LoZ: Breath of the Wild Discussion Thread

[kamikazekeeg]

So what are the items like opal, topaz, and ancient parts used for? (Other than the parts you turn into the lab for upgrades)

Can you craft weapons and armor? If so, how?

Upgrades for gear when you get to that point and minor crafting, ancient parts have some crafting use at a point and are upgrades, but ore is real good for selling and you'll need a lot of rupees to get stuff in the game.  I usually kept like a reserve pile of it, like up to 5 or 10 just to have, and then sold the rest unless I knew I had to store up for something specific.  Ore is basically the most reliable way to earn money as you rarely actually earn rupees.

[tpugmire]

I know that, but do I really need 90+ bokoblin horns?

[kamikazekeeg]

I know that, but do I really need 90+ bokoblin horns?

Not really lol For basic monster parts, I usually keep like 20 or 30 around, they are used in upgrades and elixirs, but they are so easy to stock up on.  I would recommend keeping them till you eventually meet a person interested in monster parts.  When you find them, you'll know why.

[kamikazekeeg]

Oh and last night I beat all 120 shrines at nearly 100 hours on the dot.  The last 20 to 30, I went with a map to find them, there are just so damn many to find without just wasting hours and hours mindlessly wandering.  I've beaten Ganon, did 120 shrines, and done what I wanted to do for what I feel is enough of a completion state.  Still have a whole bunch of sidequests and over 700 of those seeds to get, which I might try and do over like the next year, but I'm at a place where I'm good and I have all the gear.

Despite some issues I have with the game, I really do think this is my favorite Zelda and easily in my top 10 of all time.  It's grown in different ways alongside that, as it's been a very emotionally rough time for me over the past two weeks exactly and Breath of the Wild has been a constant source of enjoyment.  Even if I wasn't going through what I have, this would still be that level of a Zelda game to me.  It's not perfect, no Zelda is, but its amazing what they've done here for the series.

[DreamsDied13101]

I know for many the weapon durability is a source of anguish. It was actually one of the best parts of the game to me.  It made me think outside of the box to come up with ways to survive with limited tools. This led me to more exploring, working on my combat skills, and making it not just another hack and slash game. I had been growing weary of other games that were similar and this game cured my blues.

The first time you beat a guardian with no arrows or weapons left, the first time you send an animal in to a Bokoblin camp to distract them, or the first time you throw a metal spear at an enemy in a rainstorm and watch them get electrocuted. These were all amazingly fun experiences.

EDIT: For those complaining about weapons - just scan some Amiibos and you can get extras. I know it isn't cheating, but I preferred to play without their help.

[burningdoom]

Upgrading the Champion's Tunic after the first level is a pain in the ass.

Getting those damn dragon scales are harder than hell. Even if you are by a dragon, they move so fast that it's harder than crap to get close enough to get into firing range. I've gotten one scale so far, and it's not even from the dragon I need the scale from for the Champion's Tunic upgrade.

[ignition365]

Upgrading the Champion's Tunic after the first level is a pain in the ass.

Getting those damn dragon scales are harder than hell. Even if you are by a dragon, they move so fast that it's harder than crap to get close enough to get into firing range. I've gotten one scale so far, and it's not even from the dragon I need the scale from for the Champion's Tunic upgrade.

There are 3 spots that are fantastical to get the scales.

Dinraal, there is an Elder Giant skeleton north of the Elden Mountains, Dinraal passes there.
Farosh, there are a series of waterfalls south east of Faron, head to the top of the waterfalls, Farosh appears from the water.
Naydra, sit on top of the eastern gate leading to Lanayru's Mountain, Naydra passes there.

If I recall correctly, you need the horns, not the scales.

They spawn once per day, usually around midnight, and you can only acquire 1 horn per day per dragon.

[burningdoom]

So does the game try to scale difficulty to your character as you get stronger?

I'm wondering because I just went to fight one of the Hinnox's (giants) to get some Hinox Guts' for an armor upgrade. And literally as I'm going up to him, the game spawns one of those giant assassin's with the wind sword, and some of the skeleton monster things that come out at night showed up at the same freaking time! As if the giant isn't enough to deal with on it's own! Holy crap!

[kamikazekeeg]

So does the game try to scale difficulty to your character as you get stronger?

I'm wondering because I just went to fight one of the Hinnox's (giants) to get some Hinox Guts' for an armor upgrade. And literally as I'm going up to him, the game spawns one of those giant assassin's with the wind sword, and some of the skeleton monster things that come out at night showed up at the same freaking time! As if the giant isn't enough to deal with on it's own! Holy crap!

The game does scale abit I believe.  I don't know how it works exactly, I heard that the more mobs you kill, eventually tougher ones will become a little more prominent around the world, but I can't be 100% on that, though it did seem like I was coming across more of the white/silver tier enemies that are tougher in the later game.

[DreamsDied13101]

I know that certain events are timed by how many hours you play so maybe it is feasible tougher enemies show up too.

I seem to see the same old enemies when I return to old places though, but I am only about 30 hours in right now.

[wingofliberty]

I don't like Weapons Breaking 

[theflea]

I beat Zelda BotW and I loved every moment playing it. I'd say best Modern Zelda game by far (gamecube to present) I finished the story beat all 120 shrines, Got the master sword, all outfits (except a few Amiibo ones) got all fairy fountains, most of the armor maxed out and got 300 of the seeds (there's 900 of these and the end prize is kind of a WTF) 

Flaws with the game? ya the frame rate drops at times (I heard this was fixed in a patch lately)
The red moon cut scene was awesome the 1st time but annoying after the 20th time. (it is skip-able but it still will interrupt your gameplay and you have to press two different buttons to skip it.) Castlevania 2 anyone?
I would have liked a custom button layout option, I was always hitting the wrong buttons at first because I'm so used to Xbox & PS4 layout. But once I got used to it I was fine.
Would have liked to see more monsters from the classic franchise and maybe the classic Zelda music play a little more and that's really it.

The breakable weapons was only annoying early in the game, later it never bothered me. It made hunting for weapons enjoyable in my opinion. You find a great sword and you hang on to it for when you fight something hard and use scrap weapons on the easy stuff. If weapons never broke you would use only one sword/bow/shield all the time.

The world was a ton of fun searching and hunting for every secret. I was hunting towers and shines and finding as many as I can. I didn't look up a map where all the shrines where until after I felt I couldn't find anymore on my own. (which was maybe 60-80 shines in.) The shrine puzzles are stupid easy to "I had to look up a guide" hard. I remember finding a random shrine and it was a Major Battle Test and this was early in the game and I got my butt handed to me on a platter. lol But once I got better weapons, more hearts and upgraded armor I was able to kill the mini-guardian easy. I loved how early in the game your scared of guardians but by the time your built up a little I was farming those octo-tanks easy. This is a game you don't want to touch a guide unless you get stuck on a puzzle. You get so much more enjoyment just exploring and seeing what you can find. I found the master sword without any help. I saw something on the map and knew right away the sword had to be there. I go there and after much trail and error find it and die the second I try to pull it from the stone. lol
So this is one of the times I looked it up what I was doing wrong, not enough hearts. So the second I had enough I went back for the sword. lol When I saw it too breaks (just has a 10 minute heal time) At first I was thinking WTF.
But if was invincible then all the other breakable stuff would be worthless. I also loved discovering it's hidden feature.
So I liked to save it for those times it was useful.

Overall I haven't had this much fun playing a Zelda game in a long time on a console. If you have a Switch or a Wii U this is a must own.

Maybe I'll go back and collect the rest of those seeds and get my golden poop. 

[burningdoom]

Well, it looks like this is as far as I'm going on my own.

I'm gonna have to break down and refer to an online guide for the last few shrines.

I did complete the DLC stuff, as well, defeated Ganon, and upgraded all of my armor. So I think I did alright before having to give in to a guide.

[burningdoom]

So I used a couple Giant Cores to make Ancient Bows and such earlier in the game.

Unfortunately, there's not more Giant Cores in the game to be had. And I still have one final upgrade for my Ancient Armor Helmet as well as my Diamond Circlet that both require them.

That's a pile of shit.

I know that Guardians supposedly drop them. But the drop rate must be incredibly rare. I've gotten a few regular cores from them (and those are rare enough as it is), but I can't recall getting Giant Cores from them.

[ignition365]

So I used a couple Giant Cores to make Ancient Bows and such earlier in the game.

Unfortunately, there's not more Giant Cores in the game to be had. And I still have one final upgrade for my Ancient Armor Helmet as well as my Diamond Circlet that both require them.

That's a pile of shit.

I know that Guardians supposedly drop them. But the drop rate must be incredibly rare. I've gotten a few regular cores from them (and those are rare enough as it is), but I can't recall getting Giant Cores from them.

I know when I played last I got a Giant Core from a Guardian.