How do you do the time travel trick to get a villager to move out?

Feraligator

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I'm asking someone to get Benjamin out, but I'm not sure the proper method, though I've heard it before. How do you it again?
 
If I recall correctly, you move two days forward, login, log out. Go two days back and then run around trying to find the villager who offers to move.
 
The method is this: TT forward 2 days, go on a character, and run around until someone pings you. Then talk to the person who pinged you. Keep saving and quitting and going back on to cycle out all the villagers in case someone else wants to move. If it's not the right villager, go backwards 2 days and repeat.

Or you could do 1 day to be safe.
 
One day might be safer. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen someone post that they accidentally TTed too far and one of their favourite villagers has packed up to move out.
 
TT two days forward, then start game as the Mayor, save and quit, then TT two days backward (for example, from July 31 to August 2 and then back from August 2 to July 31).

Talk to every villager and some of them will tell you they're moving.
 
Keep in mind it isn't a sure thing that someone will ping you each time you change the date, but once you change it a few times it's pretty much guaranteed to trigger a move announcement. The hard part is getting the "right" villager to ping you with the move prompt. The sad part is the chance you can overlook a villager intending to move and then lose them. It's very easy to lose patience and take short cuts. Don't! Not if you're worried about losing a particular villager, because there is always a risk.

I thought I was being careful and nobody pinged me to let me know they were moving. I spoke to everyone and nobody reported any "rumors" that someone was thinking about moving. I TT two days and Tabby was gone without any notice. I've lost a couple of other villagers inadvertantly, too, but Tabby is the one that still hurts.
 
Keep in mind it isn't a sure thing that someone will ping you each time you change the date, but once you change it a few times it's pretty much guaranteed to trigger a move announcement. The hard part is getting the "right" villager to ping you with the move prompt. The sad part is the chance you can overlook a villager intending to move and then lose them. It's very easy to lose patience and take short cuts. Don't! Not if you're worried about losing a particular villager, because there is always a risk.

I thought I was being careful and nobody pinged me to let me know they were moving. I spoke to everyone and nobody reported any "rumors" that someone was thinking about moving. I TT two days and Tabby was gone without any notice. I've lost a couple of other villagers inadvertantly, too, but Tabby is the one that still hurts.

This happened to me today :( although it wasn't one of my favorite visitors, I had no idea he was moving - I made the mistake of only going up to the person I wanted to move, and if they didn't ping, I'd try again. Bad mistake lol.
 
This happened to me today :( although it wasn't one of my favorite visitors, I had no idea he was moving - I made the mistake of only going up to the person I wanted to move, and if they didn't ping, I'd try again. Bad mistake lol.

It's almost even more important to go up to the one you don't want to move to make sure they don't ping you. I'm now paranoid about losing Octavian since he's in my TT village that I want to move to my other village but I have no space there yet. When I TT, I go to him first to make sure he isn't planning on leaving me. I've caught him a couple of times and convinced him to stay.
 
Make sure you thoroughly spoke to everyone, even with villagers inside just to be safe. Speak to them several times. You don't want someone you really like disappear without warning when TT'ing backwards because it has happened to some people.
 
The 2/2 method is completely safe. All you have to do is start at the current date. Walk around your village and make sure you walk directly in front of every villager that is outside. If they Ping (!) at you, talk to them and they may ask to move out. If you do not want that villager to move out, say no, and they are are guaranteed to stay. If noone pings at you, then noone wants to move out, as those out shopping or in their houses will not move out.

If noone wanted to move out time travel two days into the future and repeat the above method. If noone wants to move out or someone wants to move out you don't want to, tell them no and then time travel back to the current date and start from the beginning. Also, if one person pings you, you can be certain noone else will on that day, as only one person max will want to move out on any given day.

It's pretty easy and completely safe.

I dunno who I copied this from, but I know it's helped a lot of people lol
 
Keep in mind it isn't a sure thing that someone will ping you each time you change the date, but once you change it a few times it's pretty much guaranteed to trigger a move announcement. The hard part is getting the "right" villager to ping you with the move prompt. The sad part is the chance you can overlook a villager intending to move and then lose them. It's very easy to lose patience and take short cuts. Don't! Not if you're worried about losing a particular villager, because there is always a risk.

I thought I was being careful and nobody pinged me to let me know they were moving. I spoke to everyone and nobody reported any "rumors" that someone was thinking about moving. I TT two days and Tabby was gone without any notice. I've lost a couple of other villagers inadvertantly, too, but Tabby is the one that still hurts.

I second this. I lost Nana for that exact reason. I exhausted conversation with all villagers and nobody told me anything, then.. bam. ._. She's rare so I have 0 chance of getting her back unless she ended up in a friends town, (which even then I'm sure they'll try to charge me for her ahaha..)

I was actually trying to get Fuschia/Diana/Skye to move out because I have some people waiting for them so I thought I'd speed up the process. But instead, I got a kick in the butt for it ;3;

 
TT two days forward, then start game as the Mayor, save and quit, then TT two days backward (for example, from July 31 to August 2 and then back from August 2 to July 31).

Talk to every villager and some of them will tell you they're moving.

Sorry for bring back an old post, but will the other villagers inform me, if the villager i ignore is going to move?
 
I hate hate HATE trying to get villagers to ping me. Here's what I do, but you have to be VERY careful not to start your file up instead of hit new file:

If someone has just moved in/out, it's safe to skip 3 days ahead, so do that. If that makes you nervous, change the date, then start a new character to see if anyone moved without you looking. If they didn't, continue your real file and save/quit.

Now skip ahead 5 days. but DO NOT load your mayor, start a new file instead. Whatever house is missing is who is going to move. Exit out, go back to the safe day they were still in town, and THEN you know for sure who you have to get to ping. Easy!

I find this much easier than running around for hours trying to ping all your villagers, but it is a little scary to do since if you're not paying attention you could load up your mayor and lose a dreamie. But since you can lose a dreamie just because they happened to never ping you even though they were planning on moving, I think this way is a lot more effective and less risky in the long run! I've moved out three unwanted villagers this way (and stopped Static from leaving, that little butt)
 
I reject hopper from moving out abt 2 days ago.

So can I just straight away TT to 5 days later ( using DS clock), log in using a new file, exit the game if the one moving is not what I want.

Keep creating a new file and go in, without the need to touch the date again since its still 5 days forward, till its the villager I want out and save?

Base on every time i go in with a new file, it'll be a new villager moving.
 
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I reject hopper from moving out abt 2 days ago.

So can I just straight away TT to 5 days later ( using DS clock), log in using a new file, exit the game if the one moving is not what I want.

Keep creating a new file and go in, without the need to touch the date again since its still 5 days forward, till its the villager I want out and save?

Base on every time i go in with a new file, it'll be a new villager moving.

No no. Okay, since you rejected Hopper from moving 2 days ago, only skip 1 or 2 days ahead using the DS clock. Then, start up your mayor file and save/quit.

NOW you skip 5 days ahead (because usually after 3 days, a new villager will want to move, though it could take more than that), and start a new file. Once you can see the map, a villager should have moved. It will always be the same one, though, since the game decides who is moving at the earlier date.

If it's someone you want to keep, you'll have to go back to the original date 5 days before, and convince them to stay, then skip ahead 3 days, save, skip 5 and check again :P I know it sounds complicated, haha.
 
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Ah thanks for this! I'll try it to make some villagers I don't like move out.
 
I agree with Static, but I never load a new save file. I have never lost any of my dreamies TT-ing five days after every ping. You just have to make sure to talk to everyone first before time traveling. After you time travel five days into the future, walk around and 90% of the time, someone is bound to ping you. If not, they are either A) in their houses, or B) going to ask the next day. If so, time travel another day into the future. Once you receive a ping, talk to everyone and TT five days into the future again. Eventually you will get that villager to move out :) Hope that helps and simplifies everything
 
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