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How to get the Ladder - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Everything you need to know to get the Ladder, one of the handiest tools in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Josh Hawkins

March 22, 2020 10:10 AM

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One of the most frustrating things you’ll encounter early on in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that a good portion of your island is inaccessible due to high cliffs. Thankfully, you can unlock access to these higher lands, but you’re going to need a Ladder to do so. This guide will break down everything you need to know to build the Ladder, so that you can get around easily.

How to get the Ladder - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The Ladder is easily one of the most useful tools in New Horizons and getting one as quickly as possible should be every Resident Representative’s goal. Unfortunately, the Ladder is locked behind a bit of progress in the game.

Basically, to unlock the Ladder, you need to continue playing New Horizons for several days. Now, you can wait for time to pass naturally, or you can use the time travel method to jump ahead after you’ve completed your primary goals each day. No matter what you choose to do, wait until Tom Nook asks you to set down new plots of residents. He’ll give you the plot kits, then you’re off to the races to figure out where they should go.

Once you’ve managed to plop down one plot, Tom will give you a call, explain how the process works – basically you fill the house with furnishings and put some nice exterior pieces the new residents want outside of each one. Once you place down the second and third plot, you’ll get even more calls, including one where Tom mentions needing some of the flowers on top of the cliffs to make an item. This is where you’ll get the DIY Ladder recipe, which you can then use to craft a Ladder a workbench.

When you’ve obtained the Ladder recipe, head to the nearest crafting bench and put it together. Unlike most of the other tools out there, Ladders don’t break from use, so you shouldn’t have to worry about becoming stranded while on the job exploring.

Now that you know how to get a Ladder, you can use your Vaulting Pole and the Ladder to get around the island more easily. You’ll also be able to build bridges and inclines in the future, so make sure you check out the rest of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides for more helpful information.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.