Start by learning on Great Sky Island, follow the early main quest far enough to gain useful tools such as the paraglider and camera, then let curiosity guide your route. Tears of the Kingdom is built for player-directed exploration: rather than chasing a supposedly complete secret checklist, look closely, experiment with Link’s abilities and Zonai devices, and talk with people you meet.
Learn by exploring Great Sky Island
The opening area is a hands-on introduction, not a checklist you must clear before moving on. Nintendo’s beginner guide recommends paying attention to the surroundings, using recently acquired items and abilities to make progress, and getting information from the golem. If a path or puzzle seems unclear, inspect nearby objects and terrain, try the ability or item you just learned, and speak with the golem for guidance.
Nintendo’s early tips focus on learning the four abilities and finding the way off Great Sky Island. Take time to understand what each ability lets you do, but do not assume you need to uncover every optional discovery before leaving.
Follow the main quest for early tools, then choose your route
After the tutorial, the main quest can provide useful orientation. Play Nintendo’s post-tutorial tips identify the paraglider and camera as milestones that following the main quest can help you reach. These tools make a practical early target; once you have them, you can give more attention to whichever places or clues interest you.
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- Enhanced performance and visuals exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2.
- Explore the skies, caves, and vast lands of Hyrule in a massive open-world adventure.
- Wield new and returning abilities to craft solutions, vehicles, and weapons.
- Discover the mystery behind the spreading gloom threatening the kingdom.
- Use the ZELDA NOTES app to share, compare, and earn daily bonuses.
That is a balance, not a required route through every objective. Nintendo says each player’s exploration experience will differ, so you can use story milestones for direction without treating the main quest as the only worthwhile path.
Use a simple habit when you reach new terrain
Nintendo Support’s general play tips point to three useful ways to keep discovering: explore areas you have not visited, try Link’s abilities and Zonai devices in different ways, and talk with characters. Put them together as a quick “look, try, ask” routine:
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- Ultrahand: Using the new Ultrahand ability, Link can pick up, move, and rotate almost any object, and can even attach objects together to create bridges, vehicles, and more!
- Fuse: Magically fuse almost any object to Link’s current weapon, shield, or arrow to increase durability, damage, or even add a new effect. Experiment with lots of different combinations to come up with surprising—and sometimes hilarious—results!
- Ascend: Add a new dimension to your exploration with Ascend, which gives Link the ability to pass through solid objects above him. Rise up through ceilings, hillsides, and even certain enemies to create seemingly impossible shortcuts.
- Recall: Use Recall to make objects in motion move backward through time, letting Link ride fallen boulders skyward, recover thrown weapons, or send projectiles back where they came from.
- Look: Check nearby terrain and ask what you can reach from your current position. An unexplored path or area may offer a new lead.
- Try: Consider whether an ability, object, or Zonai device could work in a way you have not tested yet.
- Ask: Talk to characters nearby; their information may give you a direction or a clue.
This routine helps you stay alert to discoveries without implying there is one official route or a complete list of secrets that every player should follow.
Keep the sky, surface, and Depths in mind
The game’s world includes Hyrule’s land and floating islands in the sky, as described on Nintendo’s official game page. Nintendo’s beginner guide also covers exploring the Depths. Treat these as different broad spaces to keep in view as your journey unfolds; the cited beginner advice does not supply an exhaustive route or inventory of their secrets.
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What to play on
Nintendo lists The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the Nintendo Switch family of systems on its official game page. The beginner guidance does not establish that any particular accessory is needed for ordinary exploration.
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