TotK Beginner Tips: What to Do First and Where to Go

Tears of the Kingdom lets you walk away from the story as soon as you land in Hyrule, and a few things are much better picked up before you do. This page lists them in order, with a link to the detailed page for each. Nothing here spoils the story past the first hour on the ground.

What should you do first after Great Sky Island?

Do not jump off toward a far region before step 2. Without the paraglider every long drop has to end in water.

What should you not leave Great Sky Island without?

• All four abilities. Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall come from the island’s four shrines: Ukouh, In-isa, Gutanbac and Nachoyah. You cannot leave without them, and the four Lights of Blessing buy your first upgrade at the Temple of Time.
• The Archaic set. The Archaic Legwear is in a chest near the exit of the Room of Awakening and the Archaic Tunic in a chest in Pondside Cave. They have 1 defense each, which is still better than nothing; see the sets that cannot be upgraded.
• Something for the cold. Gutanbac Shrine is on a snowy mountain. Cook the Spicy Peppers that grow at its foot, or wear the Archaic Warm Greaves. Spicy recipes explains the effect.
• A habit of fusing. A rock on a stick is a hammer that breaks ore deposits and cracked walls, and almost any monster horn makes a weapon stronger and longer-lasting. The Fuse guide has the numbers.

Which armor should you get first?

Armor only becomes strong once it is upgraded, and upgrades need a Great Fairy. The first one, Tera, opens through the side adventure Serenade to a Great Fairy at Woodland Stable; the Great Fairies page has the whole chain and the upgrade materials page what each star costs. The full list of 135 pieces is on all armor.

How do you stay alive in the early game?

Cook before you travel. Raw food heals little. Put up to five ingredients in a pot and the dish heals more, and an ingredient with an effect passes it to the dish as long as you do not mix two different effects. A single Hearty ingredient cooked alone refills all your hearts. Best recipes sorts the effects, and the recipe finder tells you what the things in your bag can make.

Spend Lights of Blessing with a plan. Two or three hearts first, then stamina up to two wheels for the Master Sword. The reasoning and the numbers are on hearts or stamina first.

Keep fusing your weapons. Weapons break, and you cannot repair them in the usual sense; weapon durability explains what does restore them. Monster parts cost nothing to fuse, so there is no reason to swing a bare sword. When you want something better, best weapons lists it.

Run from what you cannot beat yet. A Gloom-covered patch of ground that sprouts hands, a Lynel, a Gleeok on a bridge: all of them can wait. The monster list shows how much health each kind has.

Where should you go first?

The main quest Regional Phenomena marks four regions, and you may do them in any order. The usual first choice is Hebra: Rito Village and the Wind Temple. Tulin’s gust carries your glides further everywhere else. Buy the Snowquill set or cook Spicy food before the climb. The full argument for each order is on the main quest order page.

On the way to anywhere:

• Climb the Skyview Tower of each region first. It fills in the map and launches you high enough to glide to shrines and sky islands. All 15 are on the Skyview Towers page.
• Register a horse. Using a stable also earns Pony Points; see horses and stables.
• Look into caves and wells. Caves hold ore deposits, and each one has a Bubbulfrog. See caves, wells and Bubbul Gems.
• Use the map. The interactive map shows shrines, towers, caves, Korok seeds and more, and the shrine map only shrines.

Which side adventures unlock the most?

All 60 are on the side adventures page; the shorter jobs are on side quests.

How do you make rupees early?

Break ore deposits in caves and sell the gems, and cook meat into skewers before you sell it: five Raw Gourmet Meat make a dish that sells for 315 rupees. The rupee farming page lists the methods by stage and recipes to sell the dishes.

What can wait until later?

• The Depths beyond the first quests. It is dark, and Gloom takes away maximum hearts until you stand in a Lightroot’s light or eat a Sunny dish. Go down with Brightbloom Seeds and light Lightroots as you go. The Zonaite you mine there pays for battery upgrades.
• Building big machines. A fan and a wing are enough early on. The Zonai devices page shows where each dispenser is.
• All the Korok seeds. Slots get expensive quickly, and 421 seeds buy every slot. Pick them up as you pass.
• The Master Sword. It needs two full stamina wheels. See Dragon’s Tears.

See also

Coming from the first game? Tears of the Kingdom vs Breath of the Wild lists what changed, and the Breath of the Wild beginner tips cover the earlier game.