Stardew Valley tips and tricks: Best crops, how transfer PC save to mobile

It’s time to get agricultural on Android! Stardew Valley is now available for Android phone and tablets (and supported Chromebooks) via the Google Play Store for the one-off price of $7.99.

With the exception of the multiplayer co-op mode, the smash hit indie farming sim for PC and console is an almost identical game on mobile devices. You can read our in-depth thoughts on the mobile version in our Stardew Valley review!

In this guide we’ll talk about how to play Stardew Valley, while also sharing the best Stardew Valley tips and tricks to help you and your farm thrive.

How to transfer Stardew Valley save file from PC/Mac to Android

Returning players from PC/Mac can easily transfer save games to mobile with just a few simple steps.

First off you’ll need to find your existing save file.

• On PC open File Explorer and type the following into the address bar: %AppData%\StardewValley\Saves
• On Mac open Finder > Go > Go to folder and then type the following: ~/.config/StardewValley/Saves

What you’ll find on either platform is a folder (or multiple if you have various saves) with your Stardew Valley character’s name and a bunch of numbers. Make a copy of this folder and all of its contents. Plug your Android device into your computer via a compatible USB cable and change the MTP USB notification status to Transfer files.

Access your phone’s internal storage in Devices and drives on PC or by using the Android File Transfer app on Mac. You’ll then want to copy and paste your duplicate save folder into the folder marked “StardewValley” which will be in the root menu of your phone/tablet’s storage. If this folder doesn’t appear you can fix this by quickly starting and quitting a new game on the mobile version.

Now when you next boot up the game you should see your PC/Mac save game on your mobile device!

Choose the best crops

While there are plenty of ways to make money in Stardew Valley your primary source of income for most of the game will be crops. Knowing which seeds to plant to get the largest returns in gold usually takes some trial and error, but we’ve got a cheat sheet to help you out.

The best crops in Stardew Valley change between seasons and there’s no point planting summer seeds in spring as they just won’t grow at all. Eventually you’ll want to make sure you’re using preserves jars and kegs to create jellies and juices out of your produce to make even more money, but if you’re selling them raw here are the best crops to plant in each season:

• Best Spring crops — Strawberry (seeds only available during Egg Festival), Cauliflower, Potato, Rhubarb (bought from Oasis shop)
• Best Summer crops — Blueberry, Starfruit (Oasis shop), Melon, Hops, Red Cabbage (second year only)
• Best Fall crops — Rare Seed (bought from Gypsy Wagon), Cranberry, Pumpkin, Grape

Plan out each season (and the years ahead)

If you want to maximize your profits in Stardew Valley you can’t just plant seeds recklessly.

Each season lasts 28 days in-game and once the weather changes any crops you have will wither and die immediately. As some crops take not just days but weeks to grow and harvest, there’s no point planting a seed that’ll take two weeks to bear fruit if you’ve only got a couple of days until the next season arrives.

Instead, you’re much better off saving those seeds for the following year. One major example, as noted above, is Strawberry seeds.

Strawberries are far and away the best Spring crop, but you can only buy them at the Egg Festival. Because this falls later in the season you’ll only have time to plant and harvest one strawberry crop. However, if you have some spare cash you can stockpile strawberry seeds for year two for an absolute windfall of gold.

How to restore the Community Center

Rebuilding the Community Center is essentially your main goal in Stardew Valley (don’t sell out to Joja Mart, it’s really not worth it!). To do so you’ll need to complete Bundles requested by the game’s tiny bug things, the Junimos, to refurbish individual rooms.

Completing every Bundle is a long road, but you’ll want to prioritize certain rooms and Bundles as not all of the rewards are made equal.

The most important one initially is the Boiler Room repair to get the mine cart back up and running, which lets you fast travel between the Mines, Bus Stop, Quarry, and the right side of the town. Time is precious and skipping between areas leaves you more hours in the day to get other things done.

The Greenhouse can be obtained by completing the Pantry Bundle and this is the best reward in the long-term. Any crops you plant in here will grow no matter what season it is (including Winter!).

The Bus Repair (Vault Bundle) is another key reward as it gives you access to the Oasis where you can buy exclusive seeds.

Talk to your pals and give gifts

Don’t become too obsessed with maintaining your farm. There’s a whole town out there to explore and a bunch of weird and wonderful residents to befriend. You can even start a romance with some characters and, if you’re really into them, get married and start a family.

Aside from the story aspect, getting to know the neighborhood will also net you rewards when you reach higher friendship levels that are delivered straight to your mailbox.

Friendship is measured on a scale represented by hearts, with each villager having 10 hearts in total. If you do decide to get married your spouse will have two extra hearts and filling all 12 nets you a Stardrop which permanently expands your Energy meter.

Increasing the number of hearts with each villager is as easy as talking to them and giving them gifts — just be sure to give them gifts that they actually like (the ever-helpful Stardew Valley Wiki has a full gift guide). You’ll also get bonus Friendship points if you give a villager a gift on their birthday which you can check on the calendar outside Pierre’s Store.

Go to bed on time

Don’t stay up past your bedtime! It may be tempting to burn the midnight oil (especially when you’re making good progress in the Mines), but if you don’t hit the hay at an appropriate time your energy recovery for the following day will take a huge hit.

As long as you get to bed before 12PM you’ll wake up with a full energy bar, but beyond that you’ll be penalized. If you don’t go to sleep by 2AM you’ll pass out completely and wake up with only half your usual energy.

Choose your Professions wisely

Stardew Valley has a few RPG-lite elements, including a leveling system for your avatar’s five skills — Farming, Mining, Foraging, Fishing, and Combat.

Each skill will reward new items and improve your abilities at each level up to a max of level 10. At level 5 and level 10 you’ll also have to choose one of two professions which provide significant passive boosts.

You should choose your Profession perks based on what suits your play-style. For example, at level 5 Fishing you can pick between a 25 percent increase in sale costs for fish or a reduction in materials needed to craft crab pots. If you’re not interested in setting up crab pots then opt for the Fisher profession, or vice versa.

If you end up changing your mind later you can switch professions by visiting the Statue of Uncertainty once you’ve gained access to the Sewers. This costs a whopping 10,000g, however, and you can only reset one profession each day.

Watch the TV

What’s the most important thing to do when you wake up in Stardew Valley? No, it’s not brushing your teeth or having a wash, it’s turning on the TV to see what’s on!

As weird as this sounds, the TV is incredibly useful. As well as foraging tips and cooking recipes, the TV also lets you know what your Luck will be for the day. This impacts all kinds of things in Stardew Valley, including the chance to double harvests, get treasure while fishing, and find rare items in the Mines.

The TV will also let you know what the weather will be on the following day. It’s helpful to know when rain is due so you can plan ahead accordingly, especially if you’re thinking of handing in your watering can to be upgraded.

Only upgrade your tools when appropriate

Speaking of upgrading your tools, don’t give one to the blacksmith unless you’re absolutely sure you’re not going to need it. If it’s going to rain then that’s a great time to give your watering can a boost, but if you’re in for a dry spell your crops won’t thank you if you can’t water them.

You should also prioritize the pickaxe, axe, and watering can over your other tools as you’ll be using these the most in the first year or so.

Surviving the mines

Stardew Valley is a mostly peaceful experience, but that can’t be said of the Mines. The Mines are a series of randomly generated dungeons full of precious ore and gems. Unfortunately, they’re also teeming with monsters that will attack you on sight.

Your descent through the Mines will take you from the top floor all the way down to the very bottom at floor 120. You will reach the next floor by finding a ladder which is usually hidden under a rock somewhere. The further you get the better the rewards, but the enemies will get much stronger as you go.

Time is against you as you’ll still need to make it out and get back home to bed before the day is over. If you pass out in the Mines you’ll also lose most or all of the valuables you’ve gained and if you’re unlucky a key tool. Progressing through the Mines will take many trips as after every five floors you’ll unlock a shortcut via the elevator at the top.

Combat in Stardew Valley is a fairly basic slash-until-dead affair, but on mobile this becomes a little more tricky. The default controls will cause you to auto-attack when near a foe, but you can and should experiment with different control schemes for combat. Auto-attack works fine against low level beasties, but tougher enemies require more finesse.

You should always bring food with you when plotting a trip to the Mines. Having a spare meal on hand to replenish your health or energy can be the difference between reaching another milestone or having to cut a hasty retreat.

You can also make use of your crafting menu in the Mines. Bombs are great a clearing an area of rocks if you’re struggling to find a ladder. If you have 100 stone on hand you can even build a one-off ladder as a last resort to reach the next level.

That’s it for our Stardew Valley tips and tricks! Do you have other advice to share with your fellow farmers? Let us know in the comments.