Returning to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[jon bones]

I loved Breath of the Wild at launch, but never beat it. I got to the 4th Beast, and sort of got side tracked and distracted...

I want to return but am overwhelmed - any tips?


Part of me thinks I should buy the DLC so I have a fresh questline to start and a dope motorcycle to drive around in.

I know I'll at least need to look up the controls again to remember how to actually play...

 

[Nocturnowl]

Well that motorbike is the end of DLC reward which requires a lot of world travel so I wouldn't hedge your bets on it.

Still if you've returned knowing that you were at the fourth beast, well I guess that narrows things down pretty easily, you can do that, then either head to the castle or go wandering elsewhere on the map you haven't explored

 

[Renna Hazel]

If you're at the 4th beast then you're close to finished. You can shrine/korok hunt or fight Ganon. You shouldn't need to relearn much other than the controls and your spells.

 

[Lumination]

Solution to feeling overwhelmed: get on your horse (if you remember how to), pick a direction, and go. You'll find something interesting and let it take you from there.

 

[NotLiquid]

I mean this in the most sincere way possible; take it easy and leave caution to the wind.

As someone who similarly struggles with the feeling of being overwhelmed after returning to an open world game, the great thing about BOTW is that its structure should actively discourage you to feel like you need to get back on track. You've only got one main quest to complete, if you want to start exploring key points on your map you haven't visited before doing so, then do that. Maybe complete a few shrines. Check through your Sheikah Slate to see if you haven't done all memory spots yet. You'll be back in the saddle before too long and back to setting your own goals.

 

[RisingStar]

Just need to beat the beast and explore a bit. Honestly, by now you'll have more powerful enemies spawning, so you'll get better weapons and items at least. Hyrule Castle isn't "easy", so definitely take your time and explore before jumping back immediately to fight Ganon.

Personally, I'd go get Zelda's Memories too, if you don't feel like re-doing the whole Castle and Ganon again.

 

[Quinton]

Definitely grab the Expansion Pass. It's solid new content and a good deal of it at that.

 

[JimNastics]

Definitely grab the Expansion Pass. It's solid new content and a good deal of it at that.

Click to shrink...

100% agree with that, get the DLC and it'll give the game a new lease of life for you when you jump back in. I would personally suggest not going straight for the 4th beast and on to completion, but get the DLC or at least do some of the side quests to settle back and start enjoying it again. There is so much to love about this game, it should never become a chore.

 

[Deleted member 11637]

I need to get back to my Master Mode save; it forces you to play much more strategically, especially with weapon degradation and the way enemies "level up" as you keep killing them. And seeing a Lynel on the Sacred Plateau was a real "holy shit" moment.

 

[Magnus]

This thread is timely -- I randomly felt the urge to re-buy the game yesterday when I saw the digital promo for more gold coins, and I've had eshop credit sitting around forever.

I only ever beat one beast back in 2017, and played the game for like 40h and felt so overwhelmed. Open-world and I didn't agree back then, but I feel more open (lol) to the idea now, so here I go.

But yeah. I'm overwhelmed again, and I've barely even started! I've forgotten so much of the game in the last four years. I just opened up the very first tower on the Great Plateau, and the old man in the shroud has pointed me to a volcanic looking structure to go get a treasure for him. It's been years, but I think this is the first of the many mini-dungeon/shrines in the game, right?

I'd be super welcoming of any tips and general things to do to not be so overwhelmed by the game. A good path to follow as the game truly begins to open up to me. Any big do's and do-not's?

Also, I have all the DLC (I impulse-bought when I thought I was returning to the game in 2019, and never actually did, lmao) -- does that mean I have instant bonuses I can unlock and use at the start of the game now?

 

[Uncle Squingis]

Do the quest where you set all the butterflies in Hyrule on fire. The reward is really good I promise.

 

[jon bones]

Thanks! I'm excited to dig back in, hopefully will find some time tonight

 

[ghibli99]

For me, just running around, exploring, and letting things come back to me naturally was the best way. Doing this right now with Xenoblade Chronicles X, which kind of has that same vibe of just letting things occur naturally through exploration, even though I had no idea what I was doing a couple months ago from when I originally dropped it.

 

[Phendrift]

This is the game you should feel least overwhelmed with. Just fiddle around with the controls until you get the hang of them again, then explore. There's no wrong way to go. If you wanna go to the main quest, it already should be marked or open the quest menu and Mark it

 

[SnakeXs]

Just jump in. Load up a save, look around, find something interesting on the horizon and go. You know the basics, because they're largely natural. Fire burns, metal is magnetic, if you're cold warm up, etc. It'll come back to you, you'll feel like an adventurer getting your bearings again. There's no wrong way, everything is learning and rewards, literal and figurative, are around every proverbial corner.

 

[Ernest]

Just jump back in and fool around - that should be enough.
But, IMO, the DLC was not worth it.

 

[Aether]

Replayed it countless times. Last month replayed the terry town questline (someone in the nintendo OT said i should do it =P), ...and then just started to do the rest till i realized that im an evening away from finishing it once again (ok, not all shrines, but around 60).

The DLC... its rather simple:
did you like the shrines, and wanted more of the good ones?
The DLC is exactly that. A view more memories to see,
some of the best shrines, a dungeon. If you expect something fresh...eh, not so much. Mastermode is ... not really that fun in my opinion. The sword quest can be fun...but i found it more frustrating then the island ever was.
Probably because eventide gave you the option to scout different part, so if you had to restart, just look up the area/part you did not have a strategy. The Trial of the sword lets you do the boring rooms at the start, again, which does not tay you mentaly so its just replayign stuff you already know how to do.

Overall, its great shrine design with a few hours added to the game with that, and probably the best boss battle in the game. if thats what you want, yeah, shure, worth it. (Also it adds 3 QoL items that should have been in the base game if you ask me...)

 

[AIan]

After finishing it a week ago, I'm definitely missing it. I wanna jump back into it but at the same time don't wanna.

 

[dreamlongdead]

I'm in a similar situation as OP.

Played 35 hours and beat Thunderblight Ganon. Still had a lot more to do and planned on beating it, but never actually went back.

I even made a LTTP for the game and highly praised it. It's definitely on my to-do list.

 

[TaterTots]

I've been told countless times that you can go fight Ganon at any time and technically "beat the game." Just load it up and explore until you're ready to do so.

 

[TΛPIVVΛ]

This thread just reminded me I need to go back and revisit BoTW I finished everything but doing the last dlc with the bike reward I think did the dlc prior so maybe a hood time this month to revisit one of my games of the gen again before MH Rise comes

 

[jon bones]

god this game is just Magic isn't it

i am up to the boss in the 4th Beast (Thunderblight Ganon) but i took some time to explore and get my combat skills back up before trying him again