The ULTIMATE Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Beginners Guide!

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Here's everything you need to know when playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the first time.
0:00 - Introduction
1:07 - Getting the Paraglider
1:36 - Camera Rune / Autobuild / Shrine Sensor
2:51 - Pony Points & Towing Harness
3:50 - Using Brightbloom Seeds
4:47 - Hestu Location(s)
5:57 - Link's Abilities & Useful Strategies
9:25 - Lightroots & Navigating the Depths
10:49 - Geoglyphs
12:09 - NordVPN
13:26 - Zonai Device Dispensers
13:59 - Energy Cell & Zonaite Farming
17:00 - Cost-Efficient Vehicles
19:18 - Pristine Weapons
19:37 - Material Farming
23:06 - Hunting Bubbulfrogs
24:12 - Dealing with Breakable Rocks
25:51 - Vertical Navigation Tips & Tricks
28:52 - Unique Weapon Properties
29:43 - Change Your Sorting Method!
31:10 - Hover Stones are Overpowered
31:57 - Passing Time During Rain
32:29 - Combat Tips & Tricks
33:35 - What Order to Tackle the Story?
36:35 - Take Your Time!
2uncle2dane's Zonai bike video
• THIS is the best vehic...
PhillyBeatzU's pristine weapons guide
• The SECRET of Pristine...
Footage taken from:
myself :)
Outro Made by Espen - www.efolsen.com
Twitter - / nintendoblackc
discord server: / discord
Special thanks to my Patreon supporters!
Patreon - / nintendoblackcrisis
#TotK #TearsoftheKingdom #Zelda

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ NordVPN.com/nintendobc It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌ A couple things I forgot to mention in my video: -there's a place just outside ot Lookout Landing where you go to upgrade your Energy Cell -Plenty of chests at key locations/landmarks in the Depths will contain large crystallized charges (equal to 20 crystallized charges) Thanks for watching! I might be streaming the Nintendo Direct tomorrow so stay tuned

[@eileensmiller8041]

Don't feel bad, I'm over 100 hours in and I'm struggling with the third dungeon.

[@Cliffordlonghead]

,

[@Cliffordlonghead]

​@@eileensmiller8041CHEATER

[@eileensmiller8041]

@@Cliffordlonghead How am I a cheater? I just happen to get a couple days off a week and I've been playing the game since the day it came out.

[@farideh4698]

75 hours in, and I feel I've only scratched the surface (pun intended!). Having a job and kids makes it hard to find time to play, but I can also make my first play through last longer :)

[@HenningGu]

Over a month and 130 hours later with pretty much only Korok seeds left, this video is exactly what I needed.

[@meee_5155]

You’ve done all the caves and quests and shrines in only 130 hours!?

[@Artemis_F0wl]

caves to me are even more tedious than koroks. too repetitive. I only explore them when I find them randomly, but I'm not gonna search for all of them. shrines and quests almost done though and so much fun 🙂

[@StormsparkPegasus]

How in the hell did you do that in 130 hours? BOTW took me 280...this game is easily twice as big.

[@toiletseat777]

Lil bro is practically speedrunning

[@davidtu3045]

@@StormsparkPegasus after 280 hours of botw, you learn how to efficiently use your time to make the most out of exploration in ToTK

[@AppleJackSix]

Additional tips: - instead of mounting canons on the uprighting Zonai device, try using a spike. It’s more stable and you’re less likely to blast yourself. - the Lurelin Village side quest is super awesome and rewarding, and you can do it at any time without spoiling the rest of the game. But I recommend not trying it until you have good weapons and items - there is something in kakariko village you can’t do until way later in the main quest line, but it’s not obvious that you have to do the main quests as a requirement-don’t waste time trying to figure out how to do thing, you’ll do it in the main questline - gibdos bones are the one strong monster part I’d recommend fusing to arrows. They’re strong on arrows but not on weapons because they break off after one hit - in BotW you only had 100 markers you could place on your map. In TotK you have 300! So feel free to mark something and come back later instead of getting sidetracked, you will never run out of markers

[@CanidRose]

(For reference, the Kakariko Village tip, is that talking to someone or going into a place that you can't do until later?)

[@inrevenant]

After about 250 hours, I ran out of markers :(

[@anthonynguyen1289]

I ran out of markers within a week of playing. I marked a lot of things

[@preferablygeneric]

I've been fusing my cannons with zonai weapons. Attempting to throw the weapon will instead fire the cannon directly where you aim. They actaully last quite a long time, and is well worth it for the fire rate increase when swinging normally.

[@FIamestalker]

Yep, first thing i did after Lookout Landing was going to Kakariko, I spend like two hours just running around trying to figure out what I was supposed to do to progress there. NPCs there also talk like there's something you can do, particularly Paya with her already being suspicious about the whole situation. Eventually I just left frustrated, still haven't done the storyparts of Kakariko. Its such an odd decision to have it just be locked out with just an invisible wall, in a game where freedom is king, where you can go anywhere anytime this seems like such a poor design decision, there had to have been a better way to handle it

[@moonlilythedragon9308]

Actually pinecone, oil jar, spicy pepper, and sunshroom ignited fires are waterproof. So they’re great to use when you’re in a pinch.

[@brandon9689]

I highly recommend enemy camps and mini bosses in the depths for zonaite. You'll gain far more zonaite per hour than you would wandering around looking for ore veins alone.

[@juanisimocr3813]

This game is posed to be legendary for decades to come so those complaining that it took you over a month to release it don't know what they're talking about. The dedication and thoroughness that you put into this video is commendable, especially with the care you paid to avoid any spoilers. This is easily one of your very best videos IMO, congrats!

[@thajocoth]

If you have the surface map for an area, but not the depths map (or vice versa), it's super useful to swap minimaps. You can do this by looking at your map and changing to look at the opposite map there. When you unpause, your minimap will show where you are in the map you last looked at instead of the layer you're actually on. This is VERY useful!

[@Luig117]

I recently beat the main story and I must say, it feels good to not be afraid to be spoiled anymore. My monkey brain sees one random thing which leads to hours-long escapades.

[@hordern_6607]

the passion you put into this video is so evident, regardless of whether a lot of people have finished the game this video is an absolute treat, can't wait to see what's next NBC!

[@tossingturnips]

I'm definitely one of those for whom the story is a huge part, so I'm making sure to go through everything in order. Over a month of gameplay later, and I've not yet done the Gerudo portion; I'm not embarrassed to say I've come back to this video almost every time I think about going to a new part of the game.

[@ziggy5217]

Never been this early for a NBC drop

[@thechampion2430]

Same

[@IdentifiantE.S]

We’re here !

[@somewhatboxes]

this is an awesome resource! a few notes that i'm being careful not to make spoiler-y: - the hover bike is *very* picky about the placement of the fans, and it'll be a little wobbly to use if you don't align it *absolutely perfectly*. which is really just a segue to encourage people to watch the other video carefully for guidance and tips to construct the hover bike - sundelions cooked into meals "restore hearts", but something i needed to be disabused of was the idea that these meals would actually *heal* me. it was more helpful for me to remind myself that they cure the status of the gloom on those hearts (if a meal cures the gloom *AND* heals you, it will say so with two corresponding heart icons juxtaposed); you can cook meals with sundelions and other things in it, but a meal made exclusively of sundelions will specifically only restore the gloom status - you can stay on the dragons for as long as you want to farm from them, but they may descend into the depths and then ascend again later, so you can't necessarily put down your controller and walk away for 10 minutes if you want to pass the time making a meal or something - the puffshroom is great with groups, but in particular if you see someone who's way more powerful than the rest of the group, you might enjoy the muddlebud's ability to turn that one enemy against the rest of their friends (might appeal to your stealthy preference, too :) - elemental keese eyeballs additionally do extra damage on creatures that are weak to that element (to use the gleeok example, ice keese eyeballs are extra strong against the fire gleeok). it's worth experimenting _a lot_ with different items you have in different battles to see if any combination is especially advantageous

[@GerardMenvussa]

Riding the dragons is quite the experience, haha. Was it not possible at all in Botw? Can't remember.

[@somewhatboxes]

@@GerardMenvussa this is sorta embarrassing but i can't remember at all. i feel like TOTK so perfectly occupies the part of my brain where BOTW used to live all by itself, so a lot of memories from BOTW are rapidly merging with TOTK and i'm not sure if i have memories of riding the dragons from BOTW or if i just rode the dragons in TOTK a few weeks ago and it all blended together in my brain

[@GerardMenvussa]

@@somewhatboxes Yeah, happens to me to. It is both an innovation sequel and it is reusing so many assets and landmarks from BotW. Not easy to keep up.

[@nixkee]

​@@GerardMenvussanope, it's not possible to ride the dragons in BOTW. You'll receive damage when you try to

[@sirbeesknees]

I've definitely mastered the 'don't rush' suggestion. I'm 90hrs in, and still haven't started the main quest or even upgraded my zonai batteries once.

[@clampcita]

Thank you for making an effort to keep everything spoiler-free and easy to follow

[@jesusurzua3988]

What an awesome and lovely Guide. Very honest but also not spoilery for anyone experiencing the game for the first time.

[@quinnchester2408]

I already beaten TOTK but I saw you made a vid and I had to watch.

[@ThrowingCrunchy]

Loved the vid! Great advice! I did kinda unintentionally sequence brake the sky islands above Faron during my playthrough lol. I was trying to explore as much as I could before progressing the main quest after investigating all of the phenomena. No regrets!

[@capmalcom773]

I also recommend dazzle fruit. They work great on enemies in the depths by stunning, even big enemies.

[@leoryff979]

I use a stake for the cannon. That keeps the cannon from flying off but also holds it in place so you can look away if needed. Also if you are worried about an autobuild vanishing, attaching a giant glow bulb will keep it from vanishing at a greater distance.

[@thiagocerqueira9473]

35:51 I literally finished the Gerudo Regional Phenomena first and immediately started looking for the Master Sword

[@garyyung4275]

played of 180 hours and still get sth from this video. Thanks for the play through, it is one of the best out there and I think I have watched it for 2 times! keep up the good work!

[@amberukiseve]

Another tip from the Cherry blossom trees segment: there are several maps on many buildings and special locations regarding different things around Hyrule. Every time you find a map, even if it looks like it might be set decoration, take a picture, nothing is meaningless in this game, it all helps you explore more stuff. Infact simply take pictures of anything interesting, might even help you on future quests... You can have 64 in the game gallery, and everything else can use the switch camera. You'll need to delete pictures anyways since the 64 won't be enough to fill up the compendium on your own, that's if you don't wanna buy them much later like BotW.

[@jdawg1034]

This was perfect advise. Especially about taking a break from the internet

[@djsausagebiscuits]

@32:15 or us a floating platform here :). Great tips! I hadn't thought of this one or many of the others!

[@kaiengrail]

A new video from my favorite zelda KZbinr, today is a good day so far

[@MBrandr]

A stake with two cannons is a basic design the game itself provides, though I won’t go into specifics on that. You can further improve on this idea by adding either sleds or carts as blast shields, to protect you from accidental friendly fire if you end up pointing the cannons at a wall or enemy that is too close, or any items (including explosives) that might come flying back at you from the cannon fire.

[@CarlinBuhrman]

Hey man! love the stuff you do on your channel. I would like to request a video on the triforce in breath of the wild and totk. again, love your videos and wish the best for your channel.

[@DarkManser]

Yeah I completed the Dragon tears and Master Sword way too early my first run. Your suggested play order is perfect.

[@gabrielgabino6444]

Great Video My guy! Thank You for the Tips!

[@pianodude123]

bro thanks! this vid was so helpful!

[@GerardMenvussa]

I think you should have said a word about the flower-shaped islands 🌸 People could be confused as to where to start that quest and it does give you interesting lore.

[@victorseba6410]

i do NOT need a guide since im pretty nuch 100% but i wanted to see nbcs take on the game, love you my dude

[@SSuser-go7jm]

After over 100 hours this video was exactly what I needed!

[@tossingturnips]

8:39 - I don't know if this was intentional to be funny, but I really got a kick out this part.

[@DragonKnight62442]

Oof, yeah, me and my sis did a huge spoiler geoglyph. We just laughed it off, but for some people it might be really frustrating. Really make sure you do them in order. Great video btw! I just subscribed:)

[@zack_feldman]

Glad to see you back!

[@dragonsswarm1987]

You can actually use construct horns to activate the device dispensers.

[@dragonsswarm1987]

Also if you're hovering over an object in the throw menu, exit the menu, and then sort inventory in the inventory menu, the throw menu will still be hovering over that object.

[@carlamonterrosa1935]

I was playing Totk while watching this. I saw a Blupee and started shooting. I go in my inventory for a bomb flower to fuse to my arrow and the sorting your inventory tip goes on. I couldn’t find my bomb arrow and putting it on most used, I found it immediately. You got me a handful of rupees. 😂 Thanks NintendoBlackCrisis

[@kacperwoch4368]

I'm starving for non-spoilery zelda videos. I'm 160 hours in and i'm yet to complete the depth sidequest, get the master sword and finish the game. The sidequests of this game are so good at distracting me that i don't even see when i'm supposed to find time for the main story.

[@Ima_lil_Man]

Yoooo NBC I’ve been waiting for your upload. I gust want u to into that I love your videos and keep doing what you’re doing !

[@Kalagni1000]

I'll argue completing Memories out of order making me enjoying ToTK story more. It's kinda like anime/film with non linear storytelling. But maybe i just got lucky cuz i finish 1 region first, stumble upon some memories that doesn't contain the twist, got the sword and finally unlocking memories with the twist. Very intriguing cuz the story like teasing me something big in the middle. Then when the twis come, my jaw dropped 😅

[@ZeldaLilly330]

I recommend doing the Gorons after the other 3 simply, because that quest line makes it obvious the mystery behind the Zelda everyone is seeing. The Zora quest line hints at it too in a more direct way compared to the Rito and Gerudo quest lines.

[@ashtonbrown44]

Can’t thank you enough for you care to not spoil things. Earned a sub

[@DramaQueenBiz]

29:58 - most relatable segment ohmagah

[@bologna698]

One other tip I've found with gleeoks is to fight them with a zonaite bow if possible -- by charging up your shot you're able to get range and precision if you run out of eyeballs to fuse to arrows

[@mikuenjoyerXD]

Ah i forgot that eyeballs give your arrows aimbot.... I practiced my aiming skills in BOTW so much that i forgot

[@markT4561]

This was a great video! So much useful stuff.

[@jessetaylorkoechling]

I really didn't mind doing the geoglyph quest way out of order. It provided a new way to look at the overall story... I knew certain things ahead of time and thus was constantly thinking of the story as I did other quests and they told me things conflicting with what I knew the story to be. Very vague but trying to also not spoil in the comments

[@sa3270]

The first time Hestu moved I couldn't find him again and after 100 koroks I broke down and looked up where he was. I couldn't believe he was right there at Lookout Landing all along.

[@verdantmistral442]

You know what would be a really cool thing... what if they made DLC for Age of Calamity called the Imprisoning War? It would be kind of cool to play and seems like it would be sort of low hanging fruit. *spoilers* 5 of the 7 sages are already basically playable you just need alternate skins for the characters and some new lines for them to say while that skin is equipped.

[@GunmarTheBlack]

Get yourself a Korok or forest dweller spear or sword, the "bursting" items like chuchu jellies and bright bloom seeds will basically have infinite use or like a cooldown like the gems do as long as the weapon doesn't break

[@drewspencerpenrose2003]

I knew I was doing things out of intended order, but this video makes me realize how bizarro it has been. The Spirit Temple was the second one I did, and I had the Master Sword before Autobuild.

[@Sirkassius12354]

One thing I found out is that the mini map will stay on the layer you leave the map at which can help determine terrain in unlit parts of the depths without using brightnlooms

[@tylerstanley5377]

NBC, just wanted to give a shoutout that you are great and love your channel. I have to apologize that I unsubscribed (and other gamer channels) simply to avoid any and all types of potential spoilers. I didn’t even want to see any footage from the trailers. I’ve beaten the game and now I’m back! :) looking forward to all of your TOTK content!

[@jvbell7764]

Man I feel like I need to start over with these tips.

[@DigitalartistMatticusme2024]

i found autobuild by accident when i first started exploring the deths . ran out of glow seeds and didnt want to go back up so wandering in the dark i saw light nearby finding the area

[@sadiqsadiq1476]

Hylian pinecones can work in the rain since they have lots of oil

[@AidanRatnage]

7:56 I would take control before deactivating recall. I think you lose a bit less height this way.

[@kaneo1]

Wall breaking: 'hammer' weapons, bomb flowers, Goron Sage rolling, Gerudo Sage + arrows. 24:12

[@brqbui]

Thanks for this!

[@derekberthiaume5367]

My first dragon tear memory was the master sword. Spoiled immediately because I wanted the master sword early

[@thajocoth]

Constructs don't respawn from a blood moon. They do respawn... And I don't know what the criteria is... But it's not when the blood moon occurs. (Their cycle is the same length of time as a blood moon, but it happens at a different time that has no cutscene.) To clarify... I have fought the same constructs twice within the same blood moon time period, and I've returned to a place with constructs I'd recently fought immediately after a blood moon to find it empty. It makes sense since they're not Ganondorf's minions that it's not the blood moon that respawns them. My theory is that it's directly between blood moons for timing, but I can't know that with any certainty.

[@slimesplat2699]

Love the thumbnail!!!

[@koolgamerryes8122]

oml that was such a smooth transition into the sponsor

[@personguy4864]

spoilers for the main quest line after completing all 4 regional phenomena below the best way to consistently get bullet time without using resources is mineru. simply hop on her back, wait like 1-2 seconds, dismount from her, and then go into bullet time. u will need to time it a little since getting hit on mineru can make it take longer, but it usually isnt the end of the world.

[@Ethan_24754]

Thank you for another great video

[@Tangeffect]

When you used the Silver Horns on the mobs It literally hurt my heart 😂😂

[@MxDiagnosis]

"the way you obtain their parts is the same as breath of the wild just shoot" This is incorrect. In TOTK Spike shards are just lying next to the spikes on the dragons back, every time I've shot a spike I get a scale. You can only get spike shards by picking them up from the dragons spine directly, but this also means you can get more than 1 spike shard per 10 mins. Idk how fast they respawn but they respawn in clusters I'm pretty sure.

[@sa3270]

Also I have a very hard time getting horn shards like you do in BOTW, I have to stand next to the horn and strike it.

[@CivRev10]

A note on gleeoks use ice against fire and vice versa. Simple kills.

[@Saternalia]

16:47 as for what these bosses are, you'll have to figure that out on your own I see your little hint clever boy

[@lloydmeadors]

I never upgraded with hestu before he came to my lookout landing, I think it's 2 times or a certain amount of progression in the story

[@drunkzombiehex]

i'm like 120 hours in and still feel likea beginner so this is the best

[@Supe4]

Gibdo bones are way better on arrows since they break in one hit when used on melee weapons.

[@capmalcom773]

One other thing is that if you ever get stuck in a shrine not knowing what to do or where to go, look at the ceiling for a hint.

[@joel6221]

@20:34 That's great .... soooo, how do you make them battle each other?

[@sydneyduval7859]

Im sure youve figured it out by now, but if you break the blockade between both groups and put them within sight of another, they automatically charge at eachother. You can also shoot muddlebuds at enemies to have them infight!

[@truebino]

Outside combat tips and relatively minor stuff like that hover platform trick which is actually genius and a life safer, I really dislike these kinds of “guides” for a game where you’re supposed you forge your own experience with your own curiosity and will. I understand the intentions, and the vid was quite sweet must I add, but I don’t think it’s a good thing to tell people how they should approach a game based around figuring everything out about the world and the mechanics and all by yourself, which is truly why this game is fun, not just because of getting everything as soon as possible. For me I got the camera runes well after I had two secret stones and about a third of the underground explored, and that’s perfectly ok. I was very surprised I had missed it, and that was cool. Also how I stumbled across autobuild by complete accident, those moments are part of the beauty of this game. Not knowing where anything is, or even what you need to find at times, and having to venture out in this world to be able to progress *and* enjoy the game.

[@josuecornejoponce]

I love the maps triangulation points

[@Demurr]

Comedy gold at 7:37

[@uhhhpfft]

My first TOTK world I started, got to Hyrule, and went off story without gaining a paraglider. I literally just thought I wasn’t able to get one in TOTK. Eventually just decided to ditch that world and restart lolll

[@mavericknv9534]

Is it possible to max hearts and stamina on here or is that a glitch that's been patched like in BOTW

[@BodieB]

I can't believe just how strong puffshrooms are... all mobs are so easy if you use them...I had to stop because It became my only form of combat... and they are so abundant in the depths that i had over 200 when i stopped using them...I hadn't even done a temple and i had full batteries and my xp was maxed

[@maiconmartins3789]

What a great video!

[@HyruleGamer]

03:25 I hate that I didn't know this after 175+ hours 😭

[@flyorfloat]

100 hours in TOTK and I have only done around 50 shrines and 2 dungeons. Take your time!

[@tardissins7512]

16:31 Blood moons will not trigger in the depths… UNLESS you go to a breakable wall and shoot it with a triple shot bow fused with opal about 4 times while in bullet time… as, uh, intended or something 😉

[@IsaiahSalvagno]

I got all the shrines what do y’all think of the “no spoiler” that you get when you complete them. I actually really fw it.

[@stevendorries]

I dig it

[@liliespetals19]

Immediately after (read: during, cuz i was playing) i hoped a ride on Dinraal, we're buddies now. She has a mean poker face and we're getting mani pedis done

[@PunsandPixels]

Hey my guy, here is something for a theory video or to explain at least. I was helping my son last night (he’s still on the sky island) and I got a close look of Rauru, his hand doesn’t have all the five rings that Link does. His only has four, the middle finger has no ring. Why do you think that is?

[@TheManOfGold7]

280 hours in. Still listening to this whole thing twice.

[@TheGrossDemon]

It's totally your personal choice how you wanna do the glyphs, but keep in mind that there are memories that will get skipped over that are locked behind story beats. If you wanna do them all in order you will eventually need to cover some story.

[@thajocoth]

You can use a sword to farm the dragon parts while riding them. You can just ride them and swing every 10 minutes to collect scales & horns... When they're in a specific position, fangs can be gotten this way as well. I haven't found a way to get claws without getting off the dragon though.

[@GerardMenvussa]

Does it ever connect to any quest when you help that guy fix the signposts for his construction 🚧 company? Or is it just for the rewards he gives you on the spot?

[@GerardMenvussa]

Also, can anyone tell where Impa goes once you are done with the geoglyphs? I can't find her any more and I'm wondering if I am missing anything. Even if it's just unique dialogue. I miss grandma :)

[@AppleJackSix]

@@GerardMenvussa for Impa, go back to where the geoglyph map room is and she’s there. Talk to her, then she hangs out in Kakariko village again in her and Paya’s house upstairs.

[@GerardMenvussa]

@@AppleJackSix Thanks, somehow I remembered this room being on the tutorial island. I found granma and she said she would go back. She's still not in the village though, so I guess there are other prerequisite. I'll see when I progress further.

[@tillythehun]

I definitely didn’t do the geoglyphs in order and was like 😭

[@verdantmistral442]

Rebuild can create bomb flowers rather cheaply. I made a cluster bomb that can easily be deployed.

[@hindsightdocumentary8351]

100 hours in and just found out about that hover stone/arrow trick

[@budlikycz2445]

So I just revealed the whole map but in Breath of the Wild. Should I skip breath of the wild and go for Tears of the Kingdom? I got both games. From the day of the released but started playing them just now :) In Tears of the kingdom I just left Sky Island and traveled to the main castle

[@matthewa9911]

That ad transition was seemless!

[@ArtemisWasHere]

It’s a good day today

[@RamblingSailors]

NBC with the'Ultimate Beginner's Guide' showing me things I can't even figure out how to get to 🚀 Me sitting here trying to figure out how to cook this apple I just got from a tree....😢

[@supercyrus9975]

I got the fifth sage before I even knew Phantom Ganon existed I just went into the funny neat looking cloud sooooo I also had the Master Sword before I even found the lost woods. My order was 2 dungeons, all geoglyphs, smord, 2 other dungeons, funni bobot, lost woods, castle, and I am currently goofin around and have recently maxed out the depths map

[@vishousgamer]

I already completed the main story and I think I might have did 130 hours in totk.