Highlights
- Tears of the Kingdom offers players a wide variety of devices to build and collect, including Zonai devices that can be used for traversal, combat, and solving puzzles.
- While some devices are more commonly used for specific purposes like traversal or solving puzzles, there are others that may be overlooked by players but offer unique functionalities and creative possibilities.
- Certain Zonai devices, such as the Hydrant, Cart, Stake, Stabilizer, Spring, Big Battery, Homing Cart, Beam Emitter, Hover Stone, Big Wheel, Wing, Fan, Rocket, and Steering Stick, have distinct uses and can be found in various Device Dispensers throughout Hyrule.
In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players are given materials to build all kinds of machines and Zonai devices to improve them. There are a total of 27 devices that Link can collect from various Device Dispensers found around the land, skies, and depths of Hyrule, which provide all manner of items to use as building materials for multiple uses, from traversal to combat.
While devices like Emitters, the Homing Cart, and Construct Head can be used to build intricate combat systems in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a handful of devices are more commonly used for situations like traversal or solving puzzles. These devices appear more frequently in Device Dispensers, and can often be found beside pieces of fallen sky islands or in convenient places for players to utilize.
Updated September 9, 2023 by Sophie McEvoy: Zonai Devices are one of the best additions to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and there are many of them to find. While not all devices will be useful for players during their adventure through Hyrule, there are a select few that players will find themselves using regularly to aid Link in his journey.
There are also a lot of devices that may be overlooked, which could be from players not knowing how to use them to their fullest potential or that they may not have come across them during their playthrough. Below, we have included more devices for players to experiment with, ranked by usefulness.
14 Hydrant
Hydrants are predominantly used in the Fire and Water Temples, as the water can clear away sludge and create hard igneous rock when poured onto lava. There are other ways to produce both effects with ingredients like Splash and Ice Fruit or elemental gems, but Hydrants will save players from wasting too many of them in one go.
This device can often be found on the string of islands leading up to Wellspring Island and the various rooms within the Fire Temple under Death Mountain. Capsules containing Hydrants can also be collected in Device Dispensers at the Sihajog Shrine, Ukoojisi Shrine, and Gikaku Shrine.
13 Cart
Carts are usually strategically placed next to tired Koroks that need to be transported to their friends. By attaching a Steering Stick and a Fan to a Cart, players can quickly create an easy mode of transportation over short distances. This device is also commonly found next to Wings, as it helps them to start moving on any surface. Carts can be fused to a shield, producing faster mobility while shield surfing.
Device Dispensers at the Jirutagumac Shrine, Ukoojisi Shrine, Natak Shrine, Taninoud Shrine, and Joku-u Shrine contain these valuable pieces of Zonai tech.
12 Stake
Stakes are an understated Zonai Device. These spiked objects can be sunken into surfaces either horizontally or vertically and are primarily used as footholds or foundations for objects. Once they are stuck on a surface, they won't budge.
Examples of how Stakes can be used are found in the Mayachin Shrine and Tsutsu-um Shrine, giving players an idea of what exactly they can do with them. Stakes are found in a few Device Dispensers, including inside Starview Island in the Gerudo Highlands Sky and the Rakashog and Natak Shrine.
11 Stabilizer
Each device is the focal point of at least one shrine, with the Stabilizer being the star of the show at the Makasura Shrine. Stabilizers can be a helping hand in various other situations - whether players are building things like scaffolding to help keep things upright or making two-wheeled vehicles that won’t flip over once they start moving.
Stabilizers are rarely found outside of Device Dispensers, and only a few contain them, like ones next to the Ukoojisi Shrine, Igoshon Shrine, Makasura Shrine, and Starview Island.
10 Spring
Springs are primarily used to launch Link upwards, and by stacking multiple Springs on top of one another, the height of propulsion dramatically increases. When fused to a foundation at an angle, the spring will launch Link (or enemies and items) in various directions. One of the Schema Stones given to Link includes a launchpad made in this way.
The Morok Shrine in the Lanayru Wetlands acts as a tutorial for this device, which can be found in Device Dispensers outside the Sihajog and Josiu Shrines.
9 Big Battery
Big Batteries provide Link with a massive energy boost compared to smaller Battery devices. The bigger ones are beneficial at the beginning of the game when Link doesn’t have a lot of Energy Cells on hand. This can be rectified by using Zonai Charges, but these are better saved to be used for more important things like armor upgrades and trading for items in Device Dispensers.
However, players won’t be able to find Big Batteries in Device Dispensers. Instead, they can be bought from Forge Constructs in exchange for Crystalized Charges once Link has maxed out the amount of Energy Cells he can carry.
8 Homing Cart
The Homing Cart can be overlooked compared to other devices. But those who have completed the Mayachideg Shrine will know how helpful these objects can be. When other Zonai Devices like a Beam Emitter are fused to a Homing Cart, they act as an ally in battle by aiming fused weapons at enemies and following them.
Other objects like spiked metal plates can also be attached to the Homing Cart to inflict damage or protect Link if he stands on top of the cart. The Homing Cart can be found at Device Dispensers near the Mayam, Yansamin, and Natak Shrines.
7 Beam Emitter
There are a variety of different Emitters to find in Tears of the Kingdom, but the most powerful of the bunch is the Beam Emitter. Shaped like a unicorn's head, the weapon emits a continuous laser beam rather than an element like fire or frost.
The Beam Emitter will continue to fire so long as Link has an ample amount of Energy Cells on hand to keep it powered up. The more Beam Emitters fused together, the more power players will have at their disposal. These Zonai Devices are outside the Rakashog Shrine, Yansamin Shrine, Sihajog Shrine, and Jirutagumac Shrine.
6 Hover Stone
The Hover Stone device is unique in that it can defy gravity, providing Link with a way to move items higher with the Ultrahand ability or a convenient place to ascend through. Players have found even more inventive ways to use the Hover Stone, including a cheat for helping Addison with his signs for Hudson Construction. With one or two Hover Stones, Link can keep the sign upright long enough for Addison to marvel at the Hero's creativity.
Hover Stone capsules can be found in Device Dispensers at the Igoshon Shrine, Ga-ahisas Shrine, and the Gikaku Shrine.
5 Big Wheel
Big Wheels are vital for making vehicles that need traction over harder surfaces, which Small Wheels struggle with. Big Wheels can be used to make all manner of vehicles, and by using a Portable Pot as a joint socket, players can make their creations even more flexible over rough terrain. Due to their size, these wheels can also work in shallow water.
Device Dispensers above and below ground contain Big Wheels, including the Mustis Lightroot, Kadaunar Shrine, Makasura Shrine, Left-Leg Depot, the Hudson Construction Site, and the Digdogg Suspension Bridge.
4 Wing
Link can traverse the skies in a multitude of ways, but using a Wing is by far the most convenient. The Wing device can either be used as a simple glider or as an actual aerial device by fitting it with Fans and Rockets for propulsion. A cart is needed under the Wing to get it moving if there isn’t a dedicated, grooved track or an angled surface, though. The only downside is that the Wing will disappear after one minute. However, if players have enough Wing capsules, they can produce another mid-air once the first one breaks.
Wings can be found in Device Dispensers above and below ground at the Jirutagumac Shrine, Gutanbac Shrine, Josiu Shrine, the Great Sky Island, Igoshon Shrine, Taninoud Shrine, Joku-u Shrine, Left-Leg Depot, Ganos Shrine, Ga-ahisas Shrine, and the Mayanas Shrine.
3 Fan
Fans may be one of the most frequently used Zonai devices of the bunch, but not the most useful compared to other tech. Fans are mainly brought out to propel vehicles on land, sea, and in the sky. But they can also create updrafts, clear sand, blow enemies away when fused to a shield, and solve puzzles when attached to objects. One of the most popular uses of Fans is to create an Air Bike. It can take a while to get the dimensions just right, but it’s a great way to travel without using that many parts - just two Fans, a Steering Stick, and maybe a Stabilizer.
There are plenty of Device Dispensers around Hyrule that hold Fan capsules, including the Taunhiy Shrine, Kadaunar Shrine, Jirutagumac Shrine, Gutanbac Shrine, the Great Sky Island, Nachoyah Shrine, Igoshon Shrine, Makasura Shrine, Taninoud Shrine, Joku-u Shrine, Joku-usin Shrine, and the Hudson Construction Site.
2 Rocket
Rockets are the quickest propulsion device in Tears of the Kingdom and can be used in various ways. By fusing a Rocket to a shield, players can replicate Revali’s Gale from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to get to high places or to gain essential airtime to land hits if there isn’t a draft already created by elemental effects like fire from enemies' weapons or by lighting a Hylian Pine Cone. Rockets can significantly boost any mode of transportation, propelling them further in a short space of time - particularly if Link doesn’t have that many energy cells.
Device Dispensers above and below ground house Rockets, including the Jindok Shrine, Left-Leg Depot, Ijo-o Shrine, and the Hudson Construction Site.
1 Steering Stick
Players may not realize it, but the Steering Stick is by far the most used Zonai device in Tears of the Kingdom. The Steering Stick provides accuracy when maneuvering any vehicle for long periods of time. Vehicles can be made without the Steering Stick for shorter distances, but players will often find themselves having to reposition their creation when it travels in the wrong direction or hits an obstacle.
Steering Sticks can be found in a fair amount of Device Dispensers across Hyrule and in the Depths, including the Mustis Lightroot, Mayam Shrine, Sihajog Shrine, Kumamayn Shrine, Rakashog Shrine, Joku-u Shrine, Left-Leg Depot, and the Hudson Construction Site.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.