Shortly into your adventure in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you should get the option to build the full shop and/or the DIY instructions to make decent equipment. Regardless of which you end up getting first, they both require iron nuggets, a somewhat uncommon material found by hitting rocks. Not only are these limited, at least initially, requiring 30 of them to make the shop is a massive time sink but it isn’t as bad as you might think.
How to Easily Obtain Iron Nuggets
The absolute best way to obtain iron nuggets in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is to simply purchase Nook Miles Tickets. While they cost 2,000 miles, they’ll give you access to a randomly generated island that offers all kinds of unique resources. These include new residents, fossils, creatures, fruit and most importantly, rocks. By using this and the advance attacking method, you can likely obtain the 30 needed relatively quickly.
Getting a Nook Miles Ticket
While you should get one through natural progression, any additional ones need to be purchased or at least obtained from someone who purchased them. This is done by heading into Nook’s tent and finding the Nook Stop machine. You want to select the first option, redeem Nook Miles, followed by selecting Nook Miles Ticket. After a brief animation of it printing, you can collect it and add it to your pocket.
Redeeming a Nook Miles Ticket
To use a ticket, simply find the Dodo Airlines in your town. If you’re having issues, it should have an airplane icon on your map. Go inside and talk to the attendant. Tell them you want to fly and if you have an available Nook Miles Ticket, you’ll be able to select it. After flying to the island you’ll be told, in a rather vague and round about way, these levels are randomly generated, so don’t worry about destroying or stealing anything there. You’re actually encouraged to do what you want, without being overly overt about how much mayhem you can actually cause.
Obtaining Iron Nuggets
At this point you want to locate all the rocks on the island. Most likely two to four will be accessible, giving you a good number of options. To maximize effectiveness, dig three holes a single space behind you. Technically you can do it with just two, though I suggest the third to be safe. After, use your shovel to attack the rock. The hole will prevent you from going back, allowing you to hit it up to eight times total. When you’re no longer able to hit it, eat something and destroy the rock. This will maximize your potential resources and give you more to work with.
Other Methods
While this is the best method, you can also obtain them by visiting other towns and taking it, trading for them or just waiting until you collect enough in your own village.
