[PSA] How To Tell What Fossil(s) You're Missing and Solutions to Incompletion

[rustfour]

Okay, I've "completed" my missing fossils three times now. By completed, I mean traded to get a fossil I apparently already have and have donated.

Frustrating to say the least. I haven't seen the sort of monument that is present in ACNL to be able to check your list, so I found another method.

If you go to the ABD in City Hall, you can check Nook Shopping and check the "wallpaper, flooring, and more" section. Use R to tab over to fossils.

That -should- be a list of every fossil you've found so far. There are 73 - if you see them all there, you're done...maybe!

If you did like I did, you may have kept one of the fossils and not turned it in. You've only added the fossil to your "known" list as opposed to your list of donations.

I took all my so-called spare fossils from storage and brought them to the museum. Lo and behold, I found one I had as a spare was not in fact a spare...

If you've donated what you think is your last fossil and Blathers doesn't make a big deal about that wing being completed...keep searching! You might've screwed up like me. Learn from my mistakes!

 

[Raz]

Isn't it easier to visit the fossil section in the museum and check which ones you still need?

 

[Bioness]

Isn't it easier to visit the fossil section in the museum and check which ones you still need?

This.

 

[Briar]

Personally, I checked the catalogue in the ABD and marked off all the fossils I had in the ACNH Guide app. Then I made a list of the ones I was missing on the villagerdb site. Now I just delete them from that list as I get them. Also, I'm really careful about donating new finds to the museum, so I don't really have any concerns about fossils I may have found but didn't donate

 

[Xara]

i just kept track of mine through villagerdb lol

 

[Krissi2197]

I have an app on my phone that I use to track fossils I've donated!

 

[rustfour]

Isn't it easier to visit the fossil section in the museum and check which ones you still need?

I don't think so? I was down to one, and it wasn't leaping out at me which one it was by strolling through the museum. I mean, probably in some cases, but this is at least another method people can use.

I -had- been tracking them in a spreadsheet and a notepad and had a crash where I lost some data, right around when I was in the middle of finishing the collection. Not sure how exactly I ended up storing one I needed away, but I did.

 

[JKDOS]

I just visit the museum and check the exhibits. They show the name of the dinosaur and state whether it's missing parts.

If it is missing parts, I can generally tell which body part it is by looking at where it belongs .

EDIT: I'm not shooting down your suggestion, but stating what has worked for me. I did start late though, when I was down to only 5 missing parts

 

[rustfour]

I just visit the museum and check the exhibits. They show the name of the dinosaur and state whether it's missing parts.

If it is missing parts, I can generally tell which body part it is by looking at where it belongs .

EDIT: I'm not shooting down your suggestion, but stating what has worked for me. I did start late though, when I was down to only 5 missing parts

Ooooh! See, I didn't know the signs would tell you what part(s) were missing. Nice!

It'd be a good QoL improvement to be able to ask Blathers what's missing, or a directory of exhibits on the wall where you could check, akin to the donation log outside the museum in ANCL.

Thanks everyone! Valuable discussion I think as it's highlighted various ways to go about this including some I (and probably others) hadn't known about. ^^

 

[JKDOS]

Ooooh! See, I didn't know the signs would tell you what part(s) were missing. Nice!

Oh, it doesn't specifically say the part names, but will say the name of the dinosaur, and tell you if it is incomplete. Sorry for the confusion. When I did it, I would just look over the fossil to determine which body part is missing, such as torso, pelvis, head, and neck.