Zelda Breath of the Wild: Tips for Beginners

Go Back to the Shrine of Resurrection

As soon as Link wakes up in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the game sets you off on your journey, and you’ll start fighting monsters and solving puzzles in Shrines. However, you’ll likely be doing all of that in nothing but Link’s boxer shorts. Though the monsters aren’t much of a threat during the early hours of the game, you really should get some new clothes for Link as soon as you can.

The game’s most basic set of pants and shirt can be found back at the Shrine of Resurrection where you first woke up. Once you complete the first couple of Shrine puzzles for the Old Man and unlock the fast travel function, you can go back to the Shrine and you’ll find two treasure chests holding clothing. Have some decency and put those clothes on.

Start Cooking As Soon As You Can

Breath of the Wild doesn’t really make a big deal out of it, but cooking is incredibly useful in the game. As you travel around Hyrule, you can pick up mushrooms and climb trees to get some apples. All of these consumable items will restore a bit of your health, but you can create even more potent healing items by cooking.

All you need is a metal pot, some fire, and then dump ingredients in there to start cooking. Ingredients can be found all over the world, and you can mix and match them to create a variety of dishes to give you temporary buffs. The game will gradually start to get even more challenging, and if you don’t have a lot of hearts, you’re going to need the stronger healing items to help you out. Also, you can find a cooking pot near the Old Man’s shack on the Great Plateau. It’s a great starter pot to get you cooking.

Keep Your Horses

If you find a horse out in the wild, try to tame it. You can tame a horse by sneaking up from behind and mounting it. All you have to do is hang on to it until the horse calms down. However, simply taming a horse won’t make it yours to keep permanently. You have to go through a simple process to properly own the horse and give it a name.

Once you’ve unlocked the main region of Hyrule, you’ll be able to find stables all around the world. While on horseback, ride it to the nearest stable you can find. For the small fee of 20 rupees, you can buy a saddle for the horse and even give it a unique name. From here on out, you’ll be able to whistle and call the horse to your location just by pressing down on the d-pad. If it’s within earshot, of course.

Use Your Rune Powers

The special Runes you get from the Shrines in Breath of the Wild aren’t just for solving puzzles; they’re plenty helpful in the large open world as well. Ever noticed those treasure chests just lying at the bottom of the rivers? Link can’t dive underwater to get to them, but he can use his Magnesis ability to magnetize the chest and bring it to shore, where he can open it.

Similarly, you can also set bombs near destructible objects to reveal hidden pathways or items that you couldn’t get to before. The ice block ability from the fourth Shrine will also let you cross gaps over the water easily. You can use all of your Rune powers in really innovative ways to get from one place to another, and to access new areas, so be sure to explore whenever you can.

Keep the Weather in Mind

The weather plays a very large part in how you can survive in Breath of the Wild. If it’s cold, Link will start shivering visibly, and he’ll lose half a heart every ten seconds or so. If it’s blisteringly hot, Link will spontaneously combust into flames. It’s a good idea to find as much clothing as you can so that you’re able to prepare for the different types of weather.

To that end, I suggest upgrading your health as much as possible when you first start out. While your stamina does drain fairly quickly, you can always pause the game in the middle of a climb to consume a regen item that lets you regain some of it. Having more health means that you can last longer in extreme weathers, allowing even more time for you to get to a safe spot and recuperate.