There are a ton of very useful items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Some of them help with making your furniture mesh a lot better with other items in the game. They also allow you to unleash your creativity in creating all kinds of different areas around your island such as food courts, movie theaters, arcades, and more.
There are endless possibilities and so many great items in the game that allow you to personalize your island. Some items in the game are just great to have on hand to make your daily tasks easier. Here are 10 essential items for your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Updated September 7th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has added quite a few items since we last visited this list, with players able to get their hands on some seriously advanced decor, including an unassuming pipe that will let them instantly transport to areas around their island. With developers constantly adding new items (and players finding interesting ways to use pre-existing things) we thought it best to go back and give an update to this collection. There are now even more items and ideas that players should be sure to incorporate into their getaway. Here's an expanded look at things players should add to their Animal Crossing: New Horizons island.
19 Pipe
Since Update 1.18, players were given access to some very recognizable items that are very reminiscent of the Super Mario Bros. franchise. The iconic Pipe (which many will recognize as the Warp Pipe from the beloved franchise) can be snagged for 5,000 Bells from Nook Shopping. Players will want to grab at least two of these items because they actually still maintain their properties from the Mushroom Kingdom. By placing two warp pipes, players can interconnect them to allow for quick and easy teleportation around their island paradise.
This is a must-have item for players that are tired of hoofing it around their expansive town and want a quick and easy way to access specific areas.
18 Arcade Cabinet
A lot of the items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons are simply static decorations that don't offer much in terms of animations or variance. Thankfully, there are a handful of great decor pieces that will liven up a space with motion. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the Arcade Cabinet. This unassuming piece can really help a space feel technologically advanced. There is something super helpful and relatable to player designs when they feature some form of electricity and the Arcade Cabinent will help players connect better with their spaces no matter how modern or archaic they may feel.
17 Vegetable Patch
Make island life a little more homely with a beautiful little vegetable patch. While vegetables can be planted in any ground type, much like flowers, creating a little muddy patch complete with fences and tools just makes for a quintessential island-life vibe.
While pumpkin seeds are only available during October from Nook's Cranny, they can be purchased from Leif at any time and so can be grown all year round. Players are able to get a maximum of three pumpkins per plant if they tend to their vegetable patch regularly enough with a good watering.
16 Outdoor Seating
Creating an outdoor seating area is the perfect way to make a little social space on the island, offering players a nice little area where they can relax and spend time with either their animal neighbors or any visiting friends.
This outdoor garden patio area by Redditor cellehstuffs is the perfect example of an outdoor seating area next to a house. However, players can let their imaginations run wild and create outdoor cafes, libraries, marketplaces, and more.
15 Golden Tools
Once you achieve a 5-star island through Isabelle's evaluations, you'll receive the golden watering can. Whether this is your first golden tool, or another one for your collection, collecting all the golden tools can be a time-consuming task that'll definitely be rewarding in the end.
The golden tools just look a lot cooler than the normal ones and while they aren't unbreakable (hopefully they will be in the future), they still have fairly high durability.
14 Stove
A stove isn't a necessary item as players won't need to do any cooking around their island if they really don't want to, but it's absolutely necessary for anyone that is attempting to make a kitchen within their home. Thankfully, there are a variety of stoves, as well as other cooktops. Players shouldn't feel like they need to be tethered to simply any old stove and should feel free to experiment. The beauty of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that players can do practically anything they want on their islands and this includes inside their homes.
It can even be something as simple as a microwave or an open flame. But adding something like this can breathe life into an otherwise empty space, making it feel more like a home that's being lived in.
13 Fencing
Fences are a must for any island — not only do they come in a variety of designs, perfect to use for decorative purposes and to add a little more style to your island, but they have a practical purpose too. Players can use fences to keep their island orderly, creating set areas that visiting players are allowed to explore, while also cutting off access to anywhere the owner doesn't want them to be, such as near coveted money trees or rare flowers.
A lot of players have their most precious areas fenced off with a single gap remaining so they can access it whenever they like, then they carry extra fences so that just before they invite other players to their island, they can plug that last gap and keep their items safe.
12 Flower Patch
Flower patches not only add beautiful scenic areas to an island, such as this Redditor's prime example of a stunning color-coordinated flower patch, but they also serve a purpose too — making flower breeding more efficient.
Utilizing flower patches gives players greater control over their flower-growing, but can also keep their prized rare flowers safe when coupled with the previous suggestion of fencing. While visitors can no longer ruin flowers entirely by running through them (as they could in earlier titles), they can still pick them and essentially steal the hard work of any would-be flower grower, so fence those flowers and keep them safe.
11 Customization Kits
Customization kits are always great to have in case you ever feel like your tool may be close to breaking. When using a customization kit to change the color of a tool, it'll actually reset the durability on it to make it as good as new. It's a weird trick that would definitely be a lot better if you could just repair the tool without changing its color but hey, it works!
Customization kits can be bought from Nook's Cranny for 600 bells. Thankfully you're able to purchase up to five at a time which makes it way easier to stock up on them.
10 Wands
If you want to be able to change your outfits on the fly, wands are great to have in your inventory at all times. There are many different wands available in he game, but one of the easiest to obtain is the bamboo wand.
Either way, you'll have to get star fragments from wishing on a shooting star at night. When this happens you can also find Celeste on your island who will give you a DIY recipe that can possibly be for a wand or something quite rare. There was also a recipe for a wand given during Bunny Day that is pretty easy to craft.
9 Spare Tools
Even if players arm themselves with the coveted golden tools, as previously mentioned, they still won't last forever as they did in earlier titles. It's worth having a couple of spare tools, with most players recommending an extra bug net and a rod, but at the minimum at least a net. This doesn't necessarily have to be kept in the inventory but should be accessible when outside.
The reason for this is because if players see a rare bug they desperately want (or a finned fish they want to go after), but their net/rod has broken, going into their home or the shop to pick-up/buy another will reset the island wildlife and the bug/fish will disappear. Never lose a sought-after critter again by keeping a spare tool to hand.
8 Simple Panels
Simple panels are great because they basically act as walls to cover up spots that you may not want visible, especially when terraforming cliffs. There are tons of custom designs available online that work great with the simple panel. It's available in different colors and purchasable through Nook's Cranny.
Since you'll most likely need a ton of them, ordering them from the Nook catalog allows you to get up to 5 a day. These will ship the day after your order is placed so if you need them urgently, time-traveling will definitely speed up the process.
7 Nook Miles Tickets
Nook Mile Tickets, abbreviated as NMT, are extremely valuable. It's basically the primary currency for the in-game economy as Bells aren't as valuable due to the duplication glitch and the fact that most players don't need them anymore. They're used to buy various things in the game and also as a way to hunt for certain villagers using the island tours feature.
They're pretty easy to farm while just doing various tasks in the game. Now is a good time to stock up on them as with future updates there'll be more rare items that you may be able to obtain by trading with someone online. Given that most of these players don't care for bells, having a ton of Nook Mile Tickets on hand is the best way to go.
6 Floor Lights
There are very few items in the game that compare to floor lights when trying to make your island entrance or even a building look cooler. These are available in various different colors and obtained from Nook's Cranny.
They don't really go for a lot online when trading with other colors so if you have a Nook Miles Ticket or two to spare, it may be easier to get it that way, rather than waiting for it to appear in your shop. They look really cool around buildings like the museum and work great for creating island projects such as an arcade or even a music venue.
5 Plain Wooden Shop Sign
The plain wooden shop sign is one of the most desirable items in the game at the moment as it has interesting variations and customization that allow you to put pointers around your island for certain areas such as shops and houses. It's obtained from crafting and can most likely be given to you by a villager as well as from a message in a bottle.
Alternatively, you can get it online by trading with another player. They usually go for a couple of Nook Mile Tickets or if you're lucky, you can maybe trade another player an item that they may be searching for that's in your catalog.
4 Fish Bait
Fish Bait is very important, as it can cut out a lot of boring time spent waiting for new fish to spawn. While gamers definitely feel everyone's pain with how tedious crafting is in the game, it's going to pay off a ton when you can just stay in one area to fish.
You won't have to go all over your island searching for sharks. This could also help a ton with filling up your fish collection for Blathers.
3 Lanterns/Streetlights
Streetlights and Lanterns are a great way to add some nice scenery to your island for your villager's late-night strolls. The street lights are obtainable from the Nook Stop using Nook Miles while the Lanterns are obtainable through crafting.
The Cherry Blossom Viewing Lanterns are some of the best looking ones in the game and were obtainable during the cherry blossom season. You can still get them using time-travel or through online trading. They're really nice and help a ton with getting your island evaluations up as well as making your island look awesome.
2 Stalls
Stalls are one of the best items in the game for creating certain projects on your island. You can create things such as food stalls, fortune-teller stands, ramen stands, and more with them. With all the amazing custom designs available online there are endless possibilities with what you can do.
The stalls are obtained through crafting and are customizable using customization kits. They can also be used like Simple Panels to cover up cliffs or other areas you don't want to be visible.
1 Wet Suit
Wet Suits were added in one of the larger post-launch updates, much to the joy of fans as this was a feature that had previously been in New Leaf and was sorely missed. This item is a must for anyone who wants to be able to go swimming and catch some sea creatures while they're at it.
Fortunately for the fashion-conscious island-owner, wet suits come in a variety of styles so there is something to suit everyone's needs. Players should be sure to keep a wetsuit on hand so that they can explore the ocean whenever they like.