Why Aren’t the Villagers I Invited Coming to My Island?
It’s a frustrating experience for any Animal Crossing: New Horizons player: you’ve gone to great lengths to invite a new villager to your island, only to find that they are inexplicably absent. You’ve spoken to them multiple times, secured their commitment to move, and yet, they’re nowhere to be found. The most common reason for this is that certain island prerequisites need to be met before any new villager can move in. Specifically, you need to have Nook’s Cranny built and you need to have crafted and placed all the furniture for all the plots you’ve designated. Until these actions are completed, no matter how many villagers you invite, they simply won’t appear on your island. It is crucial to understand that this process, while sometimes confusing, is designed to ensure a smooth progression within the game.
Common Misconceptions and Missing Steps
Before diving deeper into specific scenarios, it’s important to dispel some common misunderstandings:
- Inviting vs. Moving In: Inviting a villager is only the first step. You’ve secured their agreement, but their physical arrival depends on you having prepared their home.
- Randomness: While some aspects of villager appearance are random, their move-in isn’t. They will arrive, as long as you fulfil the island’s set criteria.
- Timeline: The game is designed with a built-in timeline for when villagers can move in. Even if you’ve completed the above prerequisites you will not get more than one new resident a day.
The Importance of Island Preparation
The process of villager acquisition is not instantaneous. It requires careful planning and the following specific actions:
- Build Nook’s Cranny: This is one of the key milestones in the early game. Until Nook’s Cranny is fully constructed and operational, you will not be able to have any more residents on your island
- Prepare Housing Plots: After your initial few villagers, Tom Nook will provide you with house plots to place around your island. These spots need to be designated before any new villagers can move in.
- Craft Interior and Exterior Furniture: Each plot comes with a list of specific furniture that needs to be crafted and placed both inside and outside of the designated areas. If this step is incomplete, your invited villagers will not appear. Make sure you check the list provided by Tom Nook so you haven’t missed any item.
- Wait Patiently: After completing all the prerequisites, the game introduces a natural timing system. New villagers typically move in one day after the other, meaning if you prepared multiple plots on the same day it might take three days to fill them all.
What if You’ve Done Everything Correctly?
If you have confirmed you’ve followed the steps above, and your villager is still not appearing, there might be other factors at play. Double-check the following to rule out potential issues:
- Double-Check the Furniture: Ensure all pieces of furniture (both interior and exterior) are correctly crafted and placed in their designated spots. An overlooked item can delay the move-in process.
- Check Date and Time: While it might be an obvious thing, be sure your game is running on the correct time and date! If you’ve been time travelling your may be looking for your villager in the wrong day
- Island Capacity: If your island is already at the maximum of 10 villagers, no new villagers will be able to move in unless you have a villager willingly move out.
- The Correct Invitation: Ensure you have actually invited the villager! Did they say they would move in or just that they’d visit you? Make sure they confirmed they’d be moving to your island.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To further assist you with your villager woes, here are 15 frequently asked questions, providing in-depth answers and solutions:
1. How do I get villagers to come to my island?
Villagers can be invited through multiple methods:
* Mystery Island Tours: Use Nook Miles Tickets to visit random islands and invite villagers you encounter there.
* Campsite Visitors: Wait for random villagers to visit your campsite and invite them to move in. You can use Amiibo cards to bring specific villagers to the campsite.
* Other Players’ Islands: If another player has a villager in boxes, you can invite that villager to move to your island.
2. Will villagers come to your island if you invite them?
Yes, but only if you have completed the necessary island preparations which include building Nook’s Cranny and crafting all the required furniture for any vacant plots. Once these steps are complete, they will arrive on your island in the days that follow.
3. How long does it take for a villager to move to my island after inviting them?
Assuming all preparations are complete, villagers will move in one day after the other. If you have prepared three plots on the same day, it will take three days for all three villagers to arrive.
4. Why won’t my Animal Crossing villagers move out?
Villagers will only ask to move out under certain conditions:
* You must have at least 6 villagers on your island.
* There is a 15-day cooldown period after a villager moves out, during which another villager will not request to leave.
* A 5-day cooldown period begins when a villager asks to move out, but is convinced to stay
5. What is the maximum number of villagers I can have?
You can have a maximum of 10 villagers living on your island. Once you reach this limit, no more villagers can move in unless you have a villager move out.
6. Are there rare villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
Yes, certain species of villagers are considered rarer than others, the rarest categories are:
* Octopus (5)
* Non-Animal Villagers (6)
* Tiger (7)
* Cow (8)
* Bull (9)
* Lion (9)
* Rhinoceros (9)
* Alligator (9)
7. Why aren’t villagers coming to my campsite?
Villagers will randomly show up at your campsite. You can also use Amiibo cards to summon specific villagers. You don’t need open land or an empty plot to have a campsite visitor.
8. Can you find villagers on mystery islands if your island is full?
No, you can only encounter villagers on Mystery Islands when you have an empty plot available for them to move into.
9. Are my first 3 villagers random?
If you have invited villagers prior to setting up your plot area, then those villagers will be the first three to move in. If not, the first three villagers to move onto the island will be a peppy, normal, and lazy villager type, respectively.
10. What happens if I don’t invite a villager to move to a vacant plot?
If you don’t invite a villager to fill a vacant plot, a random villager will automatically move in after one day.
11. How do I know if a villager wants to move out?
Villagers may hint at moving away through conversations, including a date when they plan to leave. Additionally, other villagers may mention that a specific villager is considering leaving. The thought bubble over their head is a clear indicator they are thinking of moving.
12. Can I annoy a villager into leaving?
While you can annoy villagers by hitting them repeatedly with tools and running at them until they’re angry, these actions do not affect a villager’s decision to move out. Villager move-out decisions are random and driven by the internal mechanics of the game.
13. Can Isabelle help me get rid of villagers?
While you can complain to Isabelle about villagers, this does not impact their decision to move out. Isabelle’s services are primarily for reporting inappropriate behaviors or clothing.
14. Can I invite multiple villagers to my island in the same day?
Yes, you can invite multiple villagers in one day, but they will only move in one day after the other. You also can only invite one villager per day from a Mystery Island.
15. What are the first villagers I get in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
You will initially start with two villagers: a jock villager and a big sister villager type.
By understanding the mechanics of villager acquisition, and ensuring that you complete the required steps, you can create your ideal island community. Don’t be disheartened by a missing villager. Patience, and attention to detail, are the keys to success in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.