There’s a joke — soon to be defunct based on Nintendo’s E3 line-up — that Nintendo called their new system the Switch, because once you beat The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you switch it off and never turn it back on. But oh, what a glorious 100+ hours Breath of the Wild is. There’s nothing like heading towards the next point on your map only to be sidetracked by a quest, or a shrine, or just a funny-looking rock you want to see if you can climb. Fans who purchased the game have known DLC was coming, since you couldn’t get out of the store with your copy without an employee trying to sell you a season pass, but until today all we knew was there’d be something called ‘The Master Trials.’
Now we know more about what tribulations Link will face, as well as a sneak peek at the second DLC entitled ‘The Champions Ballad.’ First, here are the details on what’s new in Hyrule once ‘The Master Trials’ drops later this year.
Trial of the Sword
When you get to a certain sacred location, you can take on the new “Trial of the Sword” challenge. Face an onslaught of enemies, one wave after another. Link starts the challenge without any equipment or weapons. When all the enemies in a room are defeated, Link proceeds to the next. Clear all the trials (about 45 rooms in total), and the power of the Master Sword will be awakened, and it will always be in its glowing powered-up state while usable.
Hero’s Path Mode
This new map feature shows the path Link has walked through Hyrule from the last 200 hours of gameplay. Use the time tracker bar to see where you’ve spent the most time and where you have yet to explore. There’s bound to be more adventures and maybe a shrine or two on the road less traveled.
Hard Mode
In Hard Mode, enemies gradually regain health, so take them out as quickly as possible. All enemies are also powered up by one level. For example, Red Bokoblins in Normal mode are now Blue Bokoblins. Enemies can also have higher maximum levels than they would in Normal mode. Look up, and you may also find enemies and treasure chests in the sky!
Travel Medallion
Somewhere in the world, there is a chest with a Travel Medallion inside. When you use this, you can register your current location as a fast travel point on the map. You can only register one location using the Travel Medallion.
The expansion will also include tons of new armor options for Link, because what’s the point of saving Hyrule if you can’t look fabulous doing it? Outfits will include the Phantom Armor, Majora’s Mask, Midna’s Helmet, the complete Tingle Outfit for all your Tingle cosplay needs. On top of that, a Korok Mask is hiding in a treasure chest somewhere in the world. When equipped, the mask shakes when Link is standing near a Korok. Very handy for completionists who want to find all NINE HUNDRED Koroks but don’t want to systematically pick up every rock in the damn universe.
Not much is known about the second DLC, ‘The Champions Ballad.’ Nintendo revealed at E3 that the expansion will involve the Champions of Hyrule — Mipha, Dark, Revali (jerk), and Urbosa. Each Champion will receive their own Amiibo but other details were scarce. Nintendo’s website vaguely alludes to a new dungeon, a new story, and new challenges but for now that’s all they’re willing to part with.
The first expansion pack drops June 30th.