Game Tips - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Overview

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a life simulation game without traditional combat. The following tips cover all major gameplay systems, organized into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Use the markdown headings and bullet points as a reference.

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Beginner Tips

1. Pay Off Your First Loan as Soon as Possible

Tip: Focus on selling fruit, fish, and bugs to Tom Nook to pay the 5,000 Nook Miles initial loan. Use Nook Miles to buy a flight ticket, then sell resources from the mystery island.

Why: Unlocking the tent upgrade to a house gives you more storage and the ability to craft tools.

2. Always Carry a Net and Fishing Rod

Tip: Keep a net and fishing rod in your inventory at all times. Use them to catch fish or bugs as you encounter them. This builds Bells and museum donations quickly.

When: Any time you're walking around the island.

3. Shake Trees Every Day

Tip: Stand in front of a tree and press A to shake it. You may get 100 Bells, a piece of furniture, or a wasp nest. Always hold a net before shaking, and if wasps fall, immediately mash A to catch them.

Why: Free Bells and items. Wasp nets sell for 2,500 Bells each.

4. Plant Non-Native Fruit Trees

Tip: When you visit a mystery island or receive fruit from another player, plant them on your island. Non-native fruits sell for 500 Bells each (vs. 100 for native).

When: Early game, to maximize profit from fruit trees.

5. Donate the First of Everything to the Museum

Tip: Blathers will accept one of each fish, bug, fossil, and sea creature. After donating, he will open the museum. Donating also gives you Nook Miles.

Why: Unlock the museum, which adds to your island rating and provides a place to display collections.

Exploration Tips

1. Use Nook Miles Tickets to Visit Mystery Islands

Tip: Buy Nook Miles Tickets from the Nook Stop terminal (2,000 Nook Miles each). Use them at the airport to visit randomly generated islands.

Why: Each island has unique resources – non-native fruit, flowers, new bugs and fish. Also, you can recruit villagers from mystery islands if you have an empty plot.

Advanced: Only mystery islands have a chance for tarantulas or scorpions (seasonal). You can force spawn them by clearing the island of all trees, rocks, and flowers.

2. Explore the Entire Island Every Day

Tip: Walk every part of your island, including beaches, cliffs, and hidden areas. Check for new fossils, message bottles on the beach (recipes), and glowing spots (buried Bells).

When: Daily, after 5 AM reset.

3. Dive in the Ocean for Sea Creatures

Tip: Obtain a wet suit from Nook's Cranny and swim in the ocean. Look for bubbles to dive for sea creatures. These are worth many Bells and fill the museum.

Advanced: The Gigas Giant Clam sells for 15,000 Bells; learn its fast shadow and signature shape.

Resource Management Tips

1. Hit Rocks Correctly

Tip: When hitting a rock, dig two holes behind you before swinging the shovel. This prevents you from bouncing back and ensures you hit the rock 8 times, yielding maximum materials (stones, clay, iron, gold). Do not eat fruit before hitting – eating fruit will break the rock, giving only one material.

When: Daily, for resource farming. Iron nuggets are critical for upgrading Nook's Cranny.

2. Save Wood and Iron

Tip: Store wood, stone, clay, and iron in your home storage. Use them for crafting tools, furniture, and infrastructure. Don't sell raw materials early; they are more valuable for progression.

Advanced: Once you have a good stock, craft hot items for double profit (see Nook's Cranny daily hot item).

3. Plant Money Trees

Tip: When you find a glowing spot on the ground, use your shovel to dig up 1,000 Bells. Then, take 10,000 Bells from your wallet and bury them in the glowing hole. In a few days, a tree will grow that bears 30,000 Bells (three bags of 10,000).

Advanced: Burying more than 10,000 Bells has a chance to triple the planted amount, but it's not guaranteed. For guaranteed profit, always bury exactly 10,000 Bells.

Economy Tips (Bells)

1. Sell Non-Native Fruit and Crafted Items

Tip: Non-native fruit sells for 500 Bells each. If you have a lot of non-native fruit trees (e.g., 10 apple trees), you can harvest 300 fruit every 3 days (150,000 Bells). Also, craft hot items (listed at Nook's Cranny) for double sell price.

When: Harvest fruit every 3 days, check hot item daily.

2. Turnip Stalk Market (Buy Low, Sell High)

Tip: Every Sunday morning (until noon), Daisy Mae sells turnips for 90-110 Bells each. Buy as many as you can afford. Then, check Nook's Cranny at different times of day for good sell prices (80-660 Bells). Use online turnip price calculators or visit other players' islands with high prices.

Why: The Stalk Market is the fastest way to make millions of Bells.

Advanced: Turnips spoil after one week (next Sunday). Do not time travel backward or forward more than a day – they will rot.

3. Sell High-Value Fish and Bugs

Tip: Some fish and bugs sell for high prices. Examples: Oarfish (9,000 Bells), Coelacanth (15,000), Golden Trout (10,000), Tarantula (8,000), Giant Stag (10,000). Catch these when in season and sell to Flick or CJ for 1.5x bonus.

Advanced: Wait for Flick (bug collector) or CJ (fish collector) to visit your island. Sell your stored bugs and fish to them for 50% more Bells. Place bugs and fish outside your house to save storage until they visit.

Island Building and Design Tips

1. Unlock Island Designer Early

Tip: Achieve a 3-star island rating by planting flowers, trees, placing furniture, and inviting villagers. After K.K. Slider's first concert, you get the Island Designer App, allowing you to build paths, cliffs, and waterways.

When: Focus on decorating your island once you have the app.

2. Use Paths and Fences to Control Flower Growth

Tip: Place paths or clear areas where you don't want flowers to spread. Flowers can overgrow, especially in rainy weather. Use fences to contain flower breeding areas.

Advanced: To breed rare hybrid flowers, plant them in a checkerboard pattern and water them daily (or ask others to water – higher chance of hybrid with 5+ visitors watering).

3. Terraforming Tips

Tip: Plan your island layout before using the Island Designer. Use graph paper (digital or physical) to sketch cliffs, rivers, and building locations. It's easy to get overwhelmed. Start with small changes (e.g., create a waterfall or a pond).

Why: Efficient planning saves time and resources. Remember: you cannot place buildings on cliffs without ramps or inclines.

Villager Relations Tips

1. Talk to Villagers Daily

Tip: Interact with your villagers each day. They will give you gifts, reactions, and sometimes rare recipes. Higher friendship increases the chance of getting a villager photo (a rare item).

When: Daily, ideally after they wake up and before they go to sleep (most villagers are active until 1-2 AM).

2. Give Wrapped Gifts

Tip: Wrap any non-native fruit or iron nugget in gift wrap (buy from Nook's Cranny) before giving to a villager. Wrapped gifts increase friendship points more than unwrapped.

Why: A wrapped fruit (non-native) is the best cheap gift to boost friendship.

3. Send Letters with Presents

Tip: Use the airport or the Nook Stop terminal to send letters to villagers. Attach a gift (e.g., fruit, furniture) to the letter. This boosts friendship significantly.

Advanced: If you want a villager to move out, you can ignore them and hit them with a net (though not necessary). The game uses a random cycle, but ignoring reduces friendship.

Fishing and Bug Catching Tips

1. Use Bait to Spawn Rare Fish

Tip: Craft fish bait (clams on the beach) and throw it into the water to instantly spawn a fish. Use bait at the pier to increase chance of pier-exclusive fish (Tuna, Blue Marlin, Mahi-mahi).

When: Anytime, but best when targeting rare fish during their active hours.

2. Know Fish Shadows and Behavior

Tip: Fish shadows indicate size. Small shadows: common fish. Medium: moderate. Large: rare. Extra large with fins: sharks (southern hemisphere summer; northern summer too). River fish have different patterns; learn to distinguish them by shape and swimming behavior.

Advanced: For the Coelacanth: only appears in rainy weather (any time of year, any time of day) in the ocean. It has a large shadow and is very aggressive – you must be quick to reel it in.

3. Bug Catching Timing

Tip: Most bugs are active during specific months and times. For example, Emperor butterflies (winter, 7 PM-8 AM) sell for 4,000 Bells; Atlas moths (tropical, 7 PM-4 AM) for 3,000; Golden Stags (July-August, 5 PM-8 AM) for 12,000. Use a net and approach slowly when catching tree bugs.

Advanced: Create a man-made bug spawn zone by planting rare flowers (e.g., blue roses) and clearing other spawning surfaces. This will attract high-value bugs like the Golden Stag.

Tools and Efficiency Tips

1. Upgrade Tools as Soon as Possible

Tip: Craft flimsy tools initially, then upgrade to stone/iron tools when you can. Upgrade to golden tools after completing certain milestones (Golden Net: catch all bugs; Golden Rod: catch all fish; Golden Axe: buy 100 saplings from Leif; Golden Shovel: help Gulliver 30 times; Golden Watering Can: achieve 5-star island; Golden Slingshot: pop 300 balloons).

Why: Golden tools are the most durable and have unique effects (Golden Axe never breaks; Golden Watering Can can water 9 squares at once).

2. Use the NookPhone App for Quick Actions

Tip: The NookPhone app has a camera, map, and Critterpedia. Use the map to locate villagers, crafting stations, and stores. The Critterpedia shows fish/bug catch status and availability.

When: Refer to Critterpedia when hunting for specific creatures to know their active months/times.

3. Craft in Bulk

Tip: When you need many items (e.g., fish bait, fences, furniture), craft multiple at once by selecting "Craft x number". This saves time compared to crafting one at a time.

Why: Speeds up resource conversion, especially for daily tasks.

Advanced and Optimization Tips

1. Use Turnips for Massive Profits

Tip: Buy turnips in bulk (e.g., 4,000 turnips at 100 Bells each = 400,000 investment). Use online communities (e.g., Reddit's r/ACTurnips or Discord) to find islands selling at high prices (400+ Bells). Sell quickly to make millions.

Advanced: Combine turnip flipping with Nook Shopping – buy turnips on your island, then visit a friend's island with high sell price. Always check prices twice daily (AM and PM) before selling.

2. Hybrid Flower Breeding

Tip: To get blue roses (the rarest flower), you must follow a complex breeding path. For example, breed red+red roses to get black, then black+black to get hybrid red (which can produce blue). Use online guides for exact combinations. Water flowers daily, and have friends water them for higher hybrid chance (up to 5 visitors = maximum chance).

Why: Blue roses are valuable for selling (1,000 Bells each) and for creating rare flower gardens.

3. Manipulate Villager Move-Outs

Tip: To make a specific villager move out, you can use time travel (set date ahead 15 days, then check; if not desired villager, jump ahead another day) or use Amiibo cards to force specific villagers in/out. The game picks a random villager to move out every 15 days if you have 10 villagers. To keep a villager, talk to them daily and give gifts.

Advanced: If you want a villager to stay, avoid neglecting them. If you want them to leave, ignore them completely (no talking, no gifts). The game may still choose a different villager.

4. Efficient Nook Miles Farming

Tip: Complete Nook Miles+ tasks as many as possible each day. The tasks refresh after each completion, and they often double up (e.g., “Catch 5 fish” and “Catch fish for 2,000 total miles”). Aim to complete all tasks in a session to accumulate miles fast.

Advanced: Use Nook Miles to buy rare items from the Nook Stop, such as the Nook Inc. items, or use them to buy Nook Miles Tickets and turn them into Bells (if you have a high-selling turnip island).

5. Use the Island Designer App Smartly

Tip: When terraforming, use the paths to create visual boundaries. Build cliffs in sections to save time. Use water tiles to create rivers that can be crossed with vaulting pole. Move buildings (via Tom Nook) only after you are sure of placement to avoid spending 50,000 Bells per move.

Why: Efficient terraforming reduces frustration and resource waste.

Special Events and Seasonal Tips

1. Participate in All Seasonal Events

Tip: Events like Bunny Day (spring), Halloween, Turkey Day, Toy Day, and New Year's offer exclusive DIY recipes, furniture, and clothing. Check your Nook Stop for announcements. Stockpile event-specific resources (e.g., eggs for Bunny Day).

Why: Event items are limited-time and can be traded or sold for high Bells after the event.

2. Star Fragments and Zodiac Items

Tip: On clear nights, look for shooting stars. Press A without any tool when you see one to wish. The next day, star fragments appear on the beach. Celeste may visit on such nights, giving you DIY recipes for Zodiac items and the Nova Light. Save star fragments for crafting.

Advanced: Use a star fragment to craft the Wand – allows quick outfit changes.

3. Redd's Art – Buy Only Genuine Pieces

Tip: Crazy Redd visits your island occasionally on his boat (secret beach). He sells art, but some are forgeries. Check for telltale differences (e.g., Mona Lisa has different eyebrows, etc.). Buy genuine art to donate to the museum. Forged art can be sold or placed.

Why: Museum art wing requires genuine pieces. Use online guides to verify authenticity.

Multiplayer Tips

1. Hosting and Visiting Other Islands

Tip: When visiting others, be respectful – don't pick flowers, shake fruit trees without permission, or run through flowers. Use the airport's Dodo Code system to visit friends or random islands. You can also use Local Play if you are near other Switch consoles.

Why: Good etiquette ensures continued cooperation and trading.

2. Trade With the Community

Tip: Use online forums (Reddit, Nookazon, Discord) to trade items, DIY recipes, and villagers. You can also sell turnips on other islands for higher prices. Nookazon is a marketplace that uses Bells or Nook Mile Tickets as currency.

Advanced: Build a catalog of furniture by hosting cataloging parties: each player drops several items, then picks them up and drops again (so others can order them from Nook Shopping).

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Final Thoughts

These tips cover the essential strategies for beginners, intermediates, and advanced players in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Remember: the game is meant to be relaxing, so take your time and enjoy the process. Happy island living!