Hey everyone, Elias here from RivalSector. One of my favorite things about Disney Dreamlight Valley is just living there. You are not just visiting a Disney theme park, you are building a community with some of the most iconic characters ever created. But building that community means building relationships, and in game terms, that means leveling up your Friendship. Getting everyone to level 10 can feel like a serious grind, especially with new characters arriving all the time.
I have spent hundreds of hours in the Valley, maxing out every single character from Mickey to the residents of Eternity Isle. Through all that time, I have figured out the absolute fastest and most resource-efficient ways to get those friendship hearts filled. It is not just about randomly handing out flowers, there is a clear hierarchy and a strategy to it. This guide will break down my entire process, turning your friendship grind into a streamlined daily routine so you can unlock those sweet rewards and quests faster than ever.
Why Friendship Even Matters in Dreamlight Valley
Before we dive into the “how,” let’s quickly cover the “why.” Leveling up your friendship with a character is one of the most important progression systems in the game. It is not just for show, the rewards are tangible and incredibly useful.
Each time you level up a character, you unlock new items. These range from Star Coins and unique Motifs for the Touch of Magic system to exclusive furniture and clothing items themed around that character. But the biggest prizes are the final ones. Reaching level 10 with a character unlocks their ultimate friendship reward, which is usually a standout cosmetic item, and more importantly, it completes their personal quest line. These quests are the heart of the game’s story, revealing more about each character and how they fit into the world.
Beyond the collectibles, there is a huge gameplay benefit. When you assign a character a role like Mining or Gardening, their effectiveness increases as their friendship level does. A level 10 Mining buddy will shower you with extra gems, while a level 10 Gardening buddy can multiply your crop yields exponentially. Maxing out at least one character for each role is essential for efficient resource gathering.
The Friendship XP Hierarchy: Your Daily Priority List
Not all friendly interactions are created equal. Some actions give a massive burst of experience, while others provide just a trickle. To be efficient, you need to tackle them in the right order. This is the exact priority list I use every single time I log in for a session.
- Daily Discussion: This is your number one priority. The first time you speak to a character each day, you can choose the “Let’s chat!” option. This simple action provides a solid, free chunk of friendship XP. It takes seconds to do and is the easiest boost you will get. Make a habit of greeting everyone as soon as you start playing.
- Giving the Three “Favorite Things of the Day”: This is the single biggest XP gain you can get. Each day, every character has three specific items they would love to receive. Giving them these items results in a massive friendship boost. We will break this down further in the next section because it is that important.
- Serving Meals at Chez Remy: If you have unlocked Remy and his restaurant, you will notice villagers periodically visit to eat. If you enter the kitchen and serve them the specific dish they have ordered, you get a very nice friendship increase. Always check who is in the restaurant when you pass by.
- Hanging Out: Asking a character to hang out and then performing their assigned task (like mining with a mining buddy) grants small but consistent bits of friendship XP for every action. This adds up significantly over time.
- Gifting Other Items: Once all the daily bonuses are exhausted, you can still raise friendship by giving characters any gift. This is the slowest method, but it is unlimited, making it perfect for grinding out those last few levels.
Mastering the “Favorite Things of the Day”
If you ignore everything else in this guide, do not ignore this. Giving a character their three favorite daily gifts is the cornerstone of fast leveling. You can see what these items are by navigating to the “Characters” tab in your Collection menu, selecting a villager, and looking at the bottom right corner of their page.
These three items are randomly selected each day and can be anything from a specific gem, a flower, a foraged material, or, most commonly, a cooked meal. The XP you get from these is huge compared to a regular gift.
My strategy is to check this list first thing. If the requests are simple, like a Peridot, a White & Red Hydrangea, and a plate of French Fries, I gather those items immediately and deliver them. If a request is for a complex 5-star meal and I do not have the ingredients, I will often skip that specific gift for the day. It is better to deliver the two easier items for a big boost than to spend an hour hunting for a rare fish for a meal. Always prioritize what is easy to get first. This daily task alone will have you leveling up characters at an incredible pace.
The Gift-Giving Grind: What to Do When Dailies Are Done
So, you have had your daily chats and delivered all the favorite items you can. Now what? This is where the grind begins, but we can make it a smart grind. You can give a character an unlimited number of gifts per day, but the XP gains are much smaller. The key is to gift items that are abundant and easy to acquire. Do not waste your hard-earned resources.
Here is a breakdown of the best items to use for gift spamming, from best to worst.
| Gift Type | Acquisition Method | My Strategy & Notes |
| Flowers | Foraging in any biome. They respawn quickly. | This is the undisputed king of grinding. Flowers are literally free, infinite, and everywhere. I have dedicated storage chests just for holding stacks of every flower type. When I need to grind out a level, I just grab a few stacks and hand them over. It is mindless, but it is the most efficient use of your time and resources. |
| Shiny Gems | Mining mineral veins with a Mining buddy. | When you are out mining for iron or gold, you will inevitably get shiny gems as a bonus from your buddy. These give a fantastic amount of friendship XP. I never sell them, I save them all specifically for gifting. |
| Regular Gems | Mining mineral veins. | Regular gems are more common but still provide a very solid XP boost. They are a great second choice after you have used up your shiny variants. |
| Cooked Meals | Cooking at any stove. | A 5-star meal gives a great boost, but it is very resource-intensive. I only gift meals if it is a “Favorite Thing of the Day” or if I have a massive surplus of ingredients, like from a huge pumpkin harvest. Otherwise, stick to flowers and gems. |
| Foraged Fruit | Picking from bushes and trees. | Gifting things like apples and raspberries gives a tiny amount of XP. I only recommend this if you are a brand new player and have absolutely nothing else. You are better off using fruit for cooking or eating it for energy. |
My core gameplay loop involves actively using a Mining buddy. This way, I am earning Star Coins from selling regular gems while stockpiling all the shiny gems for gifting. Then, I make quick runs through the different biomes to pick up flowers to top off my gift chests. This ensures I always have a massive supply of free, high-value gifts ready to go.
Final Thoughts
Leveling up friendships in Dreamlight Valley is a marathon, not a sprint, but you can definitely speed up your pace. By following this hierarchy, you can maximize your daily gains and make every interaction count.
To summarize my process: Start your day by talking to everyone. Then, check the “Favorite Things” list and deliver as many of those as you can. Keep an eye on Chez Remy and serve any patrons. For the rest of your session, ask a character to hang out and do activities that match their role, especially mining to get those valuable gems. Finally, when you want to power through a level, open up your flower chest and start gift spamming.
Following these steps will get you to level 10 with all your favorite characters in no time, unlocking all the amazing quests and rewards the Valley has to offer.What are your go-to methods for leveling up friendships? Do you have a specific item you love to gift? Let us know in the comments below! For more deep dives like this, be sure to check out our Gaming Insights category at RivalSector.
