As a massive open world game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also came with a number of side quests befitting its huge scale - but some are worth doing over others. As the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, approaches its May release date, promising an even greater scale than its predecessor, it's worth taking a look back at Breath of the Wild's side content, to see which quests provided the greatest rewards.
Like most other open-world games, Breath of the Wild has no shortage of content, with various shrines, locations, enemy camps, and side quests vying for the player's attention and time. Also like most other open-world games, unfortunately, not all the game's content is equally rewarding, with some of BOTW's locations in particular being notably underused. In the context of the game's many side quests, this mostly means that the rewards can often be uninteresting, with many of them simply giving Rupees, materials, or cooking ingredients. And while it could be argued that many of the game's side quests are more about the story or exploration than the actual reward, there are some select quests that have unique offerings.
Some BOTW Side Quests Can Be Uniquely Rewarding
Among Breath of the Wild's side quests, there are some that offer unique rewards that can't be found or made anywhere else in the game, with some even being vital to player progression. In most cases, these quests are heavily signposted by the game, with many of them being in or close by locations that players are pointed toward early on, like Hateno Village. Unlike quests such as BOTW's Leviathan Bone location search, which can be interesting to do but offer common rewards, the more rewarding quests can offer unique upgrades, equipment, or even the addition of entirely new areas to the game's map.
Side Quests Can Provide Important Upgrades In BOTW
Of Breath of the Wild's side quests, "The Priceless Maracas" is one that players are very likely to find on their way to Kakariko Village early in the game, and provides some of the game's most vital upgrades. For the simple task of clearing a camp of Bokoblins and recovering Hestu's maracas, the player becomes able to expand their inventory, exchanging Korok Seeds for more weapon, bow, or shield slots. While the ultimate reward for finding every Korok seed in BOTW is considerably less useful, Hestu's initial side quest is hard to miss for good reason, providing purpose to the many, many Korok Seeds spread throughout the map.
Likewise, "Slated for Upgrades" is one of the easiest quests to find in Breath of the Wild, with players being all but pointed to the Hateno Tech Lab where it can be found early on. The objective is simple, requiring the player to find and deliver select materials (although actually getting them can be somewhat difficult, given that they mostly come from Guardians), but the BOTW side quest's rewards are upgrades to Shiekah Slate functions that can't be obtained in any other way. Completing the quest allows for the Shiekah Sensor to track items, the Remote Bomb to do more damage, and Stasis to freeze enemies instead of only objects.
Slightly more difficult can be the "Robbie's Research" quest, which will also create a need for BOTW's rare Guardian parts after it's finished, and requires players to trek out to the somewhat farther and more dangerous region of Akkala to find Robbie at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. Once there, it's just a matter of lighting the lab's furnace with a blue flame, which is a little more convoluted than it was in Hateno. When it's finished, however, the quest rewards players with three powerful Ancient Arrows, as well as the ability to buy more arrows alongside unique anti-guardian equipment, including one of each weapon type and a full armor set.
BOTW's Best Quest Rewards Aren't Just Material Gain
Perhaps the most unique rewards come from a chain of quests starting with "Hylian Homeowner" in Hateno Village. Upon finding an abandoned home in the village, players can take it upon themselves to buy it, a task that will take 30 bundles of wood and 3,000 Rupees. Besides leading to BOTW's popular Tarrey Town quest line, "Hylian Homeowner" also provides perhaps the most novel reward of any quest - a house that can be upgraded further with furniture, lighting, and several display mounts for weapons, shields, and bows, among other purchasable upgrades. In of personal power, the house is completely unnecessary, but it's a nice touch for many players.
Of course, buying the house leads to one of the Breath of the Wild's best quests - "From the Ground Up." After buying the house in "Hylian Homeowner," talking to Hudson reveals that he's aiming to start a new town, initiating the quest. Taking place at Lake Akkala, the quest involves quite a bit of traveling, tasking players with gathering wood, seeking out certain NPCs of different races, and even setting up a wedding at the end. It's one of BOTW's most popular quests, to the point of Tarrey Town being recreated by an Animal Crossing player, and for good reason.
Besides the various vendors selling rare items that begin to populate the town as players complete more stages of the quest, the steady progression in "From the Ground Up" means that players get to see the town developing step-by-step, as it slowly goes from an empty plot of land to a living place. Rather than offering material rewards - although it certainly does that, rewarding players with three diamonds at the end - the development of Tarrey Town itself is its own reward, creating a satisfying sense of having contributed to a new community even in the aftermath of the calamity that has befallen Hyrule.
Although it could be considered a cut above other open world games, Breath of the Wild isn't immune to the problems of its genre, with many of Breath of the Wild's 76 side quests not offering much more in the way of rewards besides money or materials. A select few, however, give truly unique rewards that can't be found anywhere else in the game. With Tears of the Kingdom being a rare direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it would do well to have more quests that reward players with more than just Rupees.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube
