Zelda BotW: Under the Blood Moon
So while I was out and about trying to learn how to tame and ride my first horse, something very odd began to happen. Something I’d never seen in the game before.
I noticed that it was getting dark, and the rain moved in. Then, something red began to glow on the horizon.
Oh crap, what is this?
I didn’t know if I was about to die, if it was some sort of enemy, or what it meant. Thankfully, the game had it covered, and Zelda narrated the meaning behind what was my first ever Blood Moon.
Blood moons happen from time to time during the course of the game. I tried to see if this was just a random night, or if there was a set pattern to this, but everything I’m reading seems to say their occurrence is random.
Apparently there’s a fan theory that blood moons are more likely to appear if you’ve killed a lot of enemies. Nothing proven here, either.
What we do know is during a blood moon, enemies that you’ve killed will respawn. Also, I’ve read that the materials you’ve gathered like mushrooms, ore, and herbs, will respawn.
I don’t know if enemies are harder during a blood moon as I’ve never gone out of my way to fight during this time. The thing to be careful of is not to be caught in a camp you cleared out during one of these things… or you’ll find yourself in bad company fast.
Also, this is a good time to try cooking as you can get bonuses to your food during a blood moon.
Before the blood moon, I did wonder if enemies in the game would ever respawn in areas I’d cleared. It took several days outside of the Plateau before my first blood moon, when my question was finally answered.
I think using a mechanic like a blood moon for enemy respawn is a fantastic idea. This way, you clear camps without worry, have the reward of seeing the enemy defeated for a while, then after respawn, you can come back if you need to fight for weapons or gather more materials.
One guide noted that Guardians respawn in Shrines you’ve cleared as well, so that means you can go back and pick up more guardian weapons from them. Good idea!
Anyhow, this mechanic just goes to show how much thought was put into the BotW systems. I even watched a video last night that justified why weapons break in the game… I guess after thinking about it this way, it does make sense. I still grumble a bit about it, but I suppose I understand.
Next time, Link finally gets to move on in the storyline. I promise!
