The Resetting Thread

[Acnl_starfall]

I have been thinking of resetting for a bit now. when I first got ACNH, I was working full-time and also got a puppy, so my time playing was very limited. I would play the events but never cared to play more than an hour a day. There would often be times where I would play 5 minutes a day to say "I play everyday" when in reality I would turn on my game, check stores and collect the message bottle and sign off. In the 6 months I've been playing I have clocked in less than 100 hours. Playing New Leaf I would get 100 hours in no time. However, playing ACNH felt like a hassle and a chore everyday, when I had more time to play I constantly had the urge to try and update my town to make it look like I have been playing for 6 months. I did collect and do many things in my town however I have literally 0 bells because I constantly spend my savings on building stuff and stress-fishing for money because I never fished and saved money for projects down the road. Now that my country is going back into lockdown, I am tempted to reset however I am afraid I will reset and realize I have no time to play again like the first time around, I have to restart on almost everything and I hated how NH was during the first week on the island, plus I have this thing restarting in winter. but with that I feel like ACNH is a chore and I can never just enjoy my town, my villagers and all that. I have no clue what to do

 

[iamjohnporter67]

Well coming from my experience. I restarted back in April 2020 because I too was feeling the same way. Felt like my island wasn't going anywhere and everything has been a mess. I would suggest not restarting because if you do all of your hard work is gone. All the villagers, diys, bells, all those things you donated in the mushroom (Bugs, Fish, Sea Creatures, and Art) are all gone. I mean unless if you really want to do it the only thing that happens is that you get a brand new Island layout, Your Native Fruit will change, and your Resident Services would be placed differently. Just so you know you have to go through that long tutorial again but ask yourself this "Is it worth it to restart my island after all my hard work?" I mean really think about this because once you restart there is no turning back.

 

[John Wick]

I restarted three days into the game.

Something I've never done in any other AC game.

It's just that overwhelming.

I wish I hadn't given it a second chance at times.

I would never restart again though.

Next time I delete my island it will be for good.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

Although i think @iamjohnporter67 is right about how much work you lose when you restart, it sounds like you didn't really enjoy the work you put into your island so far, and like the whole game might be kind of tainted by your unpleasant/ stressful experience so far. Sometimes I think people can get into a restart loop, because they are chasing perfection, or the original excitement of starting the game and it can end up ruining the game for them, but in your case, it sounds like you haven't really connected with the game so far, and now feel kind of overwhelmed and stressed by it. So I think resetting, even a true/ complete reset where you don't try and take anything with you, might be really satisfying. If you do want to catch up on any items, money, etc you miss, i am happy to help and i'm sure others on the forum will be too. I have to say i started a second island and the sense of freedom and possibility (even though i still have and like my old game) is amazing!

Good luck!

 

[BRYANT43]

So my wife I are about a month in - she normally just swims around or collects items back on shore..

Two things:
1) She's the main resident and although the story seems to be progressing fairly well, because she's Japanese - combined with the fact that she's never really played video games, it's usually me who makes recommendations on what to do next.

2) I believe I was the first one to invite a new resident. We have 4, going on 5 now, but something seems off since each time we travel there's no characters available on other islands. Some of the answers while searching Google were a bit vague but there was mention of the primary character being the first to travel/invite.

Is it worth restarting so we can switch roles or do you believe we're good? Just don't wanna get further down the line and have something broken as we really enjoy playing.

 

[Auntie]

I flattened in August bc I wasn't happy with it and couldn't see my way out, but didn't want tonlose everything. But I still struggled to see past the old island. I finally gave in and reset a couple weeks ago. The beginning bit actually went much faster the 2nd time around, even with me trying not to rush things bc I don't want to repeat the mistakes I made on the last island.

 

[Angelbearpuppy]

It is really ultimatly your choice. What makes you feel better. However if you want my opinion, I can give you one as someone that has restarted four times since launch.


If you are connecting the game and island with stress, you will be hardwired to think that everytime you log in. Eventually it will kill the whole game for you. I would suggest restarting. You can TT if you do not like the tutorial to get it through faster. But honesty I would take it slow and challenge yourself only to play at least twenty minutes to an hour a day unless you feel led to play more. You seem to want perfection, but also remember everyone elses islands took a long time to develope and everypne likes different aspects of the game. Stop worrying about what others look like, and find your own play style.

As for collections, there are pleanty of ways through online play to get your items returned and you can always find someone willing to hold onto your items you really want to keep temporarily until you can pick them back up. This way you dont have to feel as if you are starting from complete scratch.

If you do restart, I suggest taking a day away before you do, then play your old file one last time, before you male the final decision. After the forth time, I fibally have an island I fell in love with and would and not restart at least not anytime soon again. So it is atually benifical for me.

In the end though you have to do what is best for you.

 

[mermaidshelf]

I was in the same position as you a couple months ago. I was working full-time and having a difficult time at my work, which I often had to take home to finish. I rushed through events and playing felt like a chore. I didn't feel connected to my villagers or my island. I left my job so I had a lot of freetime to play.I reset a couple weeks ago and I couldn't be happier!! I set my clock back to when I got the game so I'm starting from March 20th. It's a lot different this time around. I'm taking my time, getting to know and love my villagers (even the ones I plan to eventually replace). Because I have the time to play, I play for fun and I feel connected to my island. I also had issues with my island so that was another reason for me to reset. Ultimately, it's up to you!

 

[HappyTails]

I'm a habitual resetter as well. But I told myself if I reset one more time, I'm selling the game.
I started getting the urge to reset again. But instead of doing that. I bought some bells on here and I decided to do a complete island revamp. Having control over where buildings can be placed, being able to break rocks that are in the way, doing cliffs and rivers however you want makes changing your island to a completely different look without actually resetting.

I do know people reset for things like airport color, placement of secret beach, peninsula location and starting fruit, since those are not changeable. I got a yellow airport and at first I was happy with it. Now I'm sick of this doggone airport but it's not worth resetting for because when it comes down to it, it's just an airport that functions as an airport. The color of it doesn't change what it does. Although I hope after enough backlash, Nintendo gets rid of the color locking, or at least make it customizable.

But then again, I can't really talk about people since I reset for peaches. Although I do have all the fruit now.

But I can say that ever since I decided to do a revamp, I'm no longer thinking about restarting.

 

[iamjohnporter67]

I see people say that you should restart your island but again I cannot stress this enough I will NEVER EVER restart after all my hard work on making my island the way it was suppose to be. I will never get rid of all the diys and villagers I worked so hard to get. If I had a 2nd Switch and I bought a copy of NH then I would be able to make a 2nd island but I will not do that because of how stupid that is and how it will take more time to do that. I know its worked for some people but its like if you keep restarting over and over then what the hell is that going to do with the game itself when you're just going to experience the same thing!

 

[VanitasFan26]

So I am not sure how does "Restarting your island" get you back into playing the game? This is one of those things that I never understood with people. I mean i guess I can understand if their Resident Services was placed in a bad location then I would get that but its like you completed your island and now you want to restart after all the hard work? It just seems weird to me.

 

[mermaidshelf]

So I am not sure how does "Restarting your island" get you back into playing the game? This is one of those things that I never understood with people. I mean i guess I can understand if their Resident Services was placed in a bad location then I would get that but its like you completed your island and now you want to restart after all the hard work? It just seems weird to me.

I can't speak for others but when I got the game I was too busy to play because of my job and I would rush through dialog and miss events. I basically missed out on the entire beginning as well as the development of my relationships with my villagers. There were problems with my island layout as well. I actually hadn't completed my island though! I had barely started terraforming or decorating and I have Amiibos for my villagers so it wasn't a bit loss to me to restart. That was just my particular situation though!

 

[Acnl_starfall]

I have decided to restart my town in January, but I am afraid I will not be able to make as much bells as I would in the summer because of the lack of fish and bugs in January/February compared to the summer. But I do not want to wait until summer to restart my town. Has anyone restarted their town in winter and if so, was it harder to make bells, annoying catching the same fish and bugs due to lack of variety of them?

 

[jadetine]

Hi friends! I would like to build a catalog island for the new year to help out everyone who's considering a reset. Do you have ideas for what kinds of things people would like to catalog when starting over? I have brainstormed the following categories:

• Lighting
• Musical instruments
• Wall hangings (clocks, posters, etc.)
• Plants
• Couches
• Beds
• Desks and Crafting Stations
• Storage items
• Kitchen

The issue is that I have limited space, so I'm not sure what to prioritize. For this reason, I may just ignore clothing or throw my entire closet there for anyone to take. Any tips from the perspective of a customer or from someone who has build a catalog island before (ahem, @Minou)?

 

[Minou]

Hi friends! I would like to build a catalog island for the new year to help out everyone who's considering a reset. Do you have ideas for what kinds of things people would like to catalog when starting over? I have brainstormed the following categories:

• Lighting
• Musical instruments
• Wall hangings (clocks, posters, etc.)
• Plants
• Couches
• Beds
• Desks and Crafting Stations
• Storage items
• Kitchen

The issue is that I have limited space, so I'm not sure what to prioritize. For this reason, I may just ignore clothing or throw my entire closet there for anyone to take. Any tips from the perspective of a customer or from someone who has build a catalog island before (ahem, @Minou)?

I think the categories you mentioned are all great and I'm sure people would love/need to catalog them!^^
I would indeed avoid clothing and focus on the ones you listed.
Prioritize the sets that are complete in all colour variants if you have.
If a category is wide (ex: musical instruments) and depending how limited your space is, you can choose a few sets to display from that category (ex: grand piano set, harp set, ...).
If you want to go broad and have something of each category (from your list) then you can go for just one or two sets for each (or more depending on the space you have).
I've seen some people who host catalog events go for a rotation basis where they would once in a while switch sets from their storage (I would only do this if you keep your thread for a while and you're motivated).
Those are the few tips I have. Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions or if you need help to complete a set (I might have your missing colour from my catalog)!

 

[iamjohnporter67]

I just need to say this because I've seen this happen so many times.

I get that people try too hard to make their islands perfect but the thing is that they need to understand. Its best not to compare your island to other islands. You make whatever stands out to you and also really be careful with restarting because all the stuff you had like your donations the museum, villagers, bells, nook miles, are all gone and you have to recollect them again.

I've seen people restart because they miss the "joy" of the game but honestly its not worth it if all you're doing is just trying to make your island great. Again like I said its best not compare your island to others.

 

[JKDOS]

I've seen people restart because they miss the "joy" of the game but honestly its not worth it if all you're doing is just trying to make your island great. Again like I said its best not compare your island to others.

The beginning in the game is so slow with/without time travel that it's not worth it in my opinion if you're resetting for something as simple as changing your fruit or resetting your terraforming work.

I have decided to restart my town in January, but I am afraid I will not be able to make as much bells as I would in the summer because of the lack of fish and bugs in January/February compared to the summer. But I do not want to wait until summer to restart my town. Has anyone restarted their town in winter and if so, was it harder to make bells, annoying catching the same fish and bugs due to lack of variety of them?

Switches just restocked very recently so I was able to obtain another one and start a second island last night. Being in the Northern Hemisphere, it's winter for me. I don't think bell making is much harder right now. Finishing is probably as good as it was in March, which is what I used to pay off nearly my entire house the first month of the game's release. Butterflies also helped, but those were nerfed shortly after Bunny Day.

You can get 16k a day from money rocks, and 20k a day from money trees. You're also able to sell duplicate fossils to Nook's Cranny for a fair amount of bells. If you want to make fast and dirty money, sell NMTs to people here, and play the Stalk Market.

 

[hellFlower]

About to start my Jan 1st reset! I'm gonna lay out a few rules for myself here, just for fun:

• No TTing!
• I can only get villagers from NMT and natural move ins, no trading! Void villagers are okay, since you can't really prevent them.
• I can only have 8 villagers.
• I'm allowing myself to transfer over one outfit, for cuteness purposes.

I might introduce some landscaping rules at some point, but for now this is it!
Pretty excited to get started, hopefully resetting doesn't take me all day. I only have 1 requirement, which is the specific layout I want, so it shouldn't take too long right...?

 

[Poppies_92]

Resetting for New Years Day, gonna focus on what I like this time around, and not rush this time around. Also to stop comparing my island to others. Let villagers come naturally and enjoy what my island will become even it takes months to get 5 stars. Here's to a good 2021 in NH :]

 

[Moonbay212]

To anyone in the NH who reset during the winter: is their any drawbacks to resetting during the winter vs the spring (like fishing and bugs collecting?) I wanted to reset for the new year, but I'm nervous about collecting bugs and fish/starting over is harder!