As a long-time Zelda fan who has poured over 500 hours into Breath of the Wild and now 120 hours into Tears of the Kingdom, I‘ve become intimately familiar with manipulating systems to maximize my advantage. Throughout the series, I‘m continually awed by the creative freedom afforded to the player. Tears of the Kingdom expands the build crafting concepts introduced in BOTW, enabling deeply specialized constructs tailored to particular tasks.
In this guide, I‘ll be leveraging my extensive expertise to showcase 8 powerful builds I engineered to supremely excel in specific combat and traversal scenarios within Tears of the Kingdom‘s vast open world. Whether tackling hoards of enemies, solving puzzles, exploring relentlessly or facing bosses, these customized builds elevate your capabilities tremendously.
The Scout: Traversing the World with Unrivaled Mobility
I‘ve always favored agile, mobile playstyles in open world games. I loved using the grappling hook in the Just Cause series to quickly traverse massive maps. Rocket jumping across levels in Quake always brought me joy. And few things prove more satisfying than chaining together slick parkour moves in series like Assassin‘s Creed or Dying Light to fluidly navigate urban environments.
So when I unlocked the potential of the Ultrahand manipulation arm coupled with the hang glider in Tears of the Kingdom, I knew instantly the immense freedom of movement they could enable when combined optimally. Enter the Scout build!
What Makes This Build Unique:
- Traverse vast distances rapidly by grappling and gliding
- Summit mountains and cliffs swiftly
- Access hard-to-reach areas early
- Evade enemies flexibly
- Scout ahead without being detected
- Gather out-of-reach resources
By mastering both vertical and horizontal mobility, the Scout build essentially removes obstacles from the world. Very few areas remain out of your reach both in exploration or when avoiding enemies. It fundamentally changes traversal and possibilities compared to being shackled to the ground.
Key Gear & Upgrades:
- Ultrahand – Fully upgraded for maximum grapple distance and reduced cooldown between grapples
- Hang Glider – Increased air speed and duration for lengthy gliding
- Climbing Gear – Full set for vastly reduced stamina cost when scaling surfaces between grapples
- Stamina Vessels & Food – Maximize total stamina available for continuous grappling and gliding
As the name suggests, scouting and exploration epitomize this build. But it also grants unmatched mobility in combat for those favoring hit and run tactics. While less suited for direct confrontation, very few enemies pose much of a threat when you can grapple and glide circles around them and rain down arrows and bombs. It also enable accessing strategic high ground locations placing you safely out of harm‘s way.
I once used this build to escape an overwhelming swarm of amped up Guardian Stalkers. With their deadly laser cannons, taking them head on amounted to suicide! But with masterful timing of my grapples and glides, I was able to stay one step ahead. I grappled to a high column, leapt off into a smooth glide, then hit the ground rolling just as the decayed Guardians closed in. Executing another quick grapple to a nearby tower left them confused below while I nocked explosive arrows to rain down. From my elevated position their aim proved useless, and I could carefully pick them off one-by-one!
So if you wish to rule from above and turn the world into your playground, the Scout will transform how you experience Hyrule!
The Scout build allows reaching previously inaccessible locations with ease.
Build Performance Capabilities:
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Mobility | 10 / 10 |
| Offense | 5 / 10 |
| Defense | 4 / 10 |
| Stamina Cost | 8 / 10 |
The Juggernaut: Forging an Impenetrable Fortress of Offensive Might
While agility has its place, few sensations prove more cathartic than smashing through challenges through overwhelming force. The resistance of enemies shatters against the weight of raw power. Obstacles solid as iron crumble away with the repeated blows of an unstoppable juggernaut. Ultimate defense combined with unbridled offense to charge forth crushing all in your path!
This build maximizes both durability allowing you to absorb devastating damage unhindered while also dishing out enough punishment to decimate multiple foes simultaneously.
What Makes This Build Unique:
- Withstand the most punishing attacks
- Plow through crowds of enemies unfazed
- Smash through objects and barriers
- Deliver devastating area-of-effect and heavy striking damage
The Juggernaut shines when up against the largest groups of resilient enemies or when tackling objectives requiring brute force. Enemies swarming from all sides may not even slow your advance as you gut them relentlessly while shrugging off their blows. See a fortification or barricade you need removed? Simply barrel through smashing it apart through pure momentum.
I put this build to the test assaulting an enemy coastal fortress manned by some 80 Bokoblin forces including 10 Silver tier wielding mighty weapons. The reality soon set in that my conventional equipment would quickly be shredded facing so many. So I suited up with Ancient Armor upgrades granting over 300 defense along with Ironshroom skewers enabling 400 extra health. Wielding a fully maxed out Royal Guard‘s Claymore and Radiant Shield, I was ready to lay waste without a scratch.
My advance seemed to move in slow motion compared to the chaos erupting around me. A pair of Silver Bokoblin savagely swung mighty dragonbone clubs against my shield – to absolutely no effect. As they reeled from exhaustion, I carved them down relentlessly with 4 quick spinning slashes. Arrows pelted against my armor like rain, easily ignored. An axe bounced off my helmet as I reached the battering ram and with 3 earth-shaking slams smashed open the fortress gate. Flame blades and guardian spear++ disintegrated on contact with my shield. No attack slowed me. The last sight dozens of Bokoblin saw was my whirling claymore separating their souls from their bodies. None survived the living juggernaut.
So if you delight in unstoppable domination, equip the Juggernaut and show the world the meaning of invincibility!
The devastating offense and impenetrable defense of the Juggernaut build crushes all in your path.
Build Performance Capabilities:
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Mobility | 3 / 10 |
| Offense | 10 / 10 |
| Defense | 10 / 10 |
| Stamina Cost | 5 / 10 |
The Cavalier: Summon the Cavalry Charge Crushing All Resistance
While the Juggernaut holds the line fortifying position, the Cavalier is all about decisive forward momentum. Mounted combat opens up an entirely new dimension alongside weapon and shield combinations by incorporating devastating charging attacks. Horses and other mounts also enable fighting on the move to outflank and surround adversaries with fluidity.
I‘ve always favored mobility both in real-time strategy games and action RPGs. Cavalry and mounted hero units shatter rigid formations, opening up advantages. So I decided to embrace this playstyle in Tears of the Kingdom by crafting the ultimate mounted combat build possible.
The core lies with the stalhorses obtained from formidable late game Redmane Lynel cavalry units maximizing speed, strength and health. Combining them with top-tier equipment unlocks mounted charging attacks inflicting damage comparable to Ancient Arrows for regular arrows! And fully upgrading all horse gear reduced mounting stamina consumption allowing nonstop assaults. Once set up, this build delivers a profound power spike compared to going it on foot.
What Makes This Build Unique:
- Devastating mounted charging attacks
- Vastly boosted mobility on the battlefield
- Fluidly switch between slicing foes and charging them
- Circling and outflanking adversaries
Among my most memorable Cavalier moments was positively massacring 3 Lynels and a horde of Bokoblins in Hebra mountains. One snap of the reins and a brutal charge flattening nearly 10 frost Bokoblins in an instant! Rapid fire ancient arrows to the face dropping the white Lynel before he could even react. Leaping flowing slashes left and right cutting down chargers and spear wielders encircling me. With the unique bracelet slowing time while aiming, I could surgically eliminate threats with charged 1-shot kills even at full gallop.
The second gold Lynel fell pathetically to my Ancient Bladesaw before even reaching melee distance. An ill-advised silver swordsman managed a glancing blow while I carved up his crew, so I immediately turned the stallion and channeled the charge energy directly through his torso at 100mph ending him and his flurry rush ambitions instantly. Through it all my valorous steed hoofed, chomped and flattened foes with loyal determination nearly matching my own slicing and dicing!
When the job called for calculated aggression on the move, we rode fiercely together leaving only shattered weapons and monster parts behind. Truly a knight and mount in perfect harmony bringing exquisite destruction!
If you fancy yourself ready to lead the cavalry charge to glorious victory, foster your bond with these noble beasts! Become the eye of the storm cutting relentlessly in all directions atop your mighty stead. Live for that moment of tensing up for the charge unleashing untold kinetic force through whatever stands before you! Glory awaits!
The Cavalier maximizes the devastating impact of mounted attacks
Build Performance Capabilities:
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Mobility | 10 / 10 |
| Offense | 9 / 10 |
| Defense | 7 / 10 |
| Stamina Cost | 6 / 10 |
Conclusion
And there you have my deep dive on a sampling of the most powerful and specialized builds I created to truly customize playstyles catered to particular objectives and approaches in the world of Tears of the Kingdom. I aimed to provide genuine insight into the full process – from core concept, to critical components, to effective use cases leveraging my many hours of experience.
A common Zelda refrain declares that Link must be prepared. And I cannot agree more! This amazing sequel expands the preparation possibilites dramatically through the new build crafting mechanics that reward creativity and mastery of versatile toolsets. I hope my guide sparks inspiration on how you too can leverage the Ultrahand system and gear upgrading to maximize your capabilities for tackling obsacles in your own way.
The depth of combat scenarios combined with an even richer open world begging for exploration makes for near limitless potential. Now go unleash your inner champion!
