Wrapping paper - the display case in Nook’s Cranny. Wrapping does boost the value of the gift. I think using the villager’s favorite color(s) helps too. There’s also some basic recipes in there you probably want to nab.
Decorating - yes, color-coordinating helps. Also:
Kinds of things that improve your house grade
- rarity of the items you’re placing
- amount of stuff
- variety of stuff
- “Essentials” - bed, chairs, tables, dressers, wardrobes
Kinds of things that hurt your house grade
- Non-furniture on the floor
- Furniture facing walls (my basement is probably killing my score - I have seasonal items crammed in like an actual basement/attic 🤣)
- Rubbish on floor
- Cockroaches!
Swimming - I don’t think so.
Wow that’s super helpful thanks!
I remembered one more question I’d had and kept forgetting to post. Is there any way to see behind trees and buildings? That’s a lot of space that seems unusable otherwise.
You can tilt the view a little bit, but not really other than special cases. Like once you have the construction tool for putting down paths, the camera will elevate to show behind buildings and stuff as you’re placing. To see behind a tree the only thing I’ve found is standing behind it to cause the camera change to hide the tree.
I don’t believe one hit does anything. Hitting them several times in succession will take them through two separate levels of annoyance; that, presumably, hurts the relationship.
(I practised this on Shari, often and gleefully. Creepy little shit)
Hahaha that’s funny. Ok thanks for teaching me even more about the game!
Flowers grow back after you pick them I hope?
Will I get to change where houses were placed? I really screwed up big time.
Want to know something funny? I have to close my eyes to catch fish. The pull to hit the button is way when the fish strikes the bobber, is way too overpowering and I’ve lost many amazing fish and some sharks because of it. So now I close my eyes when the fish is heading in and just listen for the real strike.
Also I don’t get the sea bass joke, “I caught sea bass! No, wait-it’s at least a C+!”
Kolbex
3458
A “C” bass. I fish the same way for the same reason.
Flowers do grow back, and you can move houses, although it costs something like 50k bells, I think. The semi-annoying thing about moving structures is that the new location can’t overlap the current location in any way, so you can just move a house a couple feet to the left without moving it completely away and then back again (and incurring the moving fee twice).
You also can’t move an empty house lot, it has to have a current occupant, weirdly.
Hansey
3459
Yep, this is the only way to fish. I’m way too twitchy when I’m watching, haha. Here’s an FYI, though it doesn’t really help fishing more than closing your eyes and listening - fish will only “tug” a maximum of five times, so if a fish still hasn’t bitten after tug number four, it’s guaranteed to bite on the next one.
Wow that’s so funny you all do the same thing when fishing! Thanks for 5 tugs, I didn’t know that, but suspected it.
Wanted to thank you again for the method of farming rocks. I’ve now gotten 8 items 4x. Just wish I could do it regularly. I’m about 25% with it.
I used to be able to do the fishing by site, I was able to get up to 75 catches in a row early on in my playing last year, but then I became so twitchy for some reason that I resorted to closing my eyes and listening for the tell that a fish was caught, too. Not so strange, for sure.
That trick with using the shovel instead of an axe is something I just discovered after a year of playing. All that time trying so hard to ‘pickax’ the rocks (like you do in a mine) instead of shovelling them (like the icon shows in game) had me wondering how I’d ever get that 8th item. Good that you know early on, it’ll save you some frustration.
One tip, if it’s not been made yet, is to watch for bugs, fish, & underwater creatures that are only available in certain months, at certain times. If you are a completionist but don’t plan on playing for years, you may need to follow a guide to which appear and leave each month and the times they are available (and even where). I never did for the longest time, so now I’m over 15 months into it and still am seeking the last fish and a few bugs. Some can be caught in off months if you visit a southern hemisphere island (if you are northern) or vice-versa, but it you’re like me and want to manage it off your own island, you may want to grab that guide.
I am most definitely a completionist so I may look into that.
So this dude Harvey showed up on my island, and invited me to visit his. Is he a special character or a random one. I don’t want to invite him to my island if I don’t have to as he doesn’t fit the type of character I want.
Don’t worry about Harv. He can’t become a citizen of your island. He has a special island of his own that you can visit.
It’s even more complicated than the month - some things can only be caught certain times of day, and it can be more specific than day/night. Some fish are very specific about which bits of water they appear in. Some bugs have special conditions to appear - only on a stump that sort of thing.
If you opt for a guide, I recommend again the “Unofficial ACNH Guide” app I mentioned above. In addition to tracking your catalog and museum collections, it will help you with fishing, bug collecting, diving, picking the right gift for a villager, remembering birthdays, playing the turnip market, etc.
Hansey
3465
Hey, no problem, glad I could help! I’ve been playing the Animal Crossing games since Wild World, so I already knew to use the shovel, but yeah, the game doesn’t really do a good job of telling you which tool is the best one to use. It does take some practice to consistently get all 8 items, but you eventually get the hang of it.
I just noticed you come online while I’m in game. I’ve just opened my island to friends (Isla Calma) so if you feel like swinging by to have a look around, feel free! Not sure how long I’m gonna be on, but if Orville says I’m open, come on over!
Ok trying to come visit now!!!
Hansey
3467
Fun time today, @jpinard, thanks for visiting! Your island is off to a good start, and don’t worry about disorganization early on - that’s normal while you’re getting all the initial building chores done. There’s plenty of time to plan and change things, and while bells can be hard to come by early, soon enough you’ll be loaded with them and can do lots more things. Diving for sea creatures wasn’t in the game at release, but there’s good money to be made there selling them.
If you saw anything on my island you are interested in, I’m happy to send one or craft it for you, unless it’s an event item (which can’t be bought from the catalog). Now that we’ve visited each other, that opens up the ability to send items to each other using the in-game mail (though it’s max 2 items per day, but ordering through the catalog directly to you I think is 5).
I’m happy to answer any other questions you have!
Wow that’s cool! I didn’t know there was in game mail between people. You should just mail your entire island to me, it’s awesome :)
That’s also pretty awesome they added diving after the fact. I’ve done a lot of it and though I’ve found a lot of critters, I’m guessing I’m missing the most valuable ones as the ones I have max out at like 3,000.
Fishing has been really lucrative for me. Last night on an island visitation I caught a hammerhead and a whale shark.
Apologies for all the interruptions, was a busy day here (as always). I’m staff refers to me as that gaming nerd hehe.
Haha, you definitely started during a highlight period where the fish and bugs are plentiful. Catching sharks was (and still is) pretty cool when you see how big some of them are. I’ve had many a ‘WHOA!’ moment with them, and it never gets old.
I kind of envy you starting out fresh right now. My wife, who owns my island and can’t transfer it to me, started a second island on a second Switch just to have one she can build and dismantle at will. She said if I ever stop playing, she’s going to wipe mine and start another new one. I couldn’t imagine putting hundreds of hours into getting another island to the point I’m at with my current one. But starting out? Yeah, that’s going to be a fun ride for you, if you are totally hooked on the style.
Hansey
3470
Yep, there’s a postcard stand next to Orville’s desk at the airport. Interact with that and you can send mail (including items as attachments) to friends, letters to your residents (which they’ll show you or talk about when you see them… and may also sometimes show to people that visit you, so careful what you say to them, haha), and even letters to yourself, to be mailed at some point in the future.
Haha, sadly that’s not possible. ;)
Don’t worry at all about the interruptions. I totally get it, and your health takes priority!
My diving tip: the most valuable critters are really fast - basically as fast you can swim. I usually get them by corralling them into a corner of the map. It usually takes me several minutes of cussing and groaning before I manage it,
