Highlights
- Money is essential in Tears of the Kingdom to purchase uncommon ingredients, rare materials, and arrows.
- General stores and traveling merchants offer a variety of merchandise in Tears of the Kingdom, and players should explore their options.
- Specific items like arrows, armor, accessories, and ingredients such as Fresh Milk, critters, and Hylian Rice are valuable and worth purchasing or farming for in Tears of the Kingdom.
Money is not an easy thing to come by in the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom. Players are going to want to make sure they have Rupees available so that they can restock on uncommon ingredients, rare materials, and of course, arrows.
8 2023 Nintendo Switch Games That Should Get Halloween DLC
With Halloween fast approaching, these 2023 Nintendo Switch games could benefit from a themed DLC.
Each general store that players will find in Tears of the Kingdom have their own merchandise. There are also traveling merchants near stables, and it won't hurt for Link to see what they have for sale. A good majority of materials/ingredients can be farmed just about anywhere, but there are a few exceptions.
Updated on October 17, 2023 by Renri Seong: Rupees are the obvious currency in Tears of the Kingdom, but there are also Poes, Zonaite, and Crystallized Charges. Link's going to need to stock up on these other "currencies" to buy the more "uncommon" items in TotK, such as Energy Wells or Ancient Blades. It's likely that most players won't have much Zonaite, Poes, etc until they're at the halfway point of their playthrough, so they'll have some time to build up a nest egg until then. The following guide has been updated to include five items that are worth buying in Tears of the Kingdom.
1 Arrows
It goes without saying why arrows are important. Players can easily burn through ten arrows in one fight - especially if they're fighting minibosses like the Gleeoks. Arrows are also the only way to use the Vow of Riju, and without it, players won't be able to call down lightning to strike their targets.
The good news is that arrows are much easier to come by in Tears of the Kingdom than they were in Breath of the Wild. Players can find at least one or two by breaking crates and barrels. However, a quicker way of getting arrows is to buy them. In Tears of the Kingdom, there's at least one merchant in each major town that sells arrows. They can be bought in bundles of five, or they can be purchased individually. Arrows also restock fairly quickly, but if players need them sooner, Beedle sells arrows albeit at a somewhat higher price than the ones found in general stores.
2 Armor (ex: Snowquill Set, Flamebreaker Set)
While more than half of the armor in TotK is found in caves or in The Depths, there are some exceptions. Armor that protects against cold weather or flames can be bought from armor shops. In fact, TotK makes it a requirement to have weather or flame protection for the Wind Temple, Gerudo Desert, and Fire Temple. Thus, players will want to save up on their Rupees and buy them whenever they're ready to take on one of the "Regional Phenomena" quests.
Usually, players will only be able to afford one piece of armor at a time. If they want, they can purchase all armor pieces to create a Set. By having a Great Fairy upgrade an Armor Set to level 2, players can use its Set Bonus. For example, upgrading and then wearing all pieces of the Snowquill Set will make LInk unfreezable, making it the ideal armor to wear when farming dragon parts from Naydra or battling Ice Gleeoks.
3 Amber Earrings (or Diamond Circlet)
In Gerudo Town, players can buy earrings. These function as "head armor," and unfortunately, they're not part of a Set Bonus. However, depending on the gems in the earrings, they can provide weather resistance, shock resistance, or increase swimming speed. Then there are the Amber Earrings and Diamond Circlet, which, when upgraded to level 4, have a max defense of 28. This makes them one of the best armor pieces in TotK. The Diamond Circlet may be preferred only for its Attack Up effect it grants Link.
The Hardest Quests in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ups the difficulty from its predecessors in a variety of ways, including offering players some challenging quest lines.
Amber Earrings are 400 Rupees (Diamond Circlet: 2400 Rupees), so they're not going to come cheap, but they're worth the purchase. They're also quite costly in terms of upgrades, so players will want to hold off on selling any Amber Ore. Although they're not part of a Set, Amber Earrings can be equipped with other high-defense armor. One recommended combination of fully upgraded armor is: Amber Earrings (28), Champion Leathers (32), and Trousers of the Wild(28). This combo carries Link's defense to 88, which is higher than level 4 armor sets, and even stronger than the Ancient Hero's Aspect.
4 Fresh Milk
Fresh Milk is difficult to come by in Tears of the Kingdom, and it's unfortunately a valuable ingredient for several recipes. For one, the only general store that sells Fresh Milk is the East Wind General Store in Hateno Village. Link can also trade 3 acorns to Dantz at Hateno's Pasture for 1 Fresh Milk. Finally, he can buy 5 Fresh Milk from a traveling merchant who walks along the road between Wetland Stable and Kakariko Village. However, acorns are a necessary upgrade material for the Armor of the Wild, and the traveling merchant is easy to miss, meaning it's better to just buy the 3 Fresh Milk from East Wind whenever it restocks.
Fresh Milk is used for several recipes that are used for upgrading horses. This means they're worth saving up until players have the necessary ingredients for Malanya. This aside, Fresh Milk is also used for the Sunny Veggie Porridge recipe, which is a meal that can cure the effects of gloom.
5 Critters (ie: Butterflies, Darners, Frogs)
Players will stumble upon many critters in their TotK journey. These can be used to cook elixirs, but most of them are used for armor upgrading and unlocking Set Bonuses. Unfortunately, critters will run away the second they spot Link, making them difficult to farm.
Beedle is the only merchant who sells critters. Some critters, like the Butterflies (ie: Smotherwing Butterflies), are sold for 10 Rupees a piece, but others like Tireless Frogs are priced at 100 Rupees a frog. While the pay may be high, buying critters from Beedle is something to keep in mind if players are struggling to farm them on their own.
6 Hylian Rice
For some reason, Hylian Rice isn't too common in Tears of the Kingdom. They could be farmed by cutting down grass in West Necluda in BotW, but they're much rarer in TotK. Fortunately, the grass near Lurelin Village yields Hylian Rice, but Lurelin Village is far from the "starting area" of TotK, so it may be a while before players can set foot on Lurelin Village's shores.
20 Best Video Game Armors
As great as video game heroes are, flesh and blood are never strong enough to finish the mission. Here are the video game armors that are iconic.
Like Fresh Milk, Hylian Rice is used in a few of the recipes for horse upgrades. Players are also going to need 20 Hylian Rice for the "Lurelin Village Restoration Project" side quest, which is highly recommended. Those struggling to farm Hylian Rice in the wild can buy it at most of the general stores for a fairly cheap price: Slippery Falcon (Rito Village), East Wind (Hateno Vilalge), Gerudo Town, Goron Gusto Shop (Goron City).
7 Goron Spice
Goron Spice is used in curry recipes such as Vegetable Curry and Herb Saute. It's also only sold in Goron City. The cost is 16 Rupees, so it shouldn't make much of a dent in the wallet. On the downside, the general store only stocks 3 at a time, and unlike the Fresh Milk, there isn't a side quest to trade items for a jar of Goron Spice.
8 Cane Sugar
Cane Sugar's another ingredient that's quite common in general stores. However, it's another ingredient that can be farmed in the wild. Cane Sugar costs 12 Rupees, and there's usually 2-3 bundles depending on the shop. It can be found at the following stores: Great Deku Tree's Navel (Korok Forest), Slippery Falcon (Rito Village), and Goron Gusto Shop (Goron City).
Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom - 10 Challenging Boss Fights
There are many enemies to defeat in the Tears of the Kingdom, but players will have to keep their guard up when going after these challenging bosses
Cane Sugar can't be cooked alone. It needs to be cooked with another (compatible) ingredient. Recipes that use Cane Sugar will generate desserts, which aren't as filling as hearty meals like Meat-Stuffed Pumpkins, but they're good to eat if Link doesn't need to recover much HP.
9 Goat Butter
Goat Butter is another common ingredient as it's sold in the general stores at Hateno Village and Kakariko Village. Like Cane Sugar, it's priced at 12 Rupees, and stores usually stock up to 5 bars of Goat Butter. The reason why players will want to buy Goat Butter is due to the amount of recipes that call for this particular ingredient.
Big meals like Salmon Meunire and Prime Meat Stew need at least one bar of Goat Butter. If players intend on stocking up on meals that restore a lot of hearts, they're going to want to make the purchase. Those that intend on upgrading their horses will need Goat Butter for dessert recipes (ie: Apple Pie and Carrot Cake).
10 Bomb Flower
The Fuse Ability in Tears of the Kingdom was the perfect excuse to do away with Fire/Ice/Shock Arrows and Bomb Arrows. While it saves on rupees, some fans weren't pleased with the replacements. Bomb Arrows in particular would have been very useful in TotK thanks to all the cavern walls that need to be destroyed. Instead of the Sheikah Remote Bombs and Bomb Arrows, TotK has a returning item from the Zelda franchise: Bomb Flowers.
The 5 Most Immersive Games To Play On The Nintendo Switch Right Now
Gamers looking for an immersive experience they can sink countless hours into need look no further than these remarkable Nintendo Switch games.
Link can find Bomb Flowers in caves, but he can also buy them from certain vendors. A Gerudo Merchant in Gerudo Town will sell 1 Bomb Arrow for 40 Rupees; she stocks a total of three. The Bargainer Statues in The Depths and the one at Lookout Landing will give Link a Bomb Flower for 16 Poes. While it's better for TotK players to get Bomb Flowers from caves, the Gerudo Merchant and the Poe Statues are a useful resource if Link has some Rupees or Poes to spare.
11 Ancient Blade
Ancient Arrows were promoted heavily in Breath of the Wild's teaser trailers, and it even serves as Link's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. These nifty weapons could take out most enemies in one hit - so long as they didn't miss. Unfortunately, the Ancient Arrows don't make a return in Tears of the Kingdom. Instead, there are Ancient Blades, which are basically the "arrowheads" from BotW's Ancient Arrows. Like everything else in TotK, Ancient Blades can be fused to arrows and weapons.
Since Ancient Blades are basically a 1HKO material, they're extremely rare. They can be found in specific areas of Hyrule in chests that are buried in the ground. Luckily, Link can buy Ancient Blades from a Construct in The Depths. Once players complete the Spirit Temple and retrieve Mineru's secret stone, they can speak to the Mining Construct in the room. They'll sell Link one Ancient Blade for 50 pieces of Zonaite. It's a heavy trade, so players may want to refrain from taking the Construct's offer until they have plenty of Zonaite on hand.
12 Monster Masks
Unlike in Breath of the Wild, Monster Masks can be traded for Bubbul Gems. Players will get the Bokoblin Mask for giving 1 Bubbul Gem to Koltin at Pico Pond Cave. From there, Koltin can be spotted in several places around Hyrule at night. He'll set up shop in his hot air balloon, and for every set of Bubbul Gems, he'll give Link a Monster Mask. There are also times when Koltin will trade Monster Parts instead, but Link will need to trade Bubbul Gems for them anyway to get all the masks.
5 Open-World Games That Excel in Mystery and Suspense
Some open-world games are home to solvable mysterious and suspense-building scenarios. Here are the best ones players can dive into.
Monster Masks are useful because they'll keep the respective monster from attacking Link (except Lynels). While they don't cost Poes or Rupees, Link still needs to "buy" them with Bubbul Gems, which are obtainable from the Bubbul Frogs in caves. They offer weak defense, but if Link needs to walk by a horde of enemies, they're good to equip. Of course, if a group of monsters consists of different species, then the ones not matching Link's mask will sound the alarm. As such, Majora's Mask may be a better option, but getting it can be quite challenging in Tears of the Kingdom.
13 Crystallized Charges
Link's Zonai Battery that he receives on the Great Sky Island in the Tutorial Mode only has three bars of energy. To expand this, he needs something called Crystallized Charges. When Link has 100 Crystallized Charges, he can bring them to the Forge Construct by the Nachoyah Shrine on the Great Sky Island. For every 100 Crystallized Charges, Link gets one Energy Well for the Zonai Battery. Right away, this should tell players that they're going to need to farm a lot of Crystallized Charges if they want to use the Zonai Devices for an extended period of time.
Unfortunately, Crystallized Charges won't drop from common enemies. Players can exchange them for 3 Zonaite at the Zonaite Mines in The Depths. They can also exchange 3 Large Zonaite for one Large Crystallized Charge. The difference between the Large and regular Crystallized Charge is their value. The Large Crystallized Charge is equivalent ot 20 charges, meaning Link will need 5 Large Crystallized Charges for 100 Crystallized Charges. There are also Huge Crystallized Charges, where once hunk is equal to 100 Crystallized Charges. However, these can't be bought and are only obtained from defeating Master Kohga or the regional bosses in The Depths. The Crystallized Charges should take priority over the previously-mentioned Ancient Blades, so trade Zonaite for Charges before Zonaite Weapons/Blades.
14 Hylian Shield
Just like in Breath of the Wild, Link can get the Hylian Shield from Hyrule Castle. This time, players will need to enter through the Castle Moat to reach the Hyrule Docks. If players take the stairs, they'll be faced with a Gloom Spawn. Defeating this will initiate a battle with Phantom Ganon. As such, it's not recommended to grab the Hylian Shield unless Link has more than three hearts and some useful weapons (and Bomb Flowers). Once they're defeated, light the center brazier surrounded by four torches. This will reveal a chest containing the Hylian Shield.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - All Of Link’s Abilities, Ranked By Utility
Link can use a total of five abilities to his advantage in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But are all of them equally useful?
The Hylian Shield has an impressive defense of 90, but that doesn't mean it's indestructible. If it breaks, players can buy it for 3000 Rupees from Cece at Hateno Village. She'll only sell Link the Shield if players have completed the "Team Cece or Team Reede?" side quest. Also keep in mind that Link can only have one Hylian Shield at a time. If he has one in his inventory, then he won't be able to purchase the Hylian Shield until his first one breaks.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.