How To Get Rich Quick In Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf has been out for almost two months, but its nearly endless replay value still has fans hooked. If you're tired of shaking trees and selling fruit in an effort to afford that next house upgrade, you can stop now. Follow this guide to be raking in the bells in no time at all.

First, start the Bell Boom. As mayor of your town, you've probably already set one of the ordinance options. In order to get the most value out of your beetles, make sure that Bell Boom is the currently selected ordinance. This will net you more bells for everything you sell.

Head to Kapp'n at night (between 7pm and 6am is a good bet) and pony up the 1,000 bells needed to sail to the island. Don't worry about the fee, as you're going to get it back several hundredfold.

Grab your gear. Lloid hangs out near the entrance, and will lend you anything you need. You'll want to grab your net and fishing rod every time, but you'll also need a shovel and axe if it's your first time, as you'll need to...

Groom your island. The rarest (and most valuable) beetles appear only on the palm trees that grow in the sand, so you should cut down and dig up any trees on the grassy area. Some beetle hunters like to keep them to grab the occasional rainbow stag or giant stag, but they're rare when compared to the useless fruit beetles and miyama stags that tend to grow here.

Continue on to see how to optimize your island.

Above, you'll see an ideal tree placement. Grow between one and three palm trees (made with coconuts or bananas) in the middle of the island on either side of the grassy oasis. Don't plant them too far down on the island, as it'll make it too difficult to see if they have beetles without getting close enough to scare them away.

Get rid of the losers. It seems that only a certain amount of bugs can be on the island at any one time, so you'll want to scare away any of them that aren't worth your time. If you have trees on the grassy area, scare off anything that isn't a rainbow stag or giant stag by running at them or swinging your net near them. Chase hermit crabs and roaches into the ocean. Catch butterflies with your net, and then release them to free up more inventory space.

Know what to look for. Above, you'll see the eight beetles that you should be focusing on. Here are their names and values (with Bell Boom on):

Golden Stag - 14,400 bells
Horned Hercules - 14,400 bells
Giant Stag - 12,000 bells
Rainbow Stag - 12,000 bells
Cyclommatus Stag - 9,600 bells
Horned Atlas - 9,600 bells
Horned Elephant - 9,600 bells
Goliath Beetle - 7,200 bells

Next, it's time to catch some beetles.

Practice your approach. Rare beetles are quick to fly away if they know you're coming for them, so you'll need to be stealthy. I've found the best luck when I approach from the sides of a tree or at a 45 degree angle. It's absolutely critical that you hold the A button and barely tilt the circle pad as you close in on these. Gold stags are particularly skittish, so make sure you're using a feather touch on the pad during your approach. If you're having trouble gauging how far you need to be from the tree, practice on an empty tree until you've got it down.

Catch anything with a fin. As you're scouring the island for beetles, keep an eye on the water as well. If you see a fin, toss a line in just as you would any other fish. Sharks are trickier to catch than other creatures, as the window for reeling them in when you see the bobber drop is much narrower. To avoid getting juked out by the visual of the bobber, turn the volume up and place the 3DS speaker to your ear with your eyes closed. Wait until you hear the audio cue of the bobber dropping, and immediately hit the button. Selling sharks will earn you an amount that's comparable to what you'd get for rare beetles.

Load up the deposit box. You can take 40 items home from the island with you, and you should take advantage of this every time for maximum profit. Depending on the variety of beetles you get, it's common to get between 300,000 and 500,000 bells per trip.

Head home and profit! As it will be night when you arrive back on your town's shores, there's a good chance the stores will be closed. Grab your beetles and sharks from the deposit box on the dock, and store them in your closet (or floor if you don't have room). When Re-Tail opens in the morning, make repeated trips until your haul is gone and see how quickly your bankroll expands.

There you have it! Follow these tips and you'll afford home upgrades and public works in no time at all.

Note: Julius Blaise of Harmonix made the awesome pro wrestling shirts seen here, and you can download their QR codes here. Not sure how to use QR codes in Animal Crossing? Check out my previous guide here.