Breath of the Wild was released in 2017 to a lot of fanfare, and it not only delighted fans of the series but also those who had never played a Legend of Zelda game in their lives, as the game is innovative, open-world, and pushed the boundaries of the franchise into something new.
But it wasn't without its issues, as there was a lot to love about Breath of the Wild, but also things to dislike. There are a handful of things that could change between Breath of the Wild 1 and Breath of the Wild 2 that would make many fans incredibly happy.
Motion Control Puzzles
Since Breath of the Wild was released on both the Wii U and the Switch, it could not have been easy to program the motion controls into the game, so it felt good on both consoles. Unfortunately, the motion control puzzles weren't fun on either for many players. While some BotW puzzles can be skipped, the motion control puzzles weren't, and for many completionists, these shrines were incredibly difficult, but not because of lack of talent.
The Breath of the Wild motion controls would sometimes move without input from the player, becoming recalibrated at strange angles and forcing players to recalibrate. This occurred both on the Switch and Wii U versions of the game, but this could easily be fixed in Breath of the Wild 2.
Many players might think that the motion control puzzles should be removed completely from the game, which would technically solve the problem. But instead, perhaps making them optional would be better. Some players really liked the motion controls, and it something unique to the Switch. But making them optional would allow players to complete these difficult BotW puzzles without needing incredible trick shots or a lot of patience to do it.
Climbing in the Weather
There isn't a lot of Breath of the Wild fans out there who hasn't complained about climbing during the rain at least once. Most BotW fans would love to see the rain changed in BotW2 because climbing is incredibly difficult at the best of times and players have to manage Link's stamina and worry about enemies. Having to also worry about if it is about to start raining can put a damper on travel.
Players then also have to worry about lightning, unless they have upgraded lightning-proof rubber armor. That armor is a must-have for traveling in stormy weather and defeating Thunderblight Ganon, but the worst part is that Link can't even light a fire to sit at and wait out the rain.
To be fair, the game did try to balance the rain by giving players a weather forecast in the corner of the screen, but that wasn't always helpful, especially if players were traveling across different locations with different weather patterns. But this could easily be fixed just as many of the other challenges in Breath of the Wild was fixed: with armor. Instead of speed-climbing armor, getting armor that allows players to climb fast without issue in rain would be a blessing, assuming that BotW2 armor sets work in a similar manner.
The Blood Moon
The Blood Moon itself isn't an issue in the game. It exists for a good reason: bringing back enemies to places where Link has killed them with better loot and the whole experience was actually an interesting deviation from previous games. There are many things that can trigger a Blood Moon in BotW, but there are a few things that should stop it from happening too.
While Blood Moons are great for cooking and other things in BotW, it's not always a great thing for Link. Being in the middle of a boss fight, for example, is not a good time. Players have shared horror stories about getting a Blood Moon in the middle of fighting one of the Ganons, as they whittle the life down on their enemy just for the Moon to rise and bring the boss back up to full health. Should this mechanic return, making Blood Moons not appear during boss battles and/or having ways to stop it would go a long way in the sequel.
Weapon Durability
One of the biggest heartaches in Breath of the Wild is finding a bow, shield, or sword that feels great and does a lot of damage, only to watch it wither away and break. The weapon durability in Breath of the Wild was quite contentious among players. Players called out the weapon durability issue pretty early after BotW's release, sad that there was no way in the game to be able to fix weapons that they really liked. All Breath of the Wild 2 would have to do to fix this problem would be to add weaponsmiths, or even give Link the ability to spend materials to fix weapons for himself.
Players could perhaps gather leather and wood to fix shields, and Nintendo could even include a little animation for it, similar to the delightful cooking animation. Many fans liked learning all the recipes in Breath of the Wild and cooking them up for themselves. A similar "recipe" book that would allow players to fix their favorite sword, shield, or bow, and would make one of the worst parts of BotW much better in the sequel.
Lack of Proper Dungeons
Between the Wind Temple in Wind Waker and the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time, everyone has a favorite Zelda dungeon. The dungeons are usually themed, filled with puzzles, and require a long hike through enemy territory. While Breath of the Wild did have 120 shrines and a couple more in the DLC, it didn't really feature any classic Zelda-style dungeons that players expected from the series.
With the graphics that were presented in Breath of the Wild and the level of puzzles, players could have gotten some very interesting themed dungeons. Even after release, players hoped them in the DLC. While the Master Sword "Trial of the Sword" did have a kind of dungeon look to it, it didn't feel like a Zelda dungeon. There were some rumors in February that Breath of the Wild 2 might have complex dungeons and that would be a welcome change, but those rumors have yet to be verified.
Nintendo has been keeping information on Breath of the Wild 2 close to its chest, but while some rumors and supposed leaks have seemingly slipped through the cracks, fans still know very little about what this next chapter will bring. Hopefully, Breath of the Wild 2 will not change everything players loved about the first one and improve many of the issues too.
Breath of the Wild is available for Nintendo Switch, and Breath of the Wild 2 has no release date yet but will also be available for Switch.