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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis expansive, intimidatingly so. With all that it has to offer, there’s no doubt that certain mechanics might go overlooked. Or maybe you’re coming in, hot off of your time in Breath of the Wild. With a shared world and cross-referential narrative, you might have some questions about what’s remained or what’s changed.
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Regardless of the motivations, these remain to be some of the most frequently asked questions when roaming around in LoZ:TotK. Instead of wandering aimlessly until you find an answer, why not give this guide a look?
Updated June 29, 2025, by Branden Lizardi:Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been out for a while now. And it’s been the smash hit we all expected it to be. But with more popularity, more questions have arisen. To make sure are informed, we’ve updated this Tears of the Kingdom FAQ with new questions, as well as a few tweaks to the answers in the existing TotK guide questions, now that the details have been made more clear.
How To Save
Tears of the Kingdom has a quick and easymanual save option. Press the+button andnavigate to the settings menuusing the shoulder buttons. From there,select “Save,“and you will be prompted to confirm saving.
There is alsoan autosave function. How recent it is will vary based on in-game interactions, ranging from one to 15 minutes old.
How To Delete Your Save
While saving and loading files areavailable from the in-game menu, deleting saves is not. They need to be deleted via theSwitch Console Settings. Navigate to Settings and go to the Data Management tab. At the bottom of that section will be Delete Save Data. Select that and select Tears of the Kingdom from the list.
You cannot delete an individual save file while keeping the rest. Your only option will be to delete the save data for specific (or all) users.
Do You Need To Have Played Breath Of The Wild?
No, You Don’t
Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That does not mean, however, that it’s required play for this game. WhileTotKutilizes the same setting, characters, and gameplay mechanics as BotW, it does not do so in a way that depends on the previous game. The plot is more-or-less completely separate, as well.
The tutorial section for Tears of the Kingdom is rather robust, meaning that even folks new to gaming entirely will have the guidance and knowledge they need to enjoy the game to its fullest.
When Is Tears Of The Kingdom Set?
There is not a definitive timeframe for Tears of the Kingdom. It takes place a few years after Breath of the Wild, evidenced by the recurring characters and familiar landscape. Based on our estimations, we suspect it takes placeabout three to five years after.
As for the greater Zelda timeline, it’s commonly accepted that Breath of the Wild is at the very end of the overall timeline, taking place multiple generations after any other game.This would put Tears of the Kingdom as the latest game in the serieschronologically. The time-centric narrative, existance of Rauru, and the Zonai all make this line unclear though, seemingly conflicting with the greater Zelda timeline. That said,the developers have expressedin the past that Zelda was never supposed to have one large interconnected history anyway, so this may sit outside of that in it’s own timeline.
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How Old Is Link In Breath Of The Wild / Tears Of The Kingdom
Like many of the numbers throughout the Zelda franchise, Link’s age is another mystery. But we aren’t in the complete dark; several implications exist that can help us pinpoint his age.
In Breath of the Wild, we estimate Link to be about 17-18 years old.This is because Zelda mentions her 17th birthday in a memory refering to the Spring of Wisdom and we believe Link to be about the same age. Throw in100 years for when he was in a deep slumber, and we have about 117 years old.
Tears of the Kingdom appears to take place two to three years after Breath of the Wild, estimated previously. So our estimate is thatLink is ‘technically’ 120 years old in Tears of the Kingdom.
How To Dye Your Armor
Fortunately, for Breath of the Wild fans, the place to dye armor has gone essentially unchanged.Visit the Kochi Dye Shop in Hateno Village.
One new feature of the shop in Tears of the Kingdom is the option tocustomize your paraglider. Doing so requires fabric to be collected from around the game world (or from things like Amiibo).
How To Start A Fire
Fires are helpful resources for Link throughout his adventure. They cancook simple foods, pass time, or keep him warm. There are a handful of different ways to make them. First,place a piece of wood on the ground. From there, do any of the following.
What Are Zonai Charges Used For
Zonai Charges, the small glowing orbscommonly dropped from defeated constructs, are primarily used torecharge your Energy Cells. Think of them as the energy equivalent to how food restores health or stamina. This can help power your Zonai technology for longer.
Alternatively, they can also be used aspart of the Device Dispenserto collect more device orbs. This will be the more common use for charges, since there are so many dispensers, offering from over 20 different devices. Giventhe diverse selection of machinesyou can build, you’ll need more devices more often than you need more charge.
How To Use A Device Dispenser
These stations allow you totrade Zonai parts for orbs containing various Zonai technology. This can range from firebreathers to portable cooking pots.
To use them, open the inventory menu and hold Zonai parts likeZonai ChargesandConstruct Horns. Thendrop them into the bowl in front of the dispenser. A scene will play, and device orbs will be dispensed.
The more items you submit at once, the more devices you will receive.Consider depositing a full armful of five items every time.
What Do Amiibo Do?
Amiibo operatealmost identically to how they do in Breath of the Wild. When the ability is enabled, you’re able to designate a spot on the ground nearby. Scanning an Amiibo will then drop various items at that spot.
Special Amiibo, like the ones made for Tears of the Kingdom, may havespecial items that can only be unlocked through this method. There is a special paraglider fabric forMajora’s MaskAmiibo, for example.All non-Zelda Amiibo will drop random materials and weapons.
For a full breakdown of each Amiibo and what they offer, consult ourcomplete Amiibo Guidefor Tears of the Kingdom.
