Zonai, Elixirs, Link, Dorephan, Autobuild. It spells “Zelda” and shows how much there is to know about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We have been playing the game for days to guide and walk you through the best tips and tricks you need to finish or maybe even just escape the tutorial island. (Baby steps, eh?)
This master page contains links to all articles we have published on Tears of the Kingdom, separated by category. You will find guides to quests, shrines, weapons, locations, and building up your power. Just use the menu below to find the right category for your question.
The list below is in progress.
All Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides
Tips and tricks for Tears of the Kingdom beginners
Decide if you like hearts or lungs — Upgrading your health or stamina in Tears of the Kingdom is a surprisingly loaded question. You’ll need to consider each upgrade carefully and decide if you want a more robust health bar or to be able to run and climb further. Both have their benefits. More health means you can survive making mistakes in a fight, while more stamina means more exploring and the potential treasures that will yield.
Cook your food — Cooking is often a throwaway part of games, designed to give players some pointless busy work. This is not the case in Tears of the Kingdom. Food will make you move faster for longer, fight better, and survive harsh environments. Experiment with your food, explore recipes, and chow down often, as it will make your life easier.
Get the paraglider as quickly as you can — With Hyrule being such a sprawling and enchanting place. You may be tempted to wander. I can understand why, but you definitely want to follow the story to get the paraglider. Once you get it, you should feel free to explore a lot more, the paraglider will just make doing so much more enjoyable.
Use your map — Hyrule is huge. It is actually hard to convey just how big Tears of the Kingdom really is. Your map has several useful functions, but one of the most important is that you can place map markers. Believe me. You will forget where things are, so just leave a little marker on your map to remind future you about what you have already discovered.
Skyview Towers are your friend — One of the first things you should invest time in doing when you land in Hyrule is connecting up as many Skyview Towers as possible. Some towers require puzzle solving to open, others you can walk right in. These towers have multiple purposes with one of the most helpful being revealing the map, but let’s not forget their travel capabilities. Reaching faraway lands is made easy with a leap on a Skyview Tower. In fact, you can use one Skyview Tower for gliding to another if you have the stamina, that way you can easily get them all set up.
Experiment with your abilities — As you make your way through early Shrines on the Great Sky Island, you will get access to a range of abilities. Ultrahand, Fuse, Recall, and Ascend will all allow you to interact with the game world in different ways. It will take some time, but learn to look at the environments you are in within the context of these abilities. Is there a ledge you cannot reach? Perhaps you can stick things together with Ultrahand to fashion a bridge or move through solid rock using Ascend. Just let your mind go where it wishes, and you might be surprised by the results.
Just because it’s not the path doesn’t mean it’s wrong — Tears of the Kingdom gives players many different ways to traverse the terrain. Whether it’s scaling a cliffside, gliding down from the sky, or ascending through the roof of a cave, sometimes it might not be the intended path. Players must remember this variety is there to cater to all playstyles, so if you’re wanting to avoid combat and the dangers that appear on the path ahead, it’s totally acceptable to avoid it.
Explore — It sounds simple but you’d be surprised with what you can find if you venture the path less traveled. Make sure you’re taking the time to check out any caves, towns, or other landmarks you stumble upon, as not only may they net you some sweet loot, but also they could contain hidden shrines.
Spend some time on Shrines — It’s no secret Shrines are some of the most useful landmarks in the game. If you want to level up your attributes then you’ll need to conquer their puzzles and for this reason, we suggest spending a good amount of time locating and completing them. With the help of Skyview Towers, you can easily scout Shrines from the sky and work through them zone by zone.
Take advantage of fast travel — Fast travel is available at any Shrine of Skyview Tower you’ve visited. Because of that, you should be taking advantage of them where you can to avoid long stretches of travel. You can activate fast travel by selecting the location on your map.
Be ready for any climate — Nobody wants to be caught out dressed incorrectly for their destination and in Tears of the Kingdom, making this mistake can cost you your life. A good tip to follow is to ensure you’ve cooked ample supplies of food with cold or heat resistance regardless of where you are headed. While your outfit is a great way to counter the climate if you know where you’re going, food is the best way to remedy the negative effects at a moment’s notice.
Increase your arsenal — While Link is able to hold a variety of weapons from the get-go, you can never have too much space. Using Korok Seeds you can hold even more weapons, bows, or shields, simply visit Hestu when you’ve gathered a handful of seeds.
Build a Skateboard — As soon as you get your Fuse ability, which allows you to stick items together to change their stats and purpose, grab a minecart and stick it to a shield. This will form a Skateboard that you can ride around. Hit ZL to hold your shield, then X to jump. While in the air, hit the A button, and you can skate around on your shield as long as the lay of the land is in your favor. It is also excellent for grinding the long rails and minecart tracks spread throughout the game.
