The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

Aug 25, 2023

These tips will make your life easier and more enjoyable while exploring Hyrule.

Despite its rich and adored history, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is arguably the most complicated game to play in the series. While other Zelda titles have their share of gameplay mechanics to master and secrets to uncover, Tears of the Kingdom's sheer depth of gameplay mechanics, discoverable locations, and enemy types makes it a massive undertaking unlike anything that's come before, even its predecessor.

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At first, the sequel to 2017's Breath of the Wild may seem a bit overwhelming, but after a bit of practice, you'll undoubtedly be taking down Horriblins and Like Likes with the best of them. Here are a handful of techniques to use that'll have you playing Tears of the Kingdom like a pro.

The large, stone-wing gliders found throughout the Sky Islands can be a blast to use. Not only do they offer a ton of crafting potential, but they can also help Link to soar through the skies at an impressive pace, allowing you to reach different areas and transport items long distances.

Usually, you'll find a set of rails near these Zonai wing gliders. Place the glider on top of the rails, and it'll slide down them, giving you time to board it as it launches itself. If you need to launch one of these gliders without a rail system to assist you, though, there's a small trick that can be used - simply lift the glider off the ground with Ultrahand and let it fall. Then, you can use Recall to reverse its momentum, boarding it as it lifts itself back into the air, and activating an object that will give it some momentum, like rockets. You'll be airborne in no time.

The Purah Pad, Tears of the Kingdom's equivalent to the Sheikah Slate, makes exploration and traversal much easier. Not only does the device come equipped with your trusty map, you'll be able to click the right stick in order to use it as makeshift binoculars, zooming in on distant points of interest and even placing a pin on them if needed.

Many players may not discover that this function can be used in midair, such as when Link is paragliding or falling after being shot out of one of the game's towers. What's more, time will freeze while you're taking in the sights, allowing you to look around without worrying about your stamina dropping. Pros will utilize this ability to search for and mark the locations and items they want to go seek out along their journey.

Shield surfing from Breath of the Wild makes a welcome return in Tears of the Kingdom. The standout feature, which allows Link to hop onto his shield and ride it down any sloped surface in Hyrule, has always been popular with players, but the true pros have managed to take it one step further.

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Throughout your journey, you'll come across a variety of wheeled carts, including the mine carts used to navigate across various rail lines. These carts can actually be fused to your shield, and with their wheels still attached and functional, this gives Link a makeshift skateboard to ride around the kingdom on. While it's still not the world's most in-depth skating sim, it's plenty of fun.

The horse stables in Tears of the Kingdom are extremely helpful in a pinch. Not only do they let you board and retrieve your horses, but you can get a good night's rest there as well. Thankfully, if you've been a regular patron of the stables or helped out a few civilians, you may occasionally be able to use their accommodations without even paying.

Tears of the Kingdom's horse stables have an added incentive system, rewarding you as you perform different actions like registering horses or visiting new stables. These points accumulate until you earn various services and items for your patronage, and one of the rewards is a Sleepover Ticket, allowing you to use a regular bed at no cost. Some of Hyrule's needy citizens may even gift you these tickets for helping them out.

Across the realm of Hyrule, the citizens have begun to fight back against the hordes of Bokoblins and Lizalfos plaguing their homes. As you speak to more and more citizens, you'll hear talk of these hunts being planned, led by the leaders of Hyrule's royal guard.

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Players in the know will make note of the locations hinted at in these conversations, as you can visit them later and lend the Hylians a helping hand. There are battles taking place all across Hryule, and Link can make a big difference in helping to turn the tide.

In Breath of the Wild, resources from defeating monsters or exploring the map were in great abundance. Aside from the more rare and valuable items, you'd likely wind up accumulating far more inventory items than you'd need, and savvy players began to take note of the more valuable objects and monster parts that could be gathered en masse. These parts could be sold in bulk numbers, helping to increase your rupee count, if needed.

While Tears of the Kingdom's Fuse and Ultrahand abilities can complicate this technique, it's still a viable option for lining your pockets. You'll want to be a little more cautious, however, as these objects have far more use in this sequel, due to the inclusion of the Fuse ability.

One of Breath of the Wild's most contentious aspects is the fact that rain will prevent you from climbing smoothly. A slick and rainy surface will see Link sliding back down every few seconds, hindering any major progress until the rain lets up.

Tears of the Kingdom still features this drawback to poor weather conditions, but there are ways around it, and they all revolve around frogs. One option would be tracking down Sticky Frogs, which can be cooked into an elixir that allows you to climb in wet conditions. If you're looking for a more permanent fix, there's even a set of armor with the same effect that's tied to a side quest involving the game's newspaper.

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Kendall Cunningham is a list writer at TheGamer. He's also a lifelong gamer who's been creating content around games for years. He plays a bit of everything, with a particular love of action-RPGs and roguelikes. When he isn't writing about games, he's playing them, making music, editing comics, or picking up some other new creative outlet. Next up: crocheting.