This weekend has been an exciting one, in no small part thanks to the much-anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. And while I don’t want to spoil my upcoming review, the game is as great as what you’ve come to expect from the Zelda franchise.
But as with any vast open-world game, it’s easy to become overwhelmed or follow a thread only to realise that it has led you entirely off course and then struggle to find your way back again. So to help everyone have the best possible time while exploring the land Hyrule, we’ve put together some of the best tips and tricks to help you get started.
So without further ado, here is your guide to starting The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom strong.
You’re A Chef, Link
One of the first and best tips you can follow in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is to ensure you’re always cooking and experimenting to unlock and learn recipes. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has hundreds of potion and food recipes for players to learn. Most of these are only discovered through mixing things and hoping for the best. Make a habit of cooking whenever possible and benefit from various buffs for combat and exploration.
Don’t Ever Miss Out On A Chest
There is nothing quite as satisfying as that feeling of finding and opening hidden chests filled with various tressures in-game. If you habitually use your Ultrahand ability in-game, you can ensure you’re constantly enjoying that feeling.
In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Ultrahand ability is one of the most powerful and diverse ones you’ll get, with many uses beyond what it may appear at first glance. For example, suppose you were to see something that looks like a chest stuck in the ground while exploring. In that case, players can grab it with the Ultrahand ability and retrieve it.
The Ultrahand will also highlight any objects players can grab. Hence, it’s a good idea to scan the area using Ultrahand occasionally. It may help you find some of those hidden chests.
Pretend Bomb Flowers Are Pokemon And Grab Them All
Bomb Flowers are, hands down, one of the most valuable things within The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Players can choose to throw the bomb flower as is at a target and watch them go boom, or they can combine them with arrows to make explosive arrows which are not only handy but oh so cool.
And if that hasn’t already sold you on these incredible things, then bomb flowers have yet another use. You will explore many caves throughout your time in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While exploring these many caves, you’ll encounter just as many rock walls that block you from exploring further.
However, suppose you listened to this guide, and you’ve been collecting bomb flowers like they’re Pokemon. In that case, you can toss one at the wall and continue without breaking a sweat.
Don’t Close Your Eyes
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a massive game. One of the core mechanics players will use while playing is constantly placing pins to demarcate places of interest on the map.
This can be done at all times, using the game by just pressing down on the right analogue stick. However, there’s only so much you can mark when you’re on the ground. This is where our handy dandy tip comes into play. Whenever players dive down from a Sky Island, they should use their scope. Using the scope pauses Link, allowing players to take their time, move the camera around and pin away to their heart’s desire.
It might sound simple, but it’s an excellent tip for demarcating things that would otherwise be tricky from the ground level.
It’s About The Journey, Not The Destination
One of the best tips we can give players new to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is to take their time, relax, collect the Bomb Flowers and not just rush to get off of the first island.
When the game starts, players will start on an island, where the starting tutorial will take place. After this tutorial, many players will be eager to get off the island to explore the rest of the game. However, if players take a beat, they will see that there is much to do on that starter island. The starting island has very little that threatens Link, making it a great place to practice building things, manipulate things using Link’s magic, and get comfortable with many of the different mechanics.
Find All The Zonai Devices
One of the most significant changes that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom brings to the table is Zonai Devices. There are wheels, gliders, fans and batteries that players can find, collect and play around with in the fame.
Overall, there are more than 20 different Zonai Devices for players to mess around with, and many of them can be found just lying around or from capsules you get from machines. One of these giving machines is on the starting island; the rest can be found on the other sky islands and the ground. To use these machines, players will need Zonai Charges, which are gathered by defeating robots.
Shrines Are Friends, And You Should Always Visit Your Friends
A vastly colossal world will open up once players decide to leave the starting island. To make this fantastic road trip feel more enjoyable and less tiresome, players should always make a B-line for any shrine they see.
Activating shrines gives players fast-travel points to return to wherever they want. Along with this, players should also try to find Skyview towers as early as possible because these towers not only reveal the map and act as fast travel points but also launch Link into the sky so that players can access other islands.
Weapons Are Sensitive And Need Love
One of the major frustrations within The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is how exceptionally not durable the weapons are in this game. Weapons have about as much structural integrity as some twigs tied together with hopes and dreams, and the result is a selection of weapons more fragile than my emotional state each time it’s laundry day.
However, much of this frustration can be alleviated by fusing the weapons with anything that isn’t a single-use object to give them extra durability. There is no downside to fusing weapons; if players can’t find anything significant, even a regular rock will help add some much-needed structure and durability.
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These are only a few tips to help you have the best time exploring Hyrule. If you’ve been playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and have other great tips, drop them in the comments below and let’s all help each other out.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Zelda to go and play, and I’m not even going to hide it.