Players were once told there would be nothing more, but the free Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 update is here, alongside a technical overhaul for those playing on Switch 2. In this guide, we will walk you through how to best approach those early hours on your island, whether it's your first time back since 2020 or you’ve been playing regularly for the past six years. If you feel a bit lost or out of practice, don’t worry; we have over 80 guides to assist you in our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides hub.
Check the Mail and Head to the Hotel
When you first leave your house, be sure to check your mailbox. You should have a letter from Luna informing you that Slumber Islands are now available. Assuming you’ve unlocked Kapp’n, the Seaside Hotel should be available already. You don’t have to wait a day for it to be built. If you haven’t unlocked Kapp’n yet, you need to attend your first K.K. Slider concert and achieve a three-star island rating.
Upon entering the hotel, Tom Nook will introduce you to Kapp’n’s family. If you visit Resident Services before the hotel, you’ll notice Tom Nook isn’t at his usual spot. After the introductions, Leilani will give you your first task: decorate a room. You can decide how elaborate you want this to be. Once completed, a guest will arrive right away.
After welcoming your first guest, Tom Nook will explain Kapp’n’s new shipping service. Kapp’n will request specific craftable items, and by creating and shipping them, you’ll earn Hotel Tickets. Thankfully, crafting multiple of the same items at once is now an option to speed things up.
Moreover, completing these requests will enhance your hotel’s reputation—at least that’s what Kapp’n claims. We’re not sure yet if this is merely talk or if there’s an actual advantage to completing these requests, aside from earning more Hotel Tickets and new items from the souvenir shop.
After conversing with Kapp’n and Nook, head back inside and speak with Leilani to decorate your second room. After this, she’ll instruct you to return tomorrow for another task. Feel free to decorate both rooms to maximize your time while you wait. You can also use your tickets to buy souvenirs from the shop or through Gram’s catalogue, keeping in mind that ordering from the catalogue costs extra.
If desired, you can also customize the mannequins in the lobby so visitors can quickly change into an island uniform.
Track Down Resetti
Once you’ve wrapped up at the hotel, let’s explore your island a bit. You might encounter your guest wandering the island, but more importantly, we’re looking for Resetti. When you find him, he’ll inform you about his new Reset services that can clear out your entire island or specific areas of it.
This service incurs a fee of 60,000 bells each use, but the first use is free! You can redeem this free day anytime, so don’t feel pressured to use it right away. Simply speak to Isabelle when you need his services.
We opted to use his services as soon as possible because we wanted to get rid of a bunch of flowers. Thanks to this update, you can store your flowers. While convenient, there are some quirks to note.
If you clear specific areas, he’ll pick up everything you’ve placed. You can’t specify that he only remove flowers or furniture, for instance. Although he said he was only picking up flowers, he also removed all of our furniture, so we had to replace everything in those cleaned areas. It's a bit bothersome, but definitely easier than digging up flowers manually.
Head to Resident Services
After speaking to Resetti, your next stop is Resident Services. Talk to Tom Nook to expand your storage again, which I recommend doing today since it will take a day before it goes into effect. You also have the option to celebrate the hotel’s grand opening. Don’t forget to check the Nook Terminal for new Lego furniture if anything piques your interest.
Finally, if you possess Zelda or Splatoon Amiibo, you can invite some of the new villagers to your Campsite.
Check Out Slumber Islands
Now, let’s return to Luna. Head home or find a bed, and take a nap. You’ll see a new option: Slumber Time. Choose this, and Luna will prepare a slumber island for you to explore.
On a Slumber Island, you can construct and decorate as much as you'd like using your collected furniture and items. However, keep in mind that none of the items will carry back to your original island—this mode is strictly for creativity. Additionally, if you haven’t unlocked Dream Islands, you won’t be able to initiate a Slumber Island.
Use the New Terraforming Tools
Before we conclude, there’s one last feature to highlight. Version 3.0 introduces new construction controls. By holding L and using the control stick, you can move one square at a time, allowing for greater precision when building cliffs, rivers, and tiles.
That covers everything you can do on your first day after the update. Remember to check out more guides in our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides hub!
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