What is a Blood Moon in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is full of surprises at every turn. However, as a successor to 2017's The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild there are many familiar moments to discover as well. These can include returning characters and even the same mechanics, like swimming or horse riding. But there's more.

One inclusion that not everyone will be happy to see return is the Blood Moon. This phenomenon was dreaded in the prequel and is here to annoy fans again.

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The Blood Moon returns to terrify players in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Blood Moon is a periodic event that takes place in the open world of Hyrule. It causes the moon and sky to both turn red. This is followed by eerie music and a cutscene depicting the oncoming reign of crimson. It occurs every two hours 48 minutes in real-time or seven in-game days.

This also resurrects previously defeated enemies, ensuring the plains, meadows, and ruins across Hyrule do not remain empty after clearing them out.

But seeing all that combat effort go to waste can still be disheartening. However, this also respawns much of the non-chest loot, items, and materials found naturally in the world. Even mini-bosses come back to life, making it ideal for farming, and many items in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom can be rare to stumble across.

Players can also receive an early indication of a Blood Moon during nighttime by looking up at the sky. If the moon is red, be prepared for what's to come.

As a rule of thumb, it is best not to be out in areas where enemies can spawn during a Blood Moon. Such an unsuspected event can throw players off if they are low on resources and weapons. The game features breakable weapons and consumable recipes, so players can never get too comfortable when they are out exploring the open world. However. there are still benefits to be reaped if they are in a safe position.

For one, the Blood Moons also allow critical effects to be added during cooking. So it can be a good idea to save ingredients until a Blood Moon to get the most out of cooked recipes. These add amazing buffs to consumables which are handy during combat and travel.

However, the Blood Moon does not last permanently as it subsides briefly after occurring. As such, players may want to resort to Portable Cooking Pots of Zonai creation to cook meals on the spot.

Some players might be wondering what causes the Blood Moon to occur in the first place. According to Legend of Zelda lore, it is a result of the corruption spread by the antagonist Ganondorf (in a primal form known as Ganon) before and during the events of the prequel game. It can be a mild annoyance at first, but once players get to it, it can be fun to wade through the challenge to gather more materials.