Emily shares her top tips for starting out on your own Animal Crossing island…
March 20th, 2020 was a day of celebration for many Nintendo fans, as it saw the release of one of the most anticipated games since the launch of the Switch console: Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Now we all have a bit more time on our hands many new players have joined the AC universe, so I thought it would be useful to create a quick little guide to help new players navigate this wild world!
1. Keep a Stock of Resources in Your House Storage
Especially weeds! When you first get the game, your island is covered in them. They may seem pointless at first, but as you get further into the game you will gain recipes that require them, especially medicine.
Having spare resources also means you can craft replacement tools as soon as they break, as well as being able to craft new recipes straight away. It also means you can craft multiple “Hot Items” the Nooks are asking to buy from you. To find out the daily “Hot Item”, ask the twins or check the notice board outside Nooks Cranny
2. Have Multiple Craft Stations Around the Island.
I have placed a station on both sides of my island. This means I don’t have to run back to my house when I need to rebuild tools or a piece of furniture you want to put in that specific area. What’s nice about the simple craft bench is that it is essentially a tree stump, so it can blend in with the scenery.
prepping areas of land could save you a lot of Bells in moving fees
3. Pre-Plan Where You Place Islanders.
This isn’t as easy when placing your first two islanders because you won’t have any of the tools to prep specific areas of land you wish to place them on. However, once you get an Axe and a Shovel, planning and prepping areas of land could save you a lot of Bells in moving fees.
It currently costs a whopping 50,000 Bells per house to move an Islander. It is the same price to move your shops, town hall and museum. Luckily, it only costs 30,000 to move your own home, but just like every other “community building project” (bridges and inclines) on the island, you pay for it all yourself.
4. Breeding Rare Flowers
To get pink, blue, black, and some orange versions of flowers you must lay your flowers out in a grid a demonstrated below, the fence is optional, I just wanted my island to look tidier. Remember to water them every day and watch those pretties grow. Combos vary between flowers and there are plenty of tables online that go into detail per flower species, but the simple ones are:
- White x Red = Pink
- Red x Red = Black
- White x White = Blue
- Black roses watered by a gold watering can = Gold
5. How to Catch A Wasp
We’ve all been there. We shook or swung an axe at an empty-looking tree when plop, a wasp nests falls out and you’re forced to run to a building for refuge or accept your fate and get stung. Well not anymore!
Next time you attack a tree, shake it from the front first with a Net in hand. This guarantees that the nest will fall beside you and your character will turn to it. As soon as character has identified it as a wasp nest, swing your net and you’ve just caught a wasp! You should get two or three wasps a day on your island and they turn up on some mystery islands too. They are worth catching at 2500 Bells a piece when sold, an extra little boost to your wallet
6. Trading with Friends
This is one of the best ways to get fruit, furniture, recipes and resources that you don’t have on your island! It has to be done in person at first, but once you are friends with someone you can send them things in the mail via the card stand in the airport.
This does require online play, which means yes, you will have to get a Nintendo Online subscription. But at £17.99 for a whole year, it’s not bad compared to other console subscriptions. It can also be used across other games!
And that’s about it for my Beginners Guide! I hope these tips help you get more out of your gaming experience and that you are all safe and well.
Emily Wong
Featured image courtesy of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) via IMDb. Article images courtesy of Emily Wong. Image use licence here.
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