The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - What to Do With Bubbul Gems

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.