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How to Climb in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Wondering how to climb higher in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? We’ve got just the guide for you.

So you’ve landed on your very own deserted island. Sure, there’s a few other people there, but you make all of the big decisions so it’s basically yours, right? At least the parts you can get to are, for now. You’ll soon realise that there are rivers and raised ledges stopping you from reaching certain parts of your island. Don’t worry, you can climb in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and here’s how.

In order to reach higher parts of your island, you’ll need a set of ladders. It will be around five days into playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons before you’re able to get a set, but you’ll receive a recipe for them as part of the game’s story. (If you have a friend who’s a little ahead of you in the game, you could also ask them nicely to gift you some ladders.)

The ladders come after you’ve moved three new villagers into your island. If you need a full explanation on how to invite new villagers over you can check out our guide. As a reward for placing the second house plot, you’ll get a phone call from Tom Nook, who’ll gift you a DIY recipe for ladders.

From there you’ll be able to run over to a work bench and build yourself a ladder. To use them, you’ll need to equip the ladder like you would any other tool. When you’re at a cliff ledge, press “A” button to place the ladder on the wall and climb. You’ll need to place ladders for climbing both up and down.

Using ladders can be a bit cumbersome, but it’s a useful way to reach those high parts of your island. Over time, you’ll be able to purchase inclines and ramps from Tom Nook in order to move around easily – but you’ll have to save up a lot of bells first.

Looking for more Animal Crossing: New Horizons how-tos? Visit our full guides round-up here.

Becca knew that she would be addicted to video games for the rest of her life when she saw the first pixelated zombie shambling across her TV screen while playing Resident Evil 3. She particularly enjoys being scared, laughing until she cries, or just plain crying while experiencing games. When she isn't playing games she loves spoiling her cat Usagi and eating any kind of sushi she can find.