On this page we answer the most important questions about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. If you want to know where to find Lynels, how to improve weapons and armor, how to carry more, what the Bubbulfrog signs are good for or how to get the Master Sword, you will find the quick answer and the appropriate further guide here.
The FAQ is intended as an introduction: compact enough for quick reference, but with enough details so that you can get started straight away. For larger topics we link to the appropriate ZeldaCollection pages, including Lynels, Armor, Sage’s Will, Addison signs and the interactive map.
Quick answers
| Question | Short answer | More about |
|---|---|---|
| Where can I find Lynels? | On the surface and in the Depths. The Floating Coliseum with five Lynels is particularly productive. | Lynels Guide |
| How do I upgrade my weapons? | Use Fuse, strong monster parts, intact weapons from the Depths and Rock Octoroks. | Improve weapons |
| How do I upgrade my armor? | Unlock the Great Fairies and bring Rupees and the appropriate materials. | Great Fairies |
| How can I carry more items? | You can expand weapon, bow and shield slots with Korok Seed at Hestu. | Expand inventory |
| What are the Bubbulfrog signs for? | You trade them to Koltin for monster rewards, masks and the ghost set. | Bubbulfrog signum |
| Where can I find little fairies? | Especially on quiet ponds on sky islands and in some secluded areas. | Little Fairies |
| Can I separate weapons again? | Yes. The material in the inventory is destroyed; Pelison in Tarrey Town retains both parts. | Separate weapons |
| Where are the shrines? | There are 152 shrines: 120 on the surface and 32 in the sky. | Interactive Map |
| Where do I start first? | After the Great Sky Island first to the Lookout Landing, then towers, shrines, Paragliders and regional quest. | Walkthrough |
| Where can I find the Master Sword? | It’s in the Light Dragon’s head. You need two full stamina rings. | Master Sword |
| How do I get into the Lost Woods? | Not through the fog. You have to go under the forest via the Depths and go up with the Ascend. | Lost Woods |
| What does Addison bring? | Rupees, meals, materials and a completion reward for all stabilized signs. | Addison plates |
| Where can I find the Sage’s Will? | In 20 chests on Sky Islands. Four wills strengthen a wise man. | Sage’s Will |
| Where is Epona? | You can get Epona via matching Link amiibo or via a BotW save with registered Epona. | amiibos |
| What is the best horse? | With Mahlany upgrade almost every horse can become strong. Without upgrades, Epona and special horses are very good. | stall points |
| Who is the fifth sage? | The fifth sage is Mineru, the sage of the spirit. | Find the fifth sage |
Where can I find Lynels?
Lynels can be found in Tears of the Kingdom at fixed locations on the surface and in the Depths. According to our Lynels guide, there are 34 Lynels in Hyrule and in the Depths. No Lynels appear on the Sky Islands.
If you specifically want to farm Lynel materials, the Floating Coliseum in the Depths is particularly strong: There you fight against five Lynels one after the other and win at the end Majora’s Mask. For starters, single Lynels are more pleasant on the surface because you can more easily prepare the fight and repeat it after the blood moon.
Combat Tip: Take strong bows, lots of arrows, stamina food and well-improved armor. A headshot briefly stuns the Lynels. After that, you can get on his back and attack with a strong weapon. These riding attacks are particularly valuable because they put little strain on the weapon.
How do I upgrade my weapons?
There is no normal forge for standard weapons. Weapons in Tears of the Kingdom become stronger through four things:
- Fuse: Combine weapons with monster horns, gems, Zonai Devices or other materials.
- Strong materials: Lynel horns, Gleeok materials and parts of silver monsters give very high attack values.
- Unbroken Weapons: In Depths, shadow figures hold non-decayed weapons that are often better than the rusty versions on the surface.
- Rock Octoroks: In Eldin they can suck in normal weapons, bows and shields, repair them and spit them out with a random bonus. This works per Octorok once per blood moon.
The following applies to everyday life: Don’t stick good materials to weapons that are almost broken. Better to take a solid basic weapon and then add a strong horn. If you want to save a valuable material, use Pelison in Tarrey Town, see Can I separate weapons again?.
How do I upgrade my armor?
You can improve
armor with the Great Fairies. To do this, you start the musician quest series around Penn, the Lucky Clover Gazette and the stable musicians. The first fairy is Great Fairy Tera at Woodland Stable. The more Great Fairies you unlock, the more you can upgrade your armor.
Each level costs Rupees and materials. The higher the improvement, the rarer the ingredients become. Many three-piece sets also receive a set bonus if all three pieces are upgraded at least twice.
If you don’t know which set is worth first: upgrade an everyday set that you wear often, and then protection sets for cold, heat, fire or electricity. Our overview All armor will help you with the locations.
How can I carry more items?
You can get more slots for weapons, bows and shields at Hestu. For this you need Korok Seed. You can find Hestu at the beginning near the path to Hebra, later in Lookout Landing and at the end in the Korok Forest.
There are 1,000 Korok Seed in total. For all pocket expansions you need 421 seeds; the rest is for collectors and the completion reward. Weapon slots are worth the first upgrades because you’re constantly finding new weapons and want to save many of them for Fuse combinations.
Important: Materials, dishes and armor work differently. You don’t need a Korok Seed extension for this. So when you mean “carry more items” you usually mean weapons, bows and shields.
What are the Bubbulfrog signs for?
Bubbul Gem is obtained from Mayoien, the luminous beings in caves. Each cave with a Bubbulfrog gives you exactly one signum. You exchange them with Koltin, who you get to know via the task Find the Bubbulfrog signum.
Koltin offers, among other things, monster parts, monster masks and parts of the ghost set. The Spirit set is particularly interesting because it consumes Rupees instead of hearts when Link is hit. This makes it an unusual but very useful set for risky fights.
If you don’t know if a cave is complete, look for the check mark on the cave icon on the map. If there is a tick there, you have already defeated the Bubbulfrog in this cave.
Where can I find little fairies?
Little fairies appear in quiet, sheltered places. They are particularly common at ponds on sky islands, near some fairy springs, and in secluded natural areas. They hover above the ground and will flee if you rush towards them.
The best method: Crouch, put on armor quietly, or eat a stealth dish. Then collect the fairy from close range. Little fairies are extremely valuable because they automatically revive Link if he falls in battle.
Tip: If you already have several fairies with you, fewer or no new fairies may appear in some places. So don’t use them up on purpose, but don’t be surprised if a known Location stays empty.
Can I separate weapons again?
Yes, you can disconnect Fuse connections again. There are two variants:
- Directly in inventory: Select the weapon and solve the Fuse. The basic weapon remains intact, the glued material is destroyed.
- At Pelison in Tarrey Town: Pelison separates weapon and material for 20 Rupees without destroying the material.
Pelison is therefore important if you want to save rare materials such as Lynel horns, Gleeok horns, gemstones or special components. The route is usually not worth it for simple Bokoblin horns.
Where are the shrines?
In Tears of the Kingdom there are 152 shrines: 120 on the surface and 32 in the sky. In Depths you won’t find shrines, but roots. Very practical: many roots lie directly under a surface shrine. So if you activate a root below, you can often look for the appropriate shrine above.
There are three particularly useful tools for searching:
- Interactive Map for accurate Locations.
- Hateno Ancient Tech Lab for the Shiekah sensor and sensor +.
- Mapping towers to help you survey the surface and sky more quickly.
Where do I start first?
After the Great Sky Island you should first follow the main path to the Lookout Landing. There you will get important basics, later the Paraglider and an introduction to the four regional phenomena.
A good first order looks like this:
- Lookout Landing and talk to Purah.
- Paraglider.
- Activate some Skyview Towers.
- Collect more hearts and stamina through shrines.
- Tackle the Orni region in the northwest as the first large region.
Unlock
The Orni Quest is the most enjoyable first major section for many players because the skill there helps enormously with exploration. You can then flexibly move on towards Gorons, Zora, Gerudo, Depths or Hateno Village.
Where can I find the Master Sword?
The Master Sword is in the head of the Light Dragon. To pull it out you need two full stamina rings. Additional yellow stamina from food is not enough.
You can find the sword in several ways. The cleanest quest line is via the Tears of the Dragon because it allows you to understand the story behind the Light Dragon. Alternatively, you can save the Great Deku Tree in the Korok Forest and then receive a mark on the map.
Important: The Master Sword cannot permanently break. After too much use, it loses energy and recharges after some time.
How do I get into the Lost Woods?
In Tears of the Kingdom you can no longer easily get through the fog of the Lost Woods. The right way is via the Depths. Find a ravine near the forest area, descend into the Depths and move under the Korok Forest. There you use the Ascend to emerge inside the forest.
The forest is not in its normal state at first. If you want to save the Great Deku Tree and the forest of the Koroks, you have to solve a problem inside. The forest then becomes usable again and you can continue there with, among other things, Hestu and the Great Deku Tree.
You can find the exact route here: Lost Woods and Korok Forest.
What does Addison bring?
Addison stands at Hudson signs all over Hyrule and tries to hold on to them. If you stabilize his shields with Ultrahand Constructs, he will reward you with Rupees, meals, and materials.
For individual players, the rewards come in handy early in the game because you can get some money and food quickly. For completionists, Addison is even more important: there are 81 sign locations. Anyone who completes all of them will receive a completion reward.
You can find all Locations here: Hudson and Addison – all signs.
Where can I find the Sage’s Will?
Sage’s Will can be found in chests on Sky Islands. There are 20 pieces in total. You can exchange four wills at a goddess statue to increase the attack power of a sage.
Since the chests are often on remote sky islands, in boss arenas or behind small puzzles, it’s worth taking a targeted route. Mapping towers, stamina, Zonai-Wing, rockets, fans and additional batteries are particularly useful.
All Locations are in our overview Location Sage’s Will.
Where is Epona?
Epona is not on the map as a normal wild horse. You can get them via suitable Link amiibo, for example amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. or Twilight Princess series. Additionally, Epona can be acquired via a Breath of the Wild savegame if she was registered there.
Epona has very good stats, but cannot be equipped with a pulling harness and cannot be improved with Mahlany. She is therefore a strong nostalgic and all-round horse, but not the most flexible horse in every category.
Find out more about amiibo rewards here: amiibos in Tears of the Kingdom.
What is the best horse?
The best horse depends on what you want. Without upgrade, Epona, Zelda’s golden horse and the special giant horses are very strong. With Mahlany you can improve many normal horses so that they end up with better overall values.
For most players, a good wild horse with high binding and later Mahlany upgrades is the best choice. Epona is comfortable and strong, but not adjustable. Giant horses appear powerful, but cannot use harnesses. Zelda’s golden horse is a very good choice early on if you complete the appropriate quest.
If you want to use a lot of horses, collect stable points. You can find the bonuses and stable benefits in our guide Stable points and loyalty bonuses.
Who is the fifth sage?
Spoiler: The fifth sage is Mineru, the sage of the spirit. You come to her via the main quest Find the Fifth Sage.
The path takes you, among other things, to the Ring Ruin, to the sky above Faron and finally to the Depths to construct a special companion. Ideally, you should only tackle this quest series after the four regional phenomena, because it is intended as a later section in terms of narrative and gameplay.
Recommended order
If you don’t know which FAQ answer will help you the most, use this order:
- Lookout Landing and unlock Paraglider.
- Activate Skyview Towers.
- Collect shrines for hearts and stamina.
- Hestu and expand weapon slots.
- Great Fairies and upgrade armor.
- Complete a regional quest, especially the Orni quest.
- Hateno Ancient Tech Lab and unlock Sensor + features.
- Master Sword via Dragon Tears or Great Deku Tree.
- Lynels, Sage’s Will, Addison and Bubbulfrog signum are specifically completed.
- Finally, tackle the fifth sage quest if it is still open.
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What is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an open-world action-adventure game from Nintendo. You play as Link, explore Hyrule, the Sky Islands and the Depths, solve shrines, collect equipment and use new abilities such as Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall.
Is Tears of the Kingdom the sequel to Breath of the Wild?
Yes. Tears of the Kingdom is the direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The action takes place again in Hyrule, but builds a new story with sky islands, Depths, Zonai technology and Ganondorf.
Do you have to have played Breath of the Wild before?
No, you can play Tears of the Kingdom without Breath of the Wild. However, many characters, places and allusions seem stronger if you know Breath of the Wild. To get started it is enough to follow the main quest via the Lookout Landing.
Which console is Tears of the Kingdom available for?
The original version was released on May 12, 2023 for Nintendo Switch. Since June 5th, 2025 there is also a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition with improved graphics, performance and additional Switch 2 functions.
Can you play Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch Lite?
Yes, Tears of the Kingdom is playable on Nintendo Switch Lite. Since the Switch Lite only offers handheld mode, you need a normal Nintendo Switch, OLED Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 for TV mode or detachable Joy-Con.
Is Tears of the Kingdom available for Nintendo Switch 2?
Yes. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition from Tears of the Kingdom has been available since June 5th, 2025. It offers, among other things, better performance, higher resolution, shorter loading times and support for ZELDA NOTES.
Do you need Nintendo Switch Online for Tears of the Kingdom?
No, you don’t need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to play normally. Nintendo Switch Online is particularly interesting for cloud saves and certain additional services. The game itself is a single player adventure.
Does Tears of the Kingdom have multiplayer or co-op?
No. Tears of the Kingdom is a purely single player game. There is no local co-op, no online multiplayer and no playable group. You control Link, but as you progress you receive support from the skills of the sages.
Is there DLC for Tears of the Kingdom?
No classic DLC was released for Tears of the Kingdom. Series producer Eiji Aonuma explained in 2023 that the team had already implemented everything they wanted to achieve for this world and story.
How big is Tears of the Kingdom download?
According to Nintendo, the Nintendo Switch version requires approximately 16.5 GB of storage space. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is larger and is around 20 GB depending on the store information.
What is the age rating of Tears of the Kingdom?
In Germany, Tears of the Kingdom is from USK from 12 years released. The USK cites fantasy violence as the reason. The rating fits the fairytale, non-realistic style of the fights.
How long is Tears of the Kingdom?
The main story takes around 50 to 70 hours, depending on how you play. If you take a lot of shrines, side quests, caves, armor and collectibles, you often end up well over 100 hours. For 100 percent, 200 hours or more are realistic.
How many shrines are there in Tears of the Kingdom?
There are 152 shrines: 120 on the surface and 32 in the sky. In Depths there are no shrines, but rather 120 roots that help reveal the underground map.
How many Korok Seed are there in Tears of the Kingdom?
In Tears of the Kingdom there are 1,000 Korok Seed. For all pocket expansions at Hestu you need 421 seeds. The remaining seeds are primarily for collectors and completionists.
How many roots are there in Depths?
In Depths there are 120 roots. Many of them lie mirror-inverted beneath shrines on the surface. This allows you to use shrines and roots as mutual search aids.
Are there classic dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom?
Yes, Tears of the Kingdom has large temples as main dungeons, including Wind Temple, Fire Temple, Water Temple, Lightning Temple and later other key story locations. They are structured more freely than many classic Zelda dungeons, but follow clear puzzle and boss structures.
Which temple order is best?
For most players, the order Rito, Gorons, Zora, Gerudo is comfortable. The Orni ability helps a lot with exploration, while the Gerudo quest and Lightning Temple are a bit more challenging.
What are the key new capabilities?
The four main new capabilities are Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall. The Autobuild will be added later, with which you can recreate constructions that have already been built.
Can you continue playing after the final boss?
Yes. After the final battle, the game resets you before the final battle and marks the score with a star. You can then continue exploring, completing quests, searching for shrines and working towards 100 percent.
Is there New Game Plus in Tears of the Kingdom?
No, Tears of the Kingdom does not have a classic New Game Plus. If you want to start from scratch, you need a new save or a different profile on the Nintendo Switch.
Can you play Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom?
No, Link is playable. Zelda is very important to the story, but she is not a playable character in the normal game.
Which version of Tears of the Kingdom is worth it?
If you play on Nintendo Switch, the normal Switch version is sufficient. If you own a Nintendo Switch 2, the Switch 2 Edition is the best version because it is technically improved and offers additional features.
Which is better: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom?
Breath of the Wild seems more reduced and more focused on discovery. Tears of the Kingdom is larger, more complex and offers significantly more systems through building, Fuse, sky and Depths. If you like freedom and creativity, Tears of the Kingdom is usually the stronger choice.
Is Tears of the Kingdom hard?
The beginning can seem difficult because weapons break and strong enemies can appear early. The game becomes much easier once you have more hearts, better armor, stronger Fuse materials and a few good cooking recipes.
What should you unlock first in Tears of the Kingdom?
Most important are Paragliders, Skyview Towers, multiple shrines for stamina and hearts, Hestu for more weapon slots and the first Great Fairy for armor upgrades. After that, Hateno Village is worth it for Purah Pad upgrades.