How to get a shovel in Animal Crossing New Horizons

The Shovel is a key tool in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, used for removing earth and digging holes. Without them, players can’t dig up fossils, find Gyroids, or hit rocks for materials. However, getting the Shovel takes a bit of work when first getting started in the game, as it isn’t available upon starting your new island.

There are six types of Shovels in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, with the first being the Flimsy Shovel. The fastest way to get it is by purchasing a prebuilt Flimsy Shovel from Nook’s Cranny, but if you want the recipe to build it yourself, you’ll need to complete a handful of steps for Tom Nook to unlock it.

The Escapist recaps

• The Shovel is locked behind progression quests.
• Purchasing it directly can be expensive, so it is good to get the DIY as soon as possible.
• Many items needed for crafting are locked behind the shovel
• There are six Shovels that can be built in New Horizons.
• The Shovel is the key to getting Blathers to come to the island.

How to get the shovel

To get the Flimsy Shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you will need to have unlocked the Flimsy Axe and donated five bugs or fish to Tom Nook.

To unlock the Flimsy Axe, you will need to give two fish or bugs to Tom Nook after starting the game. The first bug or fish you give will unlock the Critterpedia, but the second will result in obtaining several wood-based DIY recipes that include the Flimsy Axe. 

The Flimsy Axe requires five tree branches and 3 stones to craft. It is also critical to build the Flimsy Shovel once you have unlocked it.

After this, catch a total of five bugs or fish and show them to Tom Nook. This will lead him to invite Blathers to come to the island. You will need to wait for Blather’s to arrive, which typically happens the next in-game day.

Speak with Blathers to obtain the DIY Recipe for the Flimsy Shovel in New Horizons, which costs five hardwood to make at the workbench. Hardwood is obtained by using the Axe on trees around the island. It is an uncommon drop, so players may need to go through a few Flimsy Axes before they have enough for their first Flimsy Shovel.

How to use the shovel

To use the shovel in New Horizons, equip it using the D-Pad directional buttons or the equip wheel. Once equipped, you can use the “A” button to dig holes in the ground, hit rocks, or interact with glowing ground spots or buried spot markers. 

Digging up glowing spots will drop Bells or other treasures, while buried spots typically hold fossils. Once dug up, the item unearthed will be deposited in the player’s inventory as long as it isn’t full. Players can also use the shovel to bury items in holes. A particular favorite of many is to bury Bells in the ground.

Of the six shovels in New Horizons, the most sought-after is the Golden Shovel, which is unlocked after helping Gulliver on your island 30 times. The Holden Shovel has the highest durability in the game, and can be sold for a decent number of Bells. It is currently valued at 10,675 Bells and costs one Shove and one Gold Nugget to craft at a workbench. Gold nuggets are a particularly rare drop from hitting rocks; however, it is best to hang onto them for crafting when obtained at an early point in the game.

For those who don’t have the Golden Shovel, a regular Shovel is just as useful. With a substantial improvement in durability from the Flimsy Shove, it is unlocked by purchasing the Pretty Good Tools bundle from the Nook Miles tab of the Nook Stop. It requires one Flimsy Shovel and one Iron Nugget to craft.

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