For all its cuteness, there are some mischievous aspects to Animal Crossing if you look in the right places. A beloved (and hated) series item that can unleash either a wave of terror or glee has been “missing” in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Normally found at the dump, lost and found, buried in town, or on island tours, the dastardly, iconic pitfall seed isn’t showing up like before — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t in the game! Instead of being found randomly, pitfall seeds are now crafted via a DIY recipe.
What is a pitfall seed?
The pitfall seed is an item that has appeared since the very first Animal Crossing game for Nintendo GameCube, and has shown up in every other game since. Pitfalls are strange items — white spheres with red exclamation points printed on the front — that, when buried, act as a sort of “trap” that can hilariously cause other players and animals to fall into them when stepped on. They show up as normal Xs when buried, making others none the wiser about their true nature! Those caught by the pitfall’s snare aren’t forever doomed, however: Players can, of course, get out of pitfalls by tapping “A” or just struggling in general.
Intrigued? We thought so. There are two main ways to get your hands on pitfall seeds in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Method #1: Finding the DIY recipe
This is the trickier of the two methods, as you’ll be forced to figuratively pray to the RNG gods in order to find a pitfall seed DIY recipe. It sounds simple, but with over 500 DIY recipes in the game, the odds aren’t anything to laugh at. Luckily during my playthrough, I discovered the recipe card inside a washed ashore message bottle… on April Fool’s Day.
Like all DIY recipes, the pitfall seed recipe can be found through a variety of means: through a balloon in the sky, by a villager giving you it, or by washing up on shore like it did for me. However, in order for the pitfall seed DIY recipe to become available, you’ll need to have collected at least 100 recipes total. After that, it should spawn like any other recipe. Just be patient (and lucky), and you’ll eventually find it!
Method #2: Finding someone with the DIY recipe
And now onto the easier way of learning the recipe. Have a friend who plays Animal Crossing: New Horizons and knows the pitfall seed recipe? Great! Just have them make one for you. Bury the pitfall seed, dig it up, and BOOM! — you’ll be hit with a DIY recipe lightbulb moment. Now you can craft the pitfall seed and spread the chaos!
Whether you see yourself gleefully using the pitfall seed or not, you’ll want to dabble in crafting it, burying it, and falling into it at least once. Two hidden Nook Miles achievements are associated with these activities, “Pit-y Party” and “Overcoming Pitfalls.” Some more Nook Miles are well worth the experience of falling into a pit and flailing about, right?
So, what’s the recipe for a pitfall seed?
You cannot craft a pitfall seed without learning the recipe in-game, but in case you’re curious, you’ll need 4 clumps of weeds and 6 tree branches in order to craft one.
More Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides
Looking for more help with Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Check out our other guides!
Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
