Getting started in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment can feel a bit overwhelming. No sooner do you get access to the world map than it lights up with icons, and tutorials start popping one after another. It’s a lot to keep track of, which makes it easy to miss things like knowing what aside quests are and why some upgrade items have marks. That’s in addition to what the game just flat-out doesn’t tell you, like who you can use sync attacks with.
Below we’ve listed 11 Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment tips and tricks, including which quests to prioritize and how to get the most out of your Zonai devices.
Do every side quest
Some side quests are required to unlock new story missions, but you should complete every side quest regardless of how mandatory it is. They’re excellent ways to keep ahead of the difficulty curve as the story progresses, but some even unlock new playable characters as well. Then there’s the kind of side quest that isn’t playable, but requires you to deliver specific items. Most of these are tied to a playable character you’ve recruited and will give them something new, such as more hearts or new attacks. Definitely do these as soon as you can.
Check your aside quests
Aside quests are non-essential objectives for each character, such as having Zelda defeat a specified number of Bokoblins, but you should treat them as essential. Completing them earns you rewards like rupees, food, or critter items, and while that might not sound exceptionally helpful at first, you need a lot of stuff to complete side quests as the game progresses. Glance at the aside quest menu before starting a mission to see what’s up for grabs, and take a few minutes in battle to knock it off the list.
Upgrade your weapons
This might seem obvious, but you get exactly one notice at the very beginning of Age of Imprisonment that the blacksmith exists and no further reminders. Upgrading weapons with Zonaite steel makes them stronger, of course, but at higher improvement levels, you also unlock new perks for them.
Seals are for second playthroughs
That said, don’t worry much about Zonaite steel with specific seals. Using multiple steel pieces with the same seal adds a stronger bonus effect to the weapon, but it — and the grind to get them — won’t be necessary for your initial playthrough on the default difficulty. Focus on standard upgrades and learning how each playable character works instead.
Experiment with all your skills
It’s easy to get comfortable with one or two skill combos that work, but especially on higher difficulty modes, you want to make ample use of every combo in the right circumstances. Some, like Rauru’s upgraded second strong attack, are excellent at clearing out enemy hordes fast, but struggle to break a tough foe’s guard. Meanwhile, his fourth basic attack combo reaches further than any others and lets you target foes without getting too close. Mixing and matching is fun and functional, in other words.
Use your specials liberally
Special attacks — the ones you activate with “A” when the golden meter in the top left is full — aren’t quite as powerful as they were in Age of Calamity. Sync attacks are the real game changers, so once your special meter fills up, dish that bad boy out on the nearest big enemy.
Make a camp
A little ways into Age of Imprisonment, you unlock the option to set up camp on some maps and, a bit later, to camp before starting a quest. Always do this. Camps in Age of Imprisonment let you spend ingredients to get bonus effects, like extra experience points or a faster charge for your special meter. That’s in addition to refilling your hearts and replenishing your Zonai battery charge.
Link up with friendlies
Age of Imprisonment doesn’t really tell you this, but your hero’s sync attacks aren’t limited to just your two other allies. When the meter is full, you can link up with any nearby allied commander (Hylian captains, for example) for a different kind of sync attack.
Remember to send your allies out
Map management isn’t quite as big of a thing in Age of Imprisonment as it is in other Warriors spinoffs like Fire Emblem: Three Hopes. However, during missions with multiple objectives across larger maps, it’s still a good idea to direct one of your allies to a far-flung outpost or an NPC commander in trouble. It gets things done more quickly, and since most encounters include a friendly NPC you can link up with for sync attacks, you’re not missing out on any opportunities by having the team multitask.
Use your Zonai devices a lot
Speaking of Zonai devices, once you’ve got one in Age of Imprisonment, it’s yours for keeps. You can use it as many times as you want until you run out of battery, and it won’t vanish, unlike in Tears of the Kingdom. You can refill your battery using a charge item — and you start each mission with three — or by visiting a camp. These are almost always required in boss fights once the war against Ganondorf begins, so make sure to save some charge refills for the end of main story missions.
You can use stuff that isn’t on your quick access
You’re encouraged to assign items to Age of Imprisonment‘s quick action buttons, but you aren’t limited to using only those items that you’ve assigned. Press “right” on the direction pad to open the full menu of available actions and Zonai devices, and you can use any of them from there, assuming you have enough charge.