Diving has returned to Animal Crossing: New Horizons! Here’s everything you can catch thanks to the summer update.
Animal Crossing fans will be delighted to see the return of diving in New Horizons, and even more delighted to see that there are now four times as many creatures to catch under the sea than in New Leaf. There are sea pigs, sea stars, sea urchins, and all manner of organisms that don’t start with the word “sea” in order to avoid confusion with a land-based version of the same word.
But before we dive in (pun very much intended), you’re going to need a Wet Suit. You can get one from the Nook brothers for 3,000 Bells. It comes in a variety of colors, but Timmy and Tommy Nook will only ever sell one at a time. You can also get a special Nook-themed Wet Suit for 800 Nook Miles if you’re a little tight on cash.
After you get your Wet Suit, you can equip it to go swimming and diving. You dive by pressing Y and can stay underwater for a few seconds before surfacing. Those few moments are your window of opportunity to plunder the seas for biological treasure!
But what can you find under the sea? Glad you asked! Here’s a table of everything that can be found beneath the waves and when you can catch them. Note that some of the species listed here, such as the firefly squid in the Northern Hemisphere and the mussel in the Southern Hemisphere, are unobtainable in July and you’ll have to wait a few months for them to come into season.
Also, just because a species is available doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to catch. Like fish, the size of the shadows will indicate the size of the creature you’re hunting, but unlike fish, that shadow can sometimes move. After you dive, you’ll have to tap A to swim after that shadow in order to catch it. Unless it’s a barnacle, in which case the shadow won’t move.
One other thing: the number and frequency of bubbles you see on the surface will indicate the size of the shadow you’ll be diving after. Keep an eye out for that during your dives.
