How to get the magic wand and star fragments in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Animal Crossing: New Horizons magic wand is a special tool that allows you to swap between eight preset outfits from a simple menu. No longer are you confined by the need to find a wardrobe, all you need to do is simply wave your wand. But, how do you get it?

Well, you'll need star fragments to make it and it'll take a fair amount of work and some well-timed wishes to acquire these unique crafting materials. With the prospect of flicking between fancy and fun outfits with ease though, it's worth your time. Here's how to find those all important three star fragments or more in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and how they're best used below.

How to get star fragments in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Getting star fragments in Animal Crossing: New Horizons requires you to go through a few steps - they probably won't be accessible right from the beginning, and you'll need to speak with some particular NPCs and jump through a couple of hoops before you can start properly storing them.

1. Wait for Celeste to appear on your island one evening

Celeste speaks to the player in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

If you're new to the Animal Crossing series as a whole, you may not realise the importance of Celeste. She's the sister of Blathers, the owl director of the museum, and usually, she's the one who's behind the observatory in previous games. It's not clear whether there is an observatory in New Horizons yet, but Celeste does play an important role in the game.

Quite a ways into the game (day 20 for me, which also happened to lie on a full moon), Celeste will appear on your island after sunset. You'll want to speak to her. She'll explain that wishing upon a falling star can bring you good fortune, which is a bit of a clue about how you'll find star fragments.

However, more importantly she'll give you the recipe for the magic wand then and there. In order to make it though, you'll need three star fragments and one large star fragment.

2. Make a wish on a shooting star

A player waits for a shooting star in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

In order to get star fragments, you're going to need to keep your eyes - and ears - peeled for shooting stars. Thankfully, like the floating balloons, they do make a subtle noise that you can hear as you're meandering around your island in daily life. It's a gentle tinkling, almost inaudible at first, but as soon as you hear it, push up on the right stick and press A to wish on the star.

A player wishes on a shooting star in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

You'll know you've accomplished it because your character will close their eyes and hold their hands together, and the star in the sky will glow.

Usually, there are multiple shooting stars in a row, so you can wish on multiple stars in one go just by hitting A repeatedly.

3. Comb the beach the next day for star fragments

A player finds a star fragment on the beach in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

Wishing on a star is cute and all, but what's the point. Well, for that you'll have to wait until the next day. The morning after you wish on a star or three, you'll need to take a walk along the beach looking for large yellow rocks where the water meets the sand. These are star fragments, and you'll get one per wish by the looks of things. It's still not clear how to get large star fragments though, but it seems they are also linked to wishing on a star.

Hopefully though, you have better luck than I do and can make your star wand straight away.

However, there are other wand recipes available in-game. I discovered a bamboo wand hidden in a balloon present much earlier in the game, so hopefully you do too, as it only needs three star fragments to make.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons meteor shower

Isabelle explains the daily weather report in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

If you want to get as many wishes in as you can, you'll want to keep your ears open for news of an Animal Crossing: New Horizons meteor shower. Isabelle will let you know in the morning briefing that there's going to be shooting stars that evening. Residents may also mention a meteor shower to you too.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons large star fragments and zodiac star fragments

A player shows off their star fragment score in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — (Image credit: Nintendo)

Large star fragments and pieces of zodiac - which correlate to the current active zodiac sign - will drop at random with regular star fragments when you wish on a star. So make sure you wish on as many as you can.

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Sam Loveridge is the Brand Director and former Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar. She joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.

With contributions from

Grace DeanFreelance Writer

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