How Do You Get a Shovel in Animal Crossing? Your Guide!

Ah, the trusty shovel! It’s one of those essential tools in Animal Crossing: New Horizons that you’ll find yourself reaching for constantly. Whether you’re digging up fossils, planting new flowers, or burying those pesky tarantulas (we’ve all been there!), a shovel is your best friend.

But if you’re just starting out on your island adventure, you might be wondering, “How do you get a shovel in Animal Crossing?” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! This guide will walk you through the simple steps to acquire this vital piece of equipment and get you digging in no time.

Your First Shovel: The Flimsy Shovel

When you first arrive on your deserted island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, your toolset is a bit… limited. You’ll start with a net and a fishing rod, which are great for catching bugs and fish, but not so much for anything else. To get your very first shovel, you’ll need to progress a little bit into the game’s early stages.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Reach Nook’s Cranny: After you’ve settled into your tent and Tom Nook has given you a few introductory tasks, he’ll eventually suggest building a bridge. This involves gathering resources and crafting. As part of this process, you’ll be tasked with setting up shops for your islanders. Tom Nook will then give you the DIY recipes for essential tools, including the Flimsy Shovel.
2. Crafting the Flimsy Shovel: Once you have the DIY recipe, you’ll need to gather the materials. The Flimsy Shovel requires 3 Iron Nuggets. You can find Iron Nuggets by hitting rocks on your island with a stone axe or by digging them up. If you don’t have a stone axe yet, you’ll need to craft that first! Once you have the iron nuggets, head to a workbench (you’ll find one in your tent or can craft one) and craft your Flimsy Shovel.

The Flimsy Shovel is your introductory digging tool. It’s not the most durable, and it will break after a certain number of uses, but it’s perfect for getting started with all your excavation needs.

Upgrading Your Digging Power: The Shovel

Once you’ve gotten the hang of things with your Flimsy Shovel, you’ll quickly realize its limitations. Breaking after just a few digs can be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to unearth multiple fossils or plant a whole garden. Thankfully, there’s a more durable option available: the regular Shovel. (See Also: how to get flimsy shovel recipe)

To get the recipe for the standard Shovel, you’ll need to do a little more interacting with Tom Nook and the progression of your island.

1. Unlock Nook’s Cranny: The key to unlocking the Shovel DIY recipe is the establishment of Nook’s Cranny. After you’ve paid off your initial tent loan and upgraded to a house, Tom Nook will ask you to gather materials to build a shop for Timmy and Tommy. Once Nook’s Cranny is built and open for business, you’ll gain access to more DIY recipes.
2. Purchase the ‘Shovel and Axe Set’ DIY Book: Inside Nook’s Cranny, you’ll find a cabinet with various items for sale. Among these items will be a book titled ‘Shovel and Axe Set’. This book contains the DIY recipes for the Shovel and the Stone Axe. Purchase this book for 2,500 Bells.
3. Crafting the Shovel: The regular Shovel DIY recipe requires 1 Iron Nugget and 5 Wood. You can gather wood by chopping down trees with an axe. Once you have these materials, head to a workbench and craft your new, sturdier Shovel.

The regular Shovel is a significant upgrade. It lasts much longer than the Flimsy Shovel, allowing you to dig more without worrying about it breaking as frequently. This makes it ideal for more extensive digging tasks.

The Ultimate Digging Tool: The Golden Shovel

For the ultimate digging experience and the longest-lasting tool, you’ll want to aim for the Golden Shovel. This is the most durable shovel in the game and has a special bonus: if you plant a sapling in the glowing spot where you dig up a fossil, a money tree will grow!

Getting the Golden Shovel requires a bit more dedication and a specific achievement:

1. Dig Up 100 Fossils: The primary requirement for unlocking the Golden Shovel DIY recipe is to have successfully dug up a total of 100 fossils from your island. This means you need to be actively playing the game, finding the X marks on the ground, and digging them up with a shovel.
2. Purchase the ‘Pretty-Good Tools’ DIY Book: Once you’ve dug up 100 fossils, you need to purchase another DIY book from Nook’s Cranny. This book is called ‘Pretty-Good Tools’ and it contains the DIY recipe for the Golden Shovel. This book is usually available for purchase after you’ve purchased the ‘Shovel and Axe Set’ and have been playing for a while. The cost is typically around 3,000 Bells.
3. Crafting the Golden Shovel: The Golden Shovel DIY recipe requires 1 Gold Nugget and 1 Shovel. Gold Nuggets are rarer than Iron Nuggets and can be found by hitting rocks (less frequently than iron) or from special islands you can visit using Nook Miles Tickets. Once you have the materials, head to a workbench and craft your prestigious Golden Shovel.

The Golden Shovel is a game-changer. It’s incredibly durable, meaning it will last you a very long time, and the ability to grow money trees adds a significant economic advantage to your island life. It’s definitely worth the effort to obtain! (See Also: how to get shovel knight spirit)

Other Ways to Get a Shovel (temporarily)

While crafting is the primary and permanent way to get shovels, there are a couple of other methods to get your hands on one, albeit temporarily:

Buying From Nook’s Cranny

Nook’s Cranny will occasionally stock Flimsy Shovels and sometimes the regular Shovel as items for sale. This is a convenient way to grab a replacement if yours breaks unexpectedly and you don’t have the materials to craft a new one. However, the stock is random, so you can’t rely on this as your sole method of acquisition.

Getting a Shovel From a Friend

If you have friends who play Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can visit their islands and they can give you a shovel. This is a great way to get a shovel if you’re in a pinch or if you haven’t unlocked the DIY recipe yet. Just be aware that any tool given to you by a friend will still have its durability, so it will eventually break.

Why You Need a Shovel

The shovel is an indispensable tool for many activities on your island:

• Digging Up Fossils: The most common use! You’ll need to dig up fossils to donate to the museum and complete your collection.
• Planting Flowers and Trees: To plant new flowers or trees, you first need to dig a hole with your shovel.
• Burying Items: Sometimes you’ll need to bury items, like unwanted weeds or even pesky tarantulas (if you’re brave enough!).
• Finding Gyroids: These quirky musical items only appear when you dig in a glowing spot on the ground.
• Money Trees: As mentioned, the Golden Shovel allows you to grow money trees by burying Bells in a glowing spot.
• Dismantling Stumps: You can use a shovel to dig up tree stumps, clearing your land for construction or aesthetic purposes.

Troubleshooting: Can’t Find the Diy Recipe?

If you’re following the steps and still can’t seem to find the DIY recipe for the Shovel, here are a few common reasons: (See Also: how to get flimsy shovel animal crossing)

• Not Far Enough in the Game: Ensure you’ve completed Tom Nook’s initial tasks and have progressed to the point where Nook’s Cranny is either open or under construction.
• Haven’t Purchased the Correct Book: For the regular Shovel, you *must* purchase the ‘Shovel and Axe Set’ DIY book from Nook’s Cranny. For the Golden Shovel, you need the ‘Pretty-Good Tools’ book.
• Game Updates/Patches: While unlikely to affect the core mechanics of obtaining basic tools, always ensure your game is up-to-date.

Patience is key in Animal Crossing. Keep playing, keep gathering resources, and keep interacting with Tom Nook and the residents, and you’ll have your shovels in no time!

Conclusion

Obtaining a shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a straightforward process that unfolds as you progress through the game. You’ll start with the Flimsy Shovel, craftable early on, and then unlock the more durable regular Shovel by purchasing a DIY book from Nook’s Cranny. For the ultimate digging experience, aim for the Golden Shovel by unearthing 100 fossils and purchasing another special DIY book.

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