The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild players are still finding new and creative tricks to use in the game even several years after its release, some which are so easy they almost feel like cheating - except they aren't. There are seemingly innumerable ways that Link can utilize his environment and skills for convenient, and often hilarious, results. Many BOTW tricks prove so helpful to Link in combat, surviving nature, and solving puzzles that using them might make some players feel guilty, but they're all valid pieces of in-game ingenuity.
Players’ ability to experiment and choose how they want to play Breath of the Wild is undoubtedly one of its most important components. This freedom of gameplay makes Link’s journey worth coming back to even for multiple playthroughs of BOTW. Even more so, though, it supports Link’s development through trial and error to become the greatest hero, which is central to Legend of Zelda series entries. In these ways, discovering new, and albeit at times unconventional, ways to move through Hyrule is in the true spirit of the game.
Breath of the Wild encourages ingenuity in combat, surviving nature, and solving puzzles through a variety of means. BOTW’s controls, Sheikah Runes, elements, and physics can be manipulated to assist Link throughout his quest, and have some fun along the way. These Breath of the Wild tricks are so helpful that they may just feel a little bit like not playing by the rules.
BOTW's Link Can Twirl Spears On The Master Cycle
When Link is holding a spear while on horseback or using the Master Cycle Zero in BOTW, he can twirl the weapon above his head. Unfortunately, in most circumstances the spear will not do any damage to enemies, making the move fairly unhelpful in combat. However, a fun BOTW exploit can be activated by pressing the attack button when using the spear while mounted, then interrupting the attack by pressing jump. After that, the jump can be canceled by pressing B. Link’s spear is then able to hurt enemies even while on his Cycle. This Breath of the Wild trick does use a weapon hitbox exploit, but it’s not technically cheating. It only uses controls provided in the game, and the effect is lost as soon as Link attacks, puts away the spear, or dismounts. He is not able to cause damage with the spear for very long, but it proves very effective in combat while he can.
Link Can Use Fires In A Storm With A BOTW Trick
The natural world of Breath of the Wild affects Link’s ability to accomplish goals greatly. Perhaps the most infamous examples of adverse weather effects are BOTW's annoying inability to climb in the rain and the risk of using metal weapons in a storm. Link can rest at a fire and wait for the weather to pass, but there is not always a sheltered place to build one. However, he can place wood next to a tree, cut the tree down, use the Stasis Sheikah Rune to stop the tree from falling right above the wood, and use a fire weapon to light the wood. The suspended tree becomes a canopy, protecting the fire and providing just enough time for Link to rest until it’s no longer raining. Although BOTW may intend for players to find creative solutions while in the wet weather, simply escaping it is not cheating.
BOTW Helpful Tricks: Shrine Fire Hack
Fires can help Link in other tricky situations as well. There are many ways for him to hack Breath of the Wild’s Shrines and solve them in unintended ways. Some Shrines have weight puzzles in them where Link has to find a heavy object like a barrel or a treasure chest to unlock an area. Finding the right object can be difficult at times, but there is one simple item that Link can carry to help him with these tasks. Although wood itself doesn't do much to weigh something down, setting it on fire makes it significantly heavier. Although this strategy for solving Shrines could be considered cheating, using preexisting systems in the game to solve difficult puzzles is arguably one of the game's goals. There are many tricks for Link to try in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and surely new ones will be discovered by the community in the future.