Do you buy items/bells/diys/etc. or do you progress your island organically?

[deana]

I would say I'm about 80/20 for organic progression vs buying/trading. I think doing most of the work myself just makes me feel more invested in the game which is part of the fun for me. But I also don't want to torture myself with some of the hard work required to obtain everything, so I do still do some occasional trading.

 

[Parkai]

I feel like waiting for art from Redd is like waiting for the moon to fall, haha.

 

[niko@kamogawa]

I traded with other players in this forum. It's one way to speed up the process especially if you're busy.

I did some progression on my own such as catching all fishes and bugs.

 

[kayleee]

I know what you mean. I’ve done this with past islands and it does feel like a bit of a rushed progression, but I’m usually also incredibly impatient with the island I have now I’ve resisted TTing and I’ve been earning bells on my own. I have gotten several DIYs, furniture pieces and lots of bush starts from the forum. Otherwise, I’ve been trying to get things on my own. It’s far slower for sure, but it’s also quite satisfying. However, if there is something I really want, I don’t mind buying it from someone else. I don’t believe there is a wrong way to play though, so as long as you like your island, that’s what counts!

I know, I am super impatient too so I think that's why I just turned to buying bells/diys so I could get my island looking more developed as fast as possible. I've really been thinking about resetting lately but I'm so worried I'll regret it! It does seem like it would make it more satisfying though, having to earn everything myself.

I've definitely bought bells, NMT, furniture variations (correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only way to get certain colors if you didn't luck into it for your island to trade?). I've also bought some DIYs, art, and very occasionally villagers, although I have access to most amiibos so I don't need to buy any villagers who aren't brand new and generally prefer to get ahold of them myself. I've also stopped buying art since I learned how to TT to farm Redd, but I understand that's not something people may want to do, and generally I'd rather tip or pay people to craft items for me than buy DIYs unless I anticipate wanting an infinite amount of them, like garden benches and wooden stools.

Basically I'm willing to buy anything that I don't enjoy the grind for. Like, I'm happy to farm materials. I'm happy to wait for most DIYs to pop up on their own, too, save for very specific ones I intend to use a lot. But the enjoyment of the game for me is in building and decorating my island, and in interacting with my villagers and watching them wander around the island, so that's what I want to spend my time on.

Yeah I believe you're right, I do think each island only gets certain color variations of furniture and you basically have to trade in order to get other ones. Or maybe villagers occasionally gift variations, I'm not sure.

I agree with you, decorating my island is definitely one of my favorite aspects of the game!

At the beginning I definitely progressed organically. It was so slow but to be honest I was scared of trading (I was also scared of posting or even being seen )

I made bells with turnips but my internet was slow and the whole queueing and cutscenes and being disconnected was very frustrating Most of my bells were made through selling fishbait as it was hard to make but valuable as a lot of people had more bells than time I guess.

I have only bought one diy which I was massively overcharged for (because I asked ) I met my first amazing friend Becky and got to catalogue anything I wanted free My love for the game was greatly enhanced by all the cool stuff I got from @Hobowire a true legend

It’s the community here that is so special. All I hope is that I have given back all the kindness I have been given. Sorry for essay, I am not quite so scared now

I'm glad you've gotten more comfortable around the forum! I feel like the community here is really great.

For the first month-and-a-half I played self-sufficiently, but I will and do trade for things now.

Things I'd Buy/Trade: IGB, NMT, villagers, furniture color variants, non-native fruits
Things I'd Prefer to Collect Myself: DIY, villager photos, museum collectibles, seasonal items, hybrid flowers

Anecdotally--I played New Leaf totally offline, and I had no friends to play with, so my progress in that game was faltering and slow--after playing off and on for 3-4 years I was almost finished expanding my house, had all the shops, but had only done like 1 public works project because I could never get the suggestions I wanted and they were expensive. I either forgot about or had no idea about most of the game mechanics until I started looking things up. I found this site about a year ago looking for some items and traded with someone for them--they gave me a bunch of IGB gratis and it was more than I had ever possessed in the game at one time. I think I actually cried.

So in New Horizons, I got through the initial 'story' portion by myself, as it feels more in the spirit of things, but when I ran out of storage space and couldn't keep up with the house payments anymore I bought IGB. I spend a lot of money on clothes~ but other than that, it lets me put down infrastructure and move houses without tremendous financial angst. Grinding for money isn't fun for me, and I know it doesn't matter but I feel kinda bad selling my island critters off for profit. I'm not in a hurry to get my 'dreamies' but I'll look for them through New Neighbor Network or island hopping if a spot opens up. I'm content to wait on catalog variants for now, but if I get desperate for a specific thing I'll trade for it without too much guilt. The other stuff feels like 'post-game' if that makes sense--completing the museum, getting all the hybrids, and collecting and crafting and cataloguing everything.

I agree with you, even though I say I wish I progressed my island more naturally, I know that after a while I wouldn't enjoy grinding for bells!

Post automatically merged: Apr 7, 2021

I think it greatly depends on how someone plays the game. I love decorating and was surprised at how much I loved terraforming, so for me it's all about getting to the 3 stars and then i usually trade for bells to pay stuff off and utilize turnips and turnip profit sites. I was able to pay off loans super quickly and amass my bells so now I don't have to worry about that kinda stuff.

I'm definitely the same way, the building and decorating is my favorite part of the game. The only problem is once I make something that I really like, I have a hard time destroying it to try something else, and with limited space on my island, I feel like I've kinda run out of things to do in that regard. I keep thinking of resetting, but instead maybe I should just tear-down a couple areas of my island to give myself more to do in the game.

I’ve got two islands so can happily experience both sides of things. All bells, DIYs and art has come naturally on my main island. But on the 2nd island to fast track things I’ve bought recipes and items I’ve wanted for different designs I wanted to achieve. The Redd thing is the hardest thing to not source elsewhere, my mum has an island and has no issue with me sourcing from shops or trades on bell tree but for me I see that as the biggest no no! Not sure why just how I play!

I've been seriously considering buying another switch - I'm so nervous that if I reset I'll really regret it (I've had my island since the day the game came out and I'm a pretty sentimental person) so I think spending the $$ to have another island might be worth it to me. I agree about Redd, I think I've seen him on my island maybe five times since that update came out -- I ended up buying all my art from the forum

I've never really traded, apart from sending a few things back and forth with irl friends back when they were still playing. I've always been satisfied to be 'self-sufficient' or whatever, but now that a year has passed I'm starting to accept that there are some items that will just NEVER appear in my store for some reason, so I am tempted. I'm kind of scared of it if I'm honest, you hear so many horror stories, and I don't know any of the etiquette

Yeah, I've noticed that I get a LOT of repeat items in my store. If you do decide to start trading, so many people on this forum are super friendly, I don't think you can go wrong buying from people on here! I've definitely heard the horror stories from Nookazon, and I've never traded their but I'd probably avoid that one personally lol. But I've never had any bad experiences on this forum

i personally buy them on here, of course whatever i can get on my own, but if im need of it and i honestly don’t feel like taking the time to get it, i buy it off someone on here. i’d probably die without these forums as my main source of gathering items/diys/nmt. me being impatient as i am, never wants to take the time to collect everything slowly. everyone on here sells stuff for ridiculously good prices, and counting in the time and effort id have to put in just for one item, where i can just buy it off someone on here for a couple tbt bells, id rather buy it off here. in the end it’s supporting the people on here as well who are looking to gain tbt, both sides with benefit and be content. but that’s just me being lazy lmao

I'm so impatient as well, and being able to buy stuff with tbt on this forum really is a game changer - I don't care so much about collecting tbt so I love using it to buy in-game stuff haha.

 

[theplushfrog]

Personally I’m usually sitting in the “organic progression” box for AC games but this one is pretty difficult to collect things with so I’ve been forced to reach out more to buy and trade for things or timetravel (like for Redd) to be able to feel like I’m progressing at all.

For example I’ve been playing since the start and still am missing a TON of diys and keep getting repeats from my villagers of ones I got day 1. I really wish they had made this system easier to play solo.

 

[Halloqueen]

When I have the spare TBT to comfortably do so, I definitely purchase a lot of things here on the forums. If I want particular clothes, if I need specific furniture items for a room I'm designing, or if I need a particular DIY or anything, I have no qualms with simply seeking them out from shops in the Nook's Cranny section. Heck, I'm planning on deleting one of my player characters in the future to make a different one and I'm going to need bells to fully pay off their full house upgrades, so I'm going to have to buy millions of bells from someone on here (something I've done in the past as well). I don't worry about online trading taking any of the fun out of the game because it never took the fun out of New Leaf, it only enhanced my enjoyment. Additionally, I play other games, have other life matters to attend to, and don't mind taking breaks from the game since I'm a time traveler, so I'm not as attached the concept of day-to-day play and natural progression as, say, someone whose only Switch game is New Horizons, for example.

 

[Che5hire Cat]

I do buy a lot stuff, but at the same time also try to at least collect certain items or DIYs on my own. I admit, I'm just lazy sometimes and use to quick option to trade with someone instead of using the time consuming way of earning bells or finding any kind of furniture/clothes. What I definitely try to get on my own however are fossils and the majority of paintings/statues.

 

[Skyfall]

I traded heavily in NL, accumulated things fast. So I choose not to trade online at all for NH and it's worked out pretty well. It takes the pressure off, I've played more slowly and I don't care as much if a collection is not complete. Irony is, because I was so laid back, I've accumulated most of everything. I've enjoyed more this time around.

 

[Dunquixote]

I bought a lot of my bells on here (and probably will buy more) since I am never awake when Daisy Mae is here and honestly, I always hated the stalk market. (Thanks @LittleMissPanda and @Jhine7 for your hard work ). I got a lot of my furniture through one catalogue event and @KAYYBE helped me out a ton with that and a large part of my clothes catalogue (thanks Kayybe , hope you’re doing well). I have no regrets. I am enjoying the game still, probably more so than I would had I tried doing it organically since then I probably would not have come up with some area and room designs when I had or at all.

 

[bam94-]

I progress naturally. The furthest I'll go is using DIYs from my boyfriend's island that he already knows.

 

[moo_nieu]

ive bought a few things i really wanted, but for the most part i havent done too much trading. i havent bought bells

 

[Sheydra]

I’ve earned my bells, I do trade with my hubby and son for diys and fossils. Helped us all a lot, now I just need about 10 diys.

 

[Pintuition]

I like to do a bit of both. I've definitely spent a lot of TBT on the forum in the last year in a whole bunch of lovely shops trying to get items I just couldn't get. I have a rule usually when I buy rather than let it happen: If I've grinded for it, taken my time, and it still hasn't come up naturally for me after a day or two and its something I NEED (not just kind of sort of might want) I'll buy it from someone online. Same principles apply for trading for villagers online too.

I will not buy items I can get easily like wood and other common materials I can visit NMT islands for. But I may buy seasonal materials (especially out of season), special or seasonal DIYs, and items/collections I may have missed while I was still playing. I have bought bells before but only when I was starting my new island and I had exhausted my supply on my main island. Sometimes you just need a little help!!

I'm totally happy to pay someone who is willing to put in the hard work to gather/find something and either come drop it off or handle a complicated endless stream of visitors. Gotta give it up to those folks! I prefer to try it myself first and if that doesn't work I'll look online!

 

[Violet Witch]

I've never bought or traded but I have picked up the odd DIY when visiting islands from those getting rid of duplicates. Other than that I decided early on that I wanted to play the game as organically as possible to keep up my interest in the game in the long-term. Although I will admit there have been times I've considered trading/buying etc because I want certain furniture that I see on other people's islands and can't seem to get hold of myself.

 

[0ni]

I did a lot of trading for items/clothes/DIYs on here and discord - it was honestly the most fun I had with the game during it's peak after release. Finding rare items that I wasn't going to use, and trading them for things I really wanted was a big part of what kept me engaged. Plus, I made a few good friends randomly through trades.

I don't think I could have handled collecting stuff at the pace my island spawned it - I would still be looking for a cutting board to this day. The amount of dupes I have of DIYs is ridiculous, and I'm not even near having all of them so it's some real bad RNG going on over at my island...

 

[visibleghost]

i did a lot of turnips to get enough money to pay off my loans in the beginning, which is sort of like trading i guess. i collected almost all diys, and all but one fossil (i bought the last fossil i needed so i could finally bury the fossils behind a building and get rid of them) by myself but ended up buying and doing trades for large amounts of bells, the last diys i needed (especially seasonals and seasonal celeste ones) and the last piece of art that i needed.

i also traded items, diys and villagers (sold judy early on) for nmts, as well as buying nmts. i haven't printed more than maybe 10 nmts ever, even though i have enough nook miles for over a hundred tickets, i just don't feel like going through the hassle and i have gotten a lot of nmts through trading.

i like buying seasonal diys because the balloon hunting drives me crazy. i don't feel happier that i collected them by myself after hours of chasing balloons than i do by buying them.

some things i really wanted to achieve on my own though, like getting golden tools and their diys and mostly finishing my museum.

 

[Crash]

i'd say it was mostly natural progression for me, at least until i got to the point i'm at now where my island is like 75% complete. i did a fair amount of trades, but most things i worked for myself - bells especially are something i generally won't buy and want to earn myself. this game was actually the first one to get me into turnips, so that was cool.

as for DIYs & items, nowadays i'm much more likely to buy any remaining ones i need from here or nookazon just because it's such a grind to hunt for balloons or whatever for just one single thing. the only other thing i actively buy instead of work for is hybrids because there's just too many and i don't have the time or patience to grow any more lmao.

 

[Flicky]

If I can get it on my own island eventually (such as through Nook's Cranny), then I'll purchase it that way. I've also purchased bells, just so that I can pay off another house faster. That's all those bells are used for, though. If it's a DIY or a colour-locked item, I'll trade for it whenever I have an online account. I've got about 580+ DIYs and I still don't have 7 of the ones I wanted the most... Game, please stop giving me flower crowns and wreaths

I'd say it's 40/60 (natural/trading) for me. If the game didn't practically force me to trade for item variants that I needed, it would be closer to 70/30.

 

[amemome]

I buy stuff off of the forum if I don't have the time or capacity to event-grind it. I usually end up buying seasonal stuff since it's time limited!

 

[Kitzie]

A little of both, I used turnips to earn bells and pay off my loans. I try to get most diys myself except for ones that I have a hard time getting that comes from balloons as I'm too impatient to go up and down the beach to farm for them. Since Nooks may not sell the color furniture that I may want, I usually just trade for furniture when needing a certain color so I get the color variation that I need. I don't trade for any fossils or Redd's paintings as I want to get those on my own.