Zelda BotW: Cooking – The Real Endgame
So, last time I left Link, he was just being duped into running through three more Shrines in order to obtain the coveted paraglider from the Old Man. But instead of telling you all about my adventures to get the other runes from the Shrines, I want to talk about something even more important — cooking!
The Snowy Places
One of the Shrines I needed to reach was located at the top of a snowy mountain. The moment you set foot in the snowy area, Link’s temperature plummets and he starts to freeze. Over time, he loses hearts until he dies.
There are several ways to approach the cold, including finding warm clothes (which I never did.. I need to go back and look for them). Another option is to light fires along the way. Yet another is to use the hot peppers you find right outside the snowy entrance and cook them into food. This food will give you defense against the cold for a certain amount of time.
I’d already spoiled myself for this part, and decided that I was going to figure out how to use the peppers and cook so I could approach the snowy land.
Learning to Hunt & Gather
Before you can cook, you have to have ingredients. Gathering things like apples and acorns is easy enough. But as I was wandering the forest, I saw some birds and pigs out there. I also saw the Old Man, who looked like he was trying to hunt them.
That’s when it occurred to me that hunting was a thing in this game. I was delighted.
So, first, you gotta find game. Then, you have to crouch down and approach slowly.
When you’ve got a clear shot with your bow, take it. Depending on the strength of the bow, you may get a one shot kill, or you may have to chase your prey around.
A successful hunt is rewarded with meat!
How to Cook
The first thing you need in order to cook is a lit fire under a pot. You can sometimes find these in monster camps, or you can light one of your own.
Cooking is a little quirky because you don’t just press the A button to activate the process. Instead, while standing next to the fire, you open your inventory.
While in your inventory, select a food item and choose to Hold it. This allows you to stack up to 5 items. They don’t all have to be the same ingredient, but if you stack more of a certain food type, you will strengthen its effect. For example, putting more peppers in a meal makes the cold resistance effect last longer.
Now, while holding the ingredients, press B to Return to game. I know this is odd, but that’s how it works.
While standing next to the fire, you’ll have the option to Cook what you’re holding. You get this pleasing little jingle and Link happily hums as the food sizzles in the platter. Then… you get to see your cooking results!
Oh… yeah. If you get too outlandish in what you toss in, you can mess it up, too. Don’t mix food with monster parts! :p
However, cooking creatures and monster parts creates potions. Usually the description on the ingredients will let you know what effects you can expect.
Just keep in mind that you can only cook one type of effect into food or potions at a time. So don’t waste ingredients that have special effects by trying to mix those together.
Overall, cooking is a fun little crafting system that I’ve grown to really enjoy. When you just want some time to pass, you can settle down next to the fire and see what happens when you start mixing food together. You sometimes get amazing results!
Shrine Trials
And, now back to the Shrine trials. I was too engrossed in the game to remember to take many pictures of this part. I cleared each Shrine, and each one gave my Slate a new rune with a new power. So, now Link can play with Bombs, create Pillars of Ice from water and Stop Time on specific objects in the world.
The interesting thing is that these skills are pretty much all that Link needs to get through puzzles for the rest of the game. You just have to figure out how to use them to your advantage.
It’s more than just puzzles in Shrines, though. These skills let you figure out mini-puzzles in the open world, too.
For example, some treasure chests hiding in ponds are metal and can be lifted up out of the water using the magnet. Or things sunk in water can be lifted out using the ice pillar.
Here, there was a platform in the middle of a pond that I could reach by making a series of ice pillars and jumping across them.
You just have to stay aware and figure out how to approach what you see around you. There is usually more than one way to beat the puzzles, though, which is really cool!
Next time, Link finally scores his paraglider. See you then!
