How to Get a Shovel Animal Crossing: How to Get a Shovel…

So, you’ve landed on your deserted island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and you’re ready to start shaping your dream paradise. But wait, you can’t dig up those pesky weeds or plant those beautiful flowers without a crucial tool: the shovel!

Don’t worry, getting your hands on this essential item is straightforward. We’re here to guide you through the process, step-by-step. Whether you’re a brand new islander or returning to your save file, understanding how to acquire and upgrade your shovel is key to unlocking the full potential of your island life.

The Humble Beginnings: Your First Shovel

When you first arrive on your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Tom Nook is all about setting you up with the basics. He’ll provide you with a few essential DIY recipes to get you started, and the shovel is one of them. However, this initial shovel is the most rudimentary version, often referred to as the ‘Flimsy Shovel’.

Here’s how you’ll typically acquire your very first shovel:

1. Early Island Progression: After you’ve completed the initial setup tasks on your island, which usually involve gathering materials for Nook and setting up your tent, Tom Nook will start introducing you to crafting.
2. The DIY Recipe: Tom Nook will eventually give you the DIY recipe for the Flimsy Shovel. This usually happens fairly early in your island’s development, often around the time you’re asked to gather resources for the first permanent building.
3. Gathering Materials: The Flimsy Shovel recipe requires 5 x Hardwood . You’ll gather these by hitting trees with your axe (which you’ll also get early on). Make sure to aim for the trees with darker bark, as these typically yield hardwood.
4. Crafting Your First Shovel: Once you have the recipe and the materials, you can craft the Flimsy Shovel at any DIY workbench. You’ll find one in Resident Services, and later you can craft your own.

The Flimsy Shovel is your gateway to digging up fossils, planting saplings, and moving small items. However, its durability is quite low, meaning it breaks after a limited number of uses. This leads us to the next important step: upgrading!

Upgrading Your Shovel: The Sturdy Shovel

Once you’ve had a taste of digging and realized how quickly your Flimsy Shovel wears out, you’ll be eager for an upgrade. The next step up is the Shovel (sometimes referred to as the ‘Sturdy Shovel’ to differentiate it from the flimsy version). This shovel has significantly more durability, allowing you to dig and plant much more without constant replacements.

To get the recipe for the standard Shovel, you’ll need to progress a little further in the game: (See Also: how to get shovel knight spirit)

1. Nook’s Cranny: The recipe for the standard Shovel is typically sold by Timmy and Tommy at Nook’s Cranny. You’ll need to have upgraded your tent to a house and had Nook’s Cranny built on your island.
2. Purchasing the Recipe: Once Nook’s Cranny is open, head inside and look at the items for sale. You’ll find the Shovel DIY recipe available for purchase. It usually costs around 900 Bells.
3. Crafting Materials: The standard Shovel requires 1 x Iron Nugget and 1 x Flimsy Shovel to craft.
4. Gathering Iron Nuggets: Iron Nuggets are a bit rarer than wood. You’ll find them by hitting rocks on your island with a stone axe or hammer. Each rock can yield up to eight resources, so be persistent!
5. Crafting the Shovel: With the recipe, an Iron Nugget, and a Flimsy Shovel in your inventory, head to a DIY workbench and craft your new, more durable Shovel.

This upgraded shovel is a game-changer for daily island tasks. It lasts much longer and is essential for more intensive digging projects.

The Golden Tool: The Golden Shovel

For the ultimate digging experience, you’ll want to aim for the Golden Shovel. This is the most durable shovel in the game and comes with a special perk: it can break other tools when used to dig up a fossil. This means you can use your Golden Shovel to dig up a fossil, and then immediately use it to break a tool (like a flimsy axe) to get more materials for crafting!

Acquiring the Golden Shovel is a bit more of an achievement and requires a specific milestone:

1. The Achievement: The DIY recipe for the Golden Shovel is unlocked after you have successfully dug up 100 fossils.
2. Receiving the Recipe: Once you’ve dug up your 100th fossil, the DIY recipe for the Golden Shovel will automatically be sent to you via mail by Isabelle the next day.
3. Crafting Materials: The Golden Shovel requires 1 x Golden Nugget and 1 x Shovel to craft.
4. Gathering Golden Nuggets: Golden Nuggets are the rarest of the ore types. You’ll primarily find them by hitting the ‘money rock’ (a special rock that dispenses Bells) or by finding them at mystery islands. They can also occasionally drop from regular rocks, but this is less common.
5. Crafting the Golden Shovel: Once you have the recipe, a Golden Nugget, and a regular Shovel, you can craft your Golden Shovel at a DIY workbench.

The Golden Shovel is a fantastic tool for dedicated players who spend a lot of time excavating and want the most reliable digging equipment.

Other Ways to Obtain Shovels

While crafting is the primary method to get shovels and their upgrades, there are a couple of other scenarios where you might acquire them:

• Purchasing from Nook’s Cranny: Sometimes, Nook’s Cranny will have shovels (the regular, non-flimsy kind) available for purchase as a pre-made item. This is a good option if you’re short on materials or want a replacement quickly.
• Trading with Friends: If a friend has the DIY recipe and extra materials, they can craft a shovel for you. This is also a great way to get a Golden Shovel if you haven’t reached the fossil milestone yet.

When Do You Get the Shovel Diy Recipe?

The exact timing of when you receive the Flimsy Shovel DIY recipe can vary slightly based on your progression through Tom Nook’s initial tasks. However, it’s generally one of the first crafting recipes you’ll be given, usually within the first day or two of starting your island life, after you’ve completed the initial setup and gathered some basic resources for him. (See Also: how do you spell shovel)

What Do You Need to Craft a Shovel?

As detailed above, the crafting requirements differ for each type of shovel:

• Flimsy Shovel: 5 x Hardwood
• Shovel: 1 x Iron Nugget + 1 x Flimsy Shovel
• Golden Shovel: 1 x Golden Nugget + 1 x Shovel

How Do You Get Iron Nuggets?

Iron Nuggets are essential for crafting the standard Shovel. You’ll obtain them by hitting rocks on your island with an axe or hammer. There are typically eight rocks scattered across your island. Each rock can be hit up to eight times before it breaks or respawns. It’s important to hit the rocks in quick succession to maximize your yield. Eating a piece of fruit before hitting a rock will allow you to break it, but this is usually only desirable if you want to respawn the rocks in a more convenient location. For Iron Nuggets, you want to hit them repeatedly without breaking them.

How Do You Get Golden Nuggets?

Golden Nuggets are the rarest ore and are required for the coveted Golden Shovel. The most reliable way to get Golden Nuggets is by hitting the ‘money rock’. Once a day, one of the rocks on your island will be a money rock, dispensing Bells instead of resources. However, if you hit this rock with a shovel (and have eaten fruit beforehand to break it), it has a chance to yield a Golden Nugget instead of Bells. You can also find Golden Nuggets on mystery islands obtained through Kapp’n’s boat tours, or very rarely, from regular rocks.

Why Do Tools Break in Animal Crossing?

Tools in Animal Crossing: New Horizons have a limited durability to encourage crafting and resource management. This system ensures that players are constantly engaging with the game’s core mechanics of gathering materials and crafting new items. It also adds a strategic element, as you need to decide when to use your more durable tools and when to risk using a flimsier one.

Durability Comparison

Here’s a general idea of the durability:

• Flimsy Shovel: Lowest durability, breaks relatively quickly.
• Shovel: Significantly more durable than the flimsy version.
• Golden Shovel: The most durable tool in the game, designed for long-term use.

Understanding the durability of your tools is key to efficient island management. You don’t want to be caught without a shovel when you need to dig up a valuable fossil or plant a rare flower! (See Also: how to shovel car out of snow)

The Importance of the Shovel

The shovel is arguably one of the most important tools in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Its uses are varied and vital to island life:

• Digging Fossils: Essential for unearthing dinosaur fossils that you can donate to your museum or sell.
• Planting Trees and Saplings: Allows you to cultivate your island’s flora and grow new trees.
• Digging Up Weeds: Crucial for keeping your island tidy and aesthetically pleasing.
• Finding Buried Items: You can dig up buried treasure chests, gyroids, and even lost items for villagers.
• Moving Stumps: Used to remove tree stumps, clearing space for construction or landscaping.
• Planting Flowers: While you can plant flowers without a shovel, using one allows for more precise placement and the ability to dig them up later.

Without a shovel, many of the core activities that make Animal Crossing so engaging would be impossible. It’s the tool that literally helps you shape your island.

Tips for Managing Your Shovels

With tools breaking, it’s wise to have a strategy:

• Keep a Flimsy Shovel Handy: Always have a few Flimsy Shovels in your inventory for quick digging when you don’t want to risk a better tool, or if you’re out and about and need to craft something quickly.
• Stockpile Materials: Keep a good supply of Hardwood and Iron Nuggets in your home storage so you can craft replacements whenever needed.
• Prioritize the Golden Shovel: Once you unlock the Golden Shovel recipe, focus on gathering the Golden Nugget. Its superior durability and unique perk make it well worth the effort.
• DIY Workbench Access: Ensure you have easy access to a DIY workbench, whether it’s in Resident Services or one you’ve crafted for your home.

When to Use Which Shovel

Consider the following:

• Flimsy Shovel: Good for very early game tasks, or when you need to dig up a single item quickly and don’t want to use your better tools.
• Shovel: Your workhorse. Use this for daily fossil digging, planting, and general island maintenance.
• Golden Shovel: Ideal for extensive digging projects, when you want maximum durability, or when you want to strategically break other tools.

Conclusion

Getting a shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a fundamental part of your island journey. Starting with the Flimsy Shovel provided by Tom Nook, you’ll progress to crafting a more durable Shovel from Nook’s Cranny, and eventually, if you’re dedicated, the highly sought-after Golden Shovel. Each has its uses and requires different materials, so keep an eye on your inventory and resource gathering to ensure you always have the right tool for the job.

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