BotW Speedrun Tips: A Faster Route for Ordinary Players

In Breath of the Wild, you can head toward Hyrule Castle after earning the paraglider on the Great Plateau. A quick ordinary-player clear still needs weapons, food and a route you can survive; clearing some or all Divine Beasts can reduce failed final attempts. This guide includes main-story route spoilers and focuses on reliable shortcuts.

What is the shortest route to the ending?

You do not need the Master Sword, every memory or every shrine to reach the credits. However, skipping preparation is only faster when you can win the resulting fights. Use the main quest order if you need the full route rather than just the milestones.

What should you take from the Great Plateau?

Complete the four shrines, learn Magnesis, Remote Bombs, Stasis and Cryonis, then receive the paraglider at the Temple of Time. The Great Plateau walkthrough covers the normal opening route.

Prepare cold resistance for the snowy section: use cooked spicy food or obtain the Warm Doublet. Collect a bow, arrows, shields and several melee weapons as you go, and cook your food at a lit pot instead of carrying only raw ingredients.

Avoid prolonged fights that only consume equipment. Remote Bombs are useful for suitable weak enemies and obstacles, while stronger weapons should be saved for encounters where their damage matters.

Which Divine Beasts are worth the detour?

For a first playthrough, Vah Ruta provides Mipha’s Grace as insurance against a fatal mistake. Choose Vah Medoh first if you are comfortable fighting and want Revali’s Gale to reduce climbing. Neither order is compulsory.

If you repeatedly fail the castle route, complete another Beast instead of forcing the same attempt. Every freed Beast removes its corresponding Blight from the pre-Ganon sequence and weakens Calamity Ganon at the start of the battle. The Divine Beast order guide compares the benefits.

During the Vah Ruta preparation, you need Shock Arrows, not a victory over the nearby Lynel. Sneaking past to collect the arrows avoids turning a supply stop into a difficult optional fight; follow the Vah Ruta walkthrough.

What equipment should you use at each stage?

The Hylian armor is a straightforward early option. If damage is ending your attempts, use a Great Fairy fountain and bring the necessary upgrade materials.

The Master Sword is optional and normally needs 13 permanent hearts. Do not grind toward that requirement purely because you assume the final battle demands the sword; a prepared inventory of other weapons can finish the game.

How do you move faster without advanced glitches?

Activate useful travel points. A shrine beside a road, town or castle approach can save a long return trip even if you solve it later. Clear convenient shrines when you need more hearts or stamina.

Use a horse on suitable roads. Register one when the route already passes a stable; do not make a long detour to find perfect horse stats. Combine road travel with fast travel when returning to an area.

Use the terrain. Glide from high ground instead of descending and climbing repeatedly. Revali’s Gale can bypass climbs after Vah Medoh, and Zora Armor lets you swim up waterfalls after receiving it during the Ruta quest.

Do not fight the weather. Climbing in rain repeatedly wastes stamina. Find a different approach or wait under cover, and prepare the correct resistance before crossing a cold, hot or volcanic region.

Which optional tasks can wait?

If you care about Divine Beast chests, open them before activating the Main Control Unit: you cannot return inside afterwards. This affects optional loot rather than access to the ending; see missable items.

What is an efficient way into Hyrule Castle?

With Zora Armor, the waterfalls give a direct approach toward the upper castle. Without it, the northern Docks route is an alternative; use Cryonis as needed to cross the moat. The castle walkthrough explains the entrances and where the final battle starts.

Pick up useful royal equipment if your inventory is weak, but do not turn the approach into a full castle treasure hunt. The Hylian Shield is a useful optional detour, not an entry requirement.

Before entering the Sanctum, cook or restock healing meals, equip your best practical armor, check weapon durability and let any Champion abilities recharge. Avoid entering with only one usable weapon and a nearly broken shield.

Should you learn whistle sprinting or windbombs first?

Neither is required for this route. Advanced techniques have a learning cost, and version or platform differences can change execution; use the glitches guide if practicing them is part of your goal.

For a quicker first clear, reducing detours and failed fights is the more useful starting point. After the ending, the starred save lets you return to the activities you postponed.