The August 2021 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, patch 1.11.1, fixed a handful of bugs and glitches to help improve some quality-of-life factors. Many players may not have noticed, though, that there was a more significant change hidden in the update, impacting the way players can gain access to Animal Crossing's DIY recipes.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' DIY recipes were a first for the series, allowing players to gather instructions for crafting a variety of useful items, from tools to furniture. There are over 600 DIY recipes in New Horizons, and more are added with seasonal updates from Nintendo (though significant updates to the game have slowed as of late, despite Nintendo stating more would be coming this year).
In New Horizons' 1.11.1 patch, a bug fix helped straighten out the order of recipes when sorting by time obtained. Other fixes made it so clouds would more reliably spawn throughout different seasons and altered the closing background music of "Tanuki Shoten." Not listed in the patch notes, however, was a change to how DIY recipes are shared between players.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Hidden DIY Change In Update 1.11.1
The New Horizons patch placed a restriction on DIY recipes: Certain Animal Crossing DIY recipes are received only after reaching certain milestones in the game's story. Previously, however, players could obtain these items early, either by purchasing them from a third-party online marketplace or by simply trading them with a friend. This allowed new players access to items meant to be locked behind story progression without actually completing the required segments of the game. As of the 1.11.1 update, if players have any one of 72 select DIY recipes - including milestone recipes, recipes from the Nook's Cranny DIY kits, holiday recipes, and recipes that can only be obtained via hacking - in their pockets before visiting or leaving a friend's island, they will find that the recipe simply disappears. The full list of "unflyable" DIY recipes is as follows, via GitHub user berichan.
- Campfire
- Flimsy fishing rod
- Flimsy net
- Wooden-block toy
- Ringtoss
- Rocking chair
- Brick oven
- Swinging bench
- Tire stack
- Wooden-block bookshelf
- Trash bags
- Tire toy
- Mini DIY workbench
- Wooden-block stereo
- Ironwood kitchenette
- Stone stool
- Iron wall lamp
- Wooden-block chair
- Hay bed
- Wooden wardrobe
- Plain sink
- Succulent plant
- Fish bait
- Wooden fish
- Old-fashioned washtub
- Frying pan
- Potted ivy
- Hearth
- Ocarina
- Axe
- Watering can
- Shovel
- Fishing rod
- Net
- Stone axe
- Garbage-heap wall
- Bridge construction kit
- Campsite construction kit
- Garbage-heap flooring
- Recycled-can thumb piano
- Golden watering can
- Golden axe
- Recycled boots (Brown)
- Earth-egg shell (Red)
- Earth-egg outfit (Red)
- Earth-egg shoes (Red)
- Stone-egg shell (Yellow)
- Stone-egg outfit (Yellow)
- Stone-egg shoes (Yellow)
- Leaf-egg shell (Green)
- Leaf-egg outfit (Green)
- Leaf-egg shoes (Green)
- Wood-egg shell (Orange)
- Wood-egg outfit (Orange)
- Wood-egg shoes (Orange)
- Sky-egg shell (Blue)
- Sky-egg outfit (Blue)
- Sky-egg shoes (Blue)
- Water-egg shell (Purple)
- Water-egg outfit (Purple)
- Water-egg shoes (Purple)
- Egg party hat (Colorful)
- Egg party dress (Colorful)
- King Tut mask (Gold)
- Turkey Day garden stand
- Turkey Day hearth
- Turkey Day decorations
- Turkey Day chair
- Turkey Day table
- Turkey Day casserole
- Turkey Day wheat décor
- Turkey Day table setting
While this may not entirely solve the problem, as some may still find a way to obtain items early through hacks, it should mostly stop new Animal Crossing players from finding a workaround to straightforward progression. The change is worth noting for any Animal Crossing: New Horizons player looking to travel to or from another island, though, as it may be disappointing to find a DIY recipe has disappeared seemingly without reason. Nintendo may not have made the change abundantly clear, but it was likely done in an effort to encourage people to enjoy the game as it was designed, rather than searching for workarounds.
Source: berichan/GitHub