Fast Links
There’s much to do in the newly released Legend of Zelda: The Tears of the Kingdom. If you’ve only just now started your adventure, you may want to learn a little more about what the game expects of you. If you’ve played Breath of the Wild, you may already have a base understanding of the core mechanics required to navigate around in the game. No matter what level of experience you’re coming from, we have a quick guide you can read through to get all caught up on some tips and tricks you’ll love to know to get started in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
Navigation
First, when it comes to a Zelda game, you must learn how to move around. This is especially true in the open-world format that Breath of the Wild takes on, similarly so to Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Navigation is often covered pretty heavily in the game’s tutorial, but we have a few tips and tricks that can help bolster your knowledge of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. The game is generally divided into three spaces you can navigate throughout the game. First is what we’d call the surface. This is the base ground level where a majority of things are. Then, you have the sky, where the upper islands are. Then you have the underground, where you can navigate lower areas.
You first start your journey in Link’s shoes on one of these upper islands. When navigating, note that while the sky and surface have their own challenges, the underground tends to be much more dangerous. To start navigation in meaningful earnest, try getting to any Skyview Towers as soon as possible. These towers act as a fast travel system and help reveal the surrounding area. They act as landmarks so you can navigate easily, even without a map.
Using Ultrahand
Early in the game, you’ll get an ability called Ultrahand. Using this new ability, you can grab objects to rotate, lift, attach, and align them to whatever you want. While the Ultrahand is an excellent solution to many problems, it’s also a way to creatively spawn solutions to some interesting navigation and exploration issues. With the Ultrahand, you can build anything from an improved weapon to a bridge. Sky’s the limit, so get creative as soon as you can. If you think outside the box as often as possible, Ultrahand can be a great aid to your adventure.
Survival Tips
To get started in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom properly, consider focusing on your stamina whenever possible. Stamina is responsible for metering how high you can climb, how hard you can hit, and other useful things that make surviving and fighting throughout Hyrule easier. Talk to the Goddess Statues at each Lookout Landing to upgrade whatever you need. Once you have a few stamina improvements under your belt, then you can start focusing on hearts to get your durability up. Exchanging four Blessings of Light can get you either one stamina slice or a single heart. If you decide later that you didn’t make the best decision concerning your Blessings of Light payments, don’t worry. You can switch out hearts for stamina, or vice versa, at any time.
If you want some more inventory, don’t forget about Korok Seeds. Having more inventory can make the difference between a decently prepared battle and one where you have absolutely everything you could need. Expanding your inventory is practically essential for the late game, so don’t forget to keep a lookout for places that look like they could be a puzzle. Typically, the rule of thumb is to look out for patterns or puzzles in the overworld. If something looks like it should be messed with, odds are it should be, and a Korok is hiding around somewhere.
Combat
Concerning combat, we have a few reminders that might help you avoid a few unfortunate encounters. Remember that food can help buff your stats. Buffs can be helpful to ensure a fight goes your way. Concerning the actual battle, now’s a good time to go over the basics. You can sneak behind an enemy and press the Y button to go for a sneak attack. Sneak attacks do extra damage. Hold ZL if you want to lock onto an enemy to focus your attack. To parry, hold your shield out and press the ZL button. When the enemy strikes, you can press A to deflect their attack. With enough timing and practice, you can have any enemy play right into your hands. Enough expertise will stave the need to desperately gather stamina and hearts.