Animal Crossing New Horizons: Tips & Tricks for Beginners

It can be a bit intimidating to start a new life on a deserted island, especially when you’re the only human there. If you’re feeling a bit on edge about the whole transition, then check out these Animal Crossing New Horizons tips and tricks to get started out on the right foot.

Animal Crossing Tips & Tricks

Explore

When you first make it to your deserted island, it can feel a bit lonely out there. You’ll have a few animal villagers to give you company along with Tom Nook and his sons. But moving to a new place is always a bit of an adjustment, even in a video game.

Explore the island and get to know the lay of the land. This will pay off in the long run once you have your map memorized. Don’t worry about getting it memorized right away though, since you’ll be there for a long time.

The point of doing this is to get out there and gather a mental list of helpful info like what fruit you have, where rocks are located, where your Plaza is, and more. Also, just take in the scenery while you do this. It’s the first time Animal Crossing is in HD so soak it all in.

Pick Up Everything and Sell It

Yes, you should absolutely pick up that Venus Comb as soon as possible. If there’s fruit on a tree, then it’s your responsibility to shake that thing down immediately and pick up your bounty. Don’t forget the numerous bugs and fish just waiting to be caught too.

Long story short, pick up anything and everything that you can stuff into your tiny pockets. Your space will be limited early on, so make a mental note if you see something that you can’t pick up and return to it later on. And don’t forget to hit rocks and shake trees. You’ll thank me later.

Once your pockets are full you should head over to the Resident Services building located in your Plaza. Inside you’ll be able to sell unwanted items for Bells. It’s not a get rich quick scheme, but it’ll be a solid source of income early on.

Animal Crossing Tips & Tricks

Build a DIY Workbench

Going back to the Resident Services building early on is going to be necessary to sell weeds, shells and fruit. This makes using the DIY workbench located in the building fairly convenient to use.

If you want to give yourself a bit of independence, then you can build your own DIY workbench. This way you won’t have to keep going back to Resident Services in order to craft tools and furniture.

As getting Bells becomes less of a priority, this DIY workbench will help you take the materials you collect and combine them into something new. Those tools and furniture can then be sold or used for whatever purpose you want.

Be Friendly

It’s important to be friendly to your fellow island inhabitants. Help them out with chores or errands and they’ll reward you handsomely. Unfortunately, they can’t help you with chores like pulling weeds or planting flowers and trees.

That’s where real-life friends come into play. If you don’t have those then I’m very sorry, but there are plenty of great Animal Crossing communities you can find online with friendly players.

Invite friends to your island and visit theirs to pull weeds together or exchange fruit you can’t get on your island. And thanks to the ability to disable axes and shovels, you don’t need to worry about a rogue villager destroying the aesthetic of your island.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Tips & Tricks

Take Your Time

You’re not going to be able to do everything in a single day, so do not try. Take your time to get to know your neighbors and the island as a whole. You’re going to be there for a very long time so you might as well take it nice and easy.

Sure, Tom Nook loves to hold a debt over your head as much as the next tanuki. That doesn’t mean that you need to feel pressured to quickly pay off the loans that he gives you. Pay him back at your own pace and he won’t fuss about it even if it takes a year or two.

Hopefully, it won’t take that long for you to pay off that first loan, but don’t fret if it does. Animal Crossing New Horizons is all about doing whatever you want to do at your own pace. And don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

If you follow these Animal Crossing New Horizons tips and tricks, then the start of your island life will be a relatively smooth experience. If you want to learn anything else about this game, then just check out our Guides Wiki for more morsels of great information.