Quick Links
Star Fragments are a rare and precious material that have made a return in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Chasing Star Fragments in this franchise can be a lot of fun, but the game doesn't make their purpose immediately obvious. Once this elusive glowing material is caught, there are actually tons of uses for them.
On top of this, Tears of the Kingdom utilizes its unique mechanics to take Link to the sky, making the experience of catching Star Fragments even more fun. This guide outlines everything players can do with Star Fragments and how to catch them in Tears of the Kingdom.
How to Get Star Fragments in Tears of the Kingdom
Star Fragments are a result of Shooting Stars that fall form the sky in Hyrule between the hours of midnight and 5:00am. After this time, they disappear from the overworld if they've not been collected. They fall every night, but players being able to get them depends on their location when they fall, as there is no way to predict where they fall.
Spotting Star Fragments on the Surface
The first thing players should do when they spot that beam of light in the distance is drop a manual save. This means that if the Star Fragment disappears before the player can get to it, there's a save to return to where the Star Fragment is still there.
Secondly, players should use the scope to place a pin in the location where the beam of light is. Then, on the map, players will be able to locate the nearest teleport point, be it a Shrine or a Skyview Tower. From there, players can use various Stamina or Speed-boosting foods to get to the location of the Star Fragment before 5:00am.
Catching Star Fragments in the Air
Tears of the Kingdom also introduces a new way to catch Shooting Stars while they're falling. When diving from a high point, either from a Sky Island or a Skyview Tower, players can sometimes spot Shooting Stars as they're falling. These are fairly easy to catch, as players can use the paraglider to slow down or the R button to speed up.
Uses For Star Fragments in Tears of the Kingdom
Now that the player has built up a good stock of Star Fragments, here are all the things that can be done with them.
Fusing Star Fragments to Shields
Fusing Star Fragments to Shields in Tears of the Kingdom can make for a great (though expensive) flashlight when traversing the Depths or other dark areas of Hyrule. A low-level shield fused to a Star Fragment will illuminate the surrounding area and add another glow, but it will break when struck by an enemy and doesn't add much durability.
Fusing Star Fragments to Weapons
Star Fragments can also be fused to Weapons to create light beams that can be used to strike enemies from afar. These beams of light also illuminate the surrounding area and can serve a similar function to the Shield + Star Fragment fusion. This is more temporary than the Shield fusion, but provides a wider range of visibility in the Depths and other areas of the Kingdom.
While Star Fragments can also be fused to arrows, it adds very little fuse attack power and does not seem to have any other special effect that makes the Star Fragment loss worth it.
Selling to Merchants
Star Fragments can be sold to any merchant for two hundred Rupees apiece. This is not recommended in the early game, as Star Fragments will still be quite rare. There are easier ways to farm for Rupees, but once in the late game, players might find that selling Star Fragments can be a quick and easy cash boost when there are no other uses for them.
Armor Upgrades for Amiibo Armors
Tears of the Kingdom really brings the heat with armor. There are tons of full sets and miscellaneous armor pieces for players to collect. The armor that is connected to Amiibo (whether players have gone the scanning Amiibo route or the finding Old Maps route) all seem ro require one Star Fragment per upgrade level.
With four upgrade levels, the player will need seventy Star Fragments total to fully upgrade every Amiibo Armor's defense. Fully upgrading each Amiibo Armor Set requires the player to unlock every Great Fairy, so this is definitely more of a long-term goal for completionist players.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available for the Nintendo Switch.