Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK)

Beginner's Guide: Early Game Tips and What to Do First When Starting

Zelda TotK - Beginner

Immerse yourself in the world of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) and learn some tips and tricks to help you survive in the wild. Read on for a beginner's guide, tips and tricks, early game tips, and things to do first when starting The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Useful Early Game Articles to Read

All Must Read Articles for Beginners

Must Read Articles for Beginners
Best Settings How Does Autosave Work? Combat Tips
How to Heal What Happens When You Die? How to Change the Weather
What to Do During a Thunderstorm What Happens When You Die? How to Change the Weather
How to Pass Time Whistle Effects and How to Use How to Check Coordinates
Missables and One-Time Events

How to Progress in the Early Game

How to Progress in the Early Game
1 Progress with the main quest
2 Learn how to cook food
3 Clear the Starting Great Sky Island Shrines
4 Use Link's New Abilities
5 Unlock the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower
6 Obtain the Paraglider
7 Catch a horse
8 Continue with the main quest

1. Progress the Main Quest at the Great Sky Island

Zelda TotK - Progress the Main Quest at the Great Sky Island
After completing the prologue, press the Minus (-) Button and L Button to navigate to the Adventure Log. This screen will show you the current objective of the main quest. The yellow dot on the map shows the destination of the objective.

2. Cook Using the Ingredients

Zelda TotK - 3 Cook Using Ingredients
You can cook food using the materials you have gathered around the area. You can cook anywhere as long as there is a cooking pot in the area.

It is recommended to cook food that can restore hearts and provide Cold Resistance to protect yourself against cold weather.

How to cook food

1 Stand in front of the cooking pot.
2 Open the Inventory menu, select a material, and choose "Hold". You can hold up to 5 ingredients at a time.
3 Press the B Button to return to the game and press the A Button to place the ingredients in the cooking pot.
4 Cooking is automatically completed when you place the ingredients in the cooking pot. Open the Inventory menu and navigate to the Food tab to find the food that you have cooked.

For cooked food that you have made more than once, you can press the X Button to open the Recipes menu and preselect the ingredients from there.

Cooking Related Guides
List of Cooked Dishes and Recipes List of All Materials

3. Clear the Staring Great Sky Island Shrines

Zelda TotK - 4 Clear the Starting Great Sky Island Shrines

There are a total of 4 shrines at the Great Sky Island. Completing these shrines grants Link the four new abilities.

Recommended shrine completion order


View Full Image
Locations Rewards
1 Ukouh Shrine Ultrahand
2 In-isa Shrine Fuse
3 Gutanbac Shrine Ascend
4 Temple of Time Recall
Fast Travel
5 Nachoyah Shrine None

After clearing three shrines, it is required to return to the Temple of Time once.

The Closed Door Walkthrough

4. Use Link's New Abilities

As you complete the shrines, you will obtain new abilities that you can use. See the table below to learn how to use each ability and how to unlock them.

Link's New Abilities Explained
TOTK - Recall Icon Recall How to Unlock: Complete Nachoyah Shrine
・ This ability can be used to inflict damage on enemies and recall fallen boulders to reach the Sky Islands.

・Select Recall, then press the L button (NSW - L) to highlight objects that can be recalled. Target an object, then press the A button (NSW - A) to reverse its movement.
TOTK - Fuse Icon Fuse How to Unlock: Complete In-isa Shrine
・With Fuse, you can combine different materials to your weapons or shields to make them stronger and more durable.

・With the Fuse ability selected, press the L button (NSW - L) to fuse different materials to your weapons or shields.
TOTK - Ultrahand Icon Ultrahand How to Unlock: Complete Ukouh Shrine
・With Ultrahand, you can craft vehicles that can make exploration easier.

・Select the Ultrahand ability, then press the L button (NSW - L) to highlight objects that can be crafted. Press the A button (NSW - A) to grab them, then use the D-pad and the R button (NSW - R) to manipulate its orientation.
TOTK - Ascend Icon Ascend How to Unlock: Complete Gutanbac Shrine
・With Ascend, you can climb steep mountains or high structures without having to worry about your stamina!

・With the Ascend ability selected, press the L button (NSW - L), then position yourself below a ceiling. Press the A button (NSW - A) to ascend or the B button (NSW - B) to return to where you started.

All Abilities and How to Unlock

5. Descend Down and Unlock the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower

Zelda TotK - Descend Down and Unlock the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower
After completing the main quests in the Great Sky Island, you will descend down at Lookout Landing in Hyrule. Complete the succeeding main quests there to activate the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower and uncover a portion of the map.

Skyview Tower Map: Tower Order and Locations

6. Obtain the Paraglider

Zelda TotK - Obtain the Paraglider
Once you have activated the Skyview Tower at Lookout Landing, Purah will give you the Paraglider as a reward. This item allows you to glide in mid-air at the cost of your stamina.

All Paraglider Designs

7. Catch a Horse

Zelda TotK - Catch a Horse
You will be able to catch horses once you have descended from the Great Sky Island to the surface world. Using a horse makes it easier to move around, so be sure to catch one and register it at the stables once you arrive at the surface.

How to Tame Wild Horses

8. Continue With the Main Quest

Zelda TotK - Clear the Main Quest
Once you have made some progress, it is time to focus on completing the main quest. Use what you have learned in the early game to complete more shrines and fight strong enemies. It is also recommended to complete Side Adventures as you progress through the main quest.

List of All Main Quests

What to Do First In the Early Game










Collect Weapons

Weapon Explanation
Stone Axe & Stone Hammer Always keep one of these weapons for exploration
└Use the Stone Axe to cut trees.
└Use the Rock Hammer to destroy cracked rocks and walls.
Bows and Arrows Pick up bows and farm arrows
└Use the Bow to attack enemies from a safe distance.
└Arrows can be fused with materials to increase damage or add effects.
▶︎ How to Farm Arrows
All Other Weapons Pick up a new weapon if it breaks
└If it breaks, it cannot be repaired.
Fuse with a material to strengthen its durability.
▶︎ How to Repair Weapons

All weapons have a durability value and will break after a certain number of uses. You can pick up a new weapon once it breaks or fuse it with a material to strengthen its durability.

List of All Weapons

Acquire Useful Armor Early On

There are pieces of equipment that will give you an advantage in the early game. See the section below to learn how to find them.

Archaic Warm Greaves

Map Image Overworld Image
XYZ Coordinates 0765, - 1342, 1587

There is a snowy mountain in the Great Sky Island where you will slowly receive damage from the cold if you do not have warm clothes.

You can cook food or create elixirs that give temporary Cold Resistance effect to protect yourself from the cold. However, it is recommended to pick up the Archaic Warm Greaves from a treasure chest northeast of the Gutanbac Shrine. This piece of armor gives permanent Cold Resistance, so you do not need to cook food to obtain the buff.

How to Get Cold Resistance

Champion's Leathers

Zelda TotK - Get the Champion
A new and improved version of the Champion's Tunic called Champion's Leathers can be found inside a tomb at Hyrule Castle's throne room.

This armor has the highest base defense stat available early on so be sure to obtain it as soon as you land on the ground.

How to Get the Champion's Leathers Early

Hylian Shield

Zelda TotK - Get the Hylian Shield at Hyrule Castle
The Hylian Shield is the strongest shield in the game and is Link's signature shield. You can obtain it from a treasure chest at Hyrule Castle's docks early on once you have reached the Lookout Landing in the surface world.

How to Get the Hylian Shield Early

Unlock the Emergency Shelter at Lookout Landing

Zelda TotK - Unlock the Emergency Shelter at Lookout Landing

Once you reach Lookout Landing in Central Hyrule region, talk to Scorpis in the middle of the town to unlock the emergency shelter. This area serves as your starting base that houses important points of interest such as a cooking pot, a bed, and a Goddess Statue.

Take Measures Against Cold and Heat

Countermeasures Against Cold Countermeasures Against Heat
・Wear cold resistant armor
・Eat food that provides cold resistance
・Equip a lit torch or flame weapon
・Wear heat resistance armor
・Eat food that provides heat resistance
・ Equip an ice weapon

In Tears of the Kingdom, you will take damage when wearing armor that does not provide protection against extreme cold and hot temperatures.

Temperature Related Guides
How to Get Heat Resistance How to Get Cold Resistance

Pick Up All the Materials You Find

Zelda TotK - Collect All Materials
Pick up all the materials all over the world and from wooden crates as you can use these items to cook food and upgrade equipment. There is no particular disadvantage to picking them up, so be sure to collect them as you explore.

List of All Materials

Find Ways to Travel Faster

Mode of Transportation How to Unlock
Fast Travel Clear the 3 Shrines at the Great Sky Island and head to the Temple of Time.
Paraglider Activate the Skyview Tower at Lookout Landing.
▶︎ How to Use the Paraglider
Horse Tame a wild horse and register it at the stable.
▶︎ How to Catch and Tame a Wild Horse
Zonai Devices Offer Zonai Charges at the Zonai Dispenser.
▶︎ How to Use the Zonai Dispenser

There are many ways to travel around the world, all of which can be obtained by progressing the main quest. Make sure to tame a wild horse once you reach the surface to make exploring much easier.

Cook Food Whenever Possible

Zelda TOTK - Cook Food Whenever Possible

Use the materials that you have collected to cook food and create elixirs that provide buffs such as restoring the stamina gauge or Cold Resistance to protect you from cold temperatures.

However, it recommend that you cook with the materials you have as soon as you find a cooking pot since there are only a limited number of places with cooking pots.

Cooking Guide: List of Food and Dishes

Use Portable Pot to Cook Anywhere

If you have the Zonai Portable Pot, you can cook food anywhere. Keep in mind that you can only cook one dish once in this pot as it will dissappear after using it.

How to Use Zonai Portable Pot

Farm for Rupees

Zelda TotK - Sell Gems

Is it a good idea to farm for Rupees early on as you will need it to purchase armor sets such as the Flamebreaker Set and Snowquill Set to explore areas with extreme temperatures.

Recommended Rupee Farming Methods

・Sell gems (diamonds, opals, rubies, etc.)
Duplicate valuable materials and sell them.
・Sell cooked dishes

How to Get Rupees Fast

Find Gems and Treasure Chests in Caves and Wells

TOTK Sky Islands Cave

Caves and wells contain plentiful of materials and cooking ingredients. If you need to farm for them, exploring these locations is recommended!

These locations also contain monsters that drop monster parts that you can use to create elixirs.

List of All Caves and Wells

Increase Your Inventory Space Using Korok Seeds

Koroks will make a return in Tears of the Kingdom and completing their puzzles reward you with Korok Seeds. You can exchange the Korok Seeds to Hestu to increase your inventory space to hold more weapons, bows, and shields.

How to Increase Inventory Space

How to Progress in Tears of the Kingdom

How to Progress in the Early Game
1 Activate the Towers to Unlock the Map
2 Complete Shrines to Strengthen Link
3 Clear the Main Quest
4 Unlock Various Gameplay Features
5 Strengthen Equipment

1. Activate the Towers to Unlock the Map

All Tower Locations
View Full Image Here

Unlocking Skyview Towers uncovers the surrounding region of the surface and sky maps. Doing so, makes exploration much easier.

All Tower Locations

2. Complete Shrines to Strengthen Link

TotK - All Tower Locations
Completing Shrines reward you with a Light of Blessing. When you have four of these, you can upgrade your health or stamina when you exchange it at a Goddess Statue.

Shrines also doubles as a warp point once you have activated it, making it easy to fast travel and explore the world.

List of All Shrines

3. Clear the Main Quest

Zelda TotK - Clear the Main Quest

The Main Quest section of the Adventure Log contains all the quests related to the main story. Make sure to complete them as these unlock gameplay features such as Link's new abilities and the Paraglider.

List of All Main Quests

4. Unlock Various Gameplay Features

Zelda TotK - Unlock Various Gameplay Features
Tears of the Kingdom has a variety of gameplay content locked behind main quests and side adventures. Make sure to unlock these features as they provide new abilities, upgrade your equipment, and more!

Features to Unlock in the Mid-Game

Features to Unlock in the Mid-Game
Zelda TotK - AutobuildAutobuild Zelda TotK - Hyrule DepthsHyrule Depths
Zelda TotK - Great FairiesGreat Fairies Zelda TotK - Farm CropsFarm Crops

5. Strengthen Equipment

Zelda TotK - Strengthen Equipment
You will face strong enemies and bosses as you progress through the game, so be sure to upgrade your equipment and acquire strong weapons to make combat easier.

Upgrade How to Unlock
Upgrade Armor 1. Unlock the Great Fairy Fountains.
2. Collect the required materials and farm Rupees.
3. Give the required materials and Rupees to enhance the armor piece.
▶︎ How to Upgrade Armor
Inventory Slot 1. Collect Korok Seeds.
2. Give the Korok Seeds to Hestu.

▶︎ How to Increase Weapon and Inventory Space
Obtain Armor Pieces 1. Collect Poes in the Depths.
2. Exchange the Poes for armor pieces at the Bargainer Statue.

▶︎ How to Exchange Poes and Bargainer Statue Locations

Frequently Asked Questions for Beginners

Weapon FAQs

Q. How do you drop weapons?
A. Select the weapon from the Inventory menu and choose "Discard".
Press the Plus (+) Button to open the Inventory menu. Select the weapon you want to drop on the floor and choose the "Discard" button.
Q. How do you repair weapons?
A. Have a Rock Octorok eat the weapon to restore its durability.
Find a Rock Octorok near the Death Mountain at the Eldin region and drop the weapon next to it. Wait for the enemy to eat and spit out the weapon back to you. This repairs the weapon and adds a random weapon modifier.

Story Progression FAQs

Q. How do you cross the other side of the river?
A. Connect logs together to create a raft using the Ultrahand ability.
Collect a few logs and connect them together using the Ultrahand to form a raft. Attach a fan at the end of the raft and attack it with a weapon to activate it. This allows you to safetly reach the other side of the river.
Q. What do you do if you do not have enough logs to build a raft?
A. Use a Stone Axe to cut down trees to make a log.
There is usually a tree nearby when you need to use a raft. Use an axe or a similar weapon to chop down the tree and use it as a log. Connect the log with another using Ultrahand to create a raft.
Q. How do you light up dark areas?
A. Use a torch or throw a Brightbloom Seed.
You can light a fire using a piece of Flint and light up a Tree Branch to use it as a makeshift torch. If you have a Brightbloom Seed, you can throw it at a wall or on the ground while inside a cave to illuminate the surrounding area.
Q. How do you climb the frozen walls?
A.Frozen walls cannot be climbed.
Ice-covered walls found in snowy mountains cannot be climbed as you will slide off halfway up when you do so. Instead, find a different wall that you can climb or find a ceiling that you can Ascend to.

All Tips and Tricks Guides

All Tips and Tricks Guides

New Features
How to Confuse Enemies How to Cure Gloom
How to Blind Enemies -
Combat Guides
Flurry Rush, Sneakstrike, and Deal Critical Damage Weapon Modifiers Explained
How to Raise Defense Passive Abilities for Weapons Explained
How to Upgrade Armor How to Defeat Shielded Enemies
How to Throw Items and Materials How to Repair Weapons
How to Get Earthwake Technique How to Increase Weapon Durability
How to Parry How to Sneakstrike
How to Perfect Dodge and Flurry Rush Stealth Mechanics Explained
Exploration Guides
How to Dive How to Shield Surf
How to Break Cracked Rocks How to Use Minecarts
How to Cross the Freezing Water Fast Travel Guide
How to Change the Weather How to Get Heat Resistance
How to Make an Axe How to Tame Wild Horses
How to Chop Down and Use Fallen Trees How to Pass Time
How to Light Up Dark Areas How to Get Epona
What to Do During a Thunderstorm How to Get Cold Resistance
How to Check Coordinates How to Climb Efficiently
How to Break Wooden Boxes How to Make a Fire
How to Make a Raft How to Make a Hover Bike
How to Use Rocket Shields -
General Tips and Tricks
Zonai Dispenser Guide How to Expand Inventory
Best Settings to Use Pony Points Guide
How to Increase Health and Stamina How to Swap Hearts for Stamina
How to Get the Paraglider and All Paraglider Designs amiibo Unlocks and List of Compatible amiibo
Blood Moon Explained Missables and One-Time Events Guide
Whistle Effects and How to Use How to Farm Crops
How to Heal Post Game Content Guide: Is There a New Game Plus?
Kochi Dye Shop Guide: How to Recolor Armor Ending Explained: How to Watch the True Ending
List of Unlockables How to Get Ganon's Horse
Farming Guides
How to Farm Arrows Bubbul Gem Guide
How to Get More Energy Cells and Increase Energy Early Game Rupee Farming
How to Farm Weapons Dragon Part Farming Guide
Notable Item Location Guides
How to Get the Travel Medallion How to Get the Champion's Leathers Early
How to Get the Hylian Shield Early How to Get the Master Sword
How to Get the Classic Green Tunic Where to Find Wild Greens
How to Get Ring Garland Misko's Treasure Locations
How to Get Monster Medals How to Get All Champion Weapons
Puzzle Solution Guides
How to Solve the Water Temple Spinning Tower Where to Find King Dorephan
How to Solve the Gerudo Light Puzzle Voe and You Class Solutions
Map Location Guides
All Stable Locations All Sage's Will Locations
How to Get to Hyrule Castle How to Get to Lost Woods and Enter Korok Forest
Great Fairy Locations and How to Unlock How to Find the Light Dragon: Location and Drops
How to Find Farosh: Location and Drops How to Find Naydra: Location and Drops
How to Find Dinraal: Location and Drops How to Reach Abandoned Hebra Mine
Satori Cherry Blossom Tree Locations and Guide How to Unlock Royal Hidden Passage
All Addison Sign Locations All Forge Construct Locations
How to Get into Gerudo Secret Club All Coliseum Locations and Rewards
Koltin Locations and List of Rewards Satori (King of the Mountain) Locations
Where to Find Dondons How to Get to Toto Lake
All Goddess Statue Locations -
Tier List Guides
Best Early Game Armor Best Armor Sets (Equipment)
Best Weapons and Shields Best Horses
Best Equipment for Exploration Best Fuse Materials and Weapon Combinations
Best Modes of Travel -
Glitches and Exploits
List of Glitches and Exploits How to Duplicate Weapons, Bows, and Shields
How to Duplicate Materials -
FAQs
Can You Pet the Dogs? Does Saved Data Carry Over?
Should You Play BotW First? What Happens When You Die?
How Does Autosave Work? What Happened to Link's House?
Do Materials Respawn? How to Lower and Raise Hylian Hood
How to Change the Difficulty When Do Shops Restock?
Is There a Master Mode? -

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Related Guides

TOTK - Main Links Partial Banner

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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Main Links
TOTK - Main QuestsMain Quests TOTK Tips and Tricks Partial.png Tips and Tricks
TOTK - Side Adventures Partial BannerSide Adventures TOTK - Side Quests Partial BannerSide Quests
Tears of the Kingdom - Map of HyrulMaps TOTK - Towers Partial Banner ImageTowers
Zelda TOTK - Shrines PartialShrines Tears of the Kingdom TOTK - Temple and DungeonsTemples and Dungeons
All Caves Partial Banner.pngCaves TOTK - List of All WellsWells
Tears of the Kingdom TOTK - Stables PartialStables TOTK - Armor Armor
TOTK - Weapons and Equipment Partial BannerWeapons and Equipment TOTK - Items Partial BannerItems
TOTK - Cooking GuideCooking TOTK - Bosses and MinibossesBosses
TOTK - All EnemiesEnemies Zelda TOTK - AbilitiesAbilities
Zelda TotK - Schematics Partial Schematics TOTK - CharactersCharacters
TOTK - NewsNews TOTK - Message BoardsMessage Boards

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