Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

@Haru17
Huh, ok. I have about half of them (exactly 64 actually) and only came across 3- minor, moderate and major test of strength. There have been other shrines with combat but it was part of puzzles too.

I have found at least 5 reward shrines, which actually felt kinda awesome after all that work to get into themy, although there was one where I was kinda shocked dude had a chest for me cause I didn't consider it a puzzle to reach it at all.

@JaxonH I've had a couple like that. There's some that are supposed to be difficult to find and you have to follow npc clues however if your just out exploring you could just stumble on them anyway. That happened to me with one in a sandstorm. I was running from a monster and it was just there in front of me.

@Maxz I haven't done the Leviathan bones quest, because I tried taking a picture of a bile of bones west in the Tabantha Frontier, but the game didn't register them as Leviathan bones, so I assume that those weren't the right ones. I've seen the Gerudo bones on the map, and I do plan to make it to there eventually. I assumed that only those that include a skull are required for the quest. The bones in Eldin don't have the skull though, as far as I can see on my map at least..

@JaxonH There's definitely more than three. 20 sounds about right. It was a bit disappointing discovering that only about half of the shrines are actually puzzles.

@Octane
So, are they all just fighting the scout Guardian or something else? Or multiples at once?

Idk, I'd have to experience all the shrines for myself before I start judging them. As it stands I kind of like the variety because you never know what you're going to get. I've had a string of shrines where I had to solve an environmental puzzle and then was rewarded as soon as I walked in, and had only three combat shrines, but all together it makes for a nice little mixture. 20 seems like quite a bit- I must've just picked all the wrong ones or something. I hit that minor and moderate and major test of strength and it seemed like a nice self contained three-step ladder that I had finished and that was the end of it.

I guess this means I'm going to run into a string of combat shrines all in a row pretty soon here. Which... isn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it is, Idk. I imagine they had like 90-100 puzzle shrines (cause at least 55 of my 64 have been puzzles- surely there's more than just 5 more puzzle shrines left for me when I haven't unlocked a single region on the left side of the map) and then tossed in another 20 with combat and environmental puzzles to give us a few more? Who knows.

It's also worth considering the puzzles shrines that you walk in and solve instantly, like the first paraglider one or some of the box + floor switch puzzle ones.

I actually ran into a really cool shrine hiding spot / puzzle tonight while cleaning up Hebra's content where Link had to roll a snowball down a Pachinko-like slope to knock over a door gate a shrine. The shrine was that ice cube melting mechanic where you basically had to avoid the flames. However, there was one really cool puzzle at the end of it where you have to get the ice cube through a tunnel where flame jets are shooting down from the ceiling. I ended up setting the ice cube down, smacking it several times in stasis, and holding a giant metal block from the last puzzle up to the ceiling to clear its path of flames. Sounds a lot lamer when I explain it than in the moment, but hey, it was one of the ones that I had to think about like a Zelda puzzle.

Unrelated, but this game needs more instances where you have to cut down trees to solve puzzles / cross ravines. None of the rivers and canyons are narrow, is the problem. Just too big!

I'm liking the variety of Shrines. Combat ones, puzzle ones, quest-related ones. It's pretty good to me since while exploring i got to experience them in a good variety of way. It is really not bothering me at all!

@JaxonH Fighting the same mini Guardian. They swap out some of their weapons, but the rest is pretty much the same.

@Haru17 I remember thinking that using trees to cross ravines was a great idea when they showed it in the trailer. Haven't used it once in the game myself...

The more fun shrines are the ones you have to do something interesting in the overworld for. Like the White Bird shrine had me stumped when looking for it, but it was cool when I solved it. It's those types of moments that are really memorable. This game is basically built upon small moments.

@-Green- I found the white bird shrine on accident. Can you explain it to me? I inferred from dialogue that the white bird was just a metaphor, maaan.

@Octane I've used chopping down trees to climb up to a few stairless lookout platforms (but how do the bokoblins get up there tho!?). Alright, literally two lookout platforms.

Another feature I haven't played with much since I failed to sail off the Great Plateau waterfall was log buoyancy and floating down rivers on a tree — the climbing system is just a little too fiddly for Link to consistently hold onto moving objects. And I still haven't tried to level all of the destructible (small) trees in an entire forest to test the game's memory, or whatever that's called. Animals and items definitely disappear in the world way too often, so who knows how that would go.

Haha! Beat my first lynel. Perfect dodge is crucial to beating them, cause when they charge I can never seem to pull off a headshot before they charge me.

Now, about that Vah Ruta Divine Beast...

Same here

There's no need to headshot them. You can dodge and get flurry when they charge (i know it because i did it, it's pretty difficult though)

Now a little update: did some of the main quest to the Divine Beast. I did all the part from the first meeting with Goron Chief and now i have to go through Death Mountain to reach the Beast passing through the mechanical sentinels. Meanwhile i got the Dinraal Scale and did the Shrine linked to it. And at the Akkala Village to rebuild i need to find the Gerudo after i bring there the Goron

@Haru17 Basically, you go up to the top of the mountain, and look around in the general direction they told you to. Eventually you'll see a plateau area shaped like a bird with it's wing out. So you'll jump off the mountain and paraglide in that direction, until you see a faint orange glow in the belly of the bird area. Revealing that the shrine was hidden on the side of that area.

A little but nice update: i did the Divine Beast in Death Mountain and it was AWESOME!! Really nice dungeon, well designed, and boss fight satisfying to do!! It was so much fun and entertaining!! Now i want to see the Goron's Power next time i play. I turned off at the researcher point in Akkala with mats to make the first piece of Ancient Armour Set! Can't wait to get enough for the rest of the set! After it i'm going to do the zone with the Korok Forest so i can get some weapon slots since i have something like 150 Seeds to spend!

So I just saw where the Leviathan Bones are in Eldin. I can see them very clearly in Gerudo, but not sure on Hebra. Hmm.

I honestly thought theyd be around Death Mountain but hey ho.

Edit: Okay...those aren't the things I'm looking for in Eldin. Wth.

Then again in retrospect heeelllooooo

So I just came across a White-Maned Lynel...and I put up my shield in preparation...and it just watched. So I strafed around it...and just watched. Then it drew its bow...and watched. And then I got far enough away and it did nothing.

I had Daruk's Protection could that've been a factor?

Okay I lied. There is no safe distance. Don't get cosy.

@Octane It's definitely one of the hardest side quests. Or one that requires you to randomly have stumbled across them beforehand. I wouldn't have attempted it if I hadn't found two of them already. I'm glad I did though, as I discovered some some pretty great stuff in my quest to track down the third.

The Eldin one does have a head when you find it, although I think this is obscured by a giant rock when viewed on the map. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere though. Or on the edge of nowhere. Certainly nowhere near the word "Eldin" when you zoom all the way out of on your map.

As for Hebra's Leviathan, it's completely obscured. In fact, it's actually indoors. Doors! Have you spotted any big doors in Hebra? Think doory thoughts. Opening the doors is a challenge, but I think one of the best overworld puzzles in the game. It stumped me for a while, but I was so happy when I got it, so I'm happy to give door tips.

On a different topic, I think the frequency of combat trials is a legitimate complaint. Not a huge complaint, but a legitimate one. Even so, 20 sounds like a pretty big overestimate to me, as it would mean almost 7 combat shrines of each type. It could be that nearly all my remaining shrines are combat tests (in which case, frowny face), but I think I'd recall that many major tests. I remember beating the first three (in the order minor, major, moderate) and thinking they were a nice, high octane (hi Octane!) change from puzzle shrines. Then when I stumbled across a fair few more my opinion grew a little less rosy, especially when finding minor ones late in the game. The great thing about puzzles is that they're uncoupled from the game's gear or weapons system; they don't get easier or harder depending on whatever numbers Link's clothing and armoury come to when he walks in the door. In a way, they're the perfect thing to flesh out an open world with, because each can sit there, quietly maintaining its relevance until discovered and solved.

I reckon there should have been six max, but I'm reality I think there are probably between 10 and 15. When the game's done, and I'm happy to look up the shrine breakdown, I'd be curious to find out.

I am feeling a little less jaded about it than a few days ago though (not that I was super jaded). I've just had a really long run of shrines without doing one, together with some of the best puzzle shrines the game had produced (and it's produced some fantastic ones), so my current mood is actually more along the lines of, "hey man, what's the problem?", despite making the same complaint a few pages ago. Curiously, I've discovered having the Shrine Radar set to "Shrines" (rather than Blupees or Rare Ore or something) is actually quite a good way of finding shrines! I'd been doing lots of 'climb tall thing, spot shrine, head in that direction, get distracted, eventually arrive' (which I still think is a beautiful mechanic which typifies the game), but I'd overlooked how many were hidden away without actually being buried underground. I might have a go at doing all the shrines without consulting the internet, as it's looking surprisingly possible.

@Tsurii Yeah he...he did the work. Gave me the finest with those Shock Arrows. Daruk's Protection did nothing, by the way.

I'm just walking from the East Deplian Badlands, sans 1 Link reincarnation now, to head to Hebra. Going to walk it, see if I find a shrine up there.

I honestly spent all day yesterday wandering around the world not doing much outside of a few shrines.

I'll probably aim for more towers but enjoyed just messing around especially with Kilton's masks.

I just learned that the Master Sword launches a beam.
Super cool attack.