The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterclass in open-world game design, which proved that Nintendo was the master of their craft once again. The incredible amount of player freedom in the game coupled with the unique immersive sim-like elements made it one of the most reactive video game worlds in recent memory. It's easy to see why the six-year wait for Tears of the Kingdom was so torturous, given that there's really nothing like Breath of the Wild out there.
However, for all the achievements this video game should be lauded for, Breath of the Wild isn't immune to criticism. The main story itself can be slightly underwhelming, but what most people consider to be worse is the phoned-in side quests that can be quite uninspiring when compared to the rest of this wonderful experience. These requests often involve tedious fetch quests, annoying challenges, and unclear objectives that can make them quite a pain to complete.
10 The Lost Pilgrimage
"The Lost Pilgrimage" is the first thing that comes to mind when players talk about mediocre quests in Breath of the Wild. This shrine quest involves players sneakily following Oaki as he makes his way to a shrine, stubborn about not wanting any help in his "pilgrimage."
That being said, Oaki is pretty vigilant and can spot the player if they make a single mistake. This sneaking around makes for a tedious and boring time, funneling players into a single path towards a solution as opposed to the freedom with which it approached other challenges.
9 Under A Red Moon
There are many shrine quests in Breath of the Wild that requires players to use their heads and apply creative solutions to get the job done. "Under a Red Moon" is not one of them. The mechanic to unlocking this shrine is simple — players just need to wait for a Blood Moon to unlock the entrance. It's one of the most tedious, unfair, and random challenges that players can deal with!
8 Robbie's Research
"Robbie's Research" is a side quest with one of the most annoying tasks that players ideally need to complete if they want access to great equipment and armor. Players need to bring a blue flame from the Ancient Furnace back to the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab.
It may sound like a simple request but is a significantly trickier task when players peruse the many obstacles that stand in their way. They can be accosted by enemies, doused by rain, or fall off the beaten path and lose the torch's flame, forcing them to go all the way back and do the same thing all over again.
7 Special Delivery
"Special Delivery" is one of the most tedious quests that players can attempt in the game. It starts at the Bank of Wishes, where a young Zora requests Link to help him deliver a letter safe and sound.
This request sounds simple enough...until players realize what the quest entails. Players have to chase a fragile piece of paper down a stream and take out any obstacles in the way, featuring everything from wooden blockades to aggressive enemies!
6 Rushroom Rush!
"Rushroom Rush!" is one of the most mind-numbing quests in the game, and downright torturous if players decide to take this request seriously. It's given by Pirou at the Gerudo Canyon Stable, asking Link if he could get a certain number of Rushrooms back to get a Diamond in exchange.
It sounds simple enough...until players realize that the total number of Rushrooms they need to bring back is a whopping 55 units! This grind is simply not worth the reward, and players are just better off ignoring this request altogether.
5 The Weapon Connoisseur
"The Weapon Connoisseur" is a boring side quest, with nothing special about it. All Link has to do is bring different weapons for a child named Nebb in Hateno Village, who gets amazed by Link's array of weaponry.
However, he only recognizes a specific set of weapons, which can be quite annoying for players who thought this child would be more reactive to their gear. This annoying quest hurts even more since it could've actually been interesting if Nebb recognized more than just eight measly super-specific weapons.
4 The Jewel Trade
Fetch quests are the bane of every gamer's existence, and it's a shame that Breath of the Wild couldn't avoid this curse either. "The Jewel Trade" is one of many phoned-in side quests where players need to get a set of gems that they can sell for a marginally higher amount to Ramella in Goron City.
Not only is this area a pain to explore because of the heat, but the rewards aren't worth making this trek every single time players have a stash of jewels. Selling them normally or saving them for armor upgrades is the best course of action to take instead.
3 Zora Stone Monuments
The quest where players have to find various stone monuments scattered around Zora's Domain is a frustrating quest for obvious reasons. While the world design of Breath of the Wild is certainly impressive, it's still a task to try to find all the Zora stone monuments if players don't have a basic idea of where they already are.
This leads to clueless players aimlessly wandering this region to find the monuments, which is far from a satisfying way to play the game. Most people would just give up on this task and roam around the world like always, which is fair.
2 A Wife Washed Away
It seems that Zora's Domain is a hub for the bulk of Breath of the Wild's worst side quests. Another example of the same is "A Wife Washed Away," which is frustrating for an entirely different reason.
The start of the quest makes it seem like a person's wife is in danger or has suffered a brutal fate. However, when players go to the area where said wife disappeared, it turned out that she was swimming without any knowledge that her husband was worried! It's a pointless quest with a forgettable narrative that does nothing to highlight Breath of the Wild's strengths.
1 Divine Beast Vah Naboris
Most people would surmise that this quest makes the list because of the nightmare that is Thunderblight Ganon. While he's arguably the hardest boss in the game, there's no denying that the challenge is still fair and creative, requiring players to throw everything in their arsenal at him to come out victorious.
However, the worst part in this main quest is easily the part where players have to infiltrate the Yiga Clan Hideout. The challenge feels downright forced, with the Yiga Blademasters one-shotting the player regardless of their equipment and cheapening the progress players have made somewhat.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, are both playable on the Nintendo Switch.