ACNH - Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

How to Get Floating Presents from Balloons | Spawn Rates

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) - How to Get Presents from Balloons

To get floating presents from balloons in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH), equip the slingshot and hit the A button to shoot down the balloon. Read on to learn about balloon patterns and what presents you can get from balloons!

How to Pop Balloons (Floating Presents)

Use a Slingshot

ACNH - A player equips a slingshot using the Tool Ring
A slingshot is required to pop balloons. It is available after completing the DIY workshop tutorial at the start of the game. Craft a Flimsy Axe to obtain materials from trees, allowing you to craft a slingshot right away.

How to Get the Slingshot

Hit the A Button and Let it Fly

ACNH - A player gets floating present using a slingshot
To see the balloon properly, point the camera upwards with the right control stick.

Equip the slingshot and hit the A button to fire off a volley. If you're standing in the right spot, you'll be able to shoot down the balloon.

Floating Presents Can Fall and Disappear

Watch Out for Rocks, Water, and Items Below!

ACNH - A screenshot of the Nook Miles Activity titled Lost Treasure
If you shoot down a balloon over a river, rock, or displayed furniture, the present will fall and disappear, and you will lose your chance to obtain it. Be careful to time your shot when the ground below is clear of any obstacle.

Presents You Can Get from Balloons

Present Contents Depend on the Balloon Color

Balloon Color General Contents
ACNH - Red BalloonRed Balloon DIY Recipes
ACNH - Blue BalloonBlue Balloon DIY Material
ACNH - Green BalloonGreen Balloon Furniture
Clothing
ACNH - Yellow BalloonYellow Balloon Bells (Money)
ACNH - Golden Balloon.pngGolden Balloon Golden Slingshot Recipe

This is based on the contents of the balloon presents that our walkthrough team gets.

You will generally get items of a category depending on the color of the balloon. Though not always guaranteed, there is a higher rate of getting items of that category with the given balloon color.

The exception to this is the Golden Balloon, which will always give you the Golden Slingshot Recipe.

Seasonal DIY Recipes are Only Available through Balloons

ACNH - A resident receives the Leaner Acorn Pochette DIY recipe after popping a balloon
During events such as Cherry-Blossom Festival, there are seasonal DIY recipes that are only available for a limited time. You will receive 1 free recipe of that series during the island-wide broadcast, but the rest of the recipes can only be obtained from balloons.

Series Appearance Time
ACNH - An icon of the Bamboo Noodle SlideSpring Bamboo Series Northern Hemisphere: February 25-May 31
Southern Hemisphere: August 25th-November 30th
ACNH - An icon of the Outdoor Picnic SetCherry-Blossom Series Northern Hemisphere: April 1st-April 10th
Southern Hemisphere: October 1st-October 10th
ACNH - An icon of the Shell WreathSummer Shell Series Northern Hemisphere:
June 1st-August 31st
Southern Hemisphere: December 1st to the end of February
ACNH - An icon of the TreeTree's Bounty Series Northern Hemisphere: September 1st-December 10th
Southern Hemisphere: March 1st-June 10th
ACNH - An icon of the Mushroom Wreath IconMushroom Series Northern Hemisphere: November 1st-November 30th
Southern Hemisphere:
May 1st-May 31st
ACNH - An icon of the Red-Leaf PileMaple-Leaf Series Northern Hemisphere: November 16th-November 25th
Southern Hemisphere:
May 16th-May 25th
ACNH - An icon of the Snowflake WreathSnowflake Series Northern Hemisphere: December 11th-February 24th
Southern Hemisphere:
June 11th-August 24th
ACNH - An icon of the Ice WandIce (Frozen) Series Northern Hemisphere: December 11 to February 24
Southern Hemisphere: June 11 to August 24
ACNH - An icon of the Ornament WreathFestive Series Common:
December 15 to January 6

Feng Shui Effect on Balloons

Although Nintendo has yet to confirm this, we suspect Feng Shui may affect the rates of certain items in balloon presents.

Rates of Items from Balloons

Feng Shui Furniture Bells Clothes DIY Recipes Materials
ACNH - A yellow bar signifying BellsBells 3 5 2 0 0
ACNH - A red bar signifying Items.pngItems 5 1 2 0 2
ACNH - A green bar signifying Overall Luck.pngOverall Luck 3 2 1 4 0

The table above is a compilation of our finding from opening each color balloon.

DIY Recipes are more difficult to collect, so we suggest raising your Overall Luck to increase the probability of getting them from balloons.

Feng Shui Color and Effect Guide

How Often Do Balloons Spawn?

Balloon Spawn Times and Patterns

Regular Balloons Spawn Every 5 Minutes

Regular balloons, which appear in colors of red, green, yellow, and blue, appear every 5 minutes in multiples of 5. For example, a balloon will spawn at 7:00, another one will appear at 7:05, then 7:10, and so on.

Balloons during events such as Bunny Day will appear more frequently, spawning each minute, and they move faster than regular balloons.

Balloon Type Spawn Times
Normal Balloons Every 5 minutes (Multiples of 5)
Event Balloons Every 1 minute

Wind and Weather | Special Weather

How to Quickly Spawn and Farm Balloons

  • Check the wind direction.
  • Balloons disappear when entering buildings.
  • Check the beach every 5 minutes.
  • Pop at least 1 balloon before entering a building.
  • Leave events to get more normal balloons.

Ballons Float Depending on Wind Direction

ACNH - Smoke comes out of a house

The smoke is going to the right, which means the wind is blowing from the west.

Determine the direction of the wind by looking at the smoke coming out of chimneys from houses. Expect the balloons to come in from that direction.

Note that wind direction may change every time the clock strikes new hour.

Listen to the Wind

You will hear whistles of the wind when a balloon is nearby.

Floating Presents Disappear When Entering Buildings

ACNH - A resident closes a door after either entering or exiting a house
When you enter a building, balloons floating on your island will disappear. Make sure to pop a balloon first before going inside!

Events Will Hinder the Spawn Rates of Normal Balloons

ACNH - A resident watches an Egg Balloon float by during Bunny Day

When there is an ongoing event that also spawns balloons, it will decrease the amount of normal balloons spawning. If you want to only get normal balloons, you can time-travel to get out of the event if you want to.

What to Do When Balloons Don't Come Out?

Enter a Building

ACNH - A resident enters Nook
If balloons are not spawning, we recommend entering a building once to reset the appearance rate of a balloon. After that, you can head to the coast of your beach where balloons usually appear.

Check if You Are Connected to Another Person

ACNH - Orville asks the player how to connect to another player

Balloons do not spawn if you are connected to another player. If you're hunting for balloons, make sure your airport's gates are closed.

Rewards for Popping Balloons

Get Nook Miles!

ACNH - A screenshot of the Nook Miles activity titled It
The more balloons you pop, the closer you are to getting more Nook Miles with the activity It's Raining Treasure!

It's Raining Treasure!
Activity Summary Miles Titles
Shoot down 5 balloons. 300 Easy-breezy/Slingshot Ace
Shoot down 20 balloons. 500 Atmospheric/Floaty Thing
Shoot down 50 balloons. 1000 Restless/Hunter
Shoot down 100 balloons. 2000 Flying/Paradise
Shoot down 300 balloons. 3000 Elusive/Vagabond

Nook Mileage Program Activities & Rewards List

Get the Golden Slingshot Recipe

ACNH - A screenshot of the Golden Slingshot DIY recipe
Upon popping 300 balloons, you can now get the recipe for the Golden Slingshot.

How to Get All Golden Tools

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