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Stardew Valley Combat Professions

Both level 5 picks and all four level 10 picks for the Combat skill, with what each one actually does.

Combat is the only skill where a profession changes your maximum health, and that is easy to miss on the level-up screen. Fighter grants +15 health alongside its damage, and Defender grants another +25. Scout, Brute, Acrobat and Desperado grant none.

How you level it: Fighting monsters. Some levels also raise your maximum health.

The level 5 choice: Fighter is the general pick, and it carries +15 health with it, which Scout does not. Scout is a build choice: it only pays off if your weapon and rings already push your critical strike chance up.

If you take Fighter at level 5

Fighter

Level 5

All attacks deal 10% more damage.

It also grants +15 maximum health.

Then at level 10 you choose between

Brute

Level 10

Deal 15% more damage.

It multiplies with Fighter rather than adding to it, so the two together are 1.10 x 1.15, not 25%.

Defender

Level 10

+25 maximum health.

Which to take: Brute is the pick for clearing the Skull Cavern faster. Defender is the pick if dying on floor 80 is what actually costs you runs, and the health is worth more than the damage on a deep dive.

Fighter is a level 5 Combat profession.

If you take Scout at level 5

Scout

Level 5

Critical strike chance increased by 50%.

The increase multiplies your existing chance rather than adding 50 percentage points to it. A weapon with a 2% critical chance goes to 3%.

Then at level 10 you choose between

Acrobat

Level 10

Cooldown on special moves cut in half.

Desperado

Level 10

Critical strikes are deadlier.

Critical strikes do double damage.

Which to take: Desperado is the one that follows from taking Scout, since doubling critical damage only pays once critical hits land often. Acrobat affects the special move on a sword or club, which is a small part of most fights.

Scout is a level 5 Combat profession.

You can change your mind later

Donate 10,000g and pick one skill. That night you get its level 5 screen again, then its level 10 screen. Your existing bonuses drop the moment you choose a skill to change, and sell-price bonuses will not apply to anything already sitting in the shipping bin that day. The Sewers

Frequently asked questions

Fighter or Scout?

Fighter for most players. Its 10% damage applies to everything you swing, and it carries +15 maximum health, which Scout does not. Scout raises critical strike chance by half, but half of a small number is still small: a weapon with a 2% critical chance goes to 3%. Scout only pays off on a build that has already stacked critical chance through rings and a weapon that favors it.

Do Fighter and Brute add up to 25%?

No. They multiply, so the pair works out at 1.10 x 1.15 rather than 1.25. The difference is small but the wording invites the wrong sum.

Brute or Defender?

Brute if the Skull Cavern is taking too long and you want to clear floors faster. Defender if dying deep is what actually ends your runs. +25 maximum health on top of Fighter's +15 is a large share of your total, and a run that survives is worth more than a run that killed things quickly.

Acrobat or Desperado?

Desperado, if you took Scout. Doubling critical damage is the payoff that makes the Scout branch worth taking at all. Acrobat halves the cooldown on the special move your sword or club has, which is a small part of most fights.

How much health can professions give me?

Fighter gives +15 and Defender gives +25, so the Fighter into Defender path is +40 in total. Every other combat profession grants no health at all.