the Roots Platter, Dish O' The Sea, Tropical Curry, Mango Sticky Rice, or Farmer's Lunch. Occasionally, Magnus will have dialogue that takes about experimenting with baking, and he will gift the Blueberry Tart, Rhubarb Pie, or Chocolate Cake. In the fall, he may gift Purple Mushroom or Chanterelle from foraging.
Like all spouses, Magnus has a custom room in the farmhouse after marrying the farmer, off to the side of the farmer's standard bedroom. This closely resembles the Magic Circles at his tower, with a few books and plants that cannot be interacted with. At events such as the Egg Festival, Spirit's Eve, and the Feast of the Winter Star, Magnus will have custom dialogue with his spouse.
Stardew Valley is available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch, Vita, and Mobile Devices.