Summary
Open-world games give their players almost-entire freedom of what they can do.The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas several story quests that are needed to advance the story, but for those who want to rush to the final boss, the option to do so is completely at their disposal.
InTears of the Kingdom (TotK), Link will eventually receive a story quest called “Regional Phenomena.” This involves going to four regions of Hyrule (Hebra, Eldin, Lanayru, Gerudo) and completing their respective story quests. Although more side quests unlock after clearing each Temple, it’s possible to find items or even characters before they’resupposedto be found.
6The Divine Beast Helmets
Hidden Treasure Side Quests
While the Divine Beasts themselves do not make an appearance inTears of the Kingdom, the Divine Helmsdo. InBreath of the Wild, theDivine Helms were amiibo-exclusivearmor that Link could get through scanning the Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali amiibo. InTears of the Kingdom, the Divine Helms are hidden in their respective regions.
Upon completing the main quests “Tulin of Rito Village,” “Yunobo of Goron City,” etc, Link can speak to the respective sage (i.e: Tulin, Yunobo, etc) to obtain a new quest. This involves tracking down a hidden location that houses a chest with the Divine Helms. However, if players already know where to go, then it’s possible to have the Divine Helms before receiving their respective quests. The Helmets' availability is not influenced by the player’s progress in the Temples. Wearing a Divine Helm while speaking to the sage post-Templeeven has unique dialogue.
5Master Kohga
Yiga Clan in The Depths
It’s easy for the banana-loving Yiga Clan to not be taken seriously byTotKplayers, but in-universe, they’ve caused a lot of trouble for everyone - especially the Gerudo and Sheikah.Breath of the Wildinvolved a story quest where Link had to infiltrate the Yiga Clan Hideout in the Gerudo Highlands to recover the Thunder Helm. Through this, players would eventually battle the leader of the Clan: Master Kohga.
Despite Kohga comically being thwarted by his own attack, he somehow makes his return inTears of the Kingdom. However,like most of the Yiga, he only appears in The Depths. Players can find him at the Great Central Mine below the Great Plateau. This is the start of a series of quests that involve tracking down and defeating Kohga at four different mines below Hyrule. Finding Kohga is required to get the Autobuild Ability, which can be retrieved at any point in-game. He’s also the final key to tracking down Ganondorf.
4Dragon Tears
Princess Zelda’s Whereabouts
Much like the “Lost Mementos” side quest inBreath of the Wild, players can find several geoglyphs around Hyrule that show Link a vision of the past. This time, the cutscenes detail what happened to Princess Zelda and theMaster Swordafter The Upheaval. They’ll also learn more about Rauru and Sonia, the first King and Queen of Hyrule.
The geoglpyhs won’t be marked on the map until Link has unlocked their respective “memories,” but with how large they are, it’s hard to miss them.Those who are curious about Princess Zeldacan interact with all the glyphs before stepping foot into a Temple. Doing so doesn’t net any special rewards, but it may spoil late-game and post-Temple cutscenes.
3The Master Sword
Sword That Seals the Darkness
The Master Sword is nowhere to be found in the Korok Forest, which was its resting place inBreath of the Wild. Those who venture to the Lost Woods will find themselves turned around unless they enter the Minish Woods Chasm. Players need to navigate The Depths and Ascend from below to enter Korok Forest. Speaking to the Great Deku Tree after clearing away the gloom will allow players totrackthe location of the sword.
Players will find the Master Sword in the sky, specifically in the Light Dragon’s head. As long as players have two Stamina wheels (not counting temporary wheels earned from food or elixirs), they’ll be able to get the sword. This will also trigger a cutscene showinghow the Master Sword got to where it isin the present day. The Master Sword can be recovered even if players' haven’t found all the geoglyphs or completed all the Temples.
The Fifth Sage
Those who look to the Faron Skies will find a mass of thunderclouds. Flying too close, ironically, won’t respawn Link somewhere else or zap him out of the sky. Instead, it will reveal a very cloudy set of floating ruins. These are the Thunderhead Isles, and a main quest inTotK’s late-game will clear away the storm. Players that are too curious about the isles' secrets can struggle through the rain and lightning to reach the Joku-U Shrine at Dragon Head Island, which is the southern island of Thunderhead Isles.
If players manage to reach the end of Thunderhead Isles and Dragon Head Island, they’ll find a curious owl-face mask. Interacting with this mask unlocks the Tobio Hollow Chasm.If players choose to follow the light, they’ll find the Construct Factory,andlearn the identity of the Fifth Sage: Mineru. This is a task that is supposed to be completedafterfinding all four sages and confronting “Ganondorf” at Hyrule Castle. However, many players have accidentally discovered Mineru beforehand. This changes a few things in the dialogue post-Hyrule Castle, and the quest “Find the Fifth Sage” will be marked complete as soon as Link receives it.
1Ganondorf
The Demon King
Although he’s responsible for The Upheaval, Ganondorf himself makes no physical appearance on Hyrule followingTotK’s opening. Returning players ofBreath of the Wildmay have charged toward Hyrule Castle once they landed on the Surface, but there’s nothing to be found except monsters and decayed weapons. Finding Ganondorf is one of the story quests that players unlock in the late-game, but like anything else, it’s possible to find his location by accident.
Beneath Hyrule Castle is a large Chasm that is plagued with gloom and gloom-infested monsters. It’s anextremely dangerous area for a beginnerto be in, and there are several boss fights waiting for Link at the end if he hasn’t recruited all the sages. If players somehow manage to survive, they can continue onward to find the revived Ganondorf. Due to the sheer difficulty of the Hyrule Castle Chasm, players are better off unlocking the Chasm’s Light Root, and then getting out of there. Besides, the game can’t be saved once players reach a certain point in the Hyrule Castle Depths.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available for Nintendo Switch.
