Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

@VoidofLight Sure, they're not hard for an experienced player who has already done them once but then again nothing much in the game is. Still, I recall failing the stealth one many times before I'd got a grip on the mechanics, and you've got to decypher the cryptic hint to even know that you've got to follow the metal balls in the other one. Oh, and good luck solving the puzzle in the shrine next to the Deku tree without looking it up on the internet.

Anyway, I'm sure we can agree that there are much easier pickings to be found in the Eldin region.

@Matt_Barber I mean, I didn't do them in my first playthrough, but I got every one except for the Shrine next to the Deku Tree.

@Eel Hmm, coulda sworn it was like "The heroes trials" or something like that, and that they only recognized you as the hero after you pulled the sword
@Matt_Barber Oh my gosh the stealth one got on my nerves when I first did it, and the Deku Tree shrine got me too

@FroZtedFlakerZz You're probably combining it with the trials of the master sword, from the DLC.

The ones around the forest are know as "The Korok Trials".

@Eel I just looked it up and yeah you have to have "The Hero's Sword" main quest complete to trigger it
Edit: I was mixing up the name at first though lol, but yes for the Korok Trials you must have the master sword

@FroZtedFlakerZz I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. You can even do the trials before even starting the "The Korok Trials" quest itself.

Could offer a link to read your source?

"To obtain this Side Quest, you need to have finished the Main Quest The Hero’s Sword. By finishing this Side quest, you will obtain Big Hearty Truffles x3.
To begin the Quest, look for Chio inside the Korok Forest, it is close to the entrance which directs to the local shops.
He will ask you to partake of Three Trials namely: The Lost Pilgrimage, Trial of Second Sight, and finally The Test of Wood. Bear in mind that these happen to be Shrine Quests." (samurai-gamers.com)
https://samurai-gamers.com/legend-zelda-breath-wild/korok-tri...

@Eel Oh okay, it must just be incorrect then, I thought I remembered that, it does make more sense for it not requiring the sword since it'd be 4 shrines, so that makes sense, I was just getting mixed up I guess

@FroZtedFlakerZz Looks more like that page just got it wrong, no worries.

The quest actually has different dialogue depending on whether or not you have sword. So that could cause confusion too, I suppose.

@Eel One of the things I love so much about the game, different things however small they may be change the conversation
Like carrying a blue flame in Hateno and talking to people, I always thought that was cool
That sword quest does line up with their "Do whatever you want!" advertising too, helpful to know you can get a full heart there too beforehand.

Sorry, I am so lost lol.

So can I try and get the sword without having 13 hearts then?

@Pizzamorg You need 13 (real, non-temporary) hearts to pull it out of the pedestal.

You can find it, and explore the forest (and complete the shrines there) at any point.

There are glitches that let you pick up the sword without 13 hearts, so technically you don't have to.

In practice though, yeah, get 13 hearts first. If you've picked up stamina upgrades instead they can be traded for hearts using the horned statue in Hateno village. You can trade them back when you've got the sword.

@Pizzamorg Yeah sorry heh, if you try without 13 hearts the deku tree should stop you from what I remember, and if you try again you straight up die, so yes you need 13 hearts (not yellow ones from food either)

@Matt_Barber The campfire glitch is so funny, I just love hearing the little pick up noise and then duh-nuh-nuh-nuhHHHHH

Alright, based on this I abandoned the forest and I have started making progress over at Death Mountain, instead. Bought two pieces of the fire set, they make me super fragile in combat because they are non upgraded but protect me from the elements. I am hoping I can take one piece off once I get inside the Divine Beast. I probably could upgrade them, but I dunno whether it is worth the effort, given I will never be wearing this set again probably once I clear this beast. I did also clear a couple of shrines while I was here, so I am on my way to number 13.

The puzzles with the cannons was fun/intuitive, but the sort of stealth escort mission… thing to get up to the Divine Beast is honestly pretty painful. Dude constantly goes out of range or seems to get stuck on the terrain or something. It also isn’t always particularly intuitive in what it wants me to do, either. I fired my first cannon at the beast, then decided to save and take a break for a bit as it was starting to get on my nerves.

The good news is that you're nearly there now. Just two more cannon shots at the divine beast to go.

You won't need the Flamebreaker set for inside the divine beast at all. However, you have to go outside to access two of the terminals and for the boss fight, so upgrading it is useful. You just need a bunch of moblin horns and flameproof lizards, which shouldn't be too hard to pick up.

Death Mountain has a lot of places worth exploring beyond the main Divine Beast quest, too... So perhaps it would be worth you materials upgrading the armor set.

The best part of botw ( as I believe voidoflight already stated), is that you can literally move on. There's no reason to get upset or sour with the game if you can't figure out a puzzle or boss fight. Just leave, turn right, and start heading that way finding whatever it is that you want to find. Get more shrines, hearts, ingredients, elixirs, weapons, armor, and Shields. You'll 100% come back at a much later time and crush the part you struggled with much earlier in the game. Botw is like an aged, fine cut of steak. You don't want to shove it down your throat as fast as possible. Take small, meaningful bites and enjoy every bit of it. Not trying to be that guy, but thunderblight wasn't that bad. I usually saved that for last except my 3rd playthrough. It was probably my 2nd blight.

Yeah, I think that is a big part of where BOTW and I clash. I like exploring an open world, but I like to be progressing to a goal the whole time. I wouldn’t ever just go explore somewhere for the sake of exploring it, it just isn’t how I play open world games. I would only ever explore if there is a benefit in doing so.

And yes, technically, there is a benefit in exploring in BOTW, as it all adds to Link’s overall power indirectly, but you’re just as likely to find yourself in some sort of empty field or something with no reward at all as you are a shrine or something else.

The game is beautiful, the performance on the Switch is some kind of miracle, but I think the world is bigger than it needs to be, there is a lot of empty or repeated space which results in a world, at least to me, where I just don’t think the world or the rewards are often rewarding or interesting enough to deviate away from the path I know will help me progress the game directly, rather than indirectly. Also, where is my photo mode?!

I mean I technically will have no choice if I still can’t clear Thunderdude but I am not one for the aimless wander in the hope of finding something. Just don’t have that kind of time or patience at my age anymore.

I actually think BOTW would have benefited from taking place in a much smaller world, or a series of hub areas/zones and had more structure to it, overall, but I know that isn’t a popular opinion.