The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom best main quest order isn’t as clear as it could be following the game’s tutorial area. These story missions will take you all over the world of Hyrule, leading to puzzle-filled temples and culminating in epic boss battles. Still, you might be wondering which ones to do first, especially if you run into tough enemies and areas. Our guide tells you the best TotK main quest order. Due to the nature of the topic, this article contains spoilers.
Best Order to Do the Main Quests in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Starting Out: Great Sky Island and Lookout Landing
When you first start TotK, the campaign progression might seem linear. You’ll arrive at the Great Sky Island, which serves as a massive tutorial. This is also where you’ll be able to unlock abilities from the four Shrines.
Here’s how to complete each of them if you’re having any trouble:
- Ukouh Shrine Walkthrough
- In-Isa Shrine Walkthrough
- Gutanbac Shrine Walkthrough
- Nachoya Shrine Walkthrough
Once you’re finished, you’ll be able to open the Temple of Time door. You’ll learn that Zelda is “somewhere” else, and you’ll need to search for her in the Surface World. You’ll skydive back down to Hyrule, eventually reaching Lookout Landing, which acts as your main hub.
Upon talking to Purah and co., you’ll have to find Captain Hoz at the Gatehouse near the floating Hyrule Castle. When you return to Lookout Landing, Link will activate the Skyview Tower, which reveals the surrounding area. From this point onward, the campaign opens up, and you’ll be able to visit numerous regions in any order, though some are more difficult than others.
TotK Regional Phenomena Quest Order: Hebra, Eldin, Gerudo, and Lanayru
While there are several regions in Tears of the Kingdom, only four are considered part of the Regional Phenomena quest chain. Each task leads to a temple dungeon that has key puzzles and a boss fight. After clearing those, you’ll receive a Sage Companion ability.
I suggest doing these Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom main quests in the following order. The list below contains the region, area, and Sage you’ll unlock there.
- Northwest: Hebra/Tulin — I can’t stress this enough: you’ll want to get Tulin’s ability early in the campaign. That’s because he can create a gust of wind that will push you as you’re gliding. This is essential for navigation and exploration, especially if you don’t have a lot of stamina yet. Tulin’s ability certainly helped me a lot throughout the course of these early stages.
- Northeast: Eldin/Yunobo — The objectives in the Eldin/Death Mountain area will grant you Yunobo’s ability. This is primarily used to break boulders, which is great when you don’t want weapons to keep breaking when mining ores, which you’ll want to mine for more Rupees. Moreover, Yunobo’s ability can be used when you’re riding makeshift vehicles, essentially giving you a cannon or projectile.
- Southwest: Gerudo/Riju — Riju’s ability is primarily used to deal damage, as she can call down an AoE lightning strike when you hit a target with an arrow. As such, heading to Gerudo after Hebra and Eldin would be a good idea.
- Southeast: Lanayru/Sidon — Lastly, in terms of The Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom main quest order, I advise saving the Lanayru region for last. Sidon’s ability encases you in a water bubble that prevents one instance of damage while also letting you create a water projectile when you attack with a melee weapon. It just pales in comparison to the other three Sage abilities.
Tears of the Kingdom Endgame Quest Order: The Master Sword, Hyrule Castle, Fifth Sage, and Hyrule Depths
The Master Sword — Generally speaking, you can acquire the Master Sword a lot earlier in your playthrough since it doesn’t have a particular quest requirement. All you need to do is find the Light Dragon and have at least two stamina wheels to complete the minigame.
Hyrule Castle — After completing the four Regional Phenomena main quests, you’ll be tasked with heading into the floating Hyrule Castle. While going after Zelda, you’ll battle multiple copies of Phantom Ganon.
The Fifth Sage — Link and co., will get trounced after the Phantom Ganon fight. That leads Purah to tell the group that a Fifth Sage might exist. This will take you to a couple of dungeons, including an underground temple facility. There, you’ll assemble Mineru’s Construct by collecting parts in the Leg Arm Depot, Right Arm Depot, Left Leg Depot, and Right Leg Depot.
Hyrule Depths — Now, all that’s left is Hyrule Depths. You’ll delve into this Gloom-infested place, where you’ll take on the Demon King’s Army, followed by the final boss.
To be clear, you could actually skydive all the way down here as soon as you leave the Great Sky Island. However, due to a lack of weapons and preparation, the trek will be arduous, and the final boss can easily defeat you. Attempting this area early is a challenge for those who want to speedrun the game.
And that’s how you do the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom main quests in order. For other tips, strategies, and walkthroughs, visit our Zelda: TotK guides hub.
