Animal Crossing: New Horizons has just released wave one of its summer update, which means you can now swim and snorkel in the ocean around your island. But you can’t dive without preparing. In this guide, we will explain where to get a swimsuit, how to swim and snorkel, and what to do with sea creatures and other rare finds. Add a whole new layer to the Nintendo game, so you don’t want to miss out. As a bonus, there are plenty of extra word games too!
How to get a wet suit
You can’t swim in Animal Crossing: New Horizons without a wet suit. To buy a wetsuit, head over to Nook’s Cranny. The wet suit will be available for purchase in the cabinet where you generally buy tools, seeds, and wallpaper / flooring.
The wet suit costs 3,000 bells. You can also purchase a wet suit at your Nook Stop terminal for 3,000 bells. They come in new designs on a daily basis, so you can keep checking if you don’t like what ends. Your Nook Stop also offers a Nook Inc. wet suit for 800 miles.
To equip the wet suit, simply select it in your inventory, press A and select “Use”. The wetsuit will be fitted directly over your clothing, so you don’t need to manually remove your shirts or pants to wear it. However, your shoes and socks or stockings can be fitted – you can still swim with them, but if you want to take them off or change them for something more appropriate for the beach, you will have to do it manually.
Once you put on your swimsuit, you’re ready to go swimming!
How to swim
Once you buy a wetsuit, Timmy and Tommy will give you a quick tutorial on how to swim, but if you accidentally skipped it or don’t remember it, we’ll go over the basics below.
To swim, you must go to one of the beaches in your ocean. There are two main ways you can enter the ocean: by entering from the sandy beach or diving from the rocks on your beach, that narrow strip of land that juts out into the ocean or its pier.
Either way, you will have to run against the water and press A to enter the water. (Must have all tools unequipped). To continue swimming, press A. Each time you press A, it will execute a stroke, but if you hold down A, it will continue paddling. You can use the left stick to move. If you don’t press anything, your character will simply step on the water. While stepping, you can still use the analog stick to paddle slightly, but it will move very slowly. Your character will never tire of stepping on the water, so don’t worry about floating if you get tired of pressing A.
To get out of the water, you must swim back to a sandy beach. Just swim to the beach until your character reaches land and can get out of the water.
How to dive
There’s no point swimming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons if you don’t know how to dive.
To dive, just press Y while in the water. Your character will dive under the waves, and from there, you can use the usual swimming controls to move: A to swim, joystick to move. If you want to return to the surface, just press Y again, but don’t worry: your character won’t run out of oxygen and will only air out when he needs it, so you don’t have time to time your dives.
How to catch sea creatures
New swimming and diving features are all about exploring the ocean around your island, which means there are new sea creatures to catch and rare treasures to find. All you need for this is your wetsuit, no nets or any other tools required!
When you are swimming, you may notice columns of bubbles floating below the waves. If you swim directly over the bubbles and press Y, your character will dive in and, if positioned correctly, will reappear with a sea creature, such as a starfish or sea anemone. You can also find new types of vegetation, such as algae.
Another way to catch sea creatures is to dive underwater and look for small shadows. When you dive, the camera will tilt and give you a better view of what’s below you. Those columns of bubbles and shadows line up, so an easier way to find creatures is to dive in and swim into the shadows. Your character will automatically collect whatever is down there once you reach the shadow.
In addition to the new sea creatures you can collect for your Critterpedia and museum, you’ll also find scallops and pearls. You can use pearls to create certain DIY recipes, including the new mermaid-themed set. The scallops can be changed to Pascal, a red otter that you will meet in one of your swims, for DIY recipes.
What to do with the new sea creatures
If you check your Critterpedia, you will find that there is a new tab for “sea creatures”. Everything you find on one of his underwater excursions will end in this section, even if, as Blathers explains later, he is not exactly a “creature”. Algae, sea grapes and other species of ocean plants will also be classified here. Take a look at our complete list of the 40 sea creatures added in the new summer update.
The new swimming update not only means new wildlife to log into your Critterpedia, but also new things to donate to your museum. Blathers will gladly take any new sea creatures or vegetation he finds while diving as a donation to the museum.
You can also, as with any other wildlife find, place it as a decoration. While most of what we’ve found so far will appear in a standard display tank, some items like algae have a unique placement style that you can use to decorate your island, so don’t forget to experiment!
GameSpot may earn a commission from retail offers.
