The Legend of Zelda hasn't traditionally been a franchise about gathering materials, but Breath of the Wild had a robust material system. The more resources Link gathered from monsters and the wilderness, the stronger he became and the more he could interact with the world around him.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity might be a very different genre from Breath of the Wild, but it still preserves some key elements of that game. One of those elements is material collecting, as Link and his allies are still encouraged to gather everything from Guardian scraps to wild herbs on the battlefield. However, the ways that Link can use those materials have changed completely, and that's a good thing. Nintendo has found some really clever and rewarding ways that materials can be spent in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and the more ways Link uses his materials in this prequel, the more connected he feels to the kingdom of Hyrule.
Age of Hunter-Gatherers
As with Breath of the Wild, if the player wants to get their hands on a shopping list of resources, they probably have a bit of work ahead of them. That said, Age of Calamity is pretty generous with materials of all kinds. Since it's styled after Dynasty Warriors, most enemies are relative pushovers and try to overwhelm the player with numbers, often only resulting in devastating and satisfying multi-KO combos. Monster parts litter the battlefield after Link tears through a platoon of them, meaning he'll rarely be in short supply of common items. Tougher customers like Moblins might make the player work harder, but it's worth the effort.
In contrast to monster parts, there's no time to forage for apples and acorns in a game simulating fantasy war. Age of Calamity still offers food materials like these by means of chest and containers all around the battlefield, and players are encouraged to bash every crate and barrel they come across, as is Zelda tradition. Interestingly, one can still get wood by felling trees, if the player takes the time to cut one down. Players should also be wary that, in the same way that materials were region specific in Breath of the Wild, each battlefield in Age of Calamity offers specific supplies.
Despite all these necessary changes to how Link gains materials, fans of cooking in Breath of the Wild will be glad to hear it's still in Age of Calamity. It's changed significantly, but it still has an important purpose. Meals cooked before battle will give the party a buff that can go a long way. This change along with all the other ways the material system has changed show that Nintendo has sharply streamlined materials; however, their new uses show how much more they're good for.
Investing in Hyrule
Age of Calamity has side quests, but they're much simpler than in Breath of the Wild. Link can view calls for help from citizens around Hyrule and find out what materials the person needs to solve their problem. Once he gives them the materials, the quest is complete, while it's the rewards and the sentiment that really make these quests remarkable. For example, Link can unlock a blacksmith by completing the right quest. Once he does, the player can forge stronger weapons for every character out of the weapons they have available, or sell unused weapons for Rupees.
There's many more merchants that Link can do trade with. If Link keeps helping people out, he can find material merchants like a fisherman or a mushroom forager. Rupees aren't too hard to come by, so the more merchants there are, the more materials Link can stock up on, so long as he minds their limited supplies of merchandise. Other quests will lead to characters unlocking new combos, making them a stronger battlefield presence.
What might be most important about these side quests is that they're all couched in the premise of preparing for the battle with Calamity Ganon and making Hyrule stronger. The more connections Link makes throughout the kingdom, the more prepared Hylians everywhere are for the coming war. Every request has its own flavor text explaining the relevance to the conflict, and there's progress bars for each region of Hyrule tracking how much Link has built up that region. Even though the quests themselves are already valuable and definitely worth doing, there's a strong sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing Link is actively making Hyrule a safer place.
Innovative Warriors
Age of Calamity's blooming material system doesn't just reflect on the strength of Breath of the Wild's system. In a lot of ways, it actually calls back to and improves upon the original Hyrule Warriors. Its fans might remember that that game also had a material system, and earning passive upgrades and new combos for characters also relied on spending materials of increasing rarity. However, Hyrule Warriors channeled this concept through a simple skill tree while only offering a couple other ways to spend materials. Players could only get more of them by replaying battles too, so there was frequently some grinding to do to get characters to their peak potential.
Age of Calamity subverts that by letting players shop for useful materials that make quests easier to complete and recipes easier to cook. When materials aren't wholly sourced from battle, there's less concern about picking up every single piece of loot or running out of common ingredients, forcing one to grind. There's also the personal element that Age of Calamity adds. Character growth is inherently connected to making Hyrule a better place and connecting with NPCs. That makes every bit of progression feel more meaningful, especially outside of combat. Age of Calamity is well equipped with a sophisticated material system that takes the best parts of the two games that inspire it. Maybe that'll bode well for new ways to use materials in Breath of the Wild 2.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity releases November 20th for the Nintendo Switch.