Animal Crossing: New Horizons has only been out for a few short days and players are basking in its comfort in these tumultuous times. With the coronavirus influencing the gaming industry and the world at large so severely right now, players are taking any comfort they can get.
Yet, while most players are taking New Horizons day by day, it can be hard to make progress quickly that way. Thankfully, there are some helpful tips and tricks for players to earn bells fast to pay off their early game home loans.
Getting Prepared
For those new to the Animal Crossing series, the game is a life simulation game that follows real time. While many of the game’s functions are tied to the real world’s flow of time, many Animal Crossing players use time travelling to speed things along. However, this guide will focus on normal methods for getting bells that don’t center around time travelling so any player can follow along.
Now, paying off one's in-game loans – with exception to the very first loan – is all done by using the game’s currency called bells. There are a variety of ways to earn bells, from catching and selling fish and bugs to selling any duplicate fossils one has already donated to Blathers at the museum. Once one earns enough bells to pay off their loan, they can do so by going to Resident Services or the Town Hall at the plaza and using the blue terminal.
Selling Bugs and Fish
Now, there are a handful of surefire way to earn bells relatively quickly in Animal Crossing. The first and most obvious way is to sell any random fish or bugs that can be caught on the island. This method may require some focus and dedication, but it is a surefire way to steadily earn bells. However, fish and bugs each have specific values attached to them. For example, ocean fish like the oarfish that players can catch in the sea are worth a lot more bells than the common sea bass.
As for bugs, it’s best to ignore any common bugs like common or yellow butterflies, and instead go after bugs like the orchid mantis, emperor butterfly, or the tiger beetle. After players have caught a sufficient amount of these, head to the Resident Services tent or Nook’s cranny and sell off all those catches. Depending on the rarity the amount of bells should be quite large.
Finding Bell Bags
The second most reliable way to earn bells fast is through finding or earning bell bags. Bell bags can be found randomly in balloons or by shaking trees. However, there are two surefire way to get bells from objects around the island. The first is by finding the daily money rock at random. By hitting a rock with either an axe or shovel, it may start spitting out bells with the highest total yield being 16,100 bells if done properly. Just watch out for tool durability while hitting rocks.
The second method is by growing money trees. Money trees are special trees that sprout bell bags instead of fruit. To plant a money tree, go outside and look around the island for a glowing spot in the ground. Dig it up and receive a bell bag. However, instead of simply walking away, plant another bell bag in the glowing hole to plant a money tree. Planting a 10K bell bag yields the highest overall payout per money tree.
Those are just a couple of methods players can use to earn bells quickly in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to help them pay off their home loans quickly. While most of these methods will take a bit of time for those players not time traveling, they are still some of the quickest ways to earn plenty of bells quickly without using exploits.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.