Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a massive leap forward for the series. Not only does it take the best features from previous titles, but it found ways to introduce new, exciting content without bogging down the experience. The best example of this is crafting — players can now create their own furniture and tools to help beautify the island and their homes.
In order to build anything, however, players are going to need to gather resources. One of the most useful — and scarce — resources is iron nuggets, required for crafting high-quality fishing rods, nets, and a whole slew of other items. Thankfully, once you know where to find iron nuggets you can quickly build up a sizable stockpile.
Further reading
- A guide to eating fruit in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Animal Crossing update for April brings Nature Day
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons review
Find iron nuggets by hitting rocks
Believe it or not, all you have to do to find iron nuggets is smack rocks with your shovel. Simply walk up to one of the many boulders on your island and give it a whack with your shovel (or axe). This will cause the rock to drop one of several resources — including iron nuggets. Although this is the easiest way to get iron nuggets, it’s far from the best.
That’s because after the first smack, a brief window of time opens in which the rock will continue to drop resources when hit. In order to maximize your resources, you’ll want to follow the tried-and-true “two-hole” technique, explained below.
Dig holes behind your character
As you hit the rock with your shovel, you’ll notice that your villager gets pushed back a few paces. This means you need to waste time moving closer to the rock in order to strike it. To prevent this from happening, dig two holes — three if you want to be careful — behind your character. This will prevent them from recoiling backward after a successful hit. Now, you’re able to quickly land eight strikes and harvest eight resources. Just make sure there are no other items in the spaces around the rock; otherwise, it won’t have anywhere to drop your rewards.
Visit other islands
Your primary island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can only hold a maximum of six rocks. If you’re in a hurry to harvest some iron nuggets, you’ll only get so far staying in your town. Once you’ve taken everything you can from these six, you can always venture out to other islands with a Nook Miles Ticket. These islands typically hold two or three rocks, giving you a chance to bolster your iron nugget stash. However, the island you’re sent to is random — meaning you could stumble upon a place that has dozens of rocks, or none at all! At the end of the day, collecting iron nuggets is a test of patience. While you can nab a dozen or so just by milling about your town and whacking rocks, there’s still no reliable method to quickly farm the valuable resource.
