The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offers an expansive world filled with endless possibilities. After you’ve conquered the main quest and scoured Hyrule for every secret, you might find yourself craving a fresh experience. Self-imposed challenges can breathe new life into the game, forcing you to approach familiar situations in unfamiliar ways. Whether you’re a seasoned adventurer looking for added difficulty or simply want to role-play a different path, these challenges will transform your next playthrough.
Why Add Challenges to Your Playthrough?
Once the credits roll, many players feel a sense of completion but also a longing to return to Hyrule. Challenges provide a structured way to revisit the game with renewed tension and discovery. They push you to engage with mechanics you may have ignored, like cooking complex meals, mastering Zonai devices, or navigating without a map. More importantly, they let you tailor the experience to your preferred playstyle, whether that means high-stakes survival or a leisurely, rule-bound adventure.
Types of Challenges to Try
Below are some of the most engaging self-imposed rulesets. You can adopt them wholesale or mix and match to create your own perfect run.
Nuzlocke-Style Survival Run
Inspired by the Pokémon Nuzlocke rules, this challenge introduces permanent consequences. Set Link’s life count to one: if you die, you must delete the save file. To further increase tension, limit healing to cooked meals only, and forbid eating raw ingredients mid-combat. You might also restrict yourself to using only the first weapon you pick up in each region, or ban armor upgrades entirely. Each victory feels hard-earned when a single misstep means starting over.
Pacifist Challenge
Avoid killing enemies whenever possible. Rely on stealth, distraction with arrows or thrown items, and Zonai devices like the Hover Stone to bypass combat. You may still need to defeat story-critical bosses, but for those fights, set a rule like using only environmental damage or a specific, weak weapon. This challenge turns Hyrule into a tense puzzle, where every Bokoblin camp is an obstacle to outwit rather than a fight to win.
No Fast Travel
Disable fast travel entirely. Every journey becomes a trek, forcing you to plan routes, use horses, or build Zonai machines to cross distances. You’ll stumble upon hidden caves, koroks, and side quests that the map screen never shows you. To make it more immersive, restrict yourself to traveling only during daylight, or mandate that you must find shelter when it rains. This is one of the most transformative challenges, doubling your playtime while deepening your connection to the world.
Shrine Skipping
Shrines are the primary source of light orbs for heart containers and stamina upgrades. By skipping most or all shrines, you keep Link perpetually fragile. Set a hard cap, like only four hearts or one stamina wheel, and see how far you can go. Boss battles become nail-biting, and you’ll learn to rely on perfect dodges and parries. You can also forbid purchasing meals or upgrading armor for an even steeper curve.
Weapon Restrictions
Impose a strict limit on your arsenal. Pick one weapon type, such as spears or two-handed swords, and stick to it. Alternatively, embrace the rustiness of early-game gear by never using Fused weapons, or only using weapons you find in chests without Fusing at all. Another variant: “cursed” weapons only, meaning anything that deals elemental damage or has a debilitating effect that you must manage. These rules turn combat into a much more deliberate affair.
Gourmet Chef Challenge
You can only restore hearts by eating meals that contain at least three different high-quality ingredients. No apples, no raw meat, and definitely no dubious food. This requires you to hunt, gather rare herbs, and experiment with cooking. You’ll need to plan meals ahead of time and may find yourself desperate for a cooking pot before a big fight. It’s a cozy yet strategic twist that rewards your knowledge of Hyrule’s pantry.
Zonai Device Only
Conventional weapons are off the table. All combat must be conducted using Zonai devices: cannons, flame emitters, beam emitters, and constructs you build with Ultrahand. You’ll need to think like an engineer, crafting death machines on the fly. Early game is especially brutal, as you scramble for Zonite and capsules. This challenge truly tests your creativity and resourcefulness.
Bare-Bones Run
Strip Link of all perks. Wear only the starting clothes (Hylian trousers and tunic) with no upgrades. No shields except for the very first one, no bows unless absolutely required by a dungeon, and only one page of inventory slots. This minimalist approach highlights the game’s core mechanics and forces you to make every item count.
Speedrun Challenges
If you enjoy racing against the clock, set a personal best for Any% completion or other categories like “all dungeons” or “all lightroots.” Memorize route optimizations, master shield surfing and wind-bombing, and break the game’s intended sequence to shave off seconds. The speedrunning community has unearthed countless skips and tricks that you can learn and incorporate.
Role-Playing Challenges
Become a character within Hyrule. Play as a traveling merchant who never fights, only gathers and sells items; or a treasure hunter who explores every cave and well before advancing the story. Set rules that enforce your role, like never using the paraglider to simulate a grounded lifestyle, or only using Zonai devices for transportation. This stretches the game into a compelling sandbox narrative.
How to Design Your Own Challenge
The best challenges emerge from your own curiosity. Start by identifying an aspect of the game you’ve barely touched, whether it’s cooking, shield surfing, or constructing with Ultrahand. Define clear, enforceable rules. Test them early: if the first few hours feel tedious rather than exciting, adjust. Consider a hybrid approach, combining elements from multiple challenges. The goal is to create friction that feels meaningful, not frustrating. And always remember: you can bend the rules if a situation demands it, because this is for your enjoyment, not a strict competition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular challenge in Tears of the Kingdom?
Nuzlocke-style runs and no-fast-travel playthroughs tend to be the most discussed. Many players enjoy the permadeath tension, while others swear by the immersive depth that removing fast travel brings. Shrine skipping and weapon restrictions are also top contenders for those seeking a harder combat experience.
Can I do a pacifist run and still complete the main story?
Yes, but you’ll need to make a few exceptions. Story bosses must be defeated, but you can limit yourself to indirect damage or heavily restricted weaponry. Some quests might require you to clear monster camps; you can interpret “pacifist” as avoiding all optional combat and using stealth or bribery (distracting with food) for mandatory enemies.
How hard is a no-fast-travel challenge?
It’s more time-consuming than difficult. You’ll spend a lot of time traversing familiar routes, but you’ll also discover countless secrets. Using a horse and the Zonai wing or hoverbike can speed things up. Plan your activities by region to minimize backtracking. Most players find it deeply rewarding and end up preferring the slowed pace.
Are there any challenges that involve the Depths or Sky Islands exclusively?
Absolutely. A Depths-only run restricts you to the underground map, using lightroots to navigate and glowing meals to survive. A Sky-only run keeps you airborne, hopping between islands with Zonai devices and completing shrines in the clouds. Both require clever use of limited resources and offer a completely fresh perspective.
Do I need a new save file for these challenges?
Most self-imposed rules work best on a fresh save file, especially those that restrict early-game gear or shrine completion. However, some challenges like “no fast travel” can be started mid-game on an existing file by simply making the rule and deleting your travel medallions. Evaluate whether your intended rules are retroactively enforceable.
What if a challenge becomes too frustrating?
Then change it. The only wrong way to do a challenge is to keep playing when it stops being fun. Dial back the restrictions, add a mercy rule, or try a completely different idea. The goal is to reconnect with the game, not to punish yourself. Share your custom ruleset with friends or online communities for feedback and encouragement.
Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece of player freedom. By imposing your own limitations, you unlock a world of creativity and replayability. Pick a challenge that excites you, set your rules, and set out on a new adventure across Hyrule. Remember, the goal is to have fun. Good luck, and may the goddess smile upon your journey.
