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To terraform in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, first develop your island to a three-star evaluation. After the K.K. Slider milestone, Tom Nook gives you the Island Designer app for your NookPhone. It lets you lay paths; redeem separate Nook Miles permits to reshape cliffs or waterways. Bridges and inclines are arranged separately through Tom Nook.
How to unlock Island Designer
- Develop your island until its evaluation reaches three stars. Keep progressing through the island development story and check your rating with Isabelle.
- Complete the K.K. Slider milestone. Nintendo’s beginner guide places Island Designer after the three-star evaluation and the K.K. Slider sequence.
- Open Island Designer on your NookPhone. Tom Nook provides the app as part of the island construction progression. Use it to access the construction options you have unlocked.
Nintendo’s beginner guide to Animal Crossing: New Horizons describes the three-star milestone as the point when larger-scale island remodeling becomes available.
What you can change with Island Designer
Island Designer groups several kinds of work under one app, but they are not all available by default. Choose the option according to what you want to alter:
| Desired change | Island Designer option | How access works |
|---|---|---|
| Add or change a path surface | Path laying | Use the path options available in the app. Additional path types can be redeemed with Nook Miles. |
| Change cliff shape or elevation | Cliff construction | Requires the cliff-construction permit, redeemed with Nook Miles. |
| Reshape a river, pond, or waterfall | Waterscaping | Requires the waterscaping permit, redeemed with Nook Miles. |
| Add a bridge or incline | Not an Island Designer terrain permit | Arrange it through Tom Nook’s infrastructure service, which is separate from terrain editing. |
Nintendo’s game feature overview distinguishes path construction, cliff construction, and waterscaping. The extra path options and terrain permits are obtained with Nook Miles.
#1 Best Overall
![Animal Crossings New Horizons - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ErvUL40zL._SL160_.jpg)
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
Getting the permits and checking their costs
Use the Nook Stop catalogue to redeem the construction options you want with Nook Miles. The cliff-construction and waterscaping permits are separate from path types, so unlocking one does not grant the others.
Nintendo Life’s Island Designer guide lists the cliff and waterscaping permits at 6,000 Nook Miles each and additional path types at 2,000 each. These are figures from a secondary guide; check the current in-game catalogue for the price shown in your game and localization.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JAzQozLgL._SL160_.jpg)
- Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
- Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.
Rank #2
- Share Your Paradise - Show off your island utopia to family and friends - or pack your bags and visit theirs.
- Get Building - Experience a robust new crafting system - collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools!
- Create Your Perfect Getaway - Craft everything from tools to creature comforts as you create and customize your island community.
- Explore Your Island - Collect bugs, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean.
- Play Together - Up to eight players can reside on an island; four residents of the same island can play together simultaneously on a single system.
Choose the right tool for the job
- For a walking surface: open Island Designer and choose a path option you have available.
- For a hill or cliff: make sure you have redeemed the cliff-construction permit.
- For a river, pond, or waterfall: redeem and use the waterscaping permit.
- For a bridge or incline: speak with Tom Nook about infrastructure rather than looking for a terrain-editing permit.
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