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If you’re after some Tears of the Kingdom tips, then look no further. Whether you played Breath of the Wild or are a complete Zelda newbie, TotK added a wealth of new content for you to get to grips with.
Whether you’re exploring the Tears of the Kingdom map or solving puzzles in Tears of the Kingdom Shrines, these tips will help you out so you can breeze through the early-game.
Here are our Tears of the Kingdom tips:
Upgrade stamina
It might be tempting to upgrade your hearts as soon as you can to get a bit more survivability, but early on, you should upgrade your stamina instead. Think of it like this. You spend far more time walking, climbing, and paragliding in TotK than you do in combat. Having more stamina means the amount you can explore, and the speed you can do it increases massively. Plus, you’ll get Heart Containers from defeating bosses, so you can increase your hearts without having to spend your Lights of Blessing.
Look for birds
If you’re struggling to find where to go and what to do, keep an eye out for a flock of birds circling in the sky. In Tears of the Kingdom, flocks of birds like these tend to signify that there’s something worthwhile below them. This is often a Chasm, but could also be a Shrine, miniboss, or something else entirely. So if you see some birds, check it out.
Fusing gems
While gems are a good way of getting some cash early on, don’t discount their usefulness as a fusion item. Fusing a ruby or sapphire to your shield will give Link cold resistance and heat resistance respectively. This means that just by simply having the shield on his back, Link can travel through cold and hot regions without taking damage. They can also be used to give your weapons extra damage, such as rubies allowing your weapons to inflict fire damage. A good trick if you have the gems to spare.
Lightroots and Shrines
If you’ve been down to the Depths yet, you’ll probably know that Lightroots are key to exploring, lighting up huge areas of the darkness. But they also have another use up on the surface. Every Lightroot is located directly below a Shrine on the surface. This means you can use the location of a Lightroot to mark the location of an undiscovered Shrine on your overworld map. This works the other way around, too, with overworld Shrines pointing out where Lightroots will be in the Depths.
Elemental combat
Thanks to Fuse, Link has unprecedented access to elemental combat, and you should make good use of it. Certain enemies can be one-hit by using the opposite element. Ice enemies found in the snowy regions can be killed by hitting them with fire, while desert enemies can be killed by using ice. Fusing items like fire fruit or ice fruit to an arrow and hitting an enemy from afar can make quick work of some fairly annoying enemies.
Feed dogs
If you played BotW, you’ll probably know this already, but you can feed the dogs you find at the Stables found around Hyrule. And it’s in your interest to do so. Drop some apples in front of a dog for them to eat, and after eating a few, they will lead you to a hidden treasure chest nearby. The rewards are typically not anything game-changing, but in a game where resources are everything, you can get some decent items.
Rocket shields
If you Fuse a Zonai Rocket to your shield, you can use it to fly into the air. Holding out your shield will shoot you directly upwards and is incredibly useful for getting around Hyrule. If you need to get somewhere up high quickly, or need to get in the air to paraglide over a valley or canyon, a rocket shield will do just that. It’s a super convenient way of travelling, so be sure to keep a stockpile of rockets.
Cherry Blossom Trees
Across Hyrule you’ll come across the odd tree sprouting bright pink cherry blossoms. If you see one of these, head up to them and you’ll find a small stone statue with a bowl at the base of the tree. Drop an apple into the bowl as an offering, and you’ll be rewarded with some overworld markers showing you the location of all the caves in the surrounding area. A great way to find somewhere to go, and potentially a way to find some of those more elusive Shrines.
That’s it for our Tears of the Kingdom tips. If you’ve accidentally fused the wrong item, check out our how to unfuse in Tears of the Kingdom guide. And if you’re looking to get your hands on some of the best Tears of the Kingdom weapons, our guide will have you covered.
