Animal Crossing New Horizons' Golden Items are the most valuable and helpful items in the game, but also the most challenging the unlock. This guide will help players unlock Golden Items in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Animal Crossing New Horizons places new players on a tropical island where they can craft their new living experience. On the island, players can make new friends through local neighbors who live on the island, capturing fish and bugs to pass the time, and overall just enjoy a low maintenance gaming experience. A new major update that makes New Horizons stand as its own title is the ability to craft items. Through this, players must scavenge around their islands or other islands for materials to make new furniture, plants, and tools. Tools are amongst the most important items in the game, as they allow the player to pillage their island of resources using them by chopping down trees, digging holes to plant new trees or fishing for creatures of the deep blue. Although after a short while, these tools can shatter, making them no longer useful. This guide will help players unlock Golden Tools, the strongest tools in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
Tools are given to the player fairly early into the game. Using them will allow the player to gather materials for a variety of different reasons. The player begins with all flimsy tools, only getting a few uses out of them before the player has to buy or craft another one. These are fairly easy to make but as easy to lose. After some time on the island, the player will unlock the ability to purchase a DIY recipe that allows players to create stronger tools at the Residence Tent. These tools last much longer when compared to the flimsy tools and require the elusive Iron Nugget item in order to be crafted. Iron Nuggets can be found through rocks scattered around the island by hitting them with a shovel. The amount of Iron Nuggets that can come from a rock is completely random and players who are extremely lucky can walk away with 9 total from one rock. Although, even items crafted from Iron Nuggets break after being used for a while. Golden Tools can also be broken, but it takes much longer when compared to its flimsy and iron counterparts, but they are the hardest tools to achieve in the game. Here is how to craft Golden Tools in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
Golden Tools in Animal Crossing New Horizons
All of the tools (Axe, Net, Shovel, Watering Can, Slingshot, Fishing Net) can all have their own golden varients. The ladder or the vaulting pole are the only tools in the game that do not have a golden version. Unlocking the DIY recipe for each item is not a simple task, requiring that the player completes several major landmarks in the game. Here are all the requirements for each individual golden tool.
- Golden Axe Tool: Destroy 100 axes (including Stone, Flimsy, or regular axes). This can be done by chopping down several trees on the player's own island or on a Nook Tour. Use the Flimsy Axe to get through them as quickly as possible. Once the DIY Recipe is unlocked, the Golden Axe requires 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Axe to be crafted.
- Golden Fishing Rod Tool: Catch every fish in the game and document it in the player's Critterpedia. This is one of the most challenging since some fish only appear during a certain time of year. The player can change seasons by shifting the date on their Nintendo Switch forward in time to change the fish spawns. The Golden Fishing Rod requires 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Fishing Rod to be crafted.
- Golden Net Tool: Catch every bug in the game and document it in the player's Critterpedia. This is one of the most challenging since some bugs only appear during a certain time of year. The player can change seasons by shifting the date on their Nintendo Switch forward in time to change the bug spawns. The Golden Net requires 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Net to be crafted.
- Golden Shovel Tool: The player needs to help Gulliver 30 times in finding his communicator parts. The Golden Shovel requires 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Shovel to be crafted.
- Golden Slingshot Tool: The player will have to shoot 300 balloons and complete the "It's Raining Treasure" Nook Miles task. The Golden Slingshot will need 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Slingshot to be crafted.
- Golden Watering Can Tool: The player will need to have a five-star rating on their island. To do this, communicate with Isabelle about ways to raise up the level of the island. The Golden Watering Can needs 1 Golden Nugget and 1 Watering Can to be crafted.
These tools are important for players who plan to play the long-game of Animal Crossing New Horizons. Players who plan to play way beyond the credits and continue to craft their island in their own perfect image. This is also one of the hardest tasks to complete in the game since collecting the entire collection of fish and bugs for the fishing rod and the net will take players years to complete (unless they plan to use the time travel method to escape waiting around for new spawns). It is unfortunate that regardless of collecting these items, they will also shatter after several uses rather than being a permanent addition. The game also includes a feature that allows players to customize the color of their tools, but this doesn't make much sense since playing materials into customizing tools that will eventually break seems like a waste of items, but that is up to the player's own discretion. Animal Crossing New Horizons' crafting system is meant to reward the player with new items and provide the player with new objectives to complete every day for Nook Miles. The game is planned to maintain the player's attention for several years to come with new holiday events happening every few months. An Easter event plans to take over the island coming this early April.
Animal Crossing New Horizons is available now on the Nintendo Switch.