Top Tips

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an immense game, and it's easy to miss out on details big and small. We've gathered the best tips and tricks for Things Your Should Know in Breath of the Wild.

Mastering Combat and Weapons

• All weapons break in Breath of the Wild, but early game ones break even faster. Pick your battles carefully and know when to stand and fight and when it’s better to save your weapons and run.
• Some enemy camps leave their weapons unguarded - letting you sneak up and take them if you’re stealthy
• Even though every weapon breaks eventually, some weapons later in the game have much higher durability. There are even special weapons found in the main story that can be “repaired” if broken or lost by speaking to a certain blacksmith and trading in a base weapon plus ingredients to get a new one.
• Every weapon serves a purpose - some are more specific than others. Lizal Boomerangs and Throwing Spears are great for ranged attacks, Axes make chopping trees easier, and Hammers are great for breaking ore apart.
• While dodging at the right time prompts a devastating flurry attack, it can be more devastating for you early on in the game when most weapons are brittle. Flurry attacks can quickly wear down a weapon, so be sure you aren’t wasting them.
• Out of weapons? You can always find more in towns, stables, and villages. The biggest towns often have good weapons hiding about, while smaller places like stables will at least have a pitchfork or two that can work if you have nothing else. These weapons will also respawn over time.
• Headshots with a bow will deal critical damage.
• When jumping off high ledges, from a horse, or when paragliding, you can pull out your bow to slow time and aim your shots. This will constantly drain your stamina so be sure to put your bow away when you are done firing or risk falling to the ground with no stamina.
• Out of Fire Arrows? Just use fire by pointing your drawn bow into an open flame. Using arrows in places of extreme heat like Death Mountain will automatically light them for you!
• You can find flammable barrels by looking for red barrels in camps. However, a regular arrow can't detonate them - try using Remote Bombs or fire to get the job done.
• Electric attacks will cause the target to become paralyzed and drop currently equipped weapons and shields. This goes for both Link and his enemies.
• You can sneak up on an unaware enemy and use a sneakstrike to deal critical damage.

A Rune for Every Occasion

• Remote Bombs aren't just for exploding rocks - they can be used in a pinch to deal minimal damage if all of your other weapons are broken.
• Remote Bombs are lighter than they appear, and can be manipulated by gusts of wind to increase the distance thrown.
• You can use Remote Bombs to knock over and destroy trees for wood.
• Toss a Remote Bomb into water near fish and detonate it. The fish will rise to the top (and sometimes fly out onto land) making them easier to collect.
• Drop and Octorok Balloon onto a placed Remote Bomb to automatically tie it and send it floating away - and guide it through the air with a Korok Leaf.
• Magnesis can be used to swing makeshift metallic objects through the air as a weapon - even metal weapon lying on the ground.
• You can use Magnesis to drop dented metal crates from high in the air to break them and gather the contents inside.
• Cryonis can be used on waterfalls to create building blocks to let you climb straight up a waterfall.
• You can avoid swimming across large rivers or bodies of water by using Cryonis to create a string of platforms.
• Stasis will cause an object to store energy the more you hit it, and will rocket off when Stasis expires. Use it on large objects to move them quickly - or on explosive barrels to have them detonate on impact

Food, Cooking, and You

• Most any ingredient you find can be stewed in a cooking pot to increase the amount of hearts it gives, and sometimes brings out special effects. These ingredients can also be cooked on an open flame to slightly increase heart restoration, but no effects will be added.
• Some food can even be flash frozen in snowy landscapes for added benefits
• Any meal you cook that gives a special effect cannot be combined with another meal or potion’s effect. The most recent food or potion will overwrite any previous effects - but they can stack with clothing effects.
• This also means you can’t stack bonus hearts or stamina, only the meal that provides the most hearts or stamina will stay in effect.
• For the most part, plants are always used in cooking food.
• Insects are always used with monster parts to create potions. Trying to mix the wrong ingredients will leave you with dubious food or downright disasters.
• For the better effect, add more of the ingredient that provides the special effect. For longer lasting potions, add better quality monster parts.
• You’ll often find that multiple ingredients offer the same benefits, and can be combined in a dish to bolster that effect.
• Trying to cook a dish with more than one special effects will cancel each other out, and leave you with only heart restoration food.
• You can find some hints for food recipes on posters in towns and stables.
• Chuchu Jelly is very reactive. Exposing it to certain elements will change the color of it.

Getting Around in Style

• In case you missed it - Shield Surfing is a thing! Hold out your shield by holding ZL and while jumping, tap the A button to start sliding.
• Shield Surfing will steadily wear out the durability of the shield you’re using. If it breaks, be prepared to take a fall.
• You can Shield Surf into a paraglide by jumping off a high enough point to press the jump button again. Your shield will still be on your feet when you land again.
• You can attack while shield surfing - tap Y to do a spin attack at close range, or ready your bow - though aiming can be difficult.
• You can mount deer! That's right, you can ride both does and bucks in the game. They are far more difficult to sneak up on than horses and will run when they see you, so stealthy clothes and/or stealth elixers are the best way to take one for a spin.
• Your paraglider can be largely affected by gusts of wind.
• Additional gusts can be created wherever fire is found - or you can make some yourself.
• If you're about to run out of stamina while gliding, hit the cancel right before you fully run out, and then press jump right before you hit the ground to avoid taking fall damage.
• If you’ve totally run out of stamina and are falling to your death - remember that you can check the map to warp out of danger at any point - so long as you have somewhere to warp to.
• All shrines will offer a fast travel point when first activated - even if you don't venture inside to solve the trials.

Surviving and Thriving with the Elements

• When entering regions of extreme temperatures, you can sometimes find plants and ingredients on the edges of these region that can be used to make protective elixirs or food.
• Cold ingredients found in cold regions are usually good to protect yourself in hot regions, and vice-versa.
• Extreme weather conditions make for extreme danger. *Thunderstorms will cause massive lightning bolts to rip into the ground, and the intense heat from Death Mountain will literally light you on fire.
• Lightning from thunderstorms is attracted by metal objects - no matter who is wearing them. Be sure to switch to wooden weapons and armor unless you want to be lightning rod. This works both ways - and can be used against your enemies.
• You can use the Magnesis Rune to set up lightning strikes by moving metal objects or weapons close to your target.
• Areas of extreme heat around Death Mountain will light your wooden weapons on fire whether you have protective potions or not. Switch to Metal or Guardian tech to avoid losing your items.
• In extremely hot regions, simply dropping ingredients on the ground will cook them in a flash - or burn them up.
• Areas of extreme temperatures can also effect your arrows - like turning regular arrows into fire arrows. Just be mindful of the environment when pulling out bomb arrows - you don't want them to explode from heat or get doused in the rain!
• If you're in a dangerous area at night or just want to hang out by a campfire, you can make your own. Hold one flint and one bundle of wood, set them down, and strike them with a metal weapon to ignite the flint and create a campfire.

The World At Large

• You won’t find Pieces of Heart in the world anymore. Instead, claim Spirit Orbs by completing the trials in Shrines, and you can trade in 4 Spirit Orbs to a Goddess Statue located at the Temple of Time or any main town to get a Heart Container or extra Stamina Vessel.
• There’s no option to store equipment in chests - but a friendly Korok named Hestu will expand your weapon, shield, and bow inventory slots in exchange for Korok Seeds. You’ll find Koroks hiding all over Hyrule, so be sure to investigate odd out of place things in the world. You can also mount weapons, shields, and bows on walls if you buy a house.
• Many larger quests - including the main questline - can be undertaken in a very nonlinear way. Explore, take different approaches, and try new things.
• Yes, you can attempt to travel to Hyrule Castle and fight Ganon after getting off the Great Plateau. No, we don’t recommend it.
• Certain Side Quests will open up only after specific dungeons have been cleared, and the area is made safer.
• Treasure Chests can be found almost anywhere - though many are hidden or otherwise involve a bit of thinking to uncover or get to.
• Different wild horses have different stats - oftentimes the ones roaming more dangerous regions are likely to have better stamina, speed, and handling.
• Almost everything you find serves more than one purpose. This goes especially for ingredients that include ancient parts, monster parts and ore - so don’t sell every last one!
• After several in-game days, you'll see a Blood Moon rise. When this happens, all enemies you've defeated outside of dungeons will come back to life. Make sure you're in a safe place when the Blood Moon hits!
• Blood Moons do more than just ressurrect enemies. Try cooking during a Blood Moon, and your food will have random added effects!
• Some environments like deep snow or deserts will hamper your movement speed. However, there are special boots you can find to negate this...

Know Your Enemy

• The color of an enemy often denotes how powerful they are. Red Bokoblins and Moblins are among the weakest, while their black variants are among the toughest.
• Any enemy can wield almost any weapon - pay close attention to what your enemy bears against you.
• The tougher the monster, the more monster parts they’ll drop, and the better effect they’ll have making elixirs.
• Elemental variants of monsters are often weak to the opposite element. Shoot ice-infused enemies with fire arrows to take them out in one shot.
• Electric Lizalfos have a lightning-infused horn that can be shot for explosive effect.
• Moblins can get pretty aggressive, and even throw lesser Bokoblins at you.
• Many enemies will fall asleep at night - both at camp and in the wild. However, sentries posted on towers rarely nap.
• When it rains, it will be harder for enemies to hear your footsteps, making sneaking easier.

People and Places

• You can find travelers wandering the main roads of Hyrule. Be sure to stop by and see what they have to say - as many sell useful items or give Side Quests.
• However, some travelers - those with no names, may be secret Yiga Clan assassins in disguise!
• If you see a traveler in trouble, be sure to render aid as soon as possible. If you save them quick enough, they'll give you a random food item or elixir as thanks. If they are knocked out, they won't be as happy to see you.
• Certain characters will reappear at several locations and may offer different assistance or wisdom depending where you meet them.
• Main towns will always have an Inn, a General Store, a Cooking Station, and a Goddess Statue that you can use to exchange Spirit Orbs for Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels.
• Both Stables and Towns will have places to sleep with a choice of beds. Comfy beds in Stables will give you a temporary heart, while the deluxe beds in towns will often grant even better bonuses like a full additional stamina wheel.
• Check out towns before and after helping them with their Divine Beast problems - often times new quests will arise after bigger problems have been resolved.
• Most people in town go to bed at night, though some shops stay open - and other things can change too.
• Most towns have containers like pots and jars. Like any Zelda game, they sometimes contain items - so get to smashing!
• You'll have the ability to dye your armor at a certain town - be sure to equip only what you want to dye, even if its just a hat or pants!