Does cataloging/takings items directly from other people make the idea of collecting everything in AC:NH feel too easy?

[Variety.Gamer 4438]

So, story time, in AC New Leaf, I decided to go to a giveaway town that had a whole bunch of items. (Thank you to the user who hosted this island). This town allowed me to grab all the gold tools as well as finish the art and fossil exhibits of my museums. While nice, I was torn about whether this made the game "too easy" to complete (one of my definitions of completing the game being collecting every item and filling up the museum). TBH, I didn't collect all the items going to this town and I only opted to take the art, gold tools, and fossils that I needed.

Moving on to my New Horizons island, I didn't want to make the same mistake I felt I had made in the last game. However, I do realize that just like in New Leaf, there are items, fruits, etc. that you can only get by visiting other people's islands, but for the purposes of this topic, I am only referring to items that you can get through daily checking of the stores, and the holiday events that can take place on your own island, etc.

I am interested in knowing what other user's takes/opinions on this are and of course, I am not trying to offend any of the users on here who already participate in cataloging other user's items.

I am sorry if this has already been discussed elsewhere.

 

[KayDee]

I don’t think so. Even doing something like that will take some time and effort to find people with the items you need. If one of your goals is to catalog everything using just the shops and shooting down balloons to get variants, I doubt you’ll be able to complete it.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I felt like you at the very beginning of the game (this time around I was going to obtain everything myself) but as soon as I realized there were color variations of almost all furniture, and Redd only appears once every 2 weeks, I allowed myself to rely on the assistance of others lol

 

[Variety.Gamer 4438]

I don’t think so. Even doing something like that will take some time and effort to find people with the items you need. If one of your goals is to catalog everything using just the shops and shooting down balloons to get variants, I doubt you’ll be able to complete it.

True. Honestly, I fail to realize myself the amount of RNG there truly is with finding all the fossils/ genuine art as well as the ridiculous amount of items there are in this game (not even beginning to mention all the color variations). This is not a game that one would probably complete in a year by themself even if they are playing every day; catching all the bugs/fish/deep sea creature, buying out all the items in the stores, and participating in all the events.

Post automatically merged: Nov 8, 2020

I felt like you at the very beginning of the game (this time around I was going to obtain everything myself) but as soon as I realized there were color variations of almost all furniture, and Redd only appears once every 2 weeks, I allowed myself to rely on the assistance of others lol

Glad I wasn't the only one with this mindset

 

[KayDee]

True. Honestly, I fail to realize myself the amount of RNG there truly is with finding all the fossils/ genuine art as well as the ridiculous amount of items there are in this game (not even beginning to mention all the color variations). This is not a game that one would probably complete in a year by themself even if they are playing every day; catching all the bugs/fish/deep sea creature, buying out all the items in the stores, and participating in all the events.

I’ve played everyday since release and I think I’ve pretty much seen all the items that my Nook’s Cranny offers. I honestly haven’t seen a new furniture in months and even with balloons, you’re still more likely to get the same color variant as the one in your shop.

 

[Variety.Gamer 4438]

I’ve played everyday since release and I think I’ve pretty much seen all the items that my Nook’s Cranny offers. I honestly haven’t seen a new furniture in months and even with balloons, you’re still more likely to get the same color variant as the one in your shop.

Perhaps I over exaggerated a bit. Still, the rng factor for the fossils/art as well as the different color variations of items can make "total completion" of the game pretty tough when going in alone.

 

[Nefarious]

I was going to play solely offline at first, collecting everything on my own, but finding out that there were locked colors for everyone's store I quickly changed my tune. Cataloging from others is no walk in the park either though. It took me quite a few months to complete both the furniture and clothing catalogs. If locked colors weren't a thing in this game, I would definitely have hold off on cataloging from others till the very end.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I was going to play solely offline at first, collecting everything on my own, but finding out that there were locked colors for everyone's store I quickly changed my tune. Cataloging from others is no walk in the park either though. It took me quite a few months to complete both the furniture and clothing catalogs. If locked colors weren't a thing in this game, I would definitely have hold off on cataloging from others till the very end.

Congrats Nefarious! I didn't know you had the clothing done as well. I assume I'll be done clothing after the winter season (all the items I appear to still need look like winter clothes). I do appreciate that the Able Sisters rotate stock this time around.

 

[Nefarious]

Congrats Nefarious! I didn't know you had the clothing done as well. I assume I'll be done clothing after the winter season (all the items I appear to still need look like winter clothes). I do appreciate that the Able Sisters rotate stock this time around.

Thank you! Was absolutely ecstatic when I defeated that demon especially. I had the hardest time finding the Terry-cloth socks. I'm assuming they're winter or late autumn pieces, so it made sense. If you're ever missing anything and Able's just won't cycle it in, shoot me a message and I'd gladly help you out. ^^

 

[Dunquixote]

I had no idea that the colors were locked (nor did I know how much a pain buying clothes from Able’s was) so I think initially I was looking forward to getting as much as I could on my own. But, in the end, I’ve bought/traded from people. I personally think there is nothing wrong with that and to me it doesn’t take away the experience or fun; in fact, I think trading with people while looking to complete your catalogue enhances the experience. I’ve met so many kind people during my search for items as well as friends . I’ve still got a long way to before I have a complete catalogue; been slowing down on my play time and trading (just bought a collectible and need to earn some more tbt and clear my storage out eventually as well).

 

[niko@kamogawa]

I find catalog trading very fun. I won't say it's "easy." Because not all players have the furniture variants you want. I run a catalog shop myself. It's really hard to make them all available due to limited storage space. (I also don't time travel.)

 

[KittenNoir]

I quite enjoy visiting other towns and trading items with other players. I have traded with people I know IRL and on here and although you are obtaining the item faster than you would yourself I find it more fun trading my items to get the others styles/colours with players

 

[Wickel]

I had the same thing in NL. I started in 2018, so the game was out for years and everybody was super advanced already.

I came to the forum and immediately traded a tiny amount of tbt for millions of bells and gold tools. I could pay off my entire loan in no time and was able to do everything I wanted right away. It was indeed boring, so I started time travelling to spice it up.
I deleted that town short after.

Started a new town where I took it slow, didn't trade on the forums and didn't time travel. That town still lives.

Right now I made a pact with myself. I trade IGB for In game items, and swap tbt stuff for tbt stuff. Paying tbt for some items is cheap and quick but it just feels a little bit like cheating and it makes it too easy. Collecting items is just a part of the game and if I don't get everything right away that's okay.
I do trade quite a bit and often go to giveaways/catalogue parties via reddit because collecting all the colours of an item is just a PITA and not fun at all. I hate that they made it so that you basically cannot get everything if you don't trade. I keep seeing the same stuff at Nooks and it's frustrating. So I don't blame myself for trading and I just visit someone whenever I feel like it, but still take the game slow.

 

[Xara]

i honestly love trading with others; despite my social anxiety and how small of an interaction it might be, it helps me feel connected to people which is really nice since my irl interactions are kept to a minimum, especially during the pandemic. aha. that being said, while i have obtained certain things on my own, a lot of my accomplishments probably wouldn’t of been possible if it weren’t for this community; so far, i’ve completed my furniture catalog, art and fossil exhibits, etc through trading and so while i wouldn’t say that it made things too easy, i do agree that trading makes things easier.

there’s absolutely no problem with wanting to obtain things on your own but like already mentioned, certain factors such as locked furniture variants and certain artworks being harder to find than others could make progress a bit gruelling and could easily require years of work before reaching completion - which again, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all and i believe everyone should do whatever they’d like at whatever pace they want but there’s no shame in getting help from others, either! that’s one of my favourite things about this community; there’s no wrong way to play and everyone’s always so willing to help out. therefore, while i do like obtaining stuff on my own, trading with others is part of what makes animal crossing fun for me, too

 

[Manah]

There's no other feasible way to collect them like in New Leaf since you're limited to two variations per game and the rare additional one from Redd.

So no, there's no "too easy" if there's no normal-hard option available to you, unlike in New Leaf where you obtained variations through customization (funny how that got removed from the game that puts so much emphasis on crafting)

 

[dizzy bone]

I don’t enjoy the grind of collecting things. I like to have them ready to buy in the catalog for when I need them, so I don’t really have a problem with going to a catalog town and doing it the easy way. Then again, I’ve never been a catalog completionist in any AC game so it also wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t complete it in this game. I’ve been to a catalog town once to get a few sets but didn’t spend too long there because it was too tiring lol. I also enjoy visiting other islands to buy items I’m missing or do small trades. I don’t think I could ever hold out and wait to obtain everything on my own island through balloons, villager gifting, or Redd. Same goes for critters. I enjoy visiting other islands to catch things that my island doesn’t have.

 

[QueenOpossum]

I work full time, I have side gigs, and I have a wide variety of hobbies.

Getting furniture isnt an achievement to me, so I dont have any issue trading for it. It's not like giving the controller to someone so they can beat the boss for you - its furniture.

I also play other games on easy mode! I dont want to spend my limited free time struggling all the time. Some challenge is good, so you feel like you can overcome something, but not taking forever. Theres too many books to read, shows to watch, and other games to play to miserably grind away.

 

[skarmoury]

To each their own -- my own definition of fun and completion in ACNH is completing my island. Cataloging everything is only one step, and if I chose to complete things on my own or at a slow pace I think I would be bored dead by the game. Plus, I hate the feeling of knowing something is out there that I haven't cataloged yet, and I so desperately want to see how it looks in my layout.

We have completely opposite situations: back in ACNL I played purely offline so all my stuff came from scratch. Eventually I got bored with the daily grind and never completed my town. Many of the aspects I couldn't do in ACNL I can now do in ACNH, so I really want to see to it that this time I'm completing my island. So yeah, cataloging on my own is at the bottom of my list of what I consider in a "complete" game. But again, to each their own!

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I think it depends on what you want out of the game and how quickly you wish to attain your goals.

I thoroughly enjoy the decorating aspect of the game, so it's important to have as many furniture options available to me. Otherwise, it would bother me to have an idea in mind but not be able to fully execute on it in practice, simply due to not having the specific furniture or variant. Knowing my patience (lack thereof), I would have gotten frustrated and probably lost motivation to decorate the island.

 

[Imbri]

My rules for my island (and this is just how I choose to do it), are that the museum can take donations I get myself. Fossils were all dug up on my island or mystery tours, fish and bugs were caught in the same manner. Artwork is only donated if I purchased from Redd. The exception there is that I have gone to other islands when he is visiting. That means I'll get my gold tool diys on my own, as well.

For those who have bought/traded for museum items, it takes time to get the bells/tickets/items needed, so that's fair work, as well, so if that's how you chose to complete your museum, you go.

When it comes to furniture and other island-locked pieces, I don't have a problem with buying/trading for those, since there is no other way to get certain colors. I like to complete my catalog, plus I like having the variety to swap items around for the seasons or to decorate in new ways. As long as you're having fun and not trashing someone else's island, I don't see any harm in any of it. We aren't competing against one another, so you should do what makes you happy.