Animal Crossing: How to get the golden shovel in New Horizons

Tools are a very important part of Animal Crossing. Each one has a purpose that really can't be completed without its usage. With that said, regular tools are flimsy, and tend to break easily and often.

This can make completing tasks and making progress in the game difficult and annoying. Fortunately, there are better tools that players can get to make life so much easier: golden tools.

The golden shovel is a highly sought after tool. As digging is a primary task in Animal Crossing to uncover things, earn resources and bells, the shovel is a godsend for players. Here's how to acquire the elusive golden shovel.

Golden shovel in Animal Crossing. Image via Game 084

Golden shovel in Animal Crossing

The golden shovel is one of the more difficult golden tools to acquire. However, it is one of the most useful crafting recipes to have with there being only one way to get it.

Gulliver, a villager, will wash up on the players' shores and need help from them. Waking him up will prompt him to ask for help.

Gulliver. Image via Animal Crossing World

Gulliver will first ask for help finding 5 communication parts to fix his broken Nook phone. Digging, ironically, is the best way to find these parts.

Gulliver will need to be helped 30 times before he can send players the elusive DIY crafting recipe for the golden shovel. He will wash up once every 10 days or so, but time travel can help with that. Traveling forward one day at a time will ensure players don't miss out on Gulliver's visit.

animal crossing veterans: remember when gulliver used to be an astronaut and we would destroy his huge UFO using our weak little slingshot? 😌 pic.twitter.com/3MOgA8zaej

— keenan | on a break (@onIypietrostan) November 27, 2020

After unlocking the DIY crafting recipe, players will only need two things - a shovel and gold nugget. A shovel can be crafted after getting the DIY recipe from Blathers upon giving Tom Nook 5 fish or critters.

Once the museum opens, the Blathers will give players the recipe.

A gold nugget can be acquired by hitting rocks with a stone ax. It's not always guaranteed to give one, but this is the only way of getting a gold nugget. Once the golden shovel is crafted, it is important to note that it is not unbreakable. Having said that, a golden nugget does possess a lot of hits.

Some players have reported around 200 before it breaks.

Gold nugget. Image via DBLTAP

That's everything players need to know to acquire the golden shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.