Although not necessary to play the game, raising your friendship level with characters in Stardew Valley will trigger heart events and earn you great rewards in the form of recipes, gifts or the chance to date and marry a resident. Alex, the grandson of George and Evelyn, is one character players can befriend and possibly marry. Through his heart events, you have the opportunity to help him deal with the struggles of trying to be a pro gridball player and cope with the loss of his mother.
Raising your friendship level with Alex is achievable by completing any quests he posts on the Help Wanted board or giving him gifts, especially on his birthday. However, seeing Alex has no story-specific quests, just the randomly generated requests for items. It can be time-consuming to wait for him to request items, so gifting him objects is the quickest way to advance your friendship.
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Ideal Gifts
In terms of the best gifts to give to Alex to advance your friendship, they can be somewhat more difficult to obtain and heavily involve cooking. Under the Love category, which scores you the most friendship points (80), there are only two options: a Complete Breakfast or a Salmon Dinner. If you have any of the Universal Loves, such as a Golden Pumpkin, these can also be gifted.
Alex also likes anything from the Universal Likes list, but any of these are only worth 45 friendship points, a large drop in points and a slower friendship process. The easiest to obtain are Flowers (except Poppies), any Fruit Tree Fruits or all Artisan Goods.
Two Hearts
When you’ve reached a two heart friendship with Alex, head to the beach on a sunny summer day when he is there. You find him playing with his gridball. He greets you and tosses you the ball. After you fail to catch it, he laughs and says how it was a good attempt.
He then reveals he wants to become the first professional gridball player from Stardew Valley and asks you what you think his chances are. Neither of the dialogue options ”I Believe in you!” or ”Wow, you’re really arrogant” affects the friendship or any further heart events.
Four Hearts
Upon reaching a four heart friendship with Alex, enter the town any day between 9 am and 4 pm. You find Alex next to the dog pen near his house, and he speaks to the dog, revealing its name is Dusty. Overhearing how he and the dog have been through a lot and feel misunderstood, you appear from behind the Saloon, and Alex asks what you heard.
Neither of the dialogue options affects your friendship, and Alex goes on to tell you about how he ended up living with his grandparents. He’ll also tell you that his dad was an alcoholic and his mother had passed away. Trying to lighten the mood, the scene ends with Alex showing you what trick Dusty will do for some barbecued steak.
Five Hearts and Six Hearts
Continually working on your friendship with Alex and reaching five hearts will trigger an event next time you enter Alex’s house and he’s there. You find him staring at his bookcase, and he disappointingly says he hasn’t read a single book in it. He also seems worried he won’t get far in life without being knowledgeable and feels worthless. Selecting the dialogue ”That’s Crazy. You’re a genius!” will not affect the friendship, but selecting ”We all have our strengths and weaknesses” will earn you 50 friendship points. The dialogue option ”Worthless?” will lose you 50 points, but Alex asks you to have dinner to discuss philosophy after any of the options.
When you’ve reached six hearts with Alex, enter his house when he’s there. He seems disheartened about his future and expresses his doubt about going pro as a gridball player. However, he thanks you for sticking by him and apologizes if he was ever rude. You can provide some words of encouragement for him, which he appreciates, and he begins working out harder.
Eight Hearts
The eight heart event with Alex can be triggered either by visiting the beach on a sunny summer day or visiting the Ginger Island resort when he is there. You sit next to him on the beach and find he is crying as he tells you this is the day his mother died 12 years ago. He’s upset he could never thank her properly for her care and plays a music box that belonged to her. As the music plays, a scene plays where Alex’s mother is cradling him.
He asks you what you’re thinking and but none of the dialogue options have an effect on the relationship. The scene ends with both of you walking back to town, and he nervously asks you to keep it a secret he was crying.
Ten Hearts
After giving Alex a bouquet, reaching a 10 heart status will trigger a heart event where he sends you a letter to meet him at the Saloon after dark. Enter the Saloon between 7 pm and 10 pm any day and you’ll find that Alex has reserved a private room for a date. Depending on if your character is male or female will change Alex’s dialogue, but it has the same premise: he’s had feelings for you since the day you met but didn’t know how to go about confessing them.
In the dialogue that follows, you can either return Alex’s feelings or reject them, but neither option affects the friendship, and you can still technically progress to the 14 heart event.
Fourteen Hearts
The 14 heart event with Alex will only trigger under certain conditions. Exit the farmhouse when married between 6 am and 8:20 am on any day but Sunday. If you’re in your second year or later, you must have 5000g available to give him.
Alex will ask you for the funding for a special project that will be available to view on Sunday. Enter the Saloon on Sunday to find Alex and a few of the town’s residents watching gridball in the backroom, which has now been decorated. Alex realizes that he may never go pro in gridball but is happy that the town can now enjoy the sport the way he does. The event ends with the characters talking about their new tradition. This will be the last major cutscene with Alex.
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