How to stay cold in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

In Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players are forced to face off against the elements, both in extreme cold and scorching heat. To alleviate this, players will need to understand how to regulate Link’s body heat to ensure that he can be safe no matter the environment. When it comes time to explore some of the warmer areas in the game, you’ll need to stay cold with heat resistance items.

There are multiple ways in which you can stay cold in Zelda: TOTK; just make sure you’re keeping an eye on the temperature gauge to prevent losing hearts.

What are the best ways to stay cold in Zelda: TOTK?

Depending on what resources you have available, and if you’ve made enough Rupees beforehand, you have a few different options for how to stay cold in TOTK.

Cook chilly meals and elixirs

When you’re exploring the Rito area, you’ll likely find a lot of blue mushrooms called Chillshrooms. These are like peppers in that adding them to your meals will alter Link’s temperature, making him cooler. This applies to elixirs too, with players needing to combine monster parts and critters with heat-resistant attributes to make potions.

Make sure when you’re in this area, you’re collecting as many ingredients as you can find. There are tons of recipes in TOTK, but some long-lasting examples for heat-resistant food and elixirs include:

Heat-resistant Elixir

• Collect heat-resistant critters like Cold Darners in the Gerudo Highlands or Winterwing butterflies in Mount Lamayru.
• Combine them with at least one monster in your inventory.
• Throw them into the cooking pot and wait for the elixir to cook.

Heat-resistant meals

• When you’re in the Rito’s area of Hebra Mountain, you should collect cool ingredients like Chillfin and Chillshrooms in the caves. The Gerudo desert grows Hydromelons that work for this, too.
• Combine up to five of them in your inventory, with more ingredients providing longer coverage.
• I found that cooking five of the same ingredient provided an extra degree of protection against the heat.
• Throw them into the cooking pot and wait.

Heat-resistant clothes

There are options to get heat-resistant clothes but be warned that these won’t protect you in the firey areas of Death Mountain. For that, make sure to look at the next section to figure out how to get the Flamebreaker set of armor.

I also noticed that you don’t need heat-resistant gear at night in the desert. You may need cold-resistance gear instead.

Related: Best weapons to fuse early in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

If you’re looking for clothes that provide simple heat resistance, look for the following around the Gerudo desert:

• Desert Voe Headband: Kara Kara Bazaar for 450 Rupees
• Desert Voe Spaulder: Gerudo Secret Club for 1,300 Rupees
• Desert Voe Trousers: Gerudo Secret Club for 650 Rupees

The Kara Kara Bazaar can be found about halfway down the road into the Gerudo Desert, while the Gerudo Secret Club can be found on the side of Fashion Passion. You’ll have to first learn the secret code through “The Secret Club’s Secret” side quest before you’re able to enter.

Fireproof for Death Moutain

Like with the heat-resistant options, there are two different choices between a Fireproof Elixir and the Flamebreaker armor.

It’s also important to remember you should get rid of any wooden weapons before you go into Death Mountain since they’ll catch fire even if Link is already protected.

Flamebreaker armor

When you begin your journey around Death Mountain, you’ll need to make sure you have something to keep Link from catching on fire. Luckily, you can find all of the Flamebreaker armor in Goron City, but it will cost you a pretty penny to get the full set. This includes:

• Flamebreaker Armor: 700 Rupees
• Flamebreaker Boots: 1,200 Rupees
• Flamebreaker Helm: 1,400 Rupees

You’ll need to have at least 3,300 Rupees to buy the full set, so make sure you’ve farmed enough Rupees before you head to the Goron’s area on the map.

Fireproof Elixir

As with other heat-resistant critters, you’ll need to find them in their natural hot environment. Some examples include the Fireproof Lizard in the Eldin area of the map and the Smotherwing Butterfly in the Gerudo Highlands. You can find both the Fireproof Lizard and Smotherwing Butterfly in the Gerudo Canyon as well, so it may be worth checking there.

Once you’ve got the ingredients, follow the same steps as above:

• Combine at least one butterfly or lizard with a monster in your inventory.
• Use more critter parts for a more powerful elixir.
• Throw it in a pot and wait for the finished result.

If you don’t have the armor, you’ll likely need a few of the elixirs before you begin running into Goron territory.