The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom kicks things up a notch compared to Breath of the Wild. Take all of your skills from the prior game, and that still won't be enough to ensure your survival in this new and dangerous Hyrule. Whether it's the infested land, the unfamiliar sky islands, or the Depths that lurk below, this game will throw a lot at you.
Despite all of that, however, you can make the game even harder for yourself. It could be an intentional choice, or it could be because you wandered somewhere you weren't supposed to yet. Either way, if you want that extra bit of spice and a feeling of pure frustration as you accomplish another kingdom-saving feat, then here are the things you should do.
7 Ignore The Recommended Route, Go South
After departing the Great Sky Island and setting foot back in Hyrule, you'll likely head to Lookout Landing and be told by Purah to go investigate the four regions in need of assistance. Specifically, she will recommend that you go to Rito Village first. Ignore this.
The complete recommended route is Rito Village, Goron City, Zora's Domain, and then Gerudo Town. If you really want to have a rough time fighting for your very existence, go ahead and dip into the desert first. It'll be fine.
6 Light Of Blessing? Don't Need 'Em
Doing all of those shrines is great and all, but what if we made them all completely pointless? With four Light of Blessings, you can offer them up to a Goddess Statue to get either a new heart container or a new stamina container, increasing the respective stats.
But what if you just... didn't? Receive that Light of Blessing, stick it in your pocket, and be on your way. No need for any further thought. You don't even need to actually pick up the heart containers after each boss battle either, so that's even better.
5 Keep It Classic, No Need For Fusions
Tears of the Kingdom's new Fuse ability is a great way to increase both weapon power and weapon durability, not to mention any extra effects that the parts might offer. Without it, the weapons would last much less time, and deal pitiful damage. Perfect.
Go ahead and ignore this power altogether. Use flimsy weapons, defeat every boss by the skin of your teeth, and desperately throw items in an attempt to use up their elemental functions. All of those powered-up Zonai tools of mass destruction? Nah, that sounds like a waste of time. Just one half-broken spear, please.
4 Don't Bother Upgrading That Inventory
After finding countless Koroks in Tears of the Kingdom, you can take the Korok Seeds to Hestu in order to upgrade your weapon, shield, or bow inventories. The cost for each upgrade will increase over time, so you'll need quite a few Seeds in order to get significant upgrades.
We all love Hestu, and better yet, handing over those Korok Seeds to watch his little maraca dance - but what if you just kept all those Korok Seeds for yourself? Hestu can always dance another day. Grab your handful of weapons and go save the world.
3 Hot/Cold Weather? Deal With It
The weather is out to get you just as much as the monsters are, so most of the time, Link will want to be prepared with some clothing to adapt to any situation. However, this is entirely optional, and if you want a tough time, you don't have to change clothes at all.
Instead, rely on cooking foods with different effects, meaning you'll have to gather and prepare a little more between adventures. Not only is this a little tougher on your survival, but it also adds more depth to every situation you're heading into.
2 Disable Those Sage Powers Right Now
Being able to call upon the Sages and their powers after each Temple is an excellent feature in the game, and can add so much help in both exploration and in combat. But, like all things, you can just say no. We appreciate the Sages offering assistance, but no thank you.
Go into your Key Items menu and disable those Sage powers. You can always enable them if you really need them, but turning them off will mean you forget about them most of the time, and you don't get the followers to help you in every encounter.
1 Master Sword? It Broke, Move On
The Master Sword is the iconic weapon of the series, and is known as The Sword That Seals The Darkness. It can easily become the most powerful weapon at Link's disposal, and is usually key to his kingdom-saving antics.
However, forget all of that. It broke at the start of the game. What good is a sword that broke in the face of danger? Just forget about it entirely and go the game without it. Find a stick or some degraded hammer or something.