Wisp

"YEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK! A G-G-GHOOOOOOST!"

- Wisp

Wisp is a character in the. He is absent from, , and was initially absent from until the  update. In and, he is a spirit, while in  and , he is a genie. He appears at night, usually between 12 A.M. and 4 A.M. (8 P.M. to midnight in ).

In, Wisp's appearance is governed by a player's play history, and if certain conditions are met he will appear in a random acre between 12:00 AM and 4:00 A.M. Wisp can appear concurrently alongside other special visitors such as Katrina, and must be sought out by the player when in town; Copper will not mention anything about Wisp. To determine whether or not Wisp will appear the game keeps track of how often the player loads their game within a given time period. While the exact algorithm used to determine Wisp's appearance is unknown, the following logic provides an approximate representation:

The game checks the value of the 'Wisp counter'. If this value is 3 or greater, Wisp will appear. The value of the counter starts at 0, and increases by 1 the first time the game is loaded and saved on a given day. The value is reset if: the player time travels backwards any length of time, the player goes more than 7 days without loading their game, the month changes, or the player finds Wisp and captures all five spirits.

Therefore, it is possible to see Wisp at maximum every three days. This also means that the player is in direct control of Wisp's appearance and it is not based on specific dates, nor is it random, and it is not affected by extraneous factors such as town status, or the amount of weeds in a player's town.

Wisp's request
Wisp will not be initially visible when the player enters the acre in which he is hiding. He makes himself known by calling out to the player, and will only appear when the player reaches the spot he is hiding at. Wisp will ask the player to catch five spirits found around town with their net. After the player catches and returns the five spirits, Wisp will offer them one of three rewards as thanks:


 * Pull Weeds! - Wisp will remove all the weeds in the player's town, once they enter and exit a building.
 * Paint my roof! - Wisp will repaint the roof the player's house in a color of their choosing.
 * Give me stuff! - Wisp will give the player a random furniture, gyroid, wallpaper, flooring or clothing item. Usually this is an item that is not currently in the catalog, and can even include rare and unorderable items such as those from Gracie, Sahara, and Wendell.

In, on certain nights the player can find an Empty Lamp somewhere in the town. After the player finds the lamp and returns it to Wisp, the genie will ask the player to rub the lamp in their attic, where he will offer to grant them one wish. The player does not have to rub the lamp straight away, and can save the wish for later use. As in his original appearance, Wisp will offer three choices:


 * Weed! - Wisp will remove all the weeds in the player's town, excluding clovers and dandelions.
 * Smash Roaches! - Wisp will remove all the cockroaches in the player's house.
 * Give me stuff! - Wisp will give the player the choice of a random furniture, accessory, hat or clothing item. Usually this is an item that is not currently in the catalog (excluding rare items).

In, a Magic Lamp will appear randomly while walking around town. If the player places the lamp in their house, Wisp will appear. Unlike and, Wisp helps with amiibo. Wisp can only be used once a day. While Wisp did not appear in at the game's launch, he was added as a major character in the  update. When the player rubs the lamp, Wisp will appear and the player can use an amiibo card. When the amiibo is scanned, the player can choose for the villager to move to their town or to get something, usually furniture. If a special character's amiibo is scanned, that character's RV will appear at the campground with special items that can be bought with MEOW Coupons. Wisp will take over running buildings if the usual proprietors are in their RVs; however, he will not be able to fulfill some roles, such as Isabelle's, preventing the player from using their services for the day. If the player attempts to sell the Magic Lamp at Re-Tail, Reese will inform them that the lamp is valuable and will ask if they are sure they want to sell it. If the player sells it anyway, Reese will buy it for 10 Bells and it will reappear outside the next day.

In, on certain nights, the player can find Wisp wandering around the island. If talked to, Wisp will mistake the player as a ghost and get scared, which leads to his five spirits scattering across the island. Similarly to, the player can find and catch the five spirits using the net and return them to Wisp. After the spirits are returned, Wisp will offer the player the choice of receiving an item they have not had before or something expensive. If the player chooses something new, Wisp will give them an item for Bells 1,500 or less and if something expensive is chosen, the item will be for Bells 10,000 or less. His design looks like it did in the original Animal Crossing.

RV Description
When visiting Wisp in the Villager RV at the campground, the bottom screen will display the following:


 * "He's used to living inside a tiny lamp and is uncomfortable with wide-open spaces and strangers. So why is he camping? He must be here for some reason..."

Trivia

 * In, Wisp will mutter something about a master and what he will do if the spirits are not recovered, implying there may be more of his species.
 * Wisp resembles Boo, an enemy featured in many Mario games.
 * Due to his appearance and Japanese name, Wisp could possibly be a reference to Q-taro from the Fujiko Fujio manga Obake no Q-taro