One of the few complaints players have with Animal Crossing: New Horizons is just how often the tools break in the game. There’s upgraded models that last longer (more on that later), but they still seem to break at the exact wrong time. Now that players have had more time to check out the inner workings of the game they’ve discovered more about how tool durability works. And a new discovery has led to huge improvements. Here’s how to make tools last longer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
How Many Hits does it Take to Break Tools
We don’t yet have complete figures, but some players have mapped out the exact number of hits it takes to break various tools. Knowing this will be important for the tip below, so try to memorize these numbers.
Flimsy Fishing Rod – 10 fish
Flimsy Net – 10 bugs
Flimsy Axe – 40 hits
Flimsy Shovel – 40 hits
Fishing Rod – 30 fish
Bug Net – 30 bugs
Axe and Stone Axe – 100 hits
Shovel – 100 hits
So after catching 10 fish, or hitting a tree/rock 30 times your flimsy tool will break. But if you stop one before that, you can extend its life by upgrading it. See how in that guide, just in case you’re still new to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Once you understand the process you can read more to see how to get the most out of these tools.
How to Make Tools Last Longer
The trick to making tools last longer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that upgrading or even customizing them resets the hit counter completely. So let’s say you make a flimsy fishing rod then immediately upgrade it. You will be able to catch 30 fish before it breaks. However, if you use the flimsy fishing rod to catch 9 fish then upgrade it, you’ll be able to catch 30 more for a total of 39 fish. The same goes for the axe, letting you hit trees or rocks 29 times before upgrading and getting 100 more from it.
This will be a huge improvement if you’re like the many players frustrated by tool durability. So hopefully now that you know how to make tools last longer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons you’ll enjoy your time more on this deserted island paradise.
