You won’t be able to traverse all of Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s islands without the use of a ladder; certain ledges and steps require you to have one handy to provide a leg up — especially on resource islands where there tends to be quite a bit of verticality. But, as you’ve already discovered if you’re reading this guide, they aren’t something you’ll have from the start of your adventure. Here we’ll explain how to get and use ladders in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
How to Unlock Ladders in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Unsurprisingly, unlocking ladders in New Horizons is something that good ol’ Tom Nook will help you with. He’ll offer you the recipe once you’ve built your first bridge (read our guide on bridge-building). The recipe consists of Wood, Hard Wood, and Soft Wood — see below.
Once you have the recipe, you’ll craft ladders from your workbench (read our guide on building workbenches) whenever one is required.
Using a Ladder
With your ladder crafted successfully, using it is a sinch. Simply access your tool belt whenever you need to use one and select it from there.
Let’s recap the process with a step-by-step breakdown:
- Once you have built your first bridge (which will occur after you have built a house and a store), Tom Nook will give you the ladder recipe.
- Access your workbench (inside the green tent) and craft a ladder using the appropriate materials.
- To use your ladder, access your tool belt (left/right arrow keys) at any time and then place it against whatever ledge you’re attempting to scale by hitting A.
That is everything you should need to know about how to get and use ladders in Animal Crossing New Horizons. For more useful tips and information on the game, be sure to check out Twinfinite’s detailed wiki guide.
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