Tears of the Kingdom: 10 Mistakes To Avoid While Playing TOTK

There’s so much to do in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it can feel overwhelming at first, especially for players who haven’t played previous Zelda games. While the expansive open world and Link’s new abilities open the door for creativity, it also leaves a lot of room for players to make unnecessary mistakes, especially when they first start playing. Sometimes, it’s possible that these mistakes can carry into the mid or even late-game, making the campaign that much harder.

With Fusions, Ascend, and Ultrahand, along with cooking, side adventures, side quests, and Shrines, making a mistake in Zelda: TOTK is easy to do. While the in-game tutorials are informative, it’s really easy to miss a dialogue screen and end up feeling clueless. Luckily, there are a few tips and tricks players can use to make their game a lot smoother, as well as a few common mistakes they should try their best to avoid.

10 Building When Ultrahand & Recall Exist

While building is one of the core mechanics that makes TOTK so fun, it becomes less fun and more of a chore when using it to build stairs to reach a chest or other unreachable area. That’s where Recall & Ultrahand come in handy. Instead of wasting time creating a structure, players can elevate a platform using Ultrahand, let it hang for a few seconds, then use Recall to keep the platform elevated. If the platform itself is still too high, they can simply use the Ascend ability to reach it.

Related: 10 Unnecessarily Deadly Ultrahand Creations In Tears Of The Kingdom

This trick can save loads of time and can be used in the same way to launch Zonai wings when there isn’t a launch point. Experimenting with the different ways that these skills work together can actually save a lot of time in other ways throughout the playthrough, so players should experiment.

9 Forgetting Fusions

Players who aren’t experimenting with the overpowered fuse synergies in TOTK are missing out on amazing damage boosts and unique abilities. Powerful fusions include adding a Flame Emitter to a shield to turn it into a flamethrower when blocking or fusing a Gerudo weapon with a Silver monster part for an insane damage-dealing device. There are so many combinations that not experimenting with the different fusions can make the game much harder.

Those hesitant to fuse weapons because they don’t want to lose the original item or fear that they won’t like the new fusion, shouldn’t worry, as Pelison in Tarrey Town can deconstruct the fusion for a small fee. Players can also fuse cheaper, commonly found items if they just want to see the results.

8 Leaving The Sky Unexplored

The Great Sky Island has a world of treasure awaiting Link if he fully explores it at the beginning of the game, but it isn’t the only source of loot in the sky. While Skyview Towers’ primary purpose is to reveal the map, players can take advantage of the launching mechanic to visit the otherwise hard-to-reach sky areas filled with loot. In addition to interesting side quests, shrines, and rewards, players can sometimes find fast-travel points, which will save a lot of time as they navigate the world of Hyrule. In addition, players can find Constructs here, which drop Zonai Charges and gear.

7 Exiting Ascend Too Fast

While it’s tempting to use Link’s time-saving Ascend ability and immediately exit when reaching the elevated destination, players should take a moment to look around instead. Viewing the surroundings before committing can save time, especially for unexplored areas of Hyrule, as the player could get stuck in an area they didn’t intend to or run into enemies they aren’t ready to fight.

While it seems like an obvious thing to do, many players may get into the habit of immediately pressing the button once Link reaches his destination. In most cases, it’s much easier to back out of the Ascend rather than figure out a way back down, which could save loads of time in the long run.

While Shrines provide Link with more stamina and health, they can also be a source for some pretty great item chests. Most of the time, these treasures will be hidden in hard-to-reach areas. Players should investigate every Shrine area thoroughly for chests, even after they finish the main puzzle, so they don’t miss out on extra items. As a bonus, collecting all 152 Shrines in Zelda: TOTK provides the player with The Ancient Hero’s Aspect, one of the highest-defense armors in the game after it’s been upgraded.

5 Wasting Zonai Charges To Replenish Meter

Zonai Charges can be used to refill the Zonai charge meter but have a better use, which is using them at the Device Dispensers around the map. These devices will reward players who fill it with enough charges, and players should take advantage this mechanic once they find a dispenser. The more Zonai Charges a player uses, the more loot they can get, with some of the items being crucial building blocks for Zonai devices. Storing Zonai Charges up in the inventory for a rainy day may feel tempting, but is ultimately less efficient than using them to get more items.

4 Focusing On Health Over Stamina Upgrades

While survivability in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is paramount, players who invest their upgrades into health over Stamina in the early game are making a huge error in judgment. For one, Stamina helps with movement, climbing, and just about everything players do in the game. Running out of stamina constantly is not only annoying but can make parts of TOTK nearly impossible to complete.

Instead, players should start to focus on stamina after gaining 3-4 hearts, as more health can be easily obtained later through food buffs. Once Link’s stamina is high enough where navigating the world doesn’t feel like a chore, players can start investing in hearts.

3 Not Using Cooking To The Full Extent

While wasting ingredients on a bad recipe in TOTK is certainly something to look out for, there are more upsides than downsides to becoming a master chef in the game. In addition to providing stat boosts like more max health, food can provide Link with a variety of other benefits like immunity to cold or restoring gloom-afflicted hearts. Even for those who aren’t fans of crafting, skipping out on all the hidden tricks to use with TOTK cooking will hinder progress.

For example, players can add a Golden Apple to any recipe to ensure a critical cook or make food 30 minutes before and after a Blood Moon for better meals. Taking advantage of these tips can make each time players sit in front of the cauldron that much more efficient, saving time and potentially Link’s life in the long run.

2 Wasting Time In The Inventory

At the beginning of the player’s TOTK campaign, the inventory will be fairly manageable, with just a few food items, weapons, and materials. However, as players delve deeper into the game, the inventory will start to become overwhelming with the sheer number of different things they can have. One way to manage it is by using more of ingredients and items rather than storing them away, but there’s also another neat trick players can use to access commonly used items faster.

Players can select “Sort” and then select “By most used” to make selecting items quicker from the quick-select inventory in-game. If an item is not near the top of the list, players can throw the item on the ground repeatedly to increase its use to move it higher up and move some of the less-good items lower down on the list. While it isn’t the perfect solution, it will save time in the long run. Players running out of inventory constantly should obtain Korok Seeds to increase their inventory space.

1 Skipping The Depths

While the dark and cavernous area under Hyrule can feel like a labyrinth not worth exploring, it’s actually one of the most treasure-filled and expansive areas in all of TOTK. While it’s likely that most players have descended into the darkness underground, it’s also likely that they’ve passed up some Chasms as they’ve explored. The Depths aren’t the most pleasant place to visit, but players who avoid entry points to the area are missing out on the game’s best loot.

Players will also find rare items in The Depths, including Muddle Buds, Bomb Flowers, and Zonaite ore deposits, making it one of the best areas to explore in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.