The sequel to Breath of the Wild, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has been hailed by fans as a remarkable addition to the game's core systems. In fact, some have even likened Breath of the Wild to a 'beta version' in comparison to Tears of the Kingdom's 'full release'. However, while the game is undoubtedly impressive, there are several Quality-of-Life (QoL) changes that Nintendo could implement to improve players' experiences.
7 Sage Summon Abilities Are Awkward To Use
As Link ventures through Hyrule investigating the four Regional Phenomena, he gains access to powerful summons that utilize unique abilities, similar to the Champion abilities from the previous game. However, utilizing these abilities can be frustratingly unintuitive, as Link must divert his attention from his opponents to interact with the summons and trigger their powers. Additionally, the summons' auto-pathing AI can be unpredictable, often leading Link on a wild goose chase to activate their abilities. It almost feels like an unintentional obstacle that Nintendo has placed in the game.
Thankfully, the solution to this issue is quite simple and has been suggested by many fans. Nintendo could easily turn the Sage Abilities into an active power on Link's power wheel by removing the 'Map' ability slice and replacing it with 'Sage Abilities'. If this hypothetical feature were to be implemented, each of the four abilities would be set to a different direction on the D-Pad and would automatically activate if Link pressed the corresponding input.
6 More Filters In General Or Just A 'Favorites' Option
The possibilities for combining various weapons, armor sets, materials, and more in Tears of the Kingdom are truly mind-boggling. This game encourages players to unleash their creativity, and it's hard to argue with that when you see people riding on frozen meat or using a Mushroom Spear to launch Bokoblins off cliffs.
It can be difficult for Link to find the specific Materials he needs during combat due to the overwhelming number of options available. While time may be paused during the search, it is still a frustrating experience. The game does offer three default filters to aid in the process, but a "favorites" feature would greatly improve efficiency. By allowing players to mark certain Materials and Armor Pieces as favorites, they could easily access them without having to sift through the entire list. This simple addition would make a significant difference in gameplay.
5 Slight Item Rotation Adjustment
While the current method of rotating items with Ultrahand in Tears of the Kingdom is functional, it could certainly benefit from some improvements. Though it may take some time to become accustomed to, the current system is not necessarily bad. However, introducing an option for players to use the gyro to control item rotation, in conjunction with the default 'snap-rotations', would greatly enhance the building experience and make it more feasible to construct structures under pressure from the game's more challenging foes.
Granted, most TotK players also aren't aware that they can just use ZL to 'flatten' an object as well, which also helps a lot.
4 Set Materials To Auto Attach To Arrows
Small changes can have a huge impact on the overall gameplay experience, which is why Quality of Life (QoL) changes are so important. One QoL change that would greatly improve the game is the addition of a button prompt or toggle option that allows Link to automatically attach the specified Material (usually explosive in nature) to each arrow as he draws the bow. This would save players the hassle of manually attaching the material each time and streamline the process.
Players can enjoy a more convenient gameplay experience by having an Enable/Disable option in the Material popup menu that automatically attaches the last-used Material to each Arrow. This eliminates the need to bring up the Material Menu every time the player pulls the string back, saving time and making the gameplay smoother. The option can be turned off easily if necessary, providing players with the flexibility to customize their gameplay experience.
3 Adding Hyrule Compendium Images To The Camera Album
For those playing Tears of the Kingdom, capturing stunning pictures of the game's creatures and landscape is a thrilling pastime. Nintendo has intricately designed the world of Hyrule, making it a source of fascination for many players. The photographs taken in-game have a mechanical purpose, providing valuable information about the enemy, including their location and what they drop. This information is stored in the Hyrule Compendium, which proves to be useful during the game's progression at Tarrey Town. Additionally, players use the Compendium images for setting their Sensor+ targets, assisting them in locating Treasure Chests and Bubbulfrogs to acquire those quirky Monster Masks.
It would have been better if the game's designers had anticipated the frequency with which players would accidentally fill their Albums with Compendium pictures, given that taking these images was part of the core game design loop. Since there are only 64 slots in the Album, players probably have many slots filled with pictures they intend to keep. Requiring players to continually trim their Albums simply because they're adding to their Compendium is impractical. To resolve this issue, the pop-up order should be switched when players take a picture of a Compendium creature or item. First, ask if the player wants to add it to the Compendium, then ask if they want to save or delete the picture. Furthermore, players should be able to re-access the image used in the Compendium instead of resizing it to a 1:1 Aspect Ratio after it has been added.
2 General Autobuild Additions & Fixes
The autobuild feature in Trials of the Kingdom is definitely one of the most talked-about aspects of the game on various social media platforms like Reddit and YouTube. Fans are constantly sharing their creative and unconventional builds using various tools, including Cooking Pots. It's clear that Nintendo had a long-term plan in mind with this construction system, as players will likely continue to share their unique creations for years to come.
1 Break Down & Combine Zonaite Types
Although it is evident that the system was intentionally designed this way, it can still be frustrating to see that there are only a total of 8 available Favorites Slots and that the customization options for naming them are almost non-existent. While the ability to rename and edit these slots may seem like minor details, it is disappointing to have such a limited number of slots available for the entire game.
Exploring the Depths in Tears of the Kingdom rewards players with a variety of Zonaite, including the regular Zonaite and the elusive Large Zonaite. While some side quests and Chests may contain Large Zonaite, players will mostly come across a mixed bag of both types as they break Zonaite Deposits and venture deeper into the game.
In the Depths, Forge Constructs can be found across the Abandoned Mines, where players can purchase standard Crystalized Charges using regular Zonaite and Large Crystalized Charges using Large Zonaite. However, it would be convenient for players if they were able to break down Large Zonaite into regular Zonaite or combine a certain amount of regular Zonaite to form a Large Zonaite, making the process of purchasing a specific amount of Crystals much simpler. It is worth noting that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available on the Nintendo Switch.
