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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. With the announcement of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 marks an important turning point. After several years of being unable to buy a reasonably fast GPU for anything less than $1,000, things are finally starting to change. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is an affordable next-gen GPU that you can actually buy today. Crypto is down, and so are GPU prices Up until about the middle of 2022, it was nearly impossible to find an affordable GPU that you could buy off-the-shelf for anywhere near its list price. You were looking at well over $1,000 for even a midrange GPU, and just about the only way to get a decent option was to buy a pre-configured desktop with the GPU included. Even then, prices were inflated, but not nearly so much as if you were to source the GPU yourself. This was because of supply shortages and the voracious demand of cryptocurrency, which is “mined” using GPUs because of their raw speed at performing the necessary calculations. Both of these influences started to wane last year, meaning that it was sort of, kind of easier to find a decent GPU for a price that didn’t break the bank. Flash forward to April 2023, and things are even better. You’re still looking at around $1,200 for a high-end GPU like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 that lists at $1,200, but that level of card has always been expensive. It’s been at the midrange and low-end that things have been ridiculous, and Nvidia just changed that with the introduction of the RTX 4070. Yes, it’s not cheap at $600, and that’s $100 more at list price than the RTX 3070 that preceded it. But you’re getting a lot more performance out of the GPU and, most important, you can actually buy the GPU at this list price. For example, the Asus Dual GeForce RTX 4070 12GB can be purchased today for $600. It’s in stock and ready to deliver. That’s almost a miracle compared to just a couple of years ago. And according to early benchmarks, the card delivers performance that’s similar to the RTX 3080, a card that would have cost you more than twice as much not that long ago. Based on today’s latest technology Best yet, the RTX 4070 is based on Nvidia’s latest Ada Lovelace architecture, so you’re not buying yesterday’s technology. According to Nvidia, the architecture provides more than twice the speed as the previous Ampere architecture while drawing the same power. Ada Lovelace Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs) are much faster, doubling the speed and offering up to 90 TFLOPs of Shader performance in the fastest chips compared to the previous generation’s maximum of 40 TFLOPs. Nvidia also incorporated Shader Execution Reordering (SER) technology into the Ada Lovelace architecture. SER takes inefficient workloads and reorganizes them so their more efficient and execute more quickly. That can increase frame rates by as much as 25%, while again doubling shader performance. There’s also a third generation of Nvidia’s ray-tracing technology on-hand. Improvements in ray-triangle intersection throughput can be as high as 2.8X, offering up to 191 ray-tracing TFLOPs of performance compared to 78 RT-TFLOPs in earlier GPUs. Opacity Micro-Map Engines and Micro-Mesh Engines further accelerate ray tracing. The Tensor Cores, which provide the AI necessary for things like DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which speeds up frame rates by intelligently producing higher resolution frames from lower resolution data with higher quality than ever. This allows for higher frame rates without giving up noticeable quality, and Nvidia’s newest DLSS 3 takes the technology to new levels. There’s even more technology to speed up gaming performance, and Nvidia has provided software that accelerates things even further. And all of that is available in the RTX 4070 at a reasonable price. Performance is promising so far Note that Nvidia has also introduced the RTX 4070 Ti that retails around $800 MSRP, and it offers more processing cores, ray tracing cores, and tensor cores, running at a faster speed. So, you’re giving up some performance for that $200 difference in price. But, you’re still getting all of the Ada Lovelace improvements, which is what makes the RTX 4070 so special. And according to benchmark results, the RTX 4070 is around 17% slower than the RTX 4070 Ti while being 33% less expensive. That’s an attractive value proposition. If you’re looking for a 4K gaming GPU, then you’ll want to jump up to the RTX 4080. But the RTX 4070 does just fine at 1440p, which is a sweet spot for many gamers. The card was able to hit around 112 frames per second (fps), for example, in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla running at 1440p and Ultra High graphics. That’s a demanding title, and the RTX 4070 handles it with aplomb. If you want to play your games with ray tracing turned on, then you’re going to be more inclined to spend the extra $200 on the RTX 4070 Ti. In Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition 4K running at Ultra RT, for example, the RTX 4070 managed just 48 fps compared to the RTX 4070 Ti at 63 fps. That’s a meaningful improvement. Even so, finally an affordable choice Yes, GPUs are still one of the more expensive components in a desktop gaming PC build. But the RTX 4070 helps out by requiring less power than the RTX 3070 and can thus utilize a less costly power supply. And it’s a tremendous improvement in performance for just $100 more. Finally, there’s a GPU you can actually buy today that will meet both your budget and your performance demands.

There’s a long list of companies that make gaming laptops. It ranges from the standard crew of Dell, Lenovo, HP, other major manufacturers to tiny boutique shops. And that’s not including white box builders who will sell you a laptop without any real brand standing behind it (and with desktop PCs, that includes machines you build yourself). The primary makers often have a set of configurations that they’ve put together with specific components at set price points. You’ll find them sitting on retail shelves and other online sellers, including the manufacturer’s own website. Maybe you can find a configuration that will work well for you, with just the right mix of speed and pricing. If so, then you’re all set. But you’re not limited to these standard configurations. There are ways to get a more custom build that more precisely checks off all your boxes. We won’t talk about building your own laptop, because compared to desktops they’re much more tightly designed using proprietary parts that you can’t just buy off the shelf. But short of something homebuilt, you can get a laptop that suits you easily enough. Also, compared to desktop PCs, your laptop choices will be more limited, again because laptops aren’t simply assembled from off-the-shelf parts. Note that there are two potential downsides to a custom-built laptop. First, they can take longer to get because you’re not picking something up that’s already sitting on the shelf or in a warehouse ready to go. Second, your return options are often more limited, either to no returns at all or restocking fees that may not apply to pre-built machines. Note as well that some companies’ configuration options change often, as do the prices, usually based on sales and component availability. Use a major manufacturer’s configurator If you’d rather buy a gaming laptop from a major company, perhaps because you like its brand or you trust a larger company to provide better long-term support, then in some cases you’re in luck. Some of the biggest players have custom configuration options on their web site that let you pick and choose from among various components. As we’ll see in the “boutique” section below, the options are often relatively limited. But they’re wider than you’ll find if you just pick up a pre-built machine. Unfortunately, the number of companies that provide custom, or built-to-order, laptops, is limited. Examples of those that do include Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Companies like Razer, Asus, MSI, Acer, and others just offer predefined configurations with only a few exceptions, and some of them only sell via retailers. We’ll use Dell’s Alienware gaming lineup as an example. You can go to the company’s Alienware shop and select from a list of current laptops. If you go to Dell.com and navigate to the Alienware link, the shop is where you’ll end up. You can click on each listing to get more information on the model, and underneath each listing’s header you’ll find a “Customize ->” link. Take the new Alienware X16 as an example. It’s a new machine with a spectacularly modern chassis and powerful components, and you can find out all about it by clicking on the Tech Specs and Features links. To the right, you’ll find the configurator, which provides a selection of boxes you can check to choose from among various component options. Dell isn’t offering that many options for the Alienware X16 as this article is being written. You can select the operating system, the amount and configuration of storage, and the display type. But the CPU, RAM, and GPU have no additional options. That could change in the future as Dell rolls out more options. As you can see from the screenshot, the entry-level configuration for the Alienware X16 costs $2,999.99 and includes an Intel Core i9-13900HK CPU, Windows 11 Home, 32GB of LPDDR5-6000 RAM, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, a single 512GB SSD, and a 16.0-inch QHD+ IPS display running at 165Hz. Click a few boxes, though, such as upgrading to 4TB of RAID 0 storage made up of two 2TB SSDs and choosing the 240Hz display, and your price jumps to $3,599.99. Dell only offers its configurator on its web site, so if you want a pre-built laptop you’ll need to go shopping at retail outlets. HP, on the other hand, offers both pre-built and customization options at its gaming store. If you look at the screenshot, you’ll see both “Add to Cart” and “Customize & Buy” options. Click on one of the latter and you’ll be taken to HP’s configurator for that laptop. HP’s configuration options for the OMEN Laptop 17t-ck100 are a lot wider than for the Dell Alienware X16. We can’t show you the entire list in a reasonable screenshot, but you can choose the laptop’s color, operating system, CPU and GPU, RAM, storage, support services, and additional software and accessories. For some reason, as this article is being written, HP isn’t listing the laptop’s price. Usually that will be on the page and it will update as you change components. Choose a boutique shop You can also find a variety of smaller companies online that will customize a laptop for you. In desktop PCs, these companies can offer a bewildering array of options because they’re essentially choosing components you could buy yourself and building a machine for you. In laptops the options are often less diverse because there’s not a cottage industry of peripheral makers for laptops. Take CLX Gaming as an example. Choose customizable desktop configurator and you’ll quickly get lost among all the options. The screen below extends pretty far down the page with a staggering number of different machines to choose from. Its laptop offerings, though, are more limited. There’s really just one machine available, the CLX Anubis, and its configuration options are similar to those you’ll find from the major vendors offering customer laptops. You can choose the display type, the GPU, and the amount of RAM and storage, just as you can with the major companies. But, CLX offers more choices in some cases. For example, you can choose not just the amount of storage you want but the specific SSD as well. Search and you’ll find it There are many more companies out there that will sell you a customized PC, so your favorite search engine will be helpful here. But the bottom line is that you don’t have to accept just the pre-configured laptops that are offered on retail shelves and online. Do a little digging, and you can build just the right gaming laptop for your needs.

Sure, you can put your new gaming laptop on a desktop, maybe add a nice gaming mouse, and get to playing your favorite titles. You’ll probably spend some time tweaking the settings, overclocking where you can and making sure all drivers are up to date. After all, the whole point of that gaming machine is to get the highest possible framerates with all the exotic features turned on. Then again, maybe that’s a limited perspective. As we wrote about in an earlier article, gaming laptops can be used for a lot more than just gaming. Their sheer power lends itself to the most demanding productivity tasks and even professional-level creative workflows. There’s no good reason to let all that performance go to waste if you have real work that needs to be done. So, the question then becomes, how can you make a gaming laptop the center of your computing experience? The good thing is, it’s no harder to do than with any other laptop, and in fact it might even be easier in some respects. And much of what we talk about here will apply to most laptops and not just gaming machines, so if you have a thin and light laptop that you’d like to use as your primary PC, read on. Lots of ports One thing that tends to differentiate gaming laptops from some other classes, particularly thin and light machines, is that they come stocked with tons of ports. That’s particularly true of larger gaming laptops, say 16-inches or more, that have big chassis with lots of rooms for expansion. As an example, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a 16-inch laptop that can be configured with a superfast CPU and GPU and that provides awesome gaming and creative performance. It’s a fine example of a laptop that both play games and do real work, and it’s jam-packed with ports. You’ll find four USB-A ports for legacy peripherals, two USB-C ports (one with Thunderbolt 4 support), an HDMI 2.1 port for connecting an external display, and an RJ-45 Ethernet port for a hardwired network connection. That’s as many ports as some desktop PCs, and it means that you can connect every possible peripheral you might need in your primary PC setup. Gamers sometimes like to use wired mice and keyboards to eliminate the latency and connection issues the sometimes pop up with wireless devices, and the Legion Pro 7i has you covered with plenty of USB-A ports. If you want to connect multiple displays, then you’re fine there two, with the ability to attach up to three 4K displays thanks to the two USB-C ports and HDMI. And if you want the fastest internet connection, then you can use the Ethernet port to connect directly to your router and avoid wireless latency. Some smaller gaming machines don’t have quite as many ports, and the same goes for some that are thinner and lighter. The Razer Blade 16, for example, has a decent selection of ports but it’s not quite as diverse. There’s no Ethernet port, for example, meaning you’re limited to wireless connectivity unless you add an USB ethernet adapter. Go even smaller, thinner, and lighter, and you’ll find yourself running into issues getting everything setup. Docking stations to the rescue That’s where docking stations come in. They’re devices that provide one connection to a PC, usually a laptop, and then a host of ports for attaching additional peripherals. They can support multiple monitors, a handful of USB-A devices, Ethernet, and more. The most functional and powerful docking stations use Thunderbolt 4, a connection that’s increasingly common and one you’ll find on just about every recently introduced gaming laptop. One solid example of a Thunderbolt 4 docking station is the $310 Kensington SD5700T, which connects to the PC with a single Thunderbolt 4 cable that can also pass up to 90 watts of power to the laptop. That’s more than enough for most thin and light machines, but for gaming laptops you’ll want to keep using your proprietary charger – many of which provide 300 watts of power or more. The Kensington SD5700T offers a wide range of ports, including four USB-A ports, four USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support (three downstream and one upstream), an RJ-45 Ethernet connection, a 3.5mm audio jack for external audio support, and an SD Card reader. It will support up to two 4K displays at 60Hz, along with all of the same peripherals that you’ll get from connecting directly to the Legion Pro 7i. The docking station has one huge advantage over connecting natively, and that’s that it provides a single connection to plug and unplug as you move your gaming laptop around. It’s tedious to disconnect and reconnect multiple cables every time you want to take your laptop on the road or return to your office, and the docking station’s single cable avoids that inconvenience. The disadvantage of a docking station can be performance. There’s a limit to how much bandwidth you can pass over a single Thunderbolt 4 connection, and depending on your gaming laptop you might get better performance by connecting directly. For example, the Legion Pro 7i’s HDMI 2.1 port is more likely to support external monitors with higher refresh rates, which will be important if you want to connect a gaming monitor that supports more than 60Hz. By default, HDMI 2.1 supports up to 120Hz at 4K and up to 240Hz with lower resolutions (where many gamers tend to play anyway). Either way, it’s easy enough Whether you go with a gaming laptop’s built-in ports or add a docking station, it’s easy enough to turn it into the centerpiece of your computing experience. By far the most productivity- and gaming-enhancing aspect is the ability to connect multiple monitors, which gives you more screen real estate to work and play with. Overall, you’ll likely find yourself the envy of your desktop PC gaming friends who are tied to one location.

By definition, what is a gaming laptop? On the outside, gaming laptops usually have an ostentatious aesthetic like RGB lighting, huge jet exhaust fans, and funky designs; the Gigabyte Aorus is a prime example of what a gaming laptop looks like. Other gaming laptops take on a more mainstream look, like the Razer Blade 16, which sports a cohesive design that resembles a more standard laptop aesthetic. Beneath the exterior, gaming machines typically employ powerful CPUs and discrete graphics cards and enhanced airflow and cooling features built into the design. Gaming laptops tend to have a thicker build in order to accommodate the cooling and are heavier as a result. What is a creative laptop? Creative laptops or creative workstations are a different class of laptop—but one that bears a strong resemblance to a gaming laptop. Creative workstations have become more popular over the last several years and come in mainstream and commercial varieties configured with fast CPUs and GPUs with special attention to airflow and thermal performance. Two examples are the MSI Creator Z16, a mainstream laptop geared towards creators, and the Lenovo ThinkPad P15v Gen 3, which is considered a portable workstation. The drivers make a difference Those laptops tend to come with special driver versions, like Nvidia’s Studio GPU drivers, that are optimized for reliable, fast performance in creative applications like Adobe’s Creative Suite and engineering and design applications like AutoCAD. Those drivers tend to perform worse in games than a GPU’s standard drivers, which are usually optimized for gaming performance. In the case of Nvidia’s drivers, it’s relatively easy to switch back and forth between Studio and Game Ready drivers, so that’s something to keep in mind. In terms of hardware specifications there can be a fortunate overlap between gaming and creative laptops. For our purposes, we’ll set aside commercial machines, which are typically purchased by corporations, and focus on mainstream creative laptops targeted toward consumers. Here, you’ll find that many gaming laptops can meet the needs of both gamers and most creators. They can provide the power to churn through demanding video editing processes while achieving high frame rates in modern gaming titles with advanced features like ray tracing and high dynamic range (HDR) turned on. But there are some important criteria to keep in mind when choosing a gaming laptop for content creation. CPU performance You’ll want a configuring the fastest CPU you can afford. CPU performance is actually more important for creative apps than games. As of this writing, the fastest CPUs include Intel’s 13th-gen 55-watt Core i9-13950HX, which has 24 cores (eight Performance and 16 Efficient) and 32 threads and can run its Performance cores at up to 5.5GHz. Comparably, the 55-watt Ryzen 9 7945HX has 16 cores and 32 threads running up to 5.4GHz. If you’re using your laptop solely for gaming, those CPUs are overkill. CPU clock speed is an important factor for gaming performance, but games usually do not take advantage of all those cores and threads: these are features more attuned for content creation applications. GPU performance It seems logical that gamers would be more concerned about GPU power, given that graphical performance is the name of the game for achieving high frame rates. The GPU plays an important role in many creative applications as well. Adobe Creative Suite can use the GPU to speed up intensive tasks like video encoding, for example. Display quality Here’s where you need to be most careful in selecting your gaming laptop if you have serious creative work in mind. The needs of gamers and creators are different when it comes to displays, but there are laptops that can meet both needs if you’re careful in your selection. Gamers want a display that will match up well with the CPU and GPU combination to achieve the fastest refresh rates. That means a display that’s not higher resolution than it needs to be and with a fast refresh rate to avoid tearing and other artifacts while gaming. Certainly, the standard 60Hz refresh rate in most laptop displays isn’t good enough. Gamers also want plenty of brightness and contrast to make for the best image possible. What gamers aren’t as concerned about is color. They don’t need the widest colors, measured in terms of gamuts like sRGB and AdobeRGB, and they don’t need the most accurate colors. Creators, on the other hand, need the widest color gamuts they can get and the highest accuracy. That means, for example, achieving 95% or higher of the AdobeRGB gamut with a color accuracy of DeltaE 1.0 or less. Gamers can get by with a 75% AdobeRGB and a DeltaE of 2.0 or less and still thoroughly enjoy their gaming experience. Most gaming laptops that use IPS displays won’t provide the kinds of colors that creators are looking for. Today, your best bet is a laptop using an OLED or mini-LED panel. Both can provide very wide and accurate colors, and they also provide deep contrast. And mini-LED in particular put out tons of brightness. Creators want those attributes as well. The MSI GE Series OLED is an example of a gaming laptop with fast components and an OLED display that runs with a refresh rate up to 240Hz. If you want the highest brightness you can get, which is great for HDR content, then mini-LED is your best bet. The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 will give you just that, with a mini-LED display that also runs at up to a 240Hz refresh rate. And that’s not all You’ll also want to make sure that the gaming laptop has a comfortable keyboard that’s good for long-term typing sessions and not just mashing keys while gaming. And the size and look will also be important. But what we’ve covered here are the most important considerations, and there are numerous gaming laptops available that can please the gamer inside you while allowing you to get your creative juices flowing.

Although The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has plenty of returning features and mechanics that began in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there’s an enormous amount of new ideas, locations, and items to wrap your head around. One of the more mysterious additions can be found in the form of Bubbul Gems. These hexagonal, snowflake-looking gems are fairly rare, but it’s likely that you’ll happen upon one or two of them before leaving the game’s tutorial area of the Great Sky Island. However, they won’t have a use until you’ve reached the surface. If your time on the Great Sky Island didn’t include any spelunking, you might not have had the pleasure of running into the cave-dwelling critters known as Bubbulfrogs. These bubble-spewing monsters hang out exclusively in caves, often on their ceilings, and vanquishing one with a quick arrow or two causes a Bubbul Gem to appear. Not every cave has a Bubbulfrog, but if you see a cave they’re worth peeking into. The reason you’ll want to hunt down Bubbul Gems is they’re the only way you’ll be able to get your hands on some rare pieces of armor. Armor that can make certain monsters not act hostile toward you, and even armor that will have you lose Rupees instead of health when you’re hit. Pretty useful once you get rich! How does one begin collecting these treasures? You’ll have to head to Woodland Stable (coordinates 1080, 1159, 0022). Located directly to the northeast of Lookout Landing, this stable lives up to its name and is surrounded by trees, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to spot with its large, horse-shaped chimney. To the east of the stable, there’s a small body of water with a strange, glowing hot air balloon tucked away beneath a cliff. It is here that you’ll meet Kilton and Kolton. Two very…interesting brothers. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild players may remember Kilton as a monster-loving merchant who bartered in monster parts, but now it’s his brother Kolton who gives the unique armor in exchange for Bubbul Gems. If you haven’t collected one by this point, the cave that Kolton emerges from will have a Bubbulfrog inside, and you can make your first exchange with Kolton to receive the Bokoblin Mask. After this, however, the brothers will pack up their things and head far to the northeastern hub of Terry Town (coordinates 3990, 1557, 0127). Once you’ve made your way here, Kilton can be found on the northeastern side of town. Speaking to him will show you the distant hillside where his Bubbul Gem-seeking brother and that glowing hot air balloon can be found when night falls. If you make your way over to Kilton and speak with him, he’ll be much more willing to exchange items for Bubbul Gems multiple times. Additionally, he and his balloon will begin traveling around Hyrule to appear at various spots. Only at night, of course, which will make spotting that glowing balloon much easier.

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you can enjoy exploring through calm, beautifully cel-shaded environments with gentle, drifting music that seems to ride by on blissful gusts of wind. Until a terrifying shriek breaks the peaceful ambience, the sky quickly turns a haunting crimson, and an ungodly horror known as Gloom Hands zooms in your direction with surprising speed to choke the life force out of poor Link. No, this isn’t a crossover with Resident Evil, but an eerie new enemy that you’ll run into multiple times in your adventures through Hyrule. They’re tough, but they can be beaten if you’re prepared! As their name implies, Gloom Hands are made of the mysterious and evil substance known simply as Gloom. The arms move around in a pool of the nasty stuff, and coming into contact with it for more than a brief moment will cause one of your hearts to become cracked. If a hand grabs you, you’ll likely have one or more hearts become cracked before you can wiggle your control sticks enough to break free of their clutches. Thankfully, grabbing you is the only way Gloom Hands can attack, and healing cracked hearts is a cinch. As you venture through Hyrule, make sure you keep an eye out for Sundelions. These yellow flowers are most commonly found in the Sky Islands or on pieces that fell to the surface. When they’re cooked into a dish, they restore cracked hearts. If you don’t have any cracked heart-healing meals on you, the best thing to do when confronted by Gloom Hands is climb the nearest tree, building, steep hill, or anything tall. Those horrifying hands are quick, but easily stunned or confused when either a Dazzlefruit or Puffshroom is thrown into their midst. Once you manage to reach an elevated perch, you can then adopt one of two strategies: wait them out, or send them back to hell. If Gloom Hands can’t get at you, they’ll actually lose interest pretty quickly. Rather than venturing back to where they first saw you, however, they’ll simply despawn and leave behind some Dark Clumps which can be used for creating gloom-resistant dishes. If you choose to fight the hands, your best bet is to deal damage to all of them at once with Bomb Flowers. The reason for this is that the hands will quickly respawn if they don’t all go down together. Once they’re dead, a Phantom Ganon will appear. Yikes. It’s an intimidating foe, but more of what you’ll be used to. Simply block or dodge its attacks and get in some hits when you have an opening. The pool of gloom around its feet will actually shrink as it takes damage, but it’s a good idea not to stand too close for too long because that pool will come back. When it's defeated, you’ll receive a Gloom weapon and a Demon King’s Bow. Strong loot for killing the next batch of Gloom Hands!

There’s plenty of brand new sights, challenges, mysteries, and mechanics within The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but that doesn’t mean that Nintendo threw away the parts of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that worked. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? Fortunately, shield surfing, a fan-favorite method of traversal from Breath of the Wild, survived the transition to Tears of the Kingdom and players can once again bolt down hills on whatever shield(s) they have handy. Of course, the newer systems in Tears of the Kingdom have added a few twists to the mechanic. Before we talk about the crazy stuff you can do with shield surfing, let’s talk about how to even begin. With a shield equipped, you’ll want to hold the shield button (ZL), jump (B or X depending on your control scheme), and, while you’re in the air, press the A button. That’s all there is to it! However, it’s worth noting that if you perform a shield surf while standing in place Link will simply hop onto his shield without adding additional momentum. If gravity isn’t enough for you and you’d like just a little bit more oomph in your shield surfing ventures, moving Link forward while performing the action will cause him to jump and flip forward onto the shield with a brief, beginning boost. Also, if you’re already falling through the air for some reason, holding the shield button and pressing A will attach your equipped shield to Link’s feet so you can hit the ground surfing! It won’t stop any fall damage though, so keep that Paraglider handy. Now, in Tears of the Kingdom you have the ability to fuse just about any object you can find to your weapon and shield. The overwhelming majority of items that can be smacked onto your shield will make shield surfing impossible to perform. You can always jump into your inventory and destroy a fused material if you want to restore a shield’s surfing capabilities, but there are a few items that will actually boost said surfing capabilities! Chunks of ice that you make in bodies of water, Hinox Toenails (ew), Zonai Sleds, Zonai Carts, and even minecarts will all fuse to your shield and help it go even farther when surfing. Neat! Just keep in mind that the lower a shield’s defense, the less time you’ll have to use it for surfing before it shatters. As a final piece of shield surfing advice, there are a few different places in Hyrule with minecart rails. Going up these rails will require a full minecart with some means of propulsion, but if you’re headed down you can actually shield surf on them. You don’t even need to have a minecart fused to your shield! That would help you go faster and further, sure, but any shield will automatically lock onto a minecart rail when you shield surf onto them. Eat your heart out, Tony Hawk!

It wouldn’t really be a Legend of Zelda game if you didn’t acquire the Master Sword. Despite the legendary weapon’s shocking disappearance in the beginning of the game, there is a way to reobtain the Hero’s Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It takes a bit of work, but it can actually be done fairly early in the game. First, you’re going to want to make sure you have at least two full wheels of stamina before attempting to retrieve Link’s beloved sword. No, those temporary, yellow stamina wheels don’t count. You need two green, persistent stamina wheels. You start the game with one (halfway there), but an additional one will cost you twenty Lights of Blessing which are earned from completing the shrines scattered throughout Hyrule. Why do you need the two stamina wheels? We’ll get to that a bit later. If you’d like to earn the Master Sword without being spoiled by this guide, your best course of action is to make your way into Korok Forest. To do so, you’ll have to break in from the Depths beneath the woods. The quickest way to get there is by diving into the Minshi Woods Chasm (coordinates 1038, 1663, 0159) just north of the Woodland Stable (coordinates 1058, 1157, 0022). After ascending your way into Korok Forest and helping the Great Deku Tree with a bad stomach ache, speaking with the giant tree guy one more time will give you the quest “Recovering the Hero’s Sword.” Tracking this quest within your Adventure Log will highlight the exact location of the Master Sword on your map. Neat! If you have your two stamina wheels, you can head straight there and reunite with the legendary blade. If you don’t care about spoilers and want to forgo all of the Korok Forest stuff, keep on reading. It turns out that the Master Sword has been with the mysterious Light Dragon all along. In fact, it’s embedded in the poor creature’s forehead. To retrieve it, you’ll need to land on the dragon, make your way to the head and pull it out. This is where those two stamina wheels come in. Pulling the sword from the dragon is a test of endurance, and if you have less than two full stamina wheels that sword isn’t going anywhere. Except for wherever the Light Dragon goes, of course. Once you do have the weapon in your possession, however, you’ll not only be able to wield it in battle but you can use it just like any other weapon. Yes, that means you can fuse items to the Master Sword! Whatever you decide to fuse to the weapon won’t appear on the end all the time, but when something is fused the sword will have glowing, green lettering appear along the blade. If you’re dissatisfied with any fusion you create, you can always jump into your weapon inventory to destroy fused materials.

Back in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there were three magically mysterious dragons that could be seen flying over the lands of Hyrule. Naydra the ice dragon, Farosh the lightning dragon, and Dinraal the fire dragon. Each one of them would arrive through a portal, fly along a small route, and then disappear. In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the dragons are in Hyrule all the time as they move between the surface and the Depths. Not only that, but there’s now a fourth dragon known only as the Light Dragon. This one’s a bit tricker to find than the others, but doing so is well worth your time. Unlike Naydra, Farosh, and Dinraal, the Light Dragon won’t ever venture into the Depths. Instead, the Light Dragon chooses to coast far above Hyrule in the midst of the Sky Islands. This is hinted at when the Light Dragon makes its first appearance in a cutscene as you leave the tutorial area of the Great Sky Island. Also unlike the other flying lizards, the Light Dragon’s flight path is much longer as it circles around on the exterior of all Hyrule. That makes it tricky to spot, but there’s a quest that makes hunting the majestic beast a breeze. Be aware that there are some slight spoilers from here on out. The quest in question is called “Recovering the Hero’s Sword,” and it’s given to you by the Great Deku Tree after you help him in Korok Forest. Choosing to track this quest within your Adventure Log will cause the position of the Light Dragon to always be highlighted on your map. Now with a constant GPS tracker of the LIght Dragon’s location, finding it couldn’t be easier. Keep in mind that completing this quest will make tracking the dragon via glowing objective marker impossible. Why would one want to track down the Light Dragon to begin with? For scales, talons, horns, fangs, and spikes, of course! Each dragon has these four resources that can be collected for upgrading specific armor sets or for creating powerful weapon fusions. The Light Dragon’s resources will be of particular interest to anyone that wants to upgrade the Champion’s Leathers outfit. To acquire scales, one must shoot any scaly part of the Light Dragon’s body with an arrow. Talons come from shooting any part of the dragon’s feet, horns come from shooting the horns, fangs from shooting the mouth, and spikes actually come from landing on the dragon’s back and picking up any spikes that are clumped at the base of the dragon’s spikes. Resources that have to be shot off the dragon can only be collected one at a time. In fact, shooting the dragon a second time won’t yield any results for roughly ten minutes. Other than upgrading the Champion’s Leathers, the Light Dragon’s materials have the unique ability to heal you when fused to a weapon. They may not be as strong as pieces from the other dragons, but keeping you in the fight is pretty useful!

Cooking has returned in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and, just like Breath of the Wild there’s a whole bunch of scrumptious-sounding dishes and potent elixirs to find. Luckily, you don’t have to get the rarest ingredients in order to make some of the most useful recipes in the game. The following five recipes are incredibly useful not only when you’ve started your adventure through Hyrule, but even after you’ve become a seasoned explorer. Sometimes all you need is a bunch of healing. Fried Wild Greens can do just that and for the insanely low price of five Hyrule Herbs. Said herbs are incredibly common, and throwing five in a pot will restore a whopping ten hearts. With how easy it is to throw together, this is one dish you’ll want to come back to well before and after you even have ten hearts to work with. It might not heal a lot, but a single Staminoka Bass will restore an entire Stamina Wheel. Just one fish! With salt to taste, of course. Staminoka Bass aren’t too common all over Hyrule, but they can be found fairly easily in the West Necluda river that runs between the towering Dueling Peaks. Again, this won’t be your recipe for staying alive in a fight, but it will certainly help with any lengthy Paraglider flights or mountain climbing. Should you find yourself braving the dark underbelly of Hyrule known as the Depths, you’ll want a powerful dish that can restore any Cracked Hearts. For this, you can combine one or two Sundelions with some Hylian Rice to put some pep back in your step. Sundelions are most easily found on the floating Sky Islands, and Hylian Rice can be purchased in Lookout Landing, Hateno Village, or simply farmed by chopping up grass near Hateno Village. This recipe takes a bit more work to throw together, but it’ll be worth it to keep those Cracked Hearts away. Speaking of the Depths, it’s pretty hard to see down there most of the time. For that, you’ll want a Bright Fish Skewer made from Glowing Cave Fish to give your body its own glowing power. The more Glowing Cave Fish you can throw in the pot, the better. These bioluminescent critters are easily found in caves and wells all over Hyrule, and they’re incredibly easy to catch thanks to them living in small bodies of cave water. It’s true that throwing Brightbloom Seeds can be used to navigate the Depths as well, but with a Bright Fish Skewer you won’t need to stop and manually light your way nearly as much. While you’re gathering ingredients in caves, keep an eye out for Sticky Frogs and Lizards so that you can create some Sticky Elixir. It doesn’t eliminate slipping when wall-climbing, but it does make climbing while wet much easier. Throw those Frogs and or Lizards into a brew with a few monster parts and you’ll be good to go!

Longtime Legend of Zelda fans will undoubtedly recognize the Fierce Deity armor. Originally from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask as a weapon that was only usable during boss fights, the Fierce Deity armor set made its first reappearance in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a DLC item. Now, however, it’s part of the base game in Tears of the Kingdom. Like most armor sets in the game, the Fierce Deity is split into headwear, a chest piece, and some leggings. Unlike most armor sets, however, this one has its own side quest! To get the quest started, you’ll have to venture northeast to Eldin Canyon around coordinates 2503, 1319, 0150. Here, you’ll encounter some treasure hunting brothers that will express their frustration at trying to find a treasure in the cave behind them. The issue being that the cave is filled with treasure chests and only one has the true treasure. To find the correct chest, you should offer the dog nearby the cave entrance a few treats. This can be raw meat, cooked meat, or even apples. Once he’s had his fill, the pup will lead you inside to the correct chest and voila! The Ember Trousers will be yours! Wait, what? These aren’t what you’re after, of course, but after claiming these (useful) pants you’ll be able to read a cryptic message left behind by Misko: the man that hid the Fierce Deity outfit. Thus, the quest Misko’s Treasure: The Fierce Deity will begin. The piece closest to you at this point will be the Fierce Deity Armor. Heading north to 3281, 1494, 0414, you’ll have to get creative in climbing to the tippity-top of the Akkala Citadel Ruins. Once there, a small hole can be found in the southwest corner of the ruins. Crawl through, and boom! The first piece of the outfit is yours! Next is the Fierce Deity Mask, and it’s a bit tougher. Located in the right eye of the skull-shaped lake at coordinates 3337, 3453, 0342, this piece is being guarded by plenty of skeletal bokoblins and an enormous Stalnox. Should you prevail through this mini-boss, however, the mask can be nabbed simply by crawling up the large mound in the room and opening the chest on top. Two down! For the Fierce Deity Boots, you’ll want to head all the way back down to Hyrule Field. Off in the west near coordinates -1034, -0499, 0083, you’ll see a massive tree stump in the middle of a lake. You guessed it — time to go spelunking once more. Once you reach the bottom, there are a few different openings to explore. The one you’ll want is to the south. Pass through and you’ll notice you have to do quite a bit of climbing straight up. There are plenty of areas to stop and refill your stamina, however, and once you’ve reached the top the final piece of the Fierce Deity armor set will be yours! For an extra and mysterious reward, you can revisit the cave where you started your quest while wearing the Fierce Deity armor.

Thanks to the brand new Fuse ability in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, there’s an enormous number of crazy weapon combinations for players to discover. Naturally, you’ll want to see as many as you can, but inventory management can make that a bit tricky. Of course, more inventory room would mean you could hold onto even more makeshift melee weapons, shields, and bows. How does one go about expanding their arsenal storage? If you’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you already know who you need to see: Hestu. The large, dance-loving korok Hestu is your go-to source for weapon inventory expansion. The only currency he deals in, however, is Korok Seeds. These are found literally all over the entire game world via environmental Korok puzzles. Luckily, Hestu can be found early on in the game and you don’t need any Korok Seeds to move him to a more convenient location. After you’ve left the tutorial Great Sky Island, Hestu can be found a short distance away from your landing point. Head northwest to coordinates -1714, 1067, 0202 and you’ll see the big fella cowering in fear. Talking to him will start a small quest that requires you to take care of some eerie, nearby trees. Once that’s done, you can speak with Hestu to reassure the poor guy that the trees are taken care of, nab one or two inventory upgrades, and witness his adorable maraca-shaking dance, before the he tells you that he’ll be moving east to be surrounded by people. Fortunately, Hestu didn’t mean he was going to any of the eastern provinces of Hyrule. Instead, he’ll settle down nearby within Lookout Landing. Here he’ll upgrade your choice of weapon, shield, or bow inventories as much as you want — if you’ve got the Korok Seeds, of course. These inventory upgrades can get pretty expensive fairly quickly, so it’s always a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for Korok puzzles while you’re out exploring. Don’t worry if it’s taking you some time to amass more Korok Seeds for the later upgrades as Hestu won’t leave Lookout Landing right away. He may shift spots around the camp, but he won’t move to his third and final location until you’ve managed to work your way into Korok Forest. When your adventuring one day leads you into Korok Forest, you’ll find that the Great Deku Tree and the Koroks there are in danger. After helping them with a spooky Gloom infection, the forest will be healed and all of the little forest children will be much more lively. In addition, Hestu will arrive and it’s here he’ll stay for the duration of the game. While it isn’t as convenient a location as Lookout Landing, there is the nearby fast travel point of Musanokir Shrine that will make inventory-expansion trips to Hestu much quicker. Now that you know where the maraca-loving Hestu hangs about, you can focus on finding as many Koroks as possible!