How to Use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

How to Use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing: New Leaf introduced the ability to use amiibo figures and cards with the Welcome amiibo update. amiibo allow you to invite special NPC characters to visit your town, obtain exclusive furniture and clothing items, and invite villagers you may not encounter during regular gameplay.

What Are amiibo?

For those unfamiliar, amiibo are Nintendo’s line of interactive figures and cards. Each amiibo contains data that can communicate with certain Nintendo Switch, Wii U, and 3DS games to provide special bonuses and unlockable content.

There are hundreds of different official Animal Crossing amiibo featuring popular villagers like Marshall, Raymond, and Audie, as well as NPC characters like Isabelle, Tom Nook, and K.K. Slider. There are also several series of Animal Crossing amiibo cards featuring even more villagers.

Requirements for Using amiibo in ACNL

To use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you’ll need:

  1. The Welcome amiibo game update installed
  2. A compatible amiibo figure, amiibo card, or amiibo accessory for your 3DS
  3. An internet connection (for unlocking RV villagers)

How to Invite an amiibo Villager to Your Campground

The main way to utilize amiibo in ACNL is by inviting special villagers with RVs to visit your campground. To do this:

  1. Go to the campground and interact with the amiibo phone near the campground entrance.
  2. Scan your amiibo by tapping it to your 3DS NFC reader or holding it over the touch screen.
  3. You’ll be asked if you want to invite that character to visit the campground. Say yes!

The first time you invite an amiibo villager, their RV won’t immediately appear. You’ll need to close and re-open the game before their RV shows up. After that, you can summon them anytime by scanning their amiibo at the campground phone.

Benefits of Inviting an amiibo Villager

When an amiibo character visits, you can interact with them and get special rewards:

  • Obtain exclusive furniture & clothing – Many items can only be obtained from specific amiibo villagers.
  • Have them move to your town – If you have room, ask them to move in just like any camper.
  • Unlock poster rewards – After inviting an amiibo 3 times, they’ll give you a poster.
  • Unlock their amiibo figure – At Harvey’s RV campground in New Horizons.

How to Use amiibo Cards for ACNL

The process is the same for using Animal Crossing amiibo cards. Simply scan your card when the game prompts you at the campground’s phone.

One difference with cards is that you can scan in “lost villagers” – those that you may not encounter through regular campsite or island gameplay in ACNL. This gives you a chance to recruit rare or unusual villagers you may otherwise never meet!

Compatible amiibo Accessories

To scan amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you’ll need a peripheral NFC reader for your 3DS. Here are some options:

  • Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer – Attaches directly to the 3DS
  • amiibo Phone Stand – Holds figure amiibo over touch screen
  • Datel NFC Reader – Connects via IR port

I prefer the standalone NFC Reader/Writer. From my experience, it provides the most reliable scanning. The phone stand can sometimes fail to read properly if the figure’s positioning slips.

Troubleshooting amiibo Issues

Here are some common problems and solutions when using amiibo in Animal Crossing:

RV villager won’t appear in campground

As mentioned earlier, the first time inviting an amiibo, you must fully close and restart ACNL before their RV shows up. Also check your internet connection is on.

Can’t invite amiibo villager a second time

There’s a cooldown after inviting an amiibo but before they can return. Typically they can return the next day – just scan again and check if you can re-invite.

Game isn’t recognizing my NFC reader

Ensure your reader is securely connected to the console, try re-pairing the devices, and confirm the reader firmware is up to date.

amiibo characters give repeats of the same item

There’s a random chance they’ll always give you the same item. Keep requesting items and eventually their available item pool will refresh.

If none of those basic troubleshooting tips help get your amiibo working properly in Animal Crossing, you may need to contact Nintendo Support for additional assistance.

Popular amiibo Villagers Worth Inviting

Wondering which Animal Crossing villagers are worth using your precious amiibo on? Here are some of the most popular, with a summary of their unique items.

Raymond

The fan-favorite cat offers hip office and cafe-themed furniture from his luxury home.

Judy

Judy’s pastel, cute furniture fits perfectly for fairy-tale cottages or sweet lolita rooms.

Marshal

The adorable smug squirrel has treat-filled toys, ice cream cones and popsicles themed to his sweet tooth.

Audie

Based on a beloved grandma gamer, Audie offers tropical furniture for a beachy island paradise.

Sanrio Villagers

Hello Kitty, Pompompurin and more offer furniture and clothes covered in cute Sanrio designs!

Browse lists ranking the top Animal Crossing villagers by popular vote to discover other potential favorites to summon with amiibo. Characters like Ankha, Stitches, and Merengue offer fun rewards.

Final Tips for Using amiibo in ACNL

Here are a few final pointers to master amiibo use in New Leaf:

  • Scan an amiibo daily – Invite a new or returning visitor to unlock items and build friendship.
  • Scan lost villagers – Meet unique characters only available via amiibo card.
  • Rotate invites – Don’t over invite the same villager to refresh their gift pool faster.
  • Use amiibo for dream addresses – Scan to receive a dream address for special NPC homes.

amiibo are a fun way to spice up gameplay, get rare items, and invite beloved villagers into your New Leaf community. With hundreds of figures and cards to collect, there’s endless options to explore!

I hope this detailed guide covers everything you were hoping for on how to use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Key Considerations When Using amiibo Figurines in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

amiibo Series Compatibility Unlocks
Animal Crossing amiibo cards Fully compatible New villagers that can move to your town
Animal Crossing amiibo figures Fully compatible Themed furniture and clothing items
Non-Animal Crossing amiibo Partially compatible Mini-games to earn exclusive items
Sanrio amiibo cards Fully compatible Themed furniture and clothing items
amiibo cards from Welcome amiibo Fully compatible New villagers, furniture, clothing

FAQ

  1. What are amiibo?

    Amiibo are small figures and cards that you can use to unlock special features in compatible Nintendo games. When you tap an amiibo to the NFC reader on your Nintendo console, data is transferred that unlocks things in the game.

  2. How do I use amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf?

    To use an amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you need to buy the amiibo reader accessory. This connects to your 3DS and allows you to scan your amiibo. Scanning an amiibo character will invite them to come visit your town.

  3. Can I use amiibo cards in Animal Crossing: New Leaf?

    Yes, you can use both amiibo figures and cards with the game. The effect is the same – scanning them invites that character to come visit your town for the day.

  4. What happens when I scan an amiibo?

    When you scan an amiibo, that character will appear in the campground area of your town. You can interact with them and sometimes get unique furniture items. They will also remember you when you scan them again later.

  5. How often can I scan an amiibo?

    You can scan an amiibo once per day. The character will stay in your campground for the whole day before leaving.

  6. Can I invite amiibo villagers to live in my town?

    Unfortunately you cannot invite amiibo villagers to move into your town permanently. You can only summon them temporarily to the campground by scanning their figure/card.

  7. What are amiibo villagers?

    Amiibo villagers refers to Animal Crossing characters that have been made into amiibo figures or cards. Scanning them will invite them to visit your town for the day.

  8. Do all amiibo work with Animal Crossing?

    No, only Animal Crossing themed amiibo will work in the game. Non-Animal Crossing amiibo like those from the Super Mario or Legend of Zelda series will not do anything.