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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |OT3| Your Free Time is Badly Damaged

tesqui

Member
Just dawned on me that a god damn launch title (and technically a port of a WiiU game?) for Nintendo Switch may very well be the peak of what the console has to offer.

I'm not saying there will be no other amazing games, but that there will be nothing that tops BOTW in terms of reception.

But who knows maybe Mario will take the thrown. And if that happens, then holy shit the FIRST YEAR of the Switch will be the best year for any console ever.
 
Hebra area was rough for me because of the poor visibility and slow movement speed. Felt like I never knew where I was going. I know the snow boots make it a little easier.

My favourite region was Akkala.

Snow boots?? Those aren't the Rito ones, are they? I don't recall them affecting speed of movement on snow...

I think they also patched out a very easy way to get star fragments.

It's definitely worth patching though for the framerate improvements in grassy areas.

I think the patch that (allegedly) affected star fragment farming came after the big update that improved​ framerate, which is the reason I still haven't updated past the performance improving patch :p

Wait...what are star fragments?

How can you have played 135 hours and think you've been all over the map (going by your repeated surprise ls at finding new stables) but not know what star fragments are? Have you found all Great Fairy Fountains? There are
4
of them. If you have but you still haven't encountered the need for star fragments then you're missing a lot of cool armor :p
 

Chauzu

Member
I haven't played this game for over a month now. I ended up beating the game 100%, except for missing two of the medallions for beating boss monsters. I don't know when the first DLC pack is coming, but I think I'll return to the game just before that. Really looking forward to the Cave of Trials: I hope they make it procedural generated to some extent, because I can see myself trying to beat that several times.
 
Snow boots?? Those aren't the Rito ones, are they? I don't recall them affecting speed of movement on snow...



I think the patch that (allegedly) affected star fragment farming came after the big update that improved​ framerate, which is the reason I still haven't updated past the performance improving patch :p



How can you have played 135 hours and think you've been all over the map (going by your repeated surprise ls at finding new stables) but not know what star fragments are? Have you found all Great Fairy Fountains? There are
4
of them. If you have but you still haven't encountered the need for star fragments then you're missing a lot of cool armor :p

Naw snow boots are different. Hang around Gerudo town to get the quest to obtain them.
 

jariw

Member
Is it me or is the Hebra area really disappointing? Like snow areas are my favorite part of Zelda games and there's very little to do there.

It's probably my favorite part of the map, since it's such a challenging and unique part of the world!

There are mini games, lots of shrines, many korok locations (some of them are pretty unique), lots of places for mining and finding treasures, many small (and big) secrets and discoveries, some really hidden overworld bosses, and so on, but probably most importantly: best place for hunting meat for rupees/health in the whole game.

For me, using the map for navigation is essential in Hebra.

451 korok seeds now. I think I'm going to farm some Lynels for upgrade parts and then take on Ganon.

Is it 451 or 441 where the max stash is reached?
 
Snow boots?? Those aren't the Rito ones, are they? I don't recall them affecting speed of movement on snow...



I think the patch that (allegedly) affected star fragment farming came after the big update that improved​ framerate, which is the reason I still haven't updated past the performance improving patch :p



How can you have played 135 hours and think you've been all over the map (going by your repeated surprise ls at finding new stables) but not know what star fragments are? Have you found all Great Fairy Fountains? There are
4
of them. If you have but you still haven't encountered the need for star fragments then you're missing a lot of cool armor :p

Yes I found all fairies but haven't seen or found any star fragments, wtf?!?!?!?
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
How can you have played 135 hours and think you've been all over the map (going by your repeated surprise ls at finding new stables) but not know what star fragments are? Have you found all Great Fairy Fountains? There are
4
of them. If you have but you still haven't encountered the need for star fragments then you're missing a lot of cool armor :p

Yes I found all fairies but haven't seen or found any star fragments, wtf?!?!?!?

Strength of the game right here, big differing experiences from player to player.

I myself had all the fragments I'd ever need long before I ever found fairy 4.
 
Yes I found all fairies but haven't seen or found any star fragments, wtf?!?!?!?

They fall from the sky at night just like a shooting star/meteor, and when they hit the ground they leave a vertical shaft of light to help you locate them. They usually fall pretty far away from your location, and you need to retrieve them before 5:00AM or they disappear. So it's best to try to look where it fell with the scope and place a marker on the map, then warp to the nearest location and run as fast as you can towards them (the stealth armor night set bonus helps here).

People farm them by camping at Dueling Peaks summit and watching the night sky until they see one fall, then go to retrieve it, and repeat the process. The idea is to be at a high elevation so you can more easily see exactly where it fell. If you're on low ground and it falls behind a hill or a mountain it's very hard to know where it is exactly (in order to fast travel closer to it).

The first time I saw one fall I thought it was just a cosmetic effect and I thought it was neat. My mind was blown when I later learned that you can collect them.

They are rare but if you pay a little more attention to the horizon/sky when exploring at night, you should see one. Sometimes I don't see it fall from the sky but I see the column of light it left behind, so keep an eye out for a thin yellow column of light in the distance.
 

jariw

Member
When all photos were collected (well, bought, in my case) I got a reward. It seems that I should do something with that reward? Without spoiling anything, could I use that reward for something in the game? Yes or no?
 

piggychan

Member
what do you do with this ? apart from the normal horsey stuff..

DBZa2z4VoAICmeu.jpg:large
 
They fall from the sky at night just like a shooting star/meteor, and when they hit the ground they leave a vertical shaft of light to help you locate them. They usually fall pretty far away from your location, and you need to retrieve them before 5:00AM or they disappear. So it's best to try to look where it fell with the scope and place a marker on the map, then warp to the nearest location and run as fast as you can towards them (the stealth armor night set bonus helps here).

People farm them by camping at Dueling Peaks summit and watching the night sky until they see one fall, then go to retrieve it, and repeat the process. The idea is to be at a high elevation so you can more easily see exactly where it fell. If you're on low ground and it falls behind a hill or a mountain it's very hard to know where it is exactly (in order to fast travel closer to it).

The first time I saw one fall I thought it was just a cosmetic effect and I thought it was neat. My mind was blown when I later learned that you can collect them.

They are rare but if you pay a little more attention to the horizon/sky when exploring at night, you should see one. Sometimes I don't see it fall from the sky but I see the column of light it left behind, so keep an eye out for a thin yellow column of light in the distance.

Wow.....I know what I'm going to do tonight :D
 

jariw

Member
what do you do with this ? apart from the normal horsey stuff..

DBZa2z4VoAICmeu.jpg:large

Use it, even though you can't register it. :) It's the "horse" with the best stats in the whole game. Endless stamina and best navigation.

It's not part of any sidequest or such things, but take a picture of it and read the description.
There's some hints there regarding the tribute for that creature and the location it's found at.
 
I ran out of stamps that I can add to the map! I didn't know there was a limit of 100 until I hit it. Gonna start deleting those those cooking pot stamps that I added... I like to leave stamps for things like: world bosses, ore caves, korok puzzles that I didn't know how to solve, strong or rare weapons, areas of particular interest that I haven't explored to come back to... and cooking pots, which I don't really need since you only need one and there are many I can fast travel to.
 

suracity

Member
So after 105 hours I beat the game, 87 shrines, 214 seeds, all the memories and fed so many dogs, cooked all kinds of food, watched sunrise, watched sunset. Loved all the champions, Mipha is the purest cinnamon roll and Daruk's music is just simply perfect.

And I still don't have the hood. How can I miss it when everyone seems to have it?...
 

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
So after 105 hours I beat the game, 87 shrines, 214 seeds, all the memories and fed so many dogs, cooked all kinds of food, watched sunrise, watched sunset. Loved all the champions, Mipha is the purest cinnamon roll and Daruk's music is just simply perfect.

And I still don't have the hood. How can I miss it when everyone seems to have it?...

Buy it in the clothing store
 

Red

Member
In addition to being a tribute, Satori mountain feels like the top secret area from super Mario world. You can keep returning to stock up on a bunch of varied supplies. There are like 200 apples in one orchard.
 
I moved recently and got really swamped with work so I ended up taking like a 2 month break from the game and its crazy how it just pulls me back in and have me feeling the way I did back in March.

I finally got all 120 shrines and I have just 2 more quests left to complete. I went ahead and completed all the memories and I love just every cutscene in this game. I felt like I was floating when I heard the Zelda theme during the
final memory
.
Zelda awakens her powers and gains an immeasurable amount of confidence while the Zelda theme slowly kicks in
...duuuuuuuude.

I love the music in Hyrule Castle. The entire section has such a great atmosphere. It's also ridiculously freakin huge and I'm enjoying exploring every little bit of it. Gonna wrap up these quests soon and I can finally go after Ganon.
 

DirtyLarry

Member
Just my weekly or so post to say how damn brilliant this game is, how I am even more into it than I was last week, and how I am still of the belief it may be the best game I have ever played in my 35 years of gaming. Just beat my first Divine Beast actually earlier today. Hot damn what a game.
 
Just my weekly or so post to say how damn brilliant this game is, how I am even more into it than I was last week, and how I am still of the belief it may be the best game I have ever played in my 35 years of gaming. Just beat my first Divine Beast actually earlier today. Hot damn what a game.

Can't say I've been gaming for 35 years but it's very close to that, and yes I think this is the best game I've ever played. It's mind blowingly good.
 
Just my weekly or so post to say how damn brilliant this game is, how I am even more into it than I was last week, and how I am still of the belief it may be the best game I have ever played in my 35 years of gaming. Just beat my first Divine Beast actually earlier today. Hot damn what a game.


It's easily the game that has me deeply in love with it since at least red dead redemption.
 

Mediking

Member
So after 105 hours I beat the game, 87 shrines, 214 seeds, all the memories and fed so many dogs, cooked all kinds of food, watched sunrise, watched sunset. Loved all the champions, Mipha is the purest cinnamon roll and Daruk's music is just simply perfect.

And I still don't have the hood. How can I miss it when everyone seems to have it?...

What hood? What sister village???
 

piggychan

Member
I love the music in Hyrule Castle. The entire section has such a great atmosphere. It's also ridiculously freakin huge and I'm enjoying exploring every little bit of it. Gonna wrap up these quests soon and I can finally go after Ganon.

I haven't been back in there since Calamity Ganon got slain but just a while ago sneaked back in and explored a bit more..

DBcKeKYUwAAVBs6.jpg:large
 

DirtyLarry

Member
Can't say I've been gaming for 35 years but it's very close to that, and yes I think this is the best game I've ever played. It's mind blowingly good.
I actually round it off to 35 years but it is more like 37. I am 42 now and my father when I was 4 purchased the Pong Home Console and then shortly thereafter an Atari (which looking back is funny, as by the time I was around 14 he was that typical father asking me why I was wasting my time on video games when he was the reason I was so interested). So it was pretty much over for me at a young age. I never stopped gaming seriously after the Atari, and I consider myself extremely, extremely fortunate for this fact.

I have grown up with video games in every sense of the phrase. They have grown right along with me. I basically feel the same way about BOTW I felt about 2 other games in my life... Pitfall and Super Mario 64. I do not think it is a coincidence 2 of the 3 games that just have totally engrossed me are developed by Nintendo either. When they nail it, they absolutely and utterly nail it.

It's easily the game that has me deeply in love with it since at least red dead redemption.
That is a great way to put it. It has made me love video games again. I have to admit it has been quite some time for myself that I have felt this way. Possibly since Half Life 2. I have enjoyed plenty of other games, but I have not been so engrossed as I have been with BOTW. Being engrossed is one thing though. However feeling that they have literally thought through everything is a whole other level. The game just feels so refined, as if every little detail has been addressed. It is absolute perfection, and I just have not felt that strong about any other game.

I will end by saying my wife was out all day today. There have been plenty of times in our 14 years together I have had the day to myself. I cannot recall a single one when I played just one game and did not even think about maybe I should play something else or that I started to get a little burned out. 8 or so hours today and I was not happy I had to stop when she got home. Just amazing.
 

Red

Member
At 477 koroks. 62 shrines complete, many more activated but not yet finished. I am going to tidy up my unfinished shrines, upgrade my barbarian armor, and then fight the Ganons.

Playing the game as I have has sometimes been frustrating. I've had to look up solutions to several problems simply because the game sometimes halts your progress unless certain story requirements have been met. For example, when I ran into Loone, who triggers the Guardian Slideshow quest, I received no indication of what to do. I did not have the camera, and so the quest could not be activated. But the game does not say there is a requirement missing. It simply loops Loone's dialogue. This was totally inexplicable to me. I wasted a lot of time exploring surrouding areas and all the nearby stables, hoping to set off a shrine quest that would trigger Loone to do something besides caress the orb. Eventually I looked up what to do and discovered I was missing a camera rune for the sheikah slate. I didn't know that was even a thing.

Earlier, I wasted a dozen hours trying to get dragons to spawn. But they don't spawn until progress has been made in the main quest. So those shrine quests that require dragon scales are impassable for me.

I say this to note the openness of the game has been slightly exaggerated. It still gates content behind story progress, but it does not signal this is so. It can be incredibly frustrating to try to solve puzzles in futility, because some arbitrary story milestone has not been passed.

Maybe my expectations were misplaced. I thought the game would be truly open once I left the plateau. While the landscape is open, not all the content is.
 

jariw

Member
Maybe my expectations were misplaced. I thought the game would be truly open once I left the plateau. While the landscape is open, not all the content is.

As I've said before in this thread, IMO the main story should be followed up to the
first lab
. That's the chain of instructions that originates from the old man on the plateau.

There is content that are gated behind certain events. Some of the most rewarding quest chains in the game are, for example.
 

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
Earlier, I wasted a dozen hours trying to get dragons to spawn. But they don't spawn until progress has been made in the main quest. So those shrine quests that require dragon scales are impassable for me.
I swear you've been miffed about this since day 1 and you're still at it.
If there was 0 progression in the world, it sure would get stale.
 
At 477 koroks. 62 shrines complete, many more activated but not yet finished. I am going to tidy up my unfinished shrines, upgrade my barbarian armor, and then fight the Ganons.

Playing the game as I have has sometimes been frustrating. I've had to look up solutions to several problems simply because the game sometimes halts your progress unless certain story requirements have been met. For example, when I ran into Loone, who triggers the Guardian Slideshow quest, I received no indication of what to do. I did not have the camera, and so the quest could not be activated. But the game does not say there is a requirement missing. It simply loops Loone's dialogue. This was totally inexplicable to me. I wasted a lot of time exploring surrouding areas and all the nearby stables, hoping to set off a shrine quest that would trigger Loone to do something besides caress the orb. Eventually I looked up what to do and discovered I was missing a camera rune for the sheikah slate. I didn't know that was even a thing.

Earlier, I wasted a dozen hours trying to get dragons to spawn. But they don't spawn until progress has been made in the main quest. So those shrine quests that require dragon scales are impassable for me.

I say this to note the openness of the game has been slightly exaggerated. It still gates content behind story progress, but it does not signal this is so. It can be incredibly frustrating to try to solve puzzles in futility, because some arbitrary story milestone has not been passed.

Maybe my expectations were misplaced. I thought the game would be truly open once I left the plateau. While the landscape is open, not all the content is.

And have you still not found Hestu to upgrade your inventory? I recall you saying that before, and it blows my mind. I hated having to give up weapons and shields that I liked earlier in the game until I expanded my inventory... playing as long as you have with zero upgrades sounds like torture to me.
 

jariw

Member
I started on launch day and just beat Ganon yesterday.
I'm stunned and completely in awe of the journey I've just been on and the artistic achievement I've been witness too.
Masterpiece.

I played pretty comprehensively across 240 hours and I'm just now jumping into online information (I've been on a blackout since this game was at E3 last year) to see what I've missed.

I have completed/collected:
- All Main Quests, Shrine Quests + Side Quests
- All Memories
- All Shrines
- All Compendium Entries
- All Medal of Honour's
- All Armour, Equipment + Horse Gear
- All Armour + Equipment is fully upgraded
- Storage is fully upgraded

- I finished with 480-ish Korok Seeds and my map completion is 60-something%

On top of all the above I also did fun stuff like: played every mini-game repeatedly, befriended all dogs, have all Champion and Ancient gear in my inventory, took selfies with bosses, etc.

Except for finding all Korok Seeds and getting 100% map completion (both of which I'll save for the DLC) does anybody know anything I've missed?
I'm actually sad at the thought of putting the game down, it's consumed most of my free time for three months now. Seems weird to have to stop playing :lol

Loot all the shrine chests (so the chest icon is displayed) is the only completionist thing that comes to mind.
 
What the hell.

I still have a couple regions unexplored but I never saw that before. Where is that?

Surely you've seen a glowing green light on top of
Satori
Mountain? It's visible from far and wide places when the event is happening. You need to get there while it's on.
 

jariw

Member
Question: Is it possible to play any other Zelda game for nearly as long time as BotW? The earlier (linear) Zelda games I've played 100% has been around 70 hours, and after that there hasn't been any point in returning to the game. In BotW, there's absolutely no problem spending 200+ hours in the game and still explore new things.
 

ChuyMasta

Member
Does anyone know how to destroy the malice connecting the observation room in Hyrule Castle with the West passage?
It is the only thing in the way I cant figure out. That particular malice, once destroyed, would connect the west and east inner castle!
So frustrating


Edit: I googled it and there was another person asking the same in a different board. The thread was unanswered.

I mean, you can exit the observation room and jump west towards another entrance....but still, that malice is just in the way
 

Red

Member
I swear you've been miffed about this since day 1 and you're still at it.
If there was 0 progression in the world, it sure would get stale.
It's morphed into a test to see how much of the game is inaccessible until after the first meeting with Impa. I'm not going to see her until I finish everything else (except for whatever shrines I won't be able to, due to restrictions).

I don't agree with your sense of progression. My progression has come from overcoming barriers by growing more skillful, and discovering new things. I've progressed the whole while.

I don't see how your statement on progress even makes sense, when the game has been celebrated for setting the player free almost from the start. How many times has the point been made that it provides everything you need at the beginning, and that nothing is out of reach once you leave the Plateau? I tested that hypothesis. It's not entirely correct.

As I've said before in this thread, IMO the main story should be followed up to the
first lab
. That's the chain of instructions that originates from the old man on the plateau.

There is content that are gated behind certain events. Some of the most rewarding quest chains in the game are, for example.
I don't have a problem with quests being locked behind certain event triggers. I admit it was a little frustrating struggling to and mounting the divine beasts only to find they can't be entered until certain conditions are met, but it's not the gateway itself that frustrates me. It's the illusion that they (and other things, like the Guardian Slideshow quest I mentioned) are accessible, when they are not. Why can't I be notified I have not yet found everything necessary to begin or complete the quest? I don't buy that this goes against the game's ethos—for example, there is a Gerudo quest called The Perfect Drink that requires the player to find something called Noble Pursuit to give to a thirsty Gerudo who is collapsed over a shrine pedestal in the desert. Interaction with this Gerudo generates the shrine quest whether or not the player even has access to the area where Noble Pursuit is found. It even marks the shrine's location on your map, as an orange triangle. Why can't this happen for other quests as well?

Another example of a roadblock: I lit all the blue torches around the Akkala lab, and tried to light the furnace directly outside. It does not light. There is no torch there (I did not even know there was supposed to be, until I saw my brother play his game and noticed one where in my game there is nothing). Inside the lab, a journal makes clear that this is exactly the thing you need to do. I thought maybe I had to bring something from the Hateno tech lab, so I went there next. No one there does anything significant until you meet Impa. The entire sequence is blocked off until main story progress has been made.
And have you still not found Hestu to upgrade your inventory? I recall you saying that before, and it blows my mind. I hated having to give up weapons and shields that I liked earlier in the game until I expanded my inventory... playing as long as you have with zero upgrades sounds like torture to me.
I've been thinking as I play, I would prefer actually to have less weapon inventory. It's very generous even from the start. I have weapons I haven't touched for dozens of hours. I think two or three slots would have been preferable to start with. Even to complete the game with. Usually I don't have more than two or three actively used weapons, anyway. The rest are situational, like elemental rods or tree branches.

None of this is to say I don't like the game. I think it is probably the best game I have played, and I've been in this thing since the NES. But certain imposed restrictions have been overlooked or missed by critics and the community at large. I can't be the only one to ask, "what happens if you play through it all backwards?" And the answer to that is, "you will be blocked from significant encounters and unable to access several overworld shrines until the very end of your journey."
 

bjork

Member
How many times has the point been made that it provides everything you need at the beginning, and that nothing is out of reach once you leave the Plateau? I tested that hypothesis. It's not entirely correct.

Did someone from Nintendo say that specifically, or did people just throw around a more vague claim without checking it out first? I just remember the big thing being that you could go beat Ganon directly after the Plateau, which is indeed possible.
 

Red

Member
huh weird, pretty sure you can see the dragons from the plateau way before impa
I've seen others make that claim. I don't think it is true. Someone else can tell test it themselves by creating a new account. No dragons have spawned in my game and I've been playing well over 100 hours. I get thunderstorms around Lake Hylia dense enough and at the right times so it seems the dragon should appear, but he never does. I've tested this with two games running side by side, and following the same path in each.
Did someone from Nintendo say that specifically, or did people just throw around a more vague claim without checking it out first? I just remember the big thing being that you could go beat Ganon directly after the Plateau, which is indeed possible.
I don't think Nintendo ever stated that. It's something others have run with.
 
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