Getting a five-star island rating is quite possibly one of the biggest milestones you will reach in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As you might suspect, it’s also one of the harder things to accomplish. It requires putting in tons of work on your island and doing your absolute best to impress the villagers that inhabit it.
After lots of our own testing and research, we’ve narrowed down 5 ways to better your chances at reaching a five-star island rating in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
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How Do You Get a 5-Star Island Rating in Animal Crossing?
Many of our tips for getting a five-star island rating are similar to the tips from our three-star rating guide, but require meeting higher quantities and spreading these resources across as much of your island as possible.
1. Have 10 Villagers Living On Your Island
One of the tips for getting a three-star island is to have between 7-10 villagers. Well, if you want to reach a five-star rating, you want to have the maximum number of villagers, which is 10. That means having every vacant plot, house, and available spot on your island filled. Check out our wiki guide on how to get more villagers in Animal Crossing if you’re having trouble finding new residents.
2. Place Fencing Around Every House, Building, and Recreational Area
This might seem a bit excessive but our EIC of Entertainment Terri Schwartz credits this very tip for getting her to a five-star island rating in ACNH. After hearing Isabelle say repeatedly that her island “lacks appealing scenery”, she placed fencing around every single house on her island. She did this in addition to the fencing she already set prior!
That said, we suggest putting fences around everything — houses, shops, recreational spaces, plazas, and wherever else there’s a space that needs enclosing on your island. You can get creative with these fences too. You can use them to make pseudo walls for dedicated spaces, like a little hotel, cafe, or whatever makes sense for your island.
3. Plant Lots of Flowers, Especially Hybrid Flowers
Planting flowers is a tip we suggested for reaching a three-star island rating and it still applies when aiming for a five-star island rating. This time, the goal is to plant them all around your island, and it wouldn’t hurt to get some hybrid flowers in there, either. Our editors Miranda Sanchez and Brendan Graeber both say this makes a difference.
We suggest planting rows of flowers next to every path, house, and building on your island. This should help increase the number of flowers without cluttering your island. Check out our guide on creating hybrid flowers in Animal Crossing if you’re wondering which colors work with crossbreeding.
If you don’t want to dedicate too much time to tending flowers, try to plant one or two near your villagers’ homes and they’ll sometimes take care of them in your stead.
4. Connect Every Part Of Your Island With Paths, Bridges, and Inclines
Building bridges and inclines is part of our three-star island rating guide but to reach a five-star rating, we’re adding paths to the mix. Paths are unlocked once you get K.K. Slider to perform at your town and the end credits roll. If you achieved a three-star island rating without connecting every part of your island, we suggest doing that by building more bridges and inclines and following up with placing paths all throughout your island.
Make sure to check out our tips for creating paths in Animal Crossing for more details.
5. Decorate Your Island With Outdoor Decor, Furniture, and Attractions
In addition to fencing and flowers, decorating your island returns as a tip to reaching a five-star island rating. While quantity does seem to matter, where and how you place items outdoors is just as important. We suggest having a variety of outdoor items, whether it be furniture and decor crafted from DIYs or purchased at Nook’s Cranny or with Nook Miles at the Nook Stop.
The important thing to remember is to try and place the items all throughout your island, even towards the back in some of the more obscure areas. Items like the lighthouse, spinning teacups, light posts, etc… from the Nook Stop can help with filling up space and adding flair instead of clutter.
We suspect having an upgraded Nook’s Cranny can help too (and you can get some really great items in there once you get it!). If you’re having trouble getting more outdoor decor, check out our wiki guide on how to get more furniture and increase your catalog in Animal Crossing.
5-Star Island Rewards
While this achievement is gratifying enough on its own, there are perks for reaching it. Players get the following rewards for getting a five-star island rating:
- Lily of the Valley flowers – This flower only appears after getting the five-star rating. Every day you have the rating, the more chances there are for more of these flowers to grow along the cliffs of your island.
- Golden watering can recipe – This recipe can only be obtained from Isabelle after getting the five-star rating. Crating it requires 1 gold nugget and 1 watering can. You also need the golden watering can to grow gold roses! Note that golden tools can break but they last much longer than flimsy or iron tools.
For even more guides including checklists and plenty of tips, visit IGN’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide.
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Felicia Miranda is SEO Editor at IGN. Find her on Twitter at @FeliciaVagabond.
Source: IGN.com 5 Tips For Getting a 5-Star Island Rating in Animal Crossing