BotW Temperature and Weather: Cold, Heat, Flame Guard and Lightning

Temperature in Breath of the Wild changes with place and time of day. The gauge at the bottom right warns you when it is too cold or too hot, and the map shows the actual reading. There are three conditions to handle separately: cold, desert heat, and the scorching air of volcanic areas.

When does temperature start to hurt?

One level of protection covers level one. At level two the game warns that your current food and clothes will not keep you from taking damage, and you need a second level. Without protection your hearts drain over time.

How do you deal with the cold?

High mountains and snowfields are cold: Mount Hylia on the Great Plateau, Mount Lanayru and the Hebra Mountains, for example. Your options:

• Cold-resistant armor: every piece of the Warm Doublet and Snowquill set gives Cold Resistance, and so does the Ruby Circlet.
• Spicy food: dishes cooked from spicy peppers, sunshrooms and similar ingredients give timed Cold Resistance.
• Fire: stand by a campfire or carry a lit torch.

How to get the Warm Doublet early and how many ingredients each dish needs are in the cold resistance guide and spicy food. Some ingredients freeze in cold regions or icy water.

What about desert heat?

The Gerudo Desert sun hurts by day if you are unprepared. The game’s own advice: rest in the shade, cool off in water, or wear armor made for high temperatures.

• Heat-resistant armor: every Desert Voe piece gives Heat Resistance, and so does the Sapphire Circlet.
• Chilly food or Chilly Elixirs: dishes made from hydromelons and similar ingredients give timed Heat Resistance; see chilly food.

The Gerudo Desert also has sandstorms.

How do you survive Death Mountain?

Volcanic heat is a different thing from desert heat: Heat Resistance does nothing here. You need Flame Guard. Without it you take damage as long as you stay.

Fireproofing only comes as an elixir, not food; see Fireproof Elixir. The Flamebreaker set page covers how to get and upgrade it. Reportedly Flame Guard does not stop lava or fire attacks, so falling into lava still sets you alight.

How does resistance stack?

Each kind of protection stacks to level two:

• two pieces of armor with the same effect make level two;
• or one piece plus a dish or elixir with the same effect;
• dishes and elixirs are themselves level one or two, depending on the ingredients.

Why do you get struck by lightning?

The game’s tip is blunt: lightning in Hyrule tends to strike anything metal, so unequip metal gear when you hear thunder. In a storm, an equipped metal weapon, bow or shield starts to spark, and then the lightning hits.

1. When you hear thunder, swap metal weapons, bows and shields for wood or other non-metal gear.
2. If your gear starts to spark, swap it at once.
3. For long stays in storms, wear the Rubber set (Unshockable once all three pieces reach two stars) or the Thunder Helm (Lightning Proof). See the Rubber set page for where to find it.

What does rain change?

• Climbing slips: wet cliffs make Link slide and use more stamina; the game suggests waiting for clear weather.
• Fires go out: rain puts out exposed fires.
• Good for stealth: rain covers your footsteps, so monsters notice you less.
• Rain-only finds: the game mentions creatures that love the rain and plants that only grow in it.

How do you read the forecast, and can you change the weather?

The bottom right of the screen shows the weather to come; check it before a climb or a trip into storm country. If the weather is wrong, pass time at a campfire until morning, noon or night; the weather may change, but it is not guaranteed.

For mountain cold, the gauge and early cold protection, see the cold resistance guide. Tears of the Kingdom adds the sky and the Depths; see TotK temperature and weather.