9 Useful Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Things to Improve Your Adventure

The new Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is finally here. And there is a lot of ground to cover and much to explore. So here are our tips and tricks to make exploring Hyrule a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

To no one's surprise, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom has turned out to be exactly what everyone was expecting and then some. Even eclipsing Nintendo's previous homerun Breath of the Wild.

Just today, Nintendo announced that the title has sold over 10 million copies within just a few days. And there are probably a lot of you out there befuddled and confused about where to go next.

The game is HUGE and there is so much to see and do it can be quite overwhelming. After spending roughly 40 hours with the game we can at least give you some pointers on how to get the most out of your experience.

Instead of just covering the basics, we'll tell you some neat little tips and tricks that'll either blow your mind or give you an idea for a new unhinged creation.

Complete at least some parts of the Main Quest of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Okay, we get it, you just want to go exploring after you get off that island in the sky. But there are still a few things you should check off before you enjoy the breathtaking wilds of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

First, make your way to the Lookout Landing and link up with Purah and her band of misfits. There you get a few more story moments, but more importantly, after making a short trip to Hyrule Castle and back, you unlock the Lookout towers and the Paraglider.

Both are extremely useful things that you don't want to live without.

And while you are at the Lookout Landing, make sure to speak with Robbie and start his quest, this will not only explain one of the game's more elaborate features, the chasms it'll also unlock the ability to take pictures for your Hyrule Compendium.

Afterward, you want to make your way west toward Rito Village and initiate one of the main quests there “Tulin of Rito Village”. Just follow the quest line and finish the dungeon there.

We won't spoil anything but you'll get an ability that makes exploration a bit easier and will become extremely valuable in the long run.

Switch to the Pro HUD

To some of you, this will sound like either blasphemy or nonsense.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom features a very informative UI that shows you your minimap, bottom prompts, and more importantly the sound you're making and temperature.

But you don't need any of this. You can see if Link is freezing or too hot by simply looking at his body language and stealth is usually dependent on if you're crouching or not.

The reason why we're telling you this is that without a bunch of HUD elements clogging up your screen, you'll stop looking at the minimap and start taking in your surroundings more.

Just like Breath of the Wild, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom features some breathtaking vistas and stellar world design. Points of interest are naturally highlighted by either a plume of smoke or bright lights.

It makes the experience much more enjoyable and the map is always just a quick press of the – button away. But many landmarks are more than enough to help you orientate yourself.

Don't Sleep on Ascend and Recall

Recall and Ascend are just some of the abilities you get during the tutorial section of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. At first, their purpose seems to mostly revolve around solving puzzles.

Don't let that introduction fool you, Ascend is not just an ability you can use in certain sections it works on every ceiling with a walkable surface. You can use it to break some of the story dungeons and get up things fast.

Here is a little pro tip. You can line up a bunch of logs, point them upwards and hold them in the air with your Ultrahand ability. Then use Recall to keep them in the air just a while and use Ascend to get on top of them. Just try it out.

The same thing goes for Recall. You can not just use it to throw projectiles back at an enemy or use falling ruins as a quick skylift, it has other use as well.

You could attach an item to your arrows, shoot it up in the air, then attach a platform to the item once. Then use Recall on that item and use it as an import skylift.

You can also use it to force-grab items back toward you. And there are probably even more uses for it out there, so don't be afraid to experiment because it works on every single object in the game.

Mushrooms are your Friends

Mushrooms are currently in the run of being the most useful object in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Not only are they versatile in the kitchen, but most of them have pretty useful effects if cooked properly.

They also unlock their full potential when paired with weapons. While they don't do a lot of damage, hitting an enemy with a mushroom-fused weapon will usually send them flying.

This is extremely useful when you're about to be surrounded by a swarm of enemies or create an opportunity to juggle a poor Bokoblin.

Something like the Puffshroom is also extremely useful when attached to a shield. The Puffshroom for example creates smoke which makes you invisible to enemies, setting them up for a sneak attack.

Experiment with Fuse

One of Link's new core abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is the ability to fuse things with one another. Weapons, shields, and arrows in particular.

While there are some obvious things like attaching monster horns to arrows to up their damage or bombs to cause a big explosion. You should constantly try to think outside the box instead, which means you should read their item description.

Yes, you could sell a Ruby for a bunch of money, but did you know that attaching it to an arrow turns it into an even bigger explosion than your regular bomb?

Attach a Zonai Spring to your shield and bounce back enemies or a jump pad that shoots you up into the air. Attaching a wing to a weapon or an arrow and it'll fly further when thrown or shot.

Explore the Chasms!

Despite Zelda Tear of the Kingdom's main quest sending you all over the place, barely will it send you into the depths below Hyrule. A shame because there are lots of goodies down there that'll become invaluable in the mid to late game.

You've probably already spotted some of the big, red holes in the ground all over Hyrule. There are direct ways down to the Depths, a dark mysterious place that is about the size of Hyrule itself, just without any light.

Here you can find a lot of resources. To explore the Depths properly, you need to find the Lightroots scattered all across it. They are points of interest that once activated light up the area around them.

And there's an easy way to find them, just check the locations of shrines in the overworld and there should be a corresponding Lightroot beneath it. These will also unveil parts of the map and serve as fast travel points.

There are also some options to increase your visibility down there while exploring. You'll find Brightbloom Seed's down there that when thrown grow into a flower that gives off light.

Alternatively, you can bring a torch that won't burn out once lit or attach a stack of wood to any steel weapon of choice for the same effect.

Speaking of weapons, you're probably sick of all your tools breaking really fast. Down here in the depths, you'll find the spirits of knights who are happy to leave you their weapons. Those have not been affected by the gloom which is why they have way higher durability.

Down here you'll also find precious Zonaite which is used in foundries, which are also found down there to process into battery cells. Those are quite expensive, so do expect to do lots of spelunking down here.

Keep a Healthy Stock of Arrows

It can not be overstated how important Arrows are in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Landing a crucial headshot to stun an enemy or boss can often decide the way a battle is going.

So whenever you come across a vendor or a monster camp, make sure to take this opportunity to stock up. You can make your arrows stronger by attaching all sorts of dohickey onto them so don't waste more than you need.

You can carry up to 999 arrows at once.

Take Screenshots, Frequently!

Doing the main quest with Robbie at the start of the game is really important to unlock all the features of the Purah Pad. Namely the ability to take pictures with it.

This is going to be important because throughout your adventure you're gonna find a lot of visual clues for secrets and other goods.

For example, if you look around some locations such as the High-Tech Research Lab, you'll find maps that'll mark points of interest. You'll find many maps like this scattered across the world of Hyrule.

A similar thing goes for clues for riddles, certain recipes for potions and meals, and even item combinations. So try and take those screenshots the moment you come across something interesting.

Just Talk to People

We've scoured the internet for tips and tricks for Zelda Tears of the Kingdom to find stuff that other outlets may have missed. And this is probably the biggest one of them all.

Talk to NPCs. It's also one of the reasons why we told you to turn off the map earlier.

NPCs in Zelda are normally really chatty, in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom almost everyone has something interesting to say. Even if they aren't part of a quest, Hyrule's many residents are always eager to point you in a direction.

It's one of the ways you find points of interest, the fairy fountains which are also behind a small sidequest chain and even hints for upcoming main quests.

Take for example the sharply dressed people that wander the roads of Hyrule. These fashion enthusiasts will always talk to you about some hidden piece of equipment tucked away nearby. They'll even mark it on your map or point you in its direction.

So it's always worth chatting someone up. Especially when you're in a new environment they can give you some valuable tips on how to navigate the land, deal with its many threats, and might even teach you something you didn't know about.

And that's all for our list of things we wish we knew before playing Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Hopefully, you learned something here that'll make your Hyrule Adventures a bit more enjoyable.

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