• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

Pre-Release The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Pre-Release Discussion Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Do you think that it's a good idea to play BOTW now again? Have over 200 hours in it but I assume it's better to wait when ToTK drops since the same places on the map appears to be the same.
my biased opinion:

It's always a good idea to play BotW. Anytime I replay it I am instantly hooked. In regards to TotK I still think that the sequel will be different enough from an exploration and mechanical point of view.
 
I think yes, but at the same time, i never got bored by BotW. I knew people that where done by hour 30 or so, and did not find the wqorld compelling. for those, replaying that world trhat will be revisited in TotK is probably not the best idea.

but i also replayed botw i think 5 times nor or 6....so...
 
Do you think that it's a good idea to play BOTW now again? Have over 200 hours in it but I assume it's better to wait when ToTK drops since the same places on the map appears to be the same.
I'd just play an existing file for a few hours a month or two before TotK so when you play in the world of TotK you'll be able to see major changes (besides the very obvious ones).
 
Your video about the 2021 trailer theme being a continuation of BotW's main theme continues to resonate with this Ouroboros imagery. Also it made it fun to relisten to the original BotW theme and hear the TotK theme in there.

I'm looking forward to an analysis of this teaser's theme. There's obvious symbolism with the rising piano notes representing Link's ascension to the Sky, the way the song is composed it seems like it could keep going forever.

Then there's the section where Link opens the door which has a similar emotional quality when played backwards. It's not palindromic note for note, but I definitely want to know why my ears perk up when listening to it.

(These are all off-the-cuff, potentially hallucinatory observations. I defer to you for the answers)
The BotW/TotK one's quite obvious and kinda crazy really! (And if I were a douchebag I would regurgitate that video with a "I CAN"T BELIEVE I PREDICTED ZELDA UWU" thumbnail. in fact, i might still =P )

There's definitely cool things going on in the new music. First of all the clear use of pentatonics strengthens the more obvious east-Asian motifs in the footage, combined with some very BotW-ian use of stacked fourths. The string pattern you're referring to has similarities to the weird choir in earlier trailers, but doesn't correspond one-to-one. An avenue I might explore is that the 2021 freaky choir has similarities to half of the 2022 string line - just the first notes.
 
the durability system gave us Eventide and Master Trials:

Durability ∞
Haters 0
 
hot take: I fucking love the durability system and everyone who played and enjoyed the master trials should too

Yeah I agree. I appreciate being forced to improvise, especially in situations like that.

I wonder, since the master sword is looking somewhat Mechanical/Twilight-ish in TotK, if they will keep the durability system but allow you to feed/trash weapons to charge the Master Sword instead of keeping the ten-minute disabled window.
 
hot take: I fucking love the durability system and everyone who played and enjoyed the master trials should too
I love the concept of the durability system, I just wish they had tuned the weapons to last a liiiiittle longer, is all. In the early parts of the game I was running out of weapons constantly, and then in the back half I was so damn afraid of wearing weapons out that I basically never used any of the cool ones. 😅
 
I'm replaying with the DLC for my first time since 2017 and I'm just as hooked. Game aged unsurprisingly well and I'm feeling the quest design is a tiny bit better than I expected, even if the rewards are lackluster.
 
Weapon durability is a great system, if a bit unintuitive, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's heavily reworked or completely replaced in TotK. It was one of the most common complaints of the original.
 
I never had issues with running out of weapons in BOTW, even early on. You're supposed to be vulnerable at the beginning. The game teaches you right away that you need to be smart about how you fight your battle and when you fight them. You can get through a lot of battles with using your Sheikah Slate. Simply not fighting and running away is also a viable option.
 
I'm replaying with the DLC for my first time since 2017 and I'm just as hooked. Game aged unsurprisingly well and I'm feeling the quest design is a tiny bit better than I expected, even if the rewards are lackluster.
I love how they are just hidden tutorials with context. Sorry for people who expect more but I think its pretty genius
 
0
What i definitely need is a search weapon function in TotK.

All those "Bring me weapon XYZ" quests, and i remember having had that weapon at one point, but i couldn't for the life of me remember where i found it or rather the enemy that drops it.
 
I never had issues with running out of weapons in BOTW, even early on. You're supposed to be vulnerable at the beginning. The game teaches you right away that you need to be smart about how you fight your battle and when you fight them. You can get through a lot of battles with using your Sheikah Slate. Simply not fighting and running away is also a viable option.

Absolutely, I used to be one of those who thought the weapons could last longer, but then I realised my biggest problem was finding space for weapons in my inventory. At that point, I changed to thinking they need to break more quickly. The truth is that the high end weapons do actually last quite a while if you're not being stupid with them.

What i definitely need is a search weapon function in TotK.

All those "Bring me weapon XYZ" quests, and i remember having had that weapon at one point, but i couldn't for the life of me remember where i found it or rather the enemy that drops it.

There is one. It's called Sheikah sensor+.
 
0
I think the hype is starting to get to me. Not that I wasn't excited before but without the title, it was easy enough to think of the game as something far out in the future that I could wait patiently on. To be honest, there has been a lot of ways to scratch the Zelda itch on Switch over the years from Hyrule Warriors, to Link's Awakening, to Skyward Sword. Even non-Zelda titles like Xenoblade and Pokemon Legends provide a little of that BOTW experience. But with a title and release date finally set, things are starting to get close to release and anticipitation is rising.
 
I wish I could understand this. Move along now, little Bokoblin.

D3lxKYbUUAE6uqa.jpg:large


Screenshot not mine.
 
Yeah but you'd need to have the presence of mind to scan every weapon as you find it in case it's needed for a quest later.
... guilty as charged.

They could add a 'recoverable weapons' section to the entries, that'd be one step.
b419d3277c5c4eeb0a7b2256b1ebe6f95483dc3dv2_hq.jpg
 
the durability system gave us Eventide and Master Trials:

Durability ∞
Haters 0
I like those moments but not necessarily love them. Not that fan of resource management and survival gameplay. Basically cost and benefit, the good thing the systems brings doesn't pay the nuisance for me.

Also the idea of using durability to experiment new weapons isn't compeling for me as I'm don't like weapon variety. To make other weapons meaningful they dumbed down the 3d Zelda sword play. Now basically you spam the same button and the combo magic happens (though I like they brought back sword downward thrust.).
 
I like those moments but not necessarily love them. Not that fan of resource management and survival gameplay. Basically cost and benefit, the good thing the systems brings doesn't pay the nuisance for me.

Also the idea of using durability to experiment new weapons isn't compeling for me as I'm don't like weapon variety. To make other weapons meaningful they dumbed down the 3d Zelda sword play. Now basically you spam the same button and the combo magic happens (though I like they brought back sword downward thrust.).
sorry. just gonna put you on ignore then. I don't like it when people constructively criticize things I like and explain their point of view in great detail for games I personally love

/s
 
0
The reality is that the likelihood of the Zelda team addressing the common complaints from botw is 99.9999% happening. Yes there will be dungeons, yes the durability system will get reworked. For some reason people forget that the Zelda team has, historically, been extremely receptive of feedback, sometimes to a fault. Windwaker to Twilight Princess is an example of this but Skyward Sword to Breath of the Wild is also a good example. There is no doubt in my mind that common complaints and wants will be addressed, my fear is that the Zelda team will over correct. For dungeons, I want an evolution of hyrule castle in botw, I don’t want to go backwards. Likewise, gameplay is at its best in botw when the player is limited in options, encouraging experimentation, I don’t want this undone. Hopefully, with the success of botw, the Zelda team takes the feedback and incorporates it into their vision. It always makes me laugh when I see people begging for dungeons or a more linear story, like yeah, that stuff is obviously coming back, you don’t have to beg.
 
the durability works for the main playthrough of the game but whenever you hit the endgame it sucks since you don't really end up running into many scenarios where you can keep cycling through items of the same level like you can during the main story

after beating ganon i love hunting lynels for the savage gear but in doing so you end up burning through items more quickly than you can get them which sucks. i don't want unbreakable weapons unless it's a progression unlock or something but just being able to repair them would go a long way
 
The reality is that the likelihood of the Zelda team addressing the common complaints from botw is 99.9999% happening. Yes there will be dungeons, yes the durability system will get reworked. For some reason people forget that the Zelda team has, historically, been extremely receptive of feedback, sometimes to a fault. Windwaker to Twilight Princess is an example of this but Skyward Sword to Breath of the Wild is also a good example. There is no doubt in my mind that common complaints and wants will be addressed, my fear is that the Zelda team will over correct. For dungeons, I want an evolution of hyrule castle in botw, I don’t want to go backwards. Likewise, gameplay is at its best in botw when the player is limited in options, encouraging experimentation, I don’t want this undone. Hopefully, with the success of botw, the Zelda team takes the feedback and incorporates it into their vision. It always makes me laugh when I see people begging for dungeons or a more linear story, like yeah, that stuff is obviously coming back, you don’t have to beg.
The egoistical me wishes that they just would do and make what they wanna make.

I think there are arguments to be made that it isn't always for the better when devs just do what people want.

We would have never gotten BotW in its current state if more traditional Zelda fans would have gotten any say in it.

I trust them to balance feedback and own ambitions out but I simultaneously hope that they don't throw out what made BotW so amazing in the first place just because people demand certain features. Often times its loud minorities and I think its hard to make everyone happy.

In an ideal world you shouldn't feel obligated to make everyone happy because thats impossible either way.
 
0
after beating ganon i love hunting lynels for the savage gear but in doing so you end up burning through items more quickly than you can get them which sucks. i don't want unbreakable weapons unless it's a progression unlock or something but just being able to repair them would go a long way
This is seriously the first time I have heard of this problem. I had too much weapons by the end of the game even when facing lynels. Especially with buffs and certain gear.

upgraded Ancient Armor with Set Bonus + Damage Buff + Ancient Weapons is OP as fuck.
 
In my opinion, they could add a system where enemies are given a hidden level, and weapons wear down more easily on high level enemies than low level enemies. I wouldn't deteriorate the durability of weapons on higher leveled enemies any more than their durability in BOTW but rather, if we're attacking red bokoblins or keese, mid-game and end-game weapons will noticeably, not wear down as quickly, since those enemies are given a lower level. That way, we won't have to switch to the Master Sword every time we want to kill an annoying enemy trailing us in order to preserve weapons. Essentially, in my opinion, the Master Sword fulfilled the opposite role that the Deku Tree stated, it became the tool I used to attack everything big and small to preserve my favorite weapons instead of just a malice killing machine.
 
Last edited:
This is seriously the first time I have heard of this problem. I had too much weapons by the end of the game even when facing lynels. Especially with buffs and certain gear.

upgraded Ancient Armor with Set Bonus + Damage Buff + Ancient Weapons is OP as fuck.

that's interesting to hear lol. your loadout probably has something to do with it since i don't really use ancient proficient or the ancient weapons, just the barbarian set when farming enemies. usually i'll burn through an entire savage lynel crusher fighting just maybe two lynels which is enough to break even but not really ideal

In my opinion, they could add a system where enemies are given a hidden level, and weapons wear down more easily on high level enemies than low level enemies. I wouldn't deteriorate the durability of weapons on higher leveled enemies any more than their durability in BOTW but rather, if we're attacking red bokoblins or keese, mid-game and end-game weapons will noticeably, not wear down as quickly.

yeah i would really like this too. wasting durability on keese especially sucks very bad imo
 
0
To make other weapons meaningful they dumbed down the 3d Zelda sword play. Now basically you spam the same button and the combo magic happens (though I like they brought back sword downward thrust.).
I'm going to need an explanation of what sophisticated player initiated swordplay and combos happened in Ocarina of Time. Because as far as I can tell, you spam B when the time is right and you come up well.
 
I like those moments but not necessarily love them. Not that fan of resource management and survival gameplay. Basically cost and benefit, the good thing the systems brings doesn't pay the nuisance for me.

Also the idea of using durability to experiment new weapons isn't compeling for me as I'm don't like weapon variety. To make other weapons meaningful they dumbed down the 3d Zelda sword play. Now basically you spam the same button and the combo magic happens (though I like they brought back sword downward thrust.).
they made Sword gameplay not as deep because there are just so many buttons a dev can put to use. Combined with all the systems and bow gameplay in place it seems pretty unreasonable to demand deeper melee systems. The combat greatness of BotW is the sum of its parts not the individual systems in itself.
 
I'm thinking about replaying OoT and MM in the leadup to TotK rather than BotW again. It's been a while since I played either but I'm not sure if I wanna go for the N64 or 3DS versions (I've played both before).
 
they made Sword gameplay not as deep because there are just so many buttons a dev can put to use. Combined with all the systems and bow gameplay in place it seems pretty unreasonable do demand deeper melee systems. The combat greatness of BotW is the sum of its parts not the individual systems in itself.
I agree. There’s definitely room for improvement in melee combat, but it’s no coincidence that botw sprung up a sizable community of combat specialist. While hand to hand combat by itself is limited, the chemistry system and interactivity really elevate what you can do. Stuff like fire grass updrafts for better shooting, shock arrows in the rain, stasis shenanigans, bouncing off of boko heads while shield surfing
 
The Sky Kingdom will comprise of 7 levels like “7 Heaven”. You’ll make your way all the way to the 7th Heaven where the Kingdom awaits.
 
0
I was able to tolerate durability on my first playthrough, But on my second, it was extremely annoying. Constantly picking up the same weapons and having to swap between them is not fun.

A feel of lot of arguments defending durability is hypothetical and doesn't work that well in practice. For example, the argument that durability encourages good resource management sounds good on paper. That is until you realize the world gives so many weapons that its impossible to run out. Even people defending durability makes arguments like "The game gave me so many weapons, running out of weapons wasn't a problem!" implying that running out of resources was rarely an issue. How can the game encourage good resource management when players aren't afraid of running out of weapons? Resource management was alright in Eventide, Master Trials, and Great Plateau but that's 5% of the game. A system that is only good for 5% of the game is not a good system. There is a lot more I could criticize about weapons durability, as I have a counter for every argument I've heard but it might turn into a durability discussion so I won't continue.

Instead I think a system they should implement for weapons is the one currently for armor. They just need to expand it more and include weapons. Game loop goes: explore -> find materials -> use materials to forge/upgrade ->use better gear to explore more. This essentially turns materials to the main reward for exploration with weapons being a secondary one.

they made Sword gameplay not as deep because there are just so many buttons a dev can put to use. Combined with all the systems and bow gameplay in place it seems pretty unreasonable do demand deeper melee systems. The combat greatness of BotW is the sum of its parts not the individual systems in itself.
I thought that until I played DMC5 last year. There is a surprisingly amount you can do with a single button combat system. Directional input can alter what combo you do. Directional input was already in previous Zelda games so they just need to expand on it and make each combo more unique and have a specific use case. You can also make the timing of the presses affect what moves you do. For example A -> A -> A is different from A-> A -> (slight pause) -> A.

I believe the A button is free when you aren't using a shield, That could easily be a secondary attack button.
 
I hope that Beedle is ready to sell me some things in the sky.
"Beedle will return" - Nintendo at the end credits of BotW.... Marvel style.
I was able to tolerate durability on my first playthrough, But on my second, it was extremely annoying. Constantly picking up the same weapons and having to swap between them is not fun.

A feel of lot of arguments defending durability is hypothetical and doesn't work that well in practice. For example, the argument that durability encourages good resource management sounds good on paper. That is until you realize the world gives so many weapons that its impossible to run out. Even people defending durability makes arguments like "The game gave me so many weapons, running out of weapons wasn't a problem!" implying that running out of resources was rarely an issue. How can the game encourage good resource management when players aren't afraid of running out of weapons? Resource management was alright in Eventide, Master Trials, and Great Plateau but that's 5% of the game. A system that is only good for 5% of the game is not a good system. There is a lot more I could criticize about weapons durability, as I have a counter for every argument I've heard but it might turn into a durability discussion so I won't continue.

Instead I think a system they should implement for weapons is the one currently for armor. They just need to expand it more and include weapons. Game loop goes: explore -> find materials -> use materials to forge/upgrade ->use better gear to explore more. This essentially turns materials to the main reward for exploration with weapons being a secondary one.


I thought that until I played DMC5 last year. There is a surprisingly amount you can do with a single button combat system. Directional input can alter what combo you do. Directional input was already in previous Zelda games so they just need to expand on it and make each combo more unique and have a specific use case. You can also make the timing of the presses affect what moves you do. For example A -> A -> A is different from A-> A -> (slight pause) -> A.

I believe the A button is free when you aren't using a shield, That could easily be a secondary attack button.
Zelda isn't an stylish action game tho. There are so many mechanics and interactivities at play.

The A button is used for so many things in the game like looting and activating stuff its no wonder its only used when you put the shield up. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen mid fight.

I get that people want deeper melee combat but its just not the focus of BotW and thats totally fine imo.
 
I'm going to need an explanation of what sophisticated player initiated swordplay and combos happened in Ocarina of Time. Because as far as I can tell, you spam B when the time is right and you come up well.
I agree. It always felt nice because it makes me connect with the character better. But most of time it makes no sense to master the gameplay because most or all enemies don't require it.

About combos, there was none or minimal. And it makes me feel more like I'm 1:1 to the character I am controlling.

they made Sword gameplay not as deep because there are just so many buttons a dev can put to use. Combined with all the systems and bow gameplay in place it seems pretty unreasonable do demand deeper melee systems. The combat greatness of BotW is the sum of its parts not the individual systems in itself.
Not sure if that would be the reason because most of movements are done using analog + b button + z target on/off. Only difference is that now jump attack is jump + sword(which is a nice addition imo).
The thing that I like about BOTW combat is how fluid bow is integrated with the battle. It's a bummer they chose to interrupt the gameplay flow to make you select a new bow or weapon when they break.
 
0
Status
Not open for further replies.
Staff Communication
Please note that this thread is completely spoiler-free, and that includes tagged spoilers. If you want to discuss spoilers, we refer to the spoiler thread.
Last edited:


Back
Top Bottom