Animal Crossing New Horizons introduces some cool new gameplay mechanics to the series’ typical loop, and that includes terraforming. However, you won’t have the ability to use it until you’ve ticked off a few things first, nor does the game do a great job of explaining how it works. Here we’ll explain how to get the Island Designer App and unlock terraforming in Animal Crossing New Horizons so you can become an Island Designer.
How to Unlock Terraforming & the Island Designer App in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Surprise, surprise, it’s good ol’ Tom Nook who initiates the process of unlocking the island designer permit or terraforming slider. Specifically, follow his objectives and wait for him to request a KK Slider concert on your island. Although he doesn’t tell you at the time, unlocking terraforming is your reward for doing this.
Before you can unlock the K.K Slider concert, however, you will need to raise your island level to 3. This is best achieved by adding new residents to your island (read our guide on how to go about adding residents). You can also check out our guide for improving your town rating easily.
In brief, you’ll want to spend time beautifying your island with different features to attract new residents (flowers, decorations, street lamps, etc). Also, as always, listen to Isabelle, as she basically acts as a guide on what you should and shouldn’t be doing to improve your island.
Once you read island level 3 the K.K concert will occur, after which Tom Nook will contact you and unlock the Island Designer App for your phone.
However, before you can go terraforming you’ll need two permits: Waterscaping (6,000 Nook Miles), and Cliff Construction (6,000 Nook Miles). You can also purchase different types of roadscaping permits, too, for 2,000 Nook Miles each.
Time needed: 15 days
Let’s break this down with a step-by-step:
- Follow Tom Nooks objectives until he contacts you and mentions the K.K Slider Concert.
- Achieve island level 3 by attracting new residents to your island. This will trigger the concert.
- Tom Nook will unlock Island Designer on your phone, but now you must purchase the necessary permits: Waterscaping, Cliff Construction, and different road types.
That is everything there is to know about how to unlock terraforming in Animal Crossing New Horizons. For more useful tips and guides on the game, Twinfinite’s extensive guide wiki has you covered.
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