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For many players, one of the best parts of 2017’s Breath of the Wild was the Sheikah runes that gave Link special abilities. Cryonis, Magnesis, Statis, and Remote Bombs all gave players the ability to explore Hyrule, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies in increasingly more creative and outlandish ways that ensured that no two players had the same gaming experience. With the release of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, many Zelda fans have been waiting to see if Cryonis and the other runes would be making a comeback, and unfortunately, they won’t.
None of the runes from Breath of the Wild will be available in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, but players have a set of all-new abilities. The new abilities – Ultrahand, Recall, Fuse, and Ascend – mimic the old runes’ functions and improve upon them in many ways. While Cryonis might not be coming back, here’s why the new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom make that okay.
What Are the New Abilities?
In a similar fashion to Breath of the Wild, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom begins with Zelda missing, Link waking up in an unfamiliar place, and being told by a ghost to visit four shrines. However, you’re on a giant floating island instead of being on the Great Plateau. Instead of collecting Magnesis, Cryonis, Stasis, and two kinds of Remote Bombs, you’re tasked with finding Ultrahand, Ascend, Fuse, and Recall. Your Sheikah runes are missing after Link is sapped of his strength in the game’s prologue, and these new abilities are meant to take their place.
If you’re unfamiliar with them, here’s a quick rundown of the new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom:
- Ultrahand: allows you to pick up and move objects in the environment and stick them together to build machines.
- Ascend: lets you move directly upward, “swimming” through solid rock.
- Fuse: lets you add nearly any object to an equipped weapon or shield, usually giving it more power or special abilities based on what’s been added.
- Recall: lets you pause and rewind moving objects like projectiles or gears.
How Are the Tears of the Kingdom Abilities Similar to ‘Breath of the Wild’?
The new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom do, in some ways, call back to their predecessors in Breath of the Wild. Magnesis and Ultrahand both let you pick up and move objects around you. Recall and Statis both allow you to halt moving objects. Cryonis and the Remote Bombs don’t have any direct counterparts, but the new Fuse ability lets you turn anything into a bomb or an ice weapon with the tap of a button.
However, despite the new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom being similar to Breath of the Wild, they can also be said to improve upon the old abilities in some pretty significant ways. Where Magnesis only lets you pick up and move metal objects, Ultrahand allows you to pick up nearly anything and stick objects together to build bridges or vehicles like boats, cars, or rocket-powered flying machines. Stasis might have allowed you to pause objects, but Recall allows you to rewind said objects, potentially allowing you to send an enemy’s projectiles back their way or fall upwards. The new Ascend ability is somewhat similar to Breath of the Wild’s Revali’s Gale ability but has three advantages: you get it right near the beginning of the game and don’t need the paraglider to use it, and you can move through solid rock.
All in all, it can be said that the new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom are like evolutions of Cryonis and the rest of the runes from Breath of the Wild. They’re meant to replace the old runes but also serve an updated purpose in the new-and-improved Hyrule available to players in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. What do you think of the new abilities in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom? Do you like them more than the runes or do you prefer the old system? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to stay tuned for more Zelda Tears of the Kingdom content!
