Mastering the Pillars: A Comprehensive Guide to Unlocking Every Pillar in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
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The world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) offers endless opportunities for creativity and customization, and among the most versatile design elements are pillars. These architectural features, alongside counters and partition walls, allow you to completely transform your island and home. Unlocking them, however, requires a journey through the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Here’s a definitive guide on how to acquire every pillar and become a pillar-placing pro!
The key to unlocking all pillars in ACNH lies within the Happy Home Paradise DLC. You must progress through the DLC by designing vacation homes for villagers, eventually unlocking facilities and completing specific tasks assigned by Niko at Paradise Planning. This involves completing a set number of homes, donating materials to Niko, and attending special classes. The recipes for various pillars are unlocked progressively as you advance within the DLC.
Unlocking Pillars: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Accessing Happy Home Paradise
First, you need the Happy Home Paradise DLC. You can either purchase it separately from the Nintendo eShop or obtain it as part of a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Once you’ve secured the DLC, head to your island’s airport and speak to Orville. He will tell you that there is a new job available in the archipelago. After talking to Orville, you will be whisked away to the archipelago where the Paradise Planning is situated.
Step 2: Starting Your Career at Paradise Planning
Upon arriving at the archipelago, you’ll meet Lottie, the head of Paradise Planning, and Niko, your new coworker. Your primary role is to design vacation homes for villagers who visit the resort island. Your primary role is to speak to vacationers on the beach, and design dream homes that are catered to them.
Step 3: Designing Vacation Homes
Continue designing vacation homes for various villagers. The more homes you design, the more the story of the Paradise Planning will progress, and the more rewards you will receive. You need to complete 15 vacation homes before you can even start getting pillars.
Step 4: Niko’s Special Class and the First Pillars
After designing 15 vacation homes, Niko will invite you to a special class held at the school on the island. During this class, Niko quizzes you on pillars and counters and then rewards you with the DIY recipes for both the wooden pillar and the simple counter. This is your first step to expanding your design potential.
Step 5: Unlocking Facilities
As you continue designing vacation homes, you’ll unlock the ability to design facilities on the island. Speak to Lottie to trigger the construction of these facilities, such as a school, hospital, cafe, and shop. This is another element that shows progress in the Happy Home Paradise.
Step 6: Marble Pillar and Donations to Niko
After completing the 19th vacation home, you unlock the ability to donate materials to Niko. Once this option is unlocked, you’ll notice a material box upstairs at the Paradise Planning office. Donate specific materials to Niko to receive more pillar DIY recipes. The recipe for the Marble Pillar requires donating a certain amount of stone and iron nuggets. After donating these required materials, the next day Niko will send you the recipe for the Marble Pillar.
Step 7: Daily Donations for More Pillars
To unlock the remaining pillar types, donate materials to Niko’s material box once a day for six days. The day following each donation, Niko will send you a new pillar or counter DIY recipe. The amount and types of materials needed will vary.
Step 8: Experimenting with Customization
Remember that many pillars can be customized using customization kits. You can also visit Cyrus at Harv’s Island to have him customize the variations for a fee of 1,000 Bells. This allows you to match the pillars to your desired aesthetic.
Crafting and Using Pillars
Once you have the DIY recipes, you can craft the pillars using the required materials. You can use pillars with partition walls to create individual rooms within housing designs, or even construct entire walls out of pillars for a unique look.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How many vacation homes do I need to design to start unlocking pillars?
You need to design at least 15 vacation homes in the Happy Home Paradise DLC to trigger Niko’s special class, where you’ll receive the DIY recipes for the wooden pillar and simple counter.
2. Can I unlock pillars without the Happy Home Paradise DLC?
No, pillars are exclusive to the Happy Home Paradise DLC. You cannot obtain them in the base game of Animal Crossing: New Horizons without the DLC.
3. What materials do I need to donate to Niko to get more pillar recipes?
The specific materials required for each pillar recipe vary, but typically include stone, iron nuggets, wood, and clay. Niko will indicate what materials he needs for each DIY recipe that he will send you.
4. How often can I donate materials to Niko?
You can donate materials to Niko once per day. The day after your donation, he will send you a new pillar or counter DIY recipe.
5. What if I don’t like the appearance of a pillar? Can I customize it?
Yes, most pillars can be customized! You can use customization kits at a workbench or have Cyrus at Harv’s Island customize the variations for 1,000 Bells.
6. Do I need to complete all facilities to unlock all pillars?
No, you don’t need to complete all facilities to unlock every pillar. Unlocking pillars is primarily tied to designing vacation homes, attending Niko’s class, and donating materials to Niko.
7. Can I place pillars outside on my island?
Yes, once you craft a pillar, you can place it anywhere on your island, both indoors and outdoors.
8. What is the purpose of using pillars with partition walls?
Pillars and partition walls allow you to create distinct rooms and define spaces within buildings. They offer a flexible way to design layouts and add architectural detail.
9. Are there any other ways to get pillar DIY recipes besides donating to Niko?
No, donating materials to Niko is the primary method for obtaining new pillar DIY recipes after attending his initial class.
10. How do I build a school in Animal Crossing New Horizons?
You can only build a school in Happy Home Paradise. The player will be able to construct the school on the sixth in-game day. After completing the first phase of facilities (the hospital, café, and the shop), the player will be able to renovate the school and expand it to include two classrooms and a hallway.
11. What is the secret rock in Animal Crossing?
A money rock is a special type of rock found in all Animal Crossing games. Striking a money rock eight times with a shovel or axe in quick succession will net you a certain number of bells. If you strike a money rock with a silver shovel, there is a chance that you will receive eight pieces of ore rather than bells.
12. What happens when you give Niko materials?
The day after each donation, he’ll send you the recipes for a new type of pillar/island counter. Niko will indicate what materials he needs for each DIY recipe that he will send you.
13. What can you make when you connect a pillar to a partition walls?
You can use partition walls and pillars to create individual rooms in housing designs, in fact, you can get creative and create walls out of lots of pillars in succession instead of using partition walls if you wish to.
14. How do you upgrade Nook’s cranny?
From our tests, we concluded the following parameters must be met: Buy and Sell anywhere a combined total of 200,000 Bells worth of items at Nook’s Cranny (Nook Mileage only tracks Bells spent for Bell Ringer – and this also includes bells spent at other shops). Mabel must visit your town. Unclear if the Able Sisters store must be built, but by this point in the game this is an easy milestone to reach.
15. Can you get partition walls without DLC ACNH?
While you can use pillars, counters, and partition walls in your own home, you can only unlock them through the Happy Home Paradise DLC.
By following these steps and answering the questions that you may have, you’ll be well on your way to unlocking all the pillars in ACNH. Remember, patience and consistent gameplay are key! The more you play the game and explore, the more likely you are to be inspired. To learn more about the educational aspects of video games, be sure to visit the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org.