Most seem to be in agreement that the Switch-era Zelda games are modern-day masterpieces, but there is one major point of contention among even the most diehard franchise fans. Many feel that weapon durability sours the experience, with all but a handful of swords, shields, and bows breaking after a certain amount of use. Thankfully, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes steps to remedy this complaint.
The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom provides players with a method to repair weapons and shields before they break, thus allowing players to hold onto them for the duration of their playthrough if they so wish. Better still, repairing a weapon or shield in Tears of the Kingdom provides the item with a random boost, meaning that it will generally come back to the player better than it was before.
How to Repair Weapons in Tears of the Kingdom
In order to repair a weapon in Tears of the Kingdom, players will need to track down a Rock Octorok, an iconic Zelda enemy that can be found in the Eldin Mountains area near Goron City. Once they've found one, they'll simply need to place the item that they want to repair down in front of the Octorok and then wait for it to begin sucking in the air around it as it prepares for itself for its next attack.
If players get too close to the Octorok it will bury itself in the ground. With this in mind, those hoping to repair weapons in Tears of the Kingdom should keep their distance.
If all goes to plan, the Octorok will suck up the sword, shield, or bow that players placed down and then begin to chew it up. There'll then be a sparkling animation and a chiming sound, after which, the Octorok will spit the item back out at Link. Once it does, players are free to pick it up and will find that its durability has been completely restored and that the item now has a random buff applied to it.
Where to Find Rock Octoroks in Tears of the Kingdom
Players can find Rock Octoroks in a few different locations around the Eldin Mountains, but the best spot to find one is arguably the quarry just north of Goron City, to the east of Darunia Lake. Rock Octoroks can also be found near the river just to the west of the Goron settlement, though the quarry is generally a better spot to search due to how open it is. To reach these spots quickly, Tears of the Kingdom players can fast travel to the Marakuguc Shrine and then go on foot from there.
Are There Any Limitations?
Unfortunately, certain weapons cannot be repaired, including any that were obtained using amiibos. Additionally, each Octorok can only repair one item, meaning that players will need to wait for them to respawn during a Blood Moon before they can make use of their weapon degradation-defying abilities again. With this in mind, players may want to think carefully about which items they repair. It's also a good idea to save immediately after finding a Rock Octorok in case something goes wrong. This also provides players with a chance to reload if they're not completely happy with the random buff that's applied during the repair process.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for the Nintendo Switch.