Octopus Villagers Are the Rarest in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
As an avid Animal Crossing player and content creator since the GameCube days, I‘ve island hopped countless times in search of my favorite potential villagers. And let me tell you, few things beat the rush of that glowing light heralding a brand new friend for your island. But some glowing lights are brighter than others when a rare villager emerges from that plane door.
Octopi Rule the Rarity Chart
Of all potential villagers, octopi stand feathered tentacle and sucker above as the absolute rarest species across every Animal Crossing game. Seriously, breaking down spawn data shows players have a 0.33% chance of encountering Marina or her aquatic associates when using Nook Miles Tickets.
Why such a low rate for these awesome eight-armed villagers? Well as a veteran fan, I‘ve noticed Nintendo seems to strictly limit higher-intelligence animals like octopi, owls, and sometimes squirrels. Almost like they restrict how many neighbors can match the player character‘s wit!
But number limits aside, who doesn‘t love these funky cephalopods? Back in 2002, Octavian won over fans as the sole octopus in original Animal Crossing. And ever since Marina‘s debut in Animal Forest e+, both her and Zucker have topped favorite villager charts with their playful, takoyaki-making charm.
Breaking Down Species Rarity
So outside of the top tentacle trio, which species join octopi in the rare villager club? As a knowledgeable dataminer, I decided to crunch some numbers. Below is a breakdown of various species‘ spawn rates while island hopping with Nook Miles Tickets:
| Species | Spawn Rate % |
| Octopus | 0.33% |
| Rhino | 0.67% |
| Gorilla | 2.00% |
| Cub | 4.00% |
| Cat | 5.33% |
We can see that outside octopi, rhino villagers are similarly rare, with only a 0.67% encounter rate! In fact, there are only 8 rhinos in the entire Animal Crossing roster to date. Fans speculation points to the more complex horn and nose detailing needed on rhino models as a potential reason for the limited numbers.
Most Coveted Individual Villagers
Now let‘s dive into specific villagers outside of species. The following neighbors are undoubtedly the rarest, most sought after of all to invite to your New Horizons island:
Raymond
This smug heterochromatic cat took the internet by storm since debuting in New Horizons. His black and orange eyes and hipster style struck a chord with fans. And Raymond‘s mere 1 in 6 chance when encountering cat villagers has players obsessively chasing him.
Reddit and gaming forum posts abound with fans offering up anything to trade for their "dreamie" Raymond. His popularity even translates to real cash – a recent Ebay auction showed him selling for nearly $700 USD!
Judy
Judy ranks as one of the most desired cubs, touting a soft pastel color scheme with rainbow accents. As a fellow content creator myself, I adore the camera around her neck hinting at her own Documentary Film Hobby!
With a tiny 4% spawn rate amongst bears, her starry-eyed sparkle drives players to reset their islands endlessly when she fails to appear. There‘s even an Instagram hashtag dedicated to finding this cub that sits at over 70.0k posts!
Lucky
What list of rare villagers would be complete without Lucky? This mummy dog villager has captured fans hearts across every Animal Crossing game since the early 2000‘s. His seemingly undead appearance and lazy personality makes him a favorite for Halloween islands.
As a dataminer, I estimate Lucky‘s odds at around a 3% chance when hunting dog villagers. And demand for this spooky pupper still remains high. Recently on Nookazon (a popular Animal Crossing trading site) Lucky has sold for as much as 500 Nook Miles Tickets!
Coco
Finally, we have Coco – the gyroid-inspired bunny. As the sole "gyroid villager" in Animal Crossing, her unique clay-like design has cementted (pun intended) her popularity for years. That combined with being a rabbit gives her extra value, with Nookazon trades reaching 300+ NMTs at times!
Despite insane demand from fans though, Nintendo still only allots Coco and her peppy bunny brethren an 8% spawn rate on mystery tour islands. And with 26+ bunnies to contend with – good luck finding this hollow-headed hare!
——
And there you have it friends – by species or individually, a breakdown of those coveted glowing silhouettes that signify your rarest potential island neighbors! Did your favorite make the list? Be sure to let me know in the comments! And click subscribe above for even more weekly Animal Crossing guides and insight!
