Beginner's Guide and Early Game Tips | Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW)

This is a guide to getting started in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW) for the Nintendo Switch. This guide covers early game tips such as equipment, cooking, and exploration to get you started on your adventure.

Early Game Tips

Get the Warm Doublet Farm Arrows with the Wooden Shield Collect Wood and Fruit using the Remote Bomb

Get the Warm Doublet

Areas with cold weather are fairly common in the early parts of the game, such as the area where the Owa Daim Shrine is located. Fortunately, you can find the Warm Doublet before leaving the Great Plateau. This piece of clothing provides Link with ample Cold Resistance to get through the early cold areas.

There are three ways to get the Warm Doublet:

Cook the Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry

Go to the Old Man's Hut and read his diary. He describes inventing the Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry, a meal that requires raw meat, spicy peppers and a last ingredient that he can't remember. This final ingredient is the Hyrule Bass.

Cook this meal with all three ingredients and show it to the Old Man, and he'll reward you with his Warm Doublet! We recommend this method as it's easier and will allow Link to explore cold areas earlier.

Climb to the Top of Mount Hylia

Another way to get the Warm Doublet is by scaling to the top of Mount Hylia. This area has cold weather so it's necessary to cook some Spicy Sautéed Peppers to avoid getting damaged. Once you reach the top of the mountain, the Old Man will appear and give you the Warm Doublet.

Complete all Shrines in the Great Plateu

You can also get the Warm Doublet by simply completing all the Shrines in the Great Plateu. Once complete. visit his house and you'll find a treasure chest with the Warm Doublet inside.

Farm Arrows with the Wooden Shield

Arrows are fairly rare in the early game, but it's possible to farm them from enemies if you have a Wooden Shield!

To farm arrows, find an enemy wielding a bow and block with your Wooden Shield. The arrows they shoot will stick to the shield and will be placed in your inventory when you release the ZL button.

Arrows can also be gained when parrying an attack.

How to Parry (Perfect Guard)

Collect Wood and Fruit using the Remote Bomb

Although Link can cut down trees with his weapons, doing so lowers their durability. Another way to collect wood and fruit from trees is by using the Remote Bomb Rune which you can get from the Ja Baij Shrine.

Blowing up trees to get wood and fruit may seem unorthodox, but it's one way you can conserve a weapon's durability eary in the game!

Exploration Tips

Stock Up on Food Before You Leave the Plateau Activate the Sheikah Towers Prioritize Ancient Shrines

Stock Up on Food Before You Leave the Plateau

Many of Hyrule's locales are treacherous and filled with enemies looking to end Link's journey. Before you leave the Great Plateau, it's important that you stock up on some food.

Some good early-game food include Seared Steak, Fish Skewer, Fish and Mushroom Skewer, and Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry.

Activate the Sheikah Towers

There are many Sheikah Towers scattered throughout Hyrule. Much like the one in the Great Plateau, activating these towers provides Link valuable information on the regional area. Activating a tower also unlocks their Travel Gate, which allows Link to teleport to the tower.

Prioritize Ancient Shrines

Ancient Shrines not only contain Spirits Orbs that allow you to boost Link's Health and Stamina, some also contain powerful weapons, armor, treasure, and even upgrade materials! It's always worth it taking a small detour from the story if you see an Ancient Shrine in the distance.

Shrines Map and All Shrine Locations

Combat Tips

Always Have a Spare Weapon Throw a Weapon Close to Breaking Practice Your Headshots Aim for the Guardian's Eye

Always Have a Spare Weapon

The durability system in the game means your weapons will eventually wear down and break from constant use, and the last thing you want is for your trusty weapon to shatter when facing against a tough enemy!

Always carry a spare weapon with you when you go exploring in the game. If you find weaker versions of your current weapon, keep them so you can use them against weaker enemies while saving your "main" weapon for tougher engagements.

Throw a Weapon Close to Breaking

There's no way to repair broken or close-to-breaking weapons in the game. If you're in combat and you see the notification that your weapon is close to breaking, your initial reaction may be to switch to another weapon.

Instead of switching, throw the damaged weapon at an enemy by locking onto them with ZL and pressing R. The damage a thrown weapon inflicts is double the damage the weapon does on its last hit.

Practice Your Headshots

Although it takes some practice and a bit of stealth, headshots do double damage to enemies and is a great way to make the most out of your limited supply of arrows.

If you see a group of enemies in the distance and they haven't noticed you yet, try to get a headshot. Depending on the type of Bow you have, you can one-shot weaker enemies and stun stronger ones.

Aim for the Guardian's Eye

Early in the game, Guardians are near-unstoppable and your only option is to run and hide from them. If you're cornered by one of these ancient machines, try hitting their eye with an arrow. This will stun them and hopefully give you enough time to run away.

This strategy also works on the immobile Guardian Turrets, as well as as the smaller Guardian Scouts that you'll find in Ancient Shrines.

Other Tips and Tricks

For more tips & tricks, see our Beginner's Guides below!

List of Beginner's Guides

Combat Guides
How to Parry	How to Perfect Dodge
Weapons and Armor Guides
Weapon Repair Guide	Where to Get Fireproof Armor
Cooking and Elixirs
How to Cook Food	How to Make Elixirs
Travel Related Tips
How to Shield Surf	How to Tame Wild Horses
The Best Recipes	How to Get the Paraglider
How to Make it Stop Raining
Rupee-Farming
Early Game Rupee Farming Guide	Treasure Chest Gambling Guide
What Items Should You Sell?
Other Farming Guides
Star Fragment Farming	Giant Ancient Core Farming
Ancient Arrow Farming	Arrow Farming
Dragon Parts Farming	When Does a Blood Moon Trigger?
Equipment Guides
How to Get the Master Sword	How to Get the Hylian Shield
How to Use Amiibos
100% Clear Guides
Master Mode Guide: Tips for Beating Master Mode	How to Complete the Hyrule Compendium

Related Links

Breath of the Wild Wiki Top Page

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Links
Quests	Tips and Tricks
Dungeons	Weapons
Shields	Bow and Arrow
Armor	Items
Enemies	Maps
DLC