How to heal in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom presents a whole new Hyrule to get lost in. While much of its surface is familiar, it has changed in countless ways, especially from the inside. To top it off, life thrives above ground in the skies, thanks to the appearance of the Sky Islands. With the revival of the evil Ganondorf, the number of threats protagonist Link could face has increased triple-fold. This means players will have to exercise caution at every turn.

With new foes making an appearance in the game, Link must be prepared to face any adversity. As with other Legend of Zelda entries, this comes in the form of managing Link's health. Represented by a series of hearts, staying healthy is paramount to seeing the journey through.

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Cooking will be the main method of sustaining Link's health in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

In traditional Zelda titles, the key way to heal Link was by consuming heart pieces. These tiny hearts were dropped by defeated foes or breakable objects. Alternately, players could capture and use faeries that would heal Link completely. With The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, developer Nintendo went for a more logical approach considering its open-world format: consuming food.

The world of Hyrule is organic and filled to the brim with handy objects and curious items to discover. These range from trees with growing fruit to meat harvested from birds and fishes. In other words, the series takes a serious page out of open-world survival games. Unsurprisingly, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom continues this new format.

Each consumable heals different amounts, but simply eating raw mushrooms and basic apples is not going to help in the long run. This is where cooking comes in; it will be the main method of sustaining Link's health.

Thanks to the reactive gameplay elements of the game, players can cook certain raw ingredients by placing them next to fire. However, the real magic happens when a cooking pot factors into the equation.

Players can combine various ingredients in a pot over a fire to create various tasty dishes. These don't just replenish a number of hearts at once but can also offer additional buffs, depending on the ingredients used.

For example, hot or fiery ingredients can allow Link to withstand cold temperatures or boost his effectiveness in hot climates. Of course, players will need to mix and match to discover most recipes, so this is likely to result in some unsavory experiments too.

The game also features various elixirs and potions. However, cooking will be Link's best friend until the end. After all, food resources are plentiful, and players can cook anywhere they want with a portable cooking pot. They should be sure to craft an ample number of dishes to fall back on when in a pinch. This is key because Link will have a measly three hearts at the beginning of the game, which is bound to cause many deaths against stronger foes.

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Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom was released by Nintendo on May 12, 2023. It is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch hybrid console.