Breath of the Wild is easily the largest game in the entire Legend of Zelda franchise — until Tears of the Kingdom. The massive sequel somehow packs in even more to do than its predecessor, letting you fully explore the land of Hyrule, a network of sky islands, and an expansive underground area. Tears of the Kingdom is a mostly freeform experience that gives you free rein to tackle the story and exploration however you see fit. It can be a lot to take in at the start, so we’re here with a few crucial tips on what to do first.
Keep in mind, these tips apply after you’ve left the starting area and gotten to Hyrule proper.
6. Fuse All Your Weapons
The first things you need to wrap your head around are the game’s new mechanics. Ultrahand lets Link stick two items together, while Fuse lets you combine nearly any material with your shield, weapon, and arrows. This changes your approach to attack and defense, weapon degradation, and can result in some unexpected effects.
Here’s the biggest takeaway: Never have unfused weapons or shields in your inventory. It’s a waste of space, pure and simple.
There are a ton of options here, so experimentation is key. Early on, make a habit of fusing something onto each piece of equipment. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can fuse a Bokoblin horn to your sword for a damage boost, put a boulder on a spear to break open crates, or put a mushroom on your shield to repel enemies when they hit it. Just have fun with it.
5. Unlock All the Sky Towers
The towers of Breath of the Wild make a return, but they function a little differently this time around. Using a Sky Tower reveals a piece of the map, which is vital for exploring, but it also launches Link into the sky. This lets you access the islands in the sky, which hold new Shrines, Zonai Devices, and chests containing Old Maps, which reveal the locations of treasure chests in the underground area.
On top of this, you’ll get a new Fast Travel point that lets you reach virtually anywhere. It’s a good idea to hit all the Sky Tower before you really dig into exploration and side quests.
4. Stock Up on Zonai Devices
Zonai Devices are a vital part of Tears of the Kingdom, and they serve a wide array of purposes, from rockest that send you skyward to wheels you can strap on a board to make ramshackle car. You can find the devices scattered across the world, and also store them in your inventory. You can get them by using the Zonai vending machines scattered around the world, mostly on the islands in the sky.
At these vending machines, you can exchange Zonai Cores and Zonai Horns. Simply open your menu, hold the items, and drop them in the pot at the bottom of the machine. Cores tend to give more capsules than Horns, so don’t be afraid to use dozens of cores at a time. You’ll always want a stock of Zonai Devices for exploration, and making a vehicle on the fly can allow you to completely breeze past puzzles.
The vending machines are marked on your map with little turquoise ball symbols. If you hover your cursor over that symbol, you can see the types of devices available.
3. Stay at the Woodland Stable
Tears of the Kingdom has all of the stables found in Breath of the Wild, but your first stop should be the Woodland Stable.
Here, you’ll learn about Pony Points, a new system that rewards you for finding and sleeping at stables. What’s really important about Woodland Stable, however, is the quest you’ll find called “Serenade to the Great Fairy.”
This is the first in a long line of quests where you help a musical troupe play for the Great Fairies, thus inspiring them to come out of their flowers, which lets you upgrade your armor by using Rupees and monster parts. It’s a quick little quest that has you building and pulling a wagon, but once completed the troupe will move onto another stable, which lets you continue playing for more Great Faries. Upgrading your armor can be hugely beneficial as enemies in Tears of the Kingdom cause a ton of damage. You’ll want every advantage you can get.
2. Complete “Camera Work in the Depths”
Lookout Landing is the first settlement you’ll visit in Hyrule, and it’s where you’ll learn about the main story setup. After you get your primary objective, however, it’s actually very easy to miss another Main Quest called “Camera Work in the Depths.”
After you talk to Purah about Zelda make sure to head to the bottom of the building and talk to Robbie, who’ll talk to you about unlocking the camera and investigating the depths. This quest is the only way to unlock the camera, which is needed to complete multiple other questline, so make sure to do it before you head off into the world at large.
1. Complete Rito Village and The Wind Temple
Like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom’s story is split into four main objectives that you can tackle in any order, with each corresponding to a different village. Before you explore too much, you should follow the story and complete the Rito questline in the Hebra area (top left of the map).
Following the story puts a few Shrines directly in your path, so you can get a couple of Heart or Stamina upgrades. What’s really crucial, however, is the Sage ability you’ll unlock by completing the Wind Temple.
Each Temple gives you an item to summon the spirit of a Sage to accompany you — the Wind Sage can use his Gust ability to propel you forward on your paraglider. As you might expect, this is tremendously helpful for exploration, especially as you explore more of the sky.
