VIDEO TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:21 Explaining The Internal Points System 01:56 Requirements To Get A Specific Rating 03:21 Basics of Scenery Points 04:49 Basics of Development Points 05:57 The "Block" System Used For Calculating Furniture Points 09:25 Bonus Points For Development 11:23 Clutter And Litter 13:05 Extra Tips And Outro
MEEEE hahahaha i have SOOO many hybrids and i was getting so frustrated it wasn’t five stars and then i made a fourth incline making four bridges and four inclines and now my five star rating is unshakable!!! though it is still v cluttered
my island was stuck at 4 stars after being 5 and it was bc of all the extra diy recipes i had set down in a certain area. not sure if this helps anybody but who knows :)
Unfortunately diys cannot be placed. Like items. I recommend keeping your excess diys in your house, then bringing them out when guests visit. Yeah, it cuts down your HHA rating. But in the end, what makes more of a difference to your island rating? An HHA rating, or clutter? Also, trash djys that pretty much everyone has, like the wooden bed. Lol.
Personally the most useful thing for me was the fact that I cant have more than 15 dropped items. I was hoping that it just took points away and if i had enough placed things it would allow me to drop more items because I like having a market. But its good to know know that there's actually just a limit of dropped item I can have, I kept going back and forth between 4 and 5 stars Now I know to use my dropped items more strategically Thank you!
TheRubinator13 I was getting some other information from others saying that items dropped on tables don’t count. Not sure who is exactly right on this.
4:40 To add, I got an "overabundance of trees - too rural" remark from Isabelle. While points cap at 190 trees, you'll start losing points for having more than 220 trees :( I got my 5 star rating back after chopping down to less than 220... good thing stumps and bushes do not count to this limit Edit: Hmm... I’m beginning to think bushes do count but maybe as a fraction of a tree? I can’t go past 205 trees without dropping back to 4 stars. But I have 100+ bushes :))
I heard bushes do count as trees! I also have too many trees, I'm fine with just being a four star island however. But I'm worried it might go to three stars with even more trees?
Yup we were at 4 star for awhile, couldn't figure it out... Lots of flowers well decorated... Wife picked up the diys she had set out for free for visitors, bang 5 star... Tried it again, put out 15 more DIY...4 star again, under 15 5 star lol
This helped me so much! Unlike other ones they just say add furniture plant trees plant flowers fill you island with furniture get bridges and stairs but you have all the details! Thank you so much you just earned yourself a subscriber!
I hit 3 stars by accident. I was stuck at 2 and did a lot of fishing at 3:00 in the morning. Once my inventory filled up, I piled them all outside Nook's Cranny to sell when it opened. Just out of curiosity I checked to see if I lost a star after doing that for a couple hours, and I actually gained a star from it.
... You've just awoken the phase of my animal crossing addiction I had buried when the museum got upgraded... "The Fish Addict" My island will now be the reincarnation of Seaworld. (But without the animal abuse because duh.)
Thank you. I thought I had to build up my island into a metropolis like I’ve seen with some really elaborate 5 star islands, but it’s not the case at all. I just got my 5 star rating and my island is beautifully simple.
I'm having such a hard time getting development points on my island since I'm going for a very nature-y island with little human interference and that is literally the opposite of development 😓 I only have two bridges and do not have plans for another anytime soon, I have plans for an incline eventually but none currently and am stuck at a 4 star rating :'D
I've noticed inclines, bridges, and roads encourage villagers to hang out in different areas. Try making picnic areas or sight-seeing vista, then ways for you villagers to hang out there. That should help your development rating. Also telescopes and 'tourist telescope' items fit in great with nature themes.
Alex GInter thank you for the suggestions! I ordered some stuff from nook shopping and some nook mile redemption items and boom five star :D guess I was a bit closer to five stars than I originally thought 😅
I also really like the idea of using stone looking furniture for a small-town village theme. there's a couple of different water wells that would look great surrounded by flowers and trees. (they might mostly be DIYs, though...)
I have five stars and also the official guide from Futurepress. I kinda understand the system, but I definitely won't be doing math while decorating my town xD Remember that all the naturally spawned things like branches, rocks, etc. won't count towards clutter, but if you pick them up and drop them, it would count as clutter. As long as you don't have too much clutter on your island, five stars isn't too hard to reach once you have enough villagers and decorate the town.
Thank you for this video! I'm stuck at a 3 star island, and all isabelle will tell me is to decorate it from top to bottom. Also finally figured out why she kept telling me there was too much clutter on the island; every week when I bought turnips, I'd drop them in a little "garden" near my house. I didn't buy any this week, so I'm going to check my rating and see what she says now.
4:40 also about the trees, I went for a very rustic, nature themed vibe. So I had a lot of trees and my island rating dropped from 5 to 4 stars. So not only will you not get more points but you’ll actually lose points. Isabelle says “there’s an over abundance of trees” 🤷♀️
the whiteboard really adds to the educational vibe of the video HAHA thanks for this!! it's super informative and i'll definitely be referring when arranging my island :D
You’re telling me that DIY furniture counts as scenery? Damn... I thought it counted as development. over half of furniture on my island is what i crafted myself :^(
Thanks for sharing this break down! I'm currently working on getting my 3 star rating. This is super helpful since Isabelle's advice is really vague, so informing us on how to interpret her advice is helpful.
Amazing video! Pretty complex but very thorough. LOL, Isabelle was destroying my island as she kept asking for fencing and other things, so I put unnecessary fences everywhere and there are so many random flowers everywhere. Now I know I need scenery points. Also, I'm sad because I want to make an outdoor classroom, so my indoor items won't be worth anything outdoors. Ah well!
I made an outdoor classroom near my Museum, but I also have a few items in that block that are meant to go outside. If you want an outdoor classroom, you can always make up those points in another area of your island. Don't let their grading system stop you from making the island that YOU want.
@@Caeleinn Thanks for the encouragement! I already made an indoor classroom with the small space in my house, but I will transfer it outside. It's a little weird though as there are no walls outdoors, so maybe I will make waterfall cliffs on the sides to make a unique classroom.
@@beartackle I made a couple of the mountain standee DIYs to place behind my chalkboard. I saw a video where someone used the Simple Panel to create "walls" for an outdoor space. I may do that for my outdoor cafe/pastry shop. My Mom actually gave me the idea of creating a library area for my villagers, so I may use the panels with a bookshelf design on them.
I stuck fencing behind my cliffs to boost my development score without impacting the natural view of the island. It's a little hard to see what you're doing back there, but every little bit helps!
Me: gets 3 star Me: :D *The Next Day* Me: *places paths* Isabelle: Lionvill has a 3 star rating! *5 Seconds Later* Isabelle: Lionvill has a 2 star rating >:D Me: WHAT THE- D:
Thanks for the in-depth guide!!! I just found that crafting materials count as clutter the hard way. I picked up ONE bunch of wasp hives off a cardboard box, and my rating went from four to five...
If you're going for a natural island look and are having trouble with your development points, here are two big things that got me to 5*. First, eight bridges and eight inclines. At 15 points each, they are the biggest bangs in the game. Second, you can buy the 3x3 Nook Miles furniture like the silo and the lighthouse and place them on the rocky parts on your beach. Especially in the back of your island, there is a lot of room for sticking development that doesn't detract from nature.
My husband bought me a new switch for my bday yesterday& After unsuccessfully transferring data and losing my 300+ hours of gameplay. I had to start over. Saddness. however with your video I have hope. I'm writing all of it down. Lol thank you so much. Plus I'm a mom with three and wasting time is not an option truly thank you for all your hard work!!!!
This was super helpful, thank you so much. I’ve been stuck at a 2 star rating and Isabelle keeps switching between telling me to plant a variety of fruit trees ( I already have every fruit tree and a lot of each, including palm trees) and plant more flowers ( I have over 102 and they are a bunch of different species and colors, including hybrids). Now I’m thinking I don’t have out enough diy furniture outside, since I have a bunch of purchased furniture out already. I would never have figured that out by myself, so thank you! 😄
This helped so much I brought my rating up by 2 stars! And I didn't focus on the math I just started a large flower garden, and put an array of purchased and diy outdoor items outside. Sometimes in clusters sometimes not. That was my biggest take away, have flowers and trees, and a variety of outdoor items in a variety of locations. And it works. 😁
Literally, the rating system makes no sense. I went from a 1 star to a 4 star without adding anything in between the ratings to my island, I only have 8 villagers ... WHAT IS THE MATH?!?!
Thank you. Just now getting into island rating and know my island looks like a mess but really love this. I didn't know villagers played a part in that. But it also gives me an idea on where to go from here.
The island I share with my sister has been stuck on 4 stars for a year now. It's frustrating! Thanks to you, we can finally make the final leap to 5 stars. Thanks:)
This explains why I was so blindsided when I got my 5 star rating. Most of my island was pretty bare except for a couple very heavily decorated areas that probably fit into an 8x8 block. Not to mention one of the first areas I made was a farm so lots of “outdoor” items too.
After watching this video, I'm going to just place furniture everywhere and hope. This video was very well-made, but I'm too stupid to understand all of it lmao.
Thanks for sharing this, it was both interesting and informative! I like how the developers actually thought to put in a bonus points system for "outdoor" items. I wonder how the game decides which items are "outdoor" and which ones are "indoor" though? Other than the obviously named items like outdoor air condition and outdoor bench lol. It's so unfair that turnips and items placed on stalls count as clutter! You can't store turnips, so where the hell else are you supposed to put em? And items (as in leaves) placed on stalls shouldn't count either, cause like you said it could be for a marketplace or just decor. In any case, this guide is helpful though, so thanks. Sadly I'm stuck on four stars currently thanks to "clutter" and a lack of decor. *sigh* Maybe I just don't have a very good imagination for this sort of thing, but it feels like there are limits to the number of different "areas" one can make on their island. I mean sure you could make an outdoor cafe, or maybe a sushi restaurant, but it feels like there isn't a whole lot of furniture to make other things, and everybody has a cafe, a playground, a park, etc. There are only so many ways you can arrange certain types of furniture, you know? I wish there was more variety... P.S. Do you know if fish, fossils, art, and bugs affect island rating at all or if they count as clutter? I sure hope they don't count as clutter, 'cause that would suck. Some people have created some really cool creative things with the artwork, fossils, etc. in the game. I also hope clothes don't count as clutter because what if I want to open a little clothes stall or something?
thank you for this idk why but this game is the game ive seen the most miss information spreading and peapole not fact cheking thank you for doing the job!
but on a serious note, I recently decided to remodel my island, which was already at a 5-star ranking and I'm so bummed about it. Still though, my island never really felt like it was up to MY standard but I also want to make sure that no matter what changes I make I can still at least try to ensure the new remodeling yields a 5 star rank. this video is a pretty good foundation to start that knowing what specifically I should be focusing on. it's good to know that terraforming doesn't actually hurt the ranking.
Thank so much for this! Funny story, when I first unlocked the upgraded Residential Services buildings, I asked for an evaluation and got a 1 star. I then went into overdrive, planting way more flowers, planting trees, placing furniture, etc. A few days later, I asked for another evaluation, crossing my fingers that I got at least a 3 star rating. Isabelle gave me a 4 star rating and I was like, "Oh... that works." lol
This helped me a lot! I haven't done a lot on my island yet (somehow I have 3 stars already, idk how), but I can keep this in mind while decorating my island! Thanks :)
If you can't tell how big a furniture item is and your not good at eyeballing it you can dig holes around it and count how many squares it is length and width wise, I hope this helps!
Hey Ryan thank you so much for this video. I would have been stuck ! I just went through my areas that have had a bit too much stuff (bit hard to squeeze through and removed stuff or expanded the area and i got my 5th star back. Thank you so much for the tips.
Thank you my good sir! A video worthy of Blather's intellect. I reset my island and I need to get to 3 stars to unlock pathways. Thank you for the info.
This is brilliant, thank you so much. I was just wondering because I saw some on your island but don’t think you mentioned them how do bushes/shrubs count towards your score. Do they give/take away any points and does it make a difference if they are in season?
Fun fact. My island was (and still is) 3☆. But I spent almost the full last week with my island completely covered in mannequins while I was moving rocks to a certain area. One day I realized that Lillies of the valley started to appear near my museum and I was so confused. So I went to check on Isabelle, and surprise!! 5☆ island just for having a mannequin mess all over the place. I removed them after I was done with the rocks and my rating dropped again to 3☆... But at least now I have a couple Lillies of the valley near my island entrance and the golden watering can recipe. :D
Tyssmmm this helped me to get from 1 star rating to 2 star rating so far, and its only been a day! Now i know that i need to plant 187 more flowers and 45 more trees and 3 bridges and have at least 30 bonus points to unlock the k.k quest UwU tysmmm!!!
ngl i thought it would be difficult to get to 5* but i am ADDICTED to decorating my island to the point it lags if my console has been running for awhile. I wasnt even paying attention to my rating anymore because i wanted to have fun and almost flipped out when i saw a singular lily of the valley up on a cliff, and yep i made it to 5*. So, if you do like decorating your island dont worry about stuff that much!
Thank you so much! The points are still confusing but I clearly know what Isabelle means when she said clutter. Im going to clean that up and hopefully I'll go from 2 to 3 star. Im going to subscribe and like for sure.
Thanks so much! I don't really want to "game" the game as much as experience it, but this makes a lot of sense to me. I appreciate the heavy duty breakdown!
I remember I had 4 star island for the longest time and Isabelle kept mentioning "clean up the clutter on the island" and it turned out she was talking about my free diy area 🤣
I could not figure out why Isabelle kept telling me that I needed to pick up stuff because I picked up all of the branches and stuff every day. I have a garden stop and a farmers market where I had more than 15 items dropped on stalls. Thank you so much. I could not figure it out.
VIDEO TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
01:21 Explaining The Internal Points System
01:56 Requirements To Get A Specific Rating
03:21 Basics of Scenery Points
04:49 Basics of Development Points
05:57 The "Block" System Used For Calculating Furniture Points
09:25 Bonus Points For Development
11:23 Clutter And Litter
13:05 Extra Tips And Outro
This video is so helpful and so is this comment
Does dropped fruit count as litter. (Dropping it on table)
I've never seen a RUclipsr do that before, that's so cool that you made little sections in the video for separate things
What do you mean “clutter” Sorry i speak spanish
Thank you 🙌🏼
Everyone else’s island: *Perfectly well thought out themes and organized places*
My island: *Infested with flowers*
MEEEE hahahaha i have SOOO many hybrids and i was getting so frustrated it wasn’t five stars and then i made a fourth incline making four bridges and four inclines and now my five star rating is unshakable!!! though it is still v cluttered
He he I have way 2 many flowers
I have way too many blue and purple windflowers. I need pink ones ;-;
Flowers are delightful though so its okay.
I can’t get my black tulips to stop multiplying but what I want are black roses
Me: How many flowers do I need to plant?
Isabelle: Enough
Me: How much furniture do I need to put out?
Isabelle: Enough
Me:
*Insert the Drew Scanlon Meme*
Me:(takes out m14 named sasha)
ENOUGH
Me: 👁👄👁
I mean, she isn’t wrong.
Some girl said at least 200 fences
wait, so this means it's a *good* idea to put all the furniture i cant hold in my inventory (or lawn) in a junkyard in the mountains? *nice*
I accidentally got my 5 star rating by doing that
I was a 3 star and put a whole bunch of furniture on the ground outside and it went down to two stars! 😭😭
Deanna Christine really? Like place them around island and not drop them as green leaves?
@@deannascorner8112 You have to place them, not drop them. Too many dropped items reduce your rating.
se yeah I placed them... I think it was cause it was seen as “clutter” because there was so many in one area
Me: So how many flowers do I need to plant?
Isabelle: Yes
Omg lol
What are all these self-dialogue comments? Planting flowers is not enough - but you'll need at least 300 flowers to get 5 star ratings.
@@Strawberryknight Its called a meme
@@cole_wolf25 u mean a joke?
@@won2659 actually its a meme.
my island was stuck at 4 stars after being 5 and it was bc of all the extra diy recipes i had set down in a certain area. not sure if this helps anybody but who knows :)
You are right! Mine dropped from 5 to 4 and I picked up all my spare diys and it went straight back up to 5!
Unfortunately diys cannot be placed. Like items. I recommend keeping your excess diys in your house, then bringing them out when guests visit. Yeah, it cuts down your HHA rating. But in the end, what makes more of a difference to your island rating? An HHA rating, or clutter? Also, trash djys that pretty much everyone has, like the wooden bed. Lol.
RIP outdoor turnips
Same with mine and turnips lol
JustCallMeMeghan you can sell the trash diys!
I feel like I just watched a math class on zoom
Worth it tho
I-
Kindergarten?
@@Strawberryknight sure
If i study this and dont study math im 100% sure I'll get full mark in the exams😂😂
Personally the most useful thing for me was the fact that I cant have more than 15 dropped items. I was hoping that it just took points away and if i had enough placed things it would allow me to drop more items because I like having a market.
But its good to know know that there's actually just a limit of dropped item I can have, I kept going back and forth between 4 and 5 stars
Now I know to use my dropped items more strategically
Thank you!
TheRubinator13 I was getting some other information from others saying that items dropped on tables don’t count. Not sure who is exactly right on this.
I’m curious what counts as one dropped item though, if I drop 100 turnips is that, 10, or 100 items? What if I drop a bag of bells?
I think you can't have 15...i think you can have 14 dropped. I've only been able to drop 14 without it dropping my score
I like to place the "lost item" books on tables or stools but they count as "litter" so I had to pick up most of them😞
do sticks from trees count?
4:40 To add, I got an "overabundance of trees - too rural" remark from Isabelle. While points cap at 190 trees, you'll start losing points for having more than 220 trees :( I got my 5 star rating back after chopping down to less than 220... good thing stumps and bushes do not count to this limit
Edit: Hmm... I’m beginning to think bushes do count but maybe as a fraction of a tree? I can’t go past 205 trees without dropping back to 4 stars. But I have 100+ bushes :))
Same
My brother had the same problem with trees.
I heard bushes do count as trees!
I also have too many trees, I'm fine with just being a four star island however. But I'm worried it might go to three stars with even more trees?
That makes me sad for the people that want a forest type island
i need the trees, they are money makers. im not rich.
Yup we were at 4 star for awhile, couldn't figure it out... Lots of flowers well decorated... Wife picked up the diys she had set out for free for visitors, bang 5 star... Tried it again, put out 15 more DIY...4 star again, under 15 5 star lol
4 stars, 5 stars
This helped me so much! Unlike other ones they just say add furniture plant trees plant flowers fill you island with furniture get bridges and stairs but you have all the details! Thank you so much you just earned yourself a subscriber!
Me: So I have to plant flowers for a better rating?
*Makes the entire island a flower garden*
mood
This was me
Isabelle: tOO MANY FLOWERS
I hit 3 stars by accident. I was stuck at 2 and did a lot of fishing at 3:00 in the morning. Once my inventory filled up, I piled them all outside Nook's Cranny to sell when it opened. Just out of curiosity I checked to see if I lost a star after doing that for a couple hours, and I actually gained a star from it.
wait did you do nothing else?
Fish and bugs count as decoration outside!
... You've just awoken the phase of my animal crossing addiction I had buried when the museum got upgraded... "The Fish Addict" My island will now be the reincarnation of Seaworld. (But without the animal abuse because duh.)
Thank you. I thought I had to build up my island into a metropolis like I’ve seen with some really elaborate 5 star islands, but it’s not the case at all. I just got my 5 star rating and my island is beautifully simple.
I'm having such a hard time getting development points on my island since I'm going for a very nature-y island with little human interference and that is literally the opposite of development 😓 I only have two bridges and do not have plans for another anytime soon, I have plans for an incline eventually but none currently and am stuck at a 4 star rating :'D
I've noticed inclines, bridges, and roads encourage villagers to hang out in different areas. Try making picnic areas or sight-seeing vista, then ways for you villagers to hang out there. That should help your development rating. Also telescopes and 'tourist telescope' items fit in great with nature themes.
your island sounds so cool..
Alex GInter thank you for the suggestions! I ordered some stuff from nook shopping and some nook mile redemption items and boom five star :D guess I was a bit closer to five stars than I originally thought 😅
frank*e thank you :)
I also really like the idea of using stone looking furniture for a small-town village theme. there's a couple of different water wells that would look great surrounded by flowers and trees. (they might mostly be DIYs, though...)
Perfect timing I need this ty.
???
Missing Link
What?
I have five stars and also the official guide from Futurepress. I kinda understand the system, but I definitely won't be doing math while decorating my town xD
Remember that all the naturally spawned things like branches, rocks, etc. won't count towards clutter, but if you pick them up and drop them, it would count as clutter. As long as you don't have too much clutter on your island, five stars isn't too hard to reach once you have enough villagers and decorate the town.
Thank you for this video! I'm stuck at a 3 star island, and all isabelle will tell me is to decorate it from top to bottom. Also finally figured out why she kept telling me there was too much clutter on the island; every week when I bought turnips, I'd drop them in a little "garden" near my house. I didn't buy any this week, so I'm going to check my rating and see what she says now.
Love this! Thanks a lot because I’m terraforming my island and I needed these tips. Also I’m Blake from your streams!
ryan im really proud? i dont know but i can recall when your subcount said 174 and know look at you good job smiles all around
4:40 also about the trees, I went for a very rustic, nature themed vibe. So I had a lot of trees and my island rating dropped from 5 to 4 stars. So not only will you not get more points but you’ll actually lose points. Isabelle says “there’s an over abundance of trees” 🤷♀️
THANK YOU! Branches were driving me crazy... And now I only have to pick them up if I want to! Thanks!
the whiteboard really adds to the educational vibe of the video HAHA thanks for this!! it's super informative and i'll definitely be referring when arranging my island :D
You’re telling me that DIY furniture counts as scenery? Damn... I thought it counted as development.
over half of furniture on my island is what i crafted myself :^(
Just grab all the furniture in ur house that isn't DIY and YEET it outside xd
i don't want to come off as rude, but your videos are soo high quality and helpful, how DONT you have way more subscribers man.
McComas25II4 believe me, ryan is going up about 1k a day almost and we all really proud :)
heather 06 Oh shit true yesterday (for me) he had under 8k
heather 06 who’s ryan
Of all the ACNH channels I’ve seen so far, yours is the most clear, helpful, and succinct. Subscribed. :)
Its always a vague amount of what you need, but when it comes to bells you owe, they're precise and know how much EXACTLY
Thanks for sharing this break down! I'm currently working on getting my 3 star rating. This is super helpful since Isabelle's advice is really vague, so informing us on how to interpret her advice is helpful.
Isabelle, as I lose my collective shit from not passing 3 stars again: why don't you plant some flowers and maybe then you'll calm down
OMG MAN THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! THANKS TO YOU IM 3-STAR NOW!!! U SAVED MY ISLAND! I FINALLY HAVE TERRAFORMING
Love your videos, good way to end a Sunday!
Yep :)
Monica Munoz agreed
Amazing video! Pretty complex but very thorough. LOL, Isabelle was destroying my island as she kept asking for fencing and other things, so I put unnecessary fences everywhere and there are so many random flowers everywhere. Now I know I need scenery points. Also, I'm sad because I want to make an outdoor classroom, so my indoor items won't be worth anything outdoors. Ah well!
I made an outdoor classroom near my Museum, but I also have a few items in that block that are meant to go outside. If you want an outdoor classroom, you can always make up those points in another area of your island. Don't let their grading system stop you from making the island that YOU want.
@@Caeleinn Thanks for the encouragement! I already made an indoor classroom with the small space in my house, but I will transfer it outside. It's a little weird though as there are no walls outdoors, so maybe I will make waterfall cliffs on the sides to make a unique classroom.
@@beartackle I made a couple of the mountain standee DIYs to place behind my chalkboard. I saw a video where someone used the Simple Panel to create "walls" for an outdoor space. I may do that for my outdoor cafe/pastry shop. My Mom actually gave me the idea of creating a library area for my villagers, so I may use the panels with a bookshelf design on them.
@@Caeleinn Thanks for the tip and I got a huge surprise: after I made my outdoor classroom, the day after I got 5 stars!!!! I still can't believe it!
@@alexsxvz That's awesome! Even though I have 5 stars now, you're giving me ideas on what new things to try out. :-)
i was going for a more natural island and afraid that i won’t be putting too much fences for a 5* island, but this helps clear things up! thank you :)
I stuck fencing behind my cliffs to boost my development score without impacting the natural view of the island. It's a little hard to see what you're doing back there, but every little bit helps!
Me: gets 3 star
Me: :D
*The Next Day*
Me: *places paths*
Isabelle: Lionvill has a 3 star rating!
*5 Seconds Later*
Isabelle: Lionvill has a 2 star rating >:D
Me: WHAT THE- D:
i was there when you explained it on stream but ill still watch it
Thanks for the in-depth guide!!! I just found that crafting materials count as clutter the hard way. I picked up ONE bunch of wasp hives off a cardboard box, and my rating went from four to five...
If you're going for a natural island look and are having trouble with your development points, here are two big things that got me to 5*. First, eight bridges and eight inclines. At 15 points each, they are the biggest bangs in the game. Second, you can buy the 3x3 Nook Miles furniture like the silo and the lighthouse and place them on the rocky parts on your beach. Especially in the back of your island, there is a lot of room for sticking development that doesn't detract from nature.
My husband bought me a new switch for my bday yesterday& After unsuccessfully transferring data and losing my 300+ hours of gameplay. I had to start over. Saddness. however with your video I have hope. I'm writing all of it down. Lol thank you so much. Plus I'm a mom with three and wasting time is not an option truly thank you for all your hard work!!!!
Just abt 4 days ago when I subbed we were at 6k now we’re at 8k congrats
This was super helpful, thank you so much. I’ve been stuck at a 2 star rating and Isabelle keeps switching between telling me to plant a variety of fruit trees ( I already have every fruit tree and a lot of each, including palm trees) and plant more flowers ( I have over 102 and they are a bunch of different species and colors, including hybrids). Now I’m thinking I don’t have out enough diy furniture outside, since I have a bunch of purchased furniture out already. I would never have figured that out by myself, so thank you! 😄
This helped so much I brought my rating up by 2 stars! And I didn't focus on the math I just started a large flower garden, and put an array of purchased and diy outdoor items outside. Sometimes in clusters sometimes not. That was my biggest take away, have flowers and trees, and a variety of outdoor items in a variety of locations. And it works. 😁
Thanks for all of the info. I have only been playing for 2 months and it helped. I’ve subscribed!
Great video thanks for the help and now I have more chance of getting a five star island
Literally, the rating system makes no sense. I went from a 1 star to a 4 star without adding anything in between the ratings to my island, I only have 8 villagers ... WHAT IS THE MATH?!?!
Talking to villagers may have helped shrug
Thank you. Just now getting into island rating and know my island looks like a mess but really love this. I didn't know villagers played a part in that. But it also gives me an idea on where to go from here.
The island I share with my sister has been stuck on 4 stars for a year now. It's frustrating! Thanks to you, we can finally make the final leap to 5 stars. Thanks:)
thank you! this helped me so much! i literally just hit a three star rating in only about 20 minutes!
I keep on suggesting this video to people. It's fantastic and breaks down everything so perfectly. Thanks again for creating awesome AC content!
This explains why I was so blindsided when I got my 5 star rating. Most of my island was pretty bare except for a couple very heavily decorated areas that probably fit into an 8x8 block. Not to mention one of the first areas I made was a farm so lots of “outdoor” items too.
i love you for this video AND the timestamps thank you so muchhhhh
Just got this game about a month ago and this is helping me a lot.
This is exceptional! Thanks for putting this together and so clearly without fluff or bs.
Thanks for this! I set some recipes down and it was counting as litter but now I’m back at 5 stars 😃
actually very informative, thank you!! just reached 3 stars after days of trying wondering what's going wrong lol
Followed this and got a 5 star island finally 😭 thank you so much!
This is easily added to my Island Planner Spreadsheet so I can calculate my points for my island
After watching this video, I'm going to just place furniture everywhere and hope. This video was very well-made, but I'm too stupid to understand all of it lmao.
Thanks for sharing this, it was both interesting and informative! I like how the developers actually thought to put in a bonus points system for "outdoor" items. I wonder how the game decides which items are "outdoor" and which ones are "indoor" though? Other than the obviously named items like outdoor air condition and outdoor bench lol. It's so unfair that turnips and items placed on stalls count as clutter! You can't store turnips, so where the hell else are you supposed to put em? And items (as in leaves) placed on stalls shouldn't count either, cause like you said it could be for a marketplace or just decor. In any case, this guide is helpful though, so thanks. Sadly I'm stuck on four stars currently thanks to "clutter" and a lack of decor. *sigh* Maybe I just don't have a very good imagination for this sort of thing, but it feels like there are limits to the number of different "areas" one can make on their island. I mean sure you could make an outdoor cafe, or maybe a sushi restaurant, but it feels like there isn't a whole lot of furniture to make other things, and everybody has a cafe, a playground, a park, etc. There are only so many ways you can arrange certain types of furniture, you know? I wish there was more variety... P.S. Do you know if fish, fossils, art, and bugs affect island rating at all or if they count as clutter? I sure hope they don't count as clutter, 'cause that would suck. Some people have created some really cool creative things with the artwork, fossils, etc. in the game. I also hope clothes don't count as clutter because what if I want to open a little clothes stall or something?
thank you for this idk why but this game is the game ive seen the most miss information spreading and peapole not fact cheking thank you for doing the job!
Thanks so much I didn’t know what to do when she said improve island development
im still just trying to get to 3 stars and unlock terraforming so this was sooo helpful, thank you!!!!!
Useful video. I got to 5 stars just by naturally developing and building on my island, so it doesn't seem to be too high a threshold.
This was really informative and well said, thank you
I was getting rid of flowers caused by time traveling, it took hours, and when I was done Isabelle said my rating went from 3 to 2. Oh well
Thank you for the detailed guide! Really clear and easy to follow.
but on a serious note, I recently decided to remodel my island, which was already at a 5-star ranking and I'm so bummed about it. Still though, my island never really felt like it was up to MY standard but I also want to make sure that no matter what changes I make I can still at least try to ensure the new remodeling yields a 5 star rank. this video is a pretty good foundation to start that knowing what specifically I should be focusing on. it's good to know that terraforming doesn't actually hurt the ranking.
So helpful! 🙌🙌
Good video ryan!
Thank so much for this! Funny story, when I first unlocked the upgraded Residential Services buildings, I asked for an evaluation and got a 1 star. I then went into overdrive, planting way more flowers, planting trees, placing furniture, etc. A few days later, I asked for another evaluation, crossing my fingers that I got at least a 3 star rating. Isabelle gave me a 4 star rating and I was like, "Oh... that works." lol
This helped me a lot! I haven't done a lot on my island yet (somehow I have 3 stars already, idk how), but I can keep this in mind while decorating my island! Thanks :)
If you can't tell how big a furniture item is and your not good at eyeballing it you can dig holes around it and count how many squares it is length and width wise, I hope this helps!
This helped me soooooo much. Thank you!!!!
Thanks to this video. I turned my island from 2 stars to 5 stars in 3 days.
Thank you so much for this you really helped me!
Hey Ryan thank you so much for this video. I would have been stuck ! I just went through my areas that have had a bit too much stuff (bit hard to squeeze through and removed stuff or expanded the area and i got my 5th star back. Thank you so much for the tips.
Fences are gonna save me in the Dev part, thank god. Amazing video!
Thank you my good sir! A video worthy of Blather's intellect. I reset my island and I need to get to 3 stars to unlock pathways. Thank you for the info.
This is brilliant, thank you so much. I was just wondering because I saw some on your island but don’t think you mentioned them how do bushes/shrubs count towards your score. Do they give/take away any points and does it make a difference if they are in season?
Fun fact. My island was (and still is) 3☆. But I spent almost the full last week with my island completely covered in mannequins while I was moving rocks to a certain area. One day I realized that Lillies of the valley started to appear near my museum and I was so confused. So I went to check on Isabelle, and surprise!! 5☆ island just for having a mannequin mess all over the place. I removed them after I was done with the rocks and my rating dropped again to 3☆... But at least now I have a couple Lillies of the valley near my island entrance and the golden watering can recipe. :D
This helped me so much! Thank you for sharing!
super helpful thanks dude!
literally love you for this
Thanks for all the info, I hate it! But seriously ty for making a video about this, it's actually very impressive how detailed everything is.
Very helpful! Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video! This is really gonna help me I think!
Tyssmmm this helped me to get from 1 star rating to 2 star rating so far, and its only been a day!
Now i know that i need to plant 187 more flowers and 45 more trees and 3 bridges and have at least 30 bonus points to unlock the k.k quest UwU tysmmm!!!
ngl i thought it would be difficult to get to 5* but i am ADDICTED to decorating my island to the point it lags if my console has been running for awhile. I wasnt even paying attention to my rating anymore because i wanted to have fun and almost flipped out when i saw a singular lily of the valley up on a cliff, and yep i made it to 5*. So, if you do like decorating your island dont worry about stuff that much!
*[Omg this actually helped alot ty i been struggling]*
OMG!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! I have been at 4 stars for last 6 months a couldn't figure out what she meant by "yOu NeEd MoRe ScEnEry"
This is so helpful. Thank you!
Thank you so much! The points are still confusing but I clearly know what Isabelle means when she said clutter. Im going to clean that up and hopefully I'll go from 2 to 3 star. Im going to subscribe and like for sure.
Thanks so much! I don't really want to "game" the game as much as experience it, but this makes a lot of sense to me. I appreciate the heavy duty breakdown!
Thank you! This actually helped a lot!
An interesting point is that shrubs are counted as a type of tree. I found that out via Nook miles.
155 hours in and I finally got a 5 star island! I probably could have had it fast but I redid my island and moved every house and museum first.
Great work! Thank you!!
Phoebe is really interested in the point system too! Lol Great info! This game has some deep strategy to it.
I remember I had 4 star island for the longest time and Isabelle kept mentioning "clean up the clutter on the island" and it turned out she was talking about my free diy area 🤣
I could not figure out why Isabelle kept telling me that I needed to pick up stuff because I picked up all of the branches and stuff every day. I have a garden stop and a farmers market where I had more than 15 items dropped on stalls. Thank you so much. I could not figure it out.
Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed