Starting tips for Zelda Breath of the Wild Zelda Breath of the Wild guide, walkthrough

Last update: 18 June 2019

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an extremely elaborate game filled with numerous gameplay mechanics. Below, you can find general tips that will make the game easier for you:

• Talk and interact with others
• Stay vigilant and be observant
• Adjust the interface and game options to fit your preferences
• Remember about the durability of your weapons
• Use bombs to fight groups of enemies
• Master the stealth mechanics
• Cook and prepare meals
• Brew Potions
• Use the camera
• Blood Moon
• Remember to rest by the campfire
• Wait for bad weather out
• Place your own markers on the map
• Do not fight each opponent
• Use the Korok Leaf to navigate the boat
• Master slowing down time and archery
• Use the environment to your advantage in combat
• When swimming, remember about stamina
• Remember about fast travel
• Use magnesis to retrieve treasures
• Remember about fishing
• Keep fairies in your equipment
• Conserve powerful weapons
• Choose your outfit in accordance with the weather conditions
• Visit Hyrule Castle from time to time
• Tame better horses
• Control opponents' elements
• Do not worry about dying
• If you don't know what to do, look for towers and shrines
• Spend Spirit Orbs on upgrades
• Complete the Hestu's side quest early on
• Don't be afraid of getting lost

Talk and interact with others

A lot of characters in the game are very amiable towards Link and want to help him in his quest. A lot of them have many interesting facts to tell you, items to sell, and a task to assign. Try talking to all of them not to miss anything.

Stay vigilant and be observant

Many stones, trees, and other elements of the environment might look suspiciously (they clearly stand out). That is a clue to interact with them - e.g. when you lift a rock, you can find some additional Rupees or an opponent beneath it.

Adjust the interface and game options to fit your preferences

In the game menu, you will find several options that might fit your preferences. It is definitely worth increasing the camera speed to make gameplay more fluid.

Remember about the durability of your weapons

Nearly every weapon is gradually wearing down. Thus, remember to have several weapons at hand. When planning a visit to a dungeon, make sure your equipment is as ready as you are beforehand. It is also a good idea to "save" your weapon and e.g. use bombs to extract iron instead of damaging your regular weapon.

Use bombs to fight groups of enemies

A well-thrown bomb can quickly eliminate a significant group of opponents. Remember that.

Master the stealth mechanics

It is worth spending a lot of time to familiarize yourself and master the stealth mechanics giving you the best option to surprise your opponents or deal with critical damage. Remember that pressing the jump key while crouching will allow you to burst forward - this is highly useful.

Cook and prepare meals

A lot of enemies drop precious ingredients that can be used for cooking. Even though some of the ingredients can be consumed immediately, it is much better to use them later to cook a meal. Just move the item from the backpack to the hand and throw it into the kettle. Experiment with different recipes, as some meals are extremely powerful! An additional advantage of cooking it the fact that you can sell meals and make a lot of money on that. More hints on cooking can be found e.g. on numerous posters scattered around the in-game world - just look carefully to find a new recipe. It is also a good idea to cook meals out of the same ingredients - a meal cooked with 5 apples will restore much more health that apples consumed individually.

Brew Potions

Opponents drop items such as teeth, eyes, tails, etc. that you can combine with the so-called critters such as toads, lizards, and fireflies in order to create powerful potions that offer diverse effects.

Use the camera

It is worth to take pictures of anything in the game. This will add all the necessary information to the encyclopedia that you can later use to find new items in the game.

Blood Moon

The Blood Moon represents the respawn of your opponents. The monsters you have defeated are brought back to life. Remember about resting at campfires.

Remember to rest by the campfire

Use some wood and stone. Place it on the ground and hit with your sword to start the fire. When at the camp, you can also control the time flow and move into another part of the day as you see fit.

Wait for bad weather out

If you get surprised by bad weather (e.g. rain preventing you from climbing) use the campfire and wait for better conditions. Remember that during a storm, Link can be struck by lightning - you have to take the metal armor off and unequip any metal weapon to avoid this.

Place your own markers on the map

Whenever you encounter an interesting location or object in the in-game world, add a note to the map to return there later.

Do not fight each opponent

The game allows you to freely explore the world. Remember, though, that many locations offer a much higher difficulty level. If you can't defeat an opponent, skip him or tend to another task.

Use the Korok Leaf to navigate the boat

You can get the Korok Leaf by cutting down trees. You can use it to generate wind that moves the boat.

Master slowing down time and archery

When Link jumps off a height or a horse and draws the bow, the time will slow down for you to take a steady aim. Watch out, as it depletes your stamina. During the game, improve your archery skills - headshots are critical.

Use the environment to your advantage in combat

If enemies are surrounded by water, use shock arrows. If they hide in tall grass, use the torch to set them on fire.

When swimming, remember about stamina

Swimming consumes stamina - when it drops to zero, Link drowns. Thus, plan such trips carefully.

Remember about fast travel

After opening the map, you can move to a safe location. What is worth noting is that you can also do that during combat. So whenever you feel in danger, transport Link to a safe place and regain strength.

Use magnesis to retrieve treasures

Remember that you can pull treasures towards you, so when e.g. you see a chest at the bottom of a lake, use the magnesis rune to pull it.

Remember about fishing

When in water, Link can fish. They can be later used i.a. for cooking.

Keep fairies in your equipment

There are Four Great Fairies you can encounter, who are willing to upgrade your armor (see another section in this guide) - they are surrounded by small fairies you can catch. With such fairies in your inventory, you will be brought back to life upon losing all hearts.

Conserve powerful weapons

Save powerful weapons with high durability for difficult battles and challenges. They are not worth to be used on regular opponents.

Choose your outfit in accordance with the weather conditions

When it's cold, Link has to be wearing warm clothes. Also, when it's hot, Link has to wear light armor. Remember that and prepare several armors for each occasion. Next, upgrade them.

Visit Hyrule Castle from time to time

Even though Hyrule Castle is the final location in the game, you can reach it using e.g. Glider. It is worth visiting this location and progress through some areas there Also, you can find there some very powerful weapons and gear that allow you to beat different challenges more easily.

Tame better horses

Each horse has a specified set of stats. Weaker specimens can be easily tamed (by sneaking behind them and jumping on their back), however, the better ones require a lot of stamina for the process to succeed. During the game, try "hunting for" better steeds.

Control opponents' elements

When fighting an opponent who wields e.g. the ice element, use fire to deal double damage.

Do not worry about dying

Especially in the initial stages of the game, when you're bound to die a lot. Treat it as a learning mechanism - very often, the consequence of dying is repeating a very short fragment of the game.

If you don't know what to do, look for towers and shrines

There are 80 shrines in the game that offer a lot of challenges.

Spend Spirit Orbs on upgrades

You can spend Spirit Orbs by the Goddess Statues allowing you to increase stamina and acquire additional hearts (during the game, you can reset your upgrades, so do not worry, this is not an irreversible decision).

Complete the Hestu's side quest early on

You will find the tree near Kakariko Village. After the short quest, you will increase the capacity of your inventory.

Don't be afraid of getting lost

The game encourages you to get lost and discover its secrets step by step. Explore the world and experiment with it to make it a great experience.