Zelda’s Breath Of The Wild
Nintendo today announced more details about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s expansion packs. The first is called The Master Trials, and it launches this summer, containing new items but no new story content. The second, which contains a new story chapter, is coming out during holiday 2017, but it does not have a name yet.
You can get the two expansions together for $20 on Nintendo Switch and Wii U. As announced previously, they won’t be sold on their own.
The Master Trials comes with a new Trial of the Sword challenge (previously referred to as the Cave of Trials) that begins with Link having no armor or weapons. There are 45 total rooms in Trial of the Sword, and if you beat them all, then the “true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.”
The expansion also adds Hard Mode, which increases the “rank” of enemies, making them more difficult to take down. Additionally, especially challenging enemies will show up in some places where they might not otherwise have. Additionally, enemies spot Link more easily in Hard mode.
The Master Trials also adds something called Hero’s Path Mode, which is a journal of sorts it sounds like that documents “every step players take,” with progress marked in green on the map.
“The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline,” Nintendo said. “This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.”
What’s more, The Master Trials introduces a new chest “somewhere in the game world” that includes an item called the Travel Medallion. Using this, players can make a temporary travel point on the map where they are standing. “Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time,” Nintendo said.
There are also new masks, including a Korosk mask. The mask shakes when you’re close to a hidden Korok seed. There are 900 in the game and collecting them all earns you a pile of poop. Lastly, the Master Trials adds eight new pieces of equipment inspired by characters from past games in the series, including Tingle, of course.
No release date beyond summer was announced for The Master Trials. Details on the next Breath of the Wild expansion coming this holiday will be announced later.
Here’s a full rundown of what’s in The Master Trials, with descriptions written by Nintendo:
- Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.
- Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure.
- Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.
- Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time.
- Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby.
- New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom and Majora’s Mask.
Source: Gamespot
