How to Attract Residents to Your Island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Attracting residents to your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is key to building a thriving community and unlocking various features. You can achieve this through several methods: utilizing Nook Miles Tickets to explore mystery islands and invite villagers you encounter, preparing empty plots of land for new residents to move into, and setting up a campsite to attract visiting villagers whom you can then convince to stay. Furthermore, Amiibo cards offer a targeted way to invite specific villagers to your campsite and, eventually, to your island. These strategies offer a blend of randomness and control, allowing you to curate your dream island paradise.
Understanding the Villager Dynamic
Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand how villagers function in the game. Each island can house a maximum of ten animal villagers. These villagers have different personalities, hobbies, and appearances, contributing to the diverse and lively atmosphere of your island. Once a villager moves in, they will stay until they decide to move out. If a villager is thinking about leaving your island, they will have a thought bubble appear above their head. They will discuss the potential move, and then it is up to you to either encourage them to stay or allow them to leave. Choosing to let a villager leave means that you will soon have an empty plot of land to fill with another friend! Understanding the villager dynamic will set you up for success when attracting residents.
Key Methods for Attracting Villagers
1. Mystery Island Tours using Nook Miles Tickets
The Nook Miles Ticket is your passport to potential new residents. You can purchase these tickets at the Nook Stop inside Resident Services. These tickets enable you to travel to randomly generated mystery islands. After Nook’s Cranny has been built, you can start to encounter random villagers on these islands.
- How it works: Talk to the villager, engage in conversation, and you’ll have the option to invite them to live on your island if you have an available plot of land.
- Efficiency: This method is highly effective, especially if you’re looking for villagers with specific personalities or appearances. However, it can be time-consuming as the villagers you encounter are entirely random.
- Tip: Ensure you have an open plot of land before embarking on mystery island tours. If you don’t, the villager you invite will be randomly assigned to a plot later on, diminishing your control.
2. Preparing Plots of Land
Empty plots are a sign to the game that you’re ready for new residents. After you have upgraded Resident Services and placed your first housing kits, Tom Nook will ask you to find villagers to occupy your plots. If you don’t invite villagers to fill these empty plots within a day, Tom Nook will automatically fill them with a random villager.
- How it works: Once you have upgraded Resident Services, you can get more housing plots from Tom Nook. He will provide you with the materials and plans for each house and will also provide a sign for each one to be placed somewhere on the island.
- Importance: Having plots available is crucial. Without an open space, villagers you invite from mystery islands or the campsite cannot move in.
- Tip: Plan your island layout and decide where you want villagers to live to maximize your island’s aesthetic and functionality.
3. The Campsite
The campsite attracts visiting villagers to your island. Once your Resident Services has been upgraded, Tom Nook will have you set up a campsite. These villagers may be interested in moving there permanently!
- How it works: Once the campsite has been built, villagers will randomly visit it. Talking to these visitors gives you the opportunity to convince them to move in. They might play games or request tasks to gauge your interest in them.
- Persistence: If a villager is hesitant, keep talking to them! Sometimes, it takes multiple conversations to convince them to stay.
- Tip: Be patient; the campsite visitors are random, and it may take a while to get a villager you truly want.
4. Using Amiibo Cards
Amiibo cards offer a targeted approach to inviting specific villagers.
- How it works: Scan the Amiibo card at the Nook Stop inside Resident Services. This allows you to invite the villager to your campsite. You must invite the villager three times, completing a task for them each time, before they’ll agree to move in.
- Control: This method gives you complete control over who moves to your island, allowing you to create your dream community.
- Accessibility: Amiibo cards can be purchased online or from retailers that carry Nintendo products.
- Games Learning Society: The Games Learning Society, GamesLearningSociety.org, explores how games and simulations can be used in educational and learning contexts, something that can inspire even the most creative Animal Crossing player!
5. Villager Moving Glitch (Time Travel Method)
This method, while controversial among some players, uses time travel to manipulate villagers moving in and out. Be warned that time travel can affect other aspects of your game, such as the growth of plants and the availability of certain items.
- How it works: Time travel forward to trigger a villager to move out. Once they’ve left, time travel back to the current day and search for a new villager using the methods mentioned above.
- Complexity: Requires careful execution and an understanding of the game’s mechanics.
- Risk: Potential to disrupt the natural flow of the game and miss out on seasonal events.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How many villagers can live on my island?
Your island can have a maximum of ten villagers.
2. Are my first villagers random?
Yes, your initial two villagers are randomly selected from a pool of potential starting villagers.
3. How do I get villagers to leave my island?
Ignoring a villager, complaining to Isabelle, or pushing them around does not guarantee they will leave. Villager departure is mostly random. However, when a villager has a thought bubble, you can influence their decision by telling them to stay or go.
4. Can I invite villagers from other players’ islands?
Yes, if a villager on another player’s island is moving out, and their house is in boxes, you can visit their island and invite the villager to live on your island, provided you have an open plot.
5. What are the different villager personality types?
There are eight personality types: Normal, Peppy, Snooty, Big Sister/Uchi, Lazy, Jock, Cranky, and Smug.
6. What happens if I don’t invite a villager to fill an empty plot?
Tom Nook will automatically fill the plot with a random villager. This is generally frowned upon since the villager selected is out of your control.
7. How often does the campsite attract visitors?
Campsite visitors appear somewhat randomly, but you can expect a visitor every few days.
8. Can villagers have a crush on each other?
Unfortunately, villagers cannot form romantic relationships with each other. The closest relationship they share is best friendship.
9. How do I get rid of unwanted villagers?
While there’s no guaranteed method, some players believe that consistently ignoring the villager or talking to Isabelle about them may increase the chances of them wanting to move out. However, this is largely based on anecdotal evidence. The most reliable is time travel.
10. What are the rarest villager types?
The rarest villager types are those with the fewest representatives, such as octopus, non-animal villagers, tigers, and cows.
11. Will hitting villagers with my net make them leave?
No, hitting villagers with your net or other forms of “abuse” does not influence their decision to move out. Their departure is largely random.
12. Why are there no villagers on Mystery Islands?
Villagers will only spawn on mystery islands if you have an available plot of land on your island. If all your plots are full, you won’t find villagers on these tours.
13. How long does it take for a villager to move in after I invite them?
Generally, a villager will move in one day after you invite them.
14. Can I choose my starter villagers?
No, your starting villagers are randomly selected, and you have no control over who they will be.
15. Do villagers wear the clothes I gift them?
Villagers will only wear outfits that match their style and preferences. If they don’t like the gift, they might politely thank you but won’t wear it.