Milling about your island oasis and talking with your fellow residents is half the fun of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. They can often be found singing, fishing, or just chilling under a tree. But if you don't want to stop and chat — yet feel bad running by them without saying a word — you'll appreciate the Reaction system in New Horizons. This allows you to perform one of 44 reactions and quickly let your friends know how you are feeling.

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Unlocking Reactions is easy — just keep talking with your villagers every day. Eventually, one of them will show you how to use Reactions. For most players this tends to happen around day three or four. Just be sure to keep an eye out for your fellow islanders. If one of them is running towards you with something exciting to say, it's best not to run in the opposite direction — they might want to give you your first four Reactions.

Once you've unlocked Reactions you can use them by pressing ZR. This will pull up the Reaction Ring, which works just like the Tool Ring. Move the analog stick in the direction of the Reaction you'd like to perform and press "A." You can only have eight assigned to the Ring at once, but they can easily be swapped out by pressing the "X" button.

Screenshot | Jon Bitner

Most Reactions can be used to interact with other villagers as long as you are within a few feet of them. It's a great way to quickly engage with your virtual friends without having to scroll through multiple windows of dialog.

Acquiring new Reactions beyond the initial four seems to be a random process, but they are always passed out by villagers. Just as it was when first unlocking the system, every now and then you'll have an excited resident come barreling towards you. Usually this indicates they have something to give you, and every so often that will be a new Reaction. So put on a brave face, be friendly, and chat with your neighbors on a daily basis. It'll take a while to collect all the Reactions, but if you play your cards right you should be able to learn a new one at least every week.

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