Just got this game, what should I do first?

[Hypno KK]

I recommend following the more tutorial-based instructions you're given at first. You don't have to follow a lot of them, but they're a good way to get started. Isabelle will give you some tasks that you can do to get you started on the basics of planting and selling stuff. Your villagers will probably give you tips on the game as well. If you don't know where to start, starting with that is a good idea.

You can also explore a bit and find things to do. Become familiar with the shops, things like announcement board, Re-Tail, etc.. It'll make it easier to understand how things work more quickly.

If you want to just take your time to discover things on your own, that's perfectly fine and a lot of fun. If you want a more planned playing style and don't mind finding out what's ahead, you can read up a bit on the things you can unlock and the villagers you can have, so you can set yourself bigger goals.

There isn't a right or wrong way to play this game. As long as you're not ruining things for other players, you should play in whatever way feels more enjoyable to you. Remember that it's also normal that you might not know about all the features when you're starting out, and that's fine! Knowing some of the basics can be helpful (I wish I'd known about plot resetting when I started!) but it can also be fun to play with the challenge of not being sure about all the features in the game.

 

[RangerTalion]

you can plant it by digging a hole with your shovel and burying it in the ground C:

Where can I get a shovel

 

[Peebers]

Where can I get a shovel

The nooklings' store. they go for 500 bells each. all the tools go for 500 bells

 

[Atalie]

Where can I get a shovel

You can buy a shovel at the Nooks Store, but it will randomly stock. So if its not there today, it could be there tomorrow.. or the day after that! You can also visit another town and buy a shovel from their store if they have it in stock.

I also recommend making money first! The easiest way to do it is to go to the Island at night (after 7pm) and fill your basket with sharks and beetles and sell them at Re-Tail. And then, use your money to buy things from Able Sisters and Nooks. Buy a lot, because you get store upgrades and unlock other stores from spending money!

 

[RangerTalion]

You can buy a shovel at the Nooks Store, but it will randomly stock. So if its not there today, it could be there tomorrow.. or the day after that! You can also visit another town and buy a shovel from their store if they have it in stock.

I also recommend making money first! The easiest way to do it is to go to the Island at night (after 7pm) and fill your basket with sharks and beetles and sell them at Re-Tail. And then, use your money to buy things from Able Sisters and Nooks. Buy a lot, because you get store upgrades and unlock other stores from spending money!

I went to the island earlier and got some fruit and caught a few bugs.
How do you earn medals to buy from the shop on the island?

 

[nintendoanna]

ughhhh making money is the worst at the beginning of the game

 

[Atalie]

I went to the island earlier and got some fruit and caught a few bugs.
How do you earn medals to buy from the shop on the island?

Talk to Leilani, the turtle lady behind the desk. Ask to go on a tour! Those are minigames and you can earn medals to use at the gift shop.

 

[nintendoanna]

Just some tips for starting out!

- Shake your trees, sometimes money will fall out or furniture! Also, hit rocks with your shovel, there's always one money rock and a gem rock. Gems aren't really useful, so sell them for quick cash!
- Don't start hoarding early on, I did and I spent about a week cleaning everything out! Everything was all over my town. Sell furniture you're not using because worst case scenario, you actually need it, there's a catalogue you can buy it from.
- Pick any weeds you see to unlock the gardening store! (30 weeds to be precise)

Enjoy! Sadly, I went way to fast with starting out and got rich fast so it was easy to get anything I want, but take your time! That's how the game was meant to be played.

 

[LaBidoof]

I just ran around trying to see if I could any perfect fruit to plant and then sell later on for bells, Getting that bridge pwp is so helpful

 

[AppleBitterCrumble]

1.) Make lots of trustworthy friends and ask them if you can have a full basket of whatever their native fruit is. When you get back to town plant it and let it growth, sell the fruit and you will make easy bells from it.
2.) Beetle farm after you get the island. Once at the island talk to Llyoid the gyroid and ask him for a net and a fishing rod. Catch sharks (fish with visible fins above the water) and rare beetles (beetles on the palm trees) and once your basket is full head to your town and sell for profit.
3.) Lay out your town, decide where you want PWPs and stuff to go, decide who you want in your town, what you want in your house, etc. This helped me make my town more organized instead of having to worry about it later on.

 

[stitchmaker]

Make sure to plant your one perfect fruit in a safe spot. A villager could move in and drop it on the tree.
Best way is to chop down and tree and replace it with the perfect fruit. This way you'll know it will grow.

Don't sell your perfect fruit in your own town. Not worth it. You'll make more in another town. Also make sure to keep a few perfect fruit in your locker until you have a nice orchard and all ten villagers in. A house dropping in could take out you perfect fruit. Perfect fruit trees die after so many harvests. Sell them all and you wouldn't have any.

Don't worry to much about money. Now your island is unlocked you can make a lot of bells there.
Removing bushes, flowers and most of the trees in the middle will help spawn expensive bugs. I just have 3 trees on each side of the hut and one tree in the middle. Go around or after 7pm is the best time. The basket gets full fast.
After you donate all island bugs to the museum go for the expensive ones only.
You can put your island back the same way minus the regular tree. If you leave that tree than everything can be replaced.

Some tours will let you take flowers and island fruit home. Helps to make hybrids later on.
There are a lot of good youtube videos that will answer some of your questions as you go along.

Have fun and play the game the way you want to.

 

[MadisonCrossing]

Hi there!! It's nice to see yet another person who loves Animal Crossing just as much as this forum~ (●?∀｀●)

When I first started playing New Leaf, I found this guide very helpful (and it still helps me out today)! I promise you that most of your questions can be answered by this guide. ; v ; It's quite thorough and I hope it can do you well!

Best of luck with your town ♪

 

[RangerTalion]

Hi there!! It's nice to see yet another person who loves Animal Crossing just as much as this forum~ (●?∀｀●)

When I first started playing New Leaf, I found this guide very helpful (and it still helps me out today)! I promise you that most of your questions can be answered by this guide. ; v ; It's quite thorough and I hope it can do you well!

Best of luck with your town ♪

I bookmarked that link you gave me, thank you.

 

[Plum Pudding]

I watched youtube videos to help me figure it all out. Each player has a different strategy and I picked bits of advice from everyone and went at my own pace.

 

[Rarr01]

Just enjoy what it has to offer and don't worry about things too much. That's how I played for a few weeks/months and I really loved it. It's nice to just discover things by yourself and earn money and badges without trading to get a lot of items/bells. I wouldn't worry too much about the placement of villager houses either, they can always be traded out with new ones.

 

[RangerTalion]

thanks for the kinds words and advice everyone
I still have a few questions but I dont want to spam lol

 

[Earth Wolf-Howl]

thanks for the kinds words and advice everyone
I still have a few questions but I dont want to spam lol

Hey, don't be afraid to ask questions. We're more than happy to answer them for you.

 

[RangerTalion]

Hey, don't be afraid to ask questions. We're more than happy to answer them for you.

Oh so thats what quote does lol

Ok so my questions are what do people mean by TT
what are these bells under my picture on the left, and what can I do with them
I read about a gold axe that doesnt break how do I get one of those lol my regular axe keeps breaking
are shops stock random each day? one day nookling had a bed, next day they had a color wheel thing
what are play coins and how do i get them
what do I get from the fortune cookies

 

[matt]

Follow the on screen instructions...
Other than that, its free game to do what you like

 

[Earth Wolf-Howl]

Oh so thats what quote does lol

Ok so my questions are what do people mean by TT
TT is time travelling- which is basically altering the in-game clock to get to events earlier or attend those that they've missed. It's advised to do so if you don't want to lose any animals after a while of playing, but there are a range of opinions about it. Some see it as cheating, some don't.

what are these bells under my picture on the left, and what can I do with them
They're basically a currency on our community, and are a viable alternative if you don't have many in-game bells. They can be used to purchase items or even in-game bells on another sub-forum. I'm not sure exactly how the system works, but you get more every time you post.

I read about a gold axe that doesnt break how do I get one of those lol my regular axe keeps breaking
To get it, you just buy 50 saplings from Leif's store. It doesn't matter which sort- regular or cedar is fine.

are shops stock random each day? one day nookling had a bed, next day they had a color wheel thing
They are indeed random. However, if you want to get an item that's not in stock and you've already had it in your possession at one point, you later unlock a feature (if you haven't already) that allows you to order them.

what are play coins and how do i get them
Play coins are an alternate currency used in a range of games. To get them, you put your 3DS in sleep mode and walk. Either that, or shake it around a bit; because that's often used too. 100 steps gets you one Play Coin.

what do I get from the fortune cookies
Most give you Nintendo-themes items, but there are a few dud prizes that give you random items. Thankfully, they're not too common.

I put my answers into the quote above. They're what's written in bold.