Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough Story Order: Where to go first?

Tears of the Kingdom is a huge game, so here's our walkthrough for where to go first!

Nintendo

Guide by James Billcliffe Guides Editor

Updated on May 14, 2023

One of the best things about huge open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is that you can go wherever you want to, but that can also be an overwhelming decision. While you have a large degree of self-determination as you explore Hyrule, there is a relatively set story order that offers the smoothest difficulty progression.

Technically, your objectives are non-linear. However, some areas are definitely easier than others and make for an easier ride if visited first.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still has weapon durability, but you won't care.

As a general rule-of-thumb, the enemies in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom get more difficult the further south you go. That means it’s best to work your way down the map, top-to-bottom, finding new equipment and increasing your power to take on more difficult challenges as you go.

With that said, outside of a few super-tough foes and boss fights you can weasel your way through just about anywhere if you can run away fast enough, so don’t be scared of exploring high-and-low for fear of running into something you can’t defeat.

Everywhere in Hyrule is accessible right from the start of Tears of the Kingdom, and there’s nothing stopping you from skipping into an area, activating the Skyview Tower or doing a Shrine or two, then leaving before any of the strong baddies realise you’re underlevelled.

As you strike out to all four corners of the world though, make sure you also mix in a good helping of Side Adventures, Shrines and diversions. These not only help you gather useful items, but prepare you for story missions too by introducing mechanics and honing your skills.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Story Order - Where should you go first?

First, after you have completed the Great Sky Island, complete your task at Hyrule Castle from Purah at Lookout Landing.
Next, explore Hyrule Field south of Lookout Landing to get your bearings with the controls, complete a few Side Adventures and Shrines to collect money and power up your hearts, and open up the underground with the Camera Work in the Depths Quest.
After that, make your way northwest to the top-left corner of the map and visit the frigid cold of Rito Village and the Lucky Clover Gazette. On your way start Impa’s Geoglyph quest, The Dragon’s Tears.
In terms of combat difficulty, your next port of call should be Goron City in the northeast. However, you will need a flame-proof outfit that is very expensive (nearly 2000 rupees). So take on some sidequests and sell some gems to scratch up the necessary money.
Following that, now’s a good time to return to the underground to complete the Mystery in the Depths. This will give you a new series of Side Adventures to work through.
When that’s done, move southwards to Zora’s Domain in the east of Hyrule. Make sure you have plenty of Hydrant devices and Splash Fruit ready!
Finally, make your way down to the southwest area of the Gerudo Desert. This is the most combat-intensive of the four objectives and has the toughest enemies. You will need ways to resist both cold and heat, as well as easy access to elemental damage like shock or fire (either attached to a weapon or by throwing fire fruit).
As you make your way around the world, you should complete Skyview Towers and Geoglyphs as you come across them. You could go around unlocking every Skyview Tower immediately to make fast-travelling easier if you want (that’s what I did), but I would recommend doing the Geoglyphs in a more natural order. If you view them all at once it will spoil a key story element which is best saved until you have visited the four Regional Phenomena.
With that, return to Lookout Landing to be shown the way forward.

To fill in the gaps as you explore Hyrule, we have guide pages on many of the systems and quests you will encounter throughout your journey. We will be constantly updating this page with more advice, so check back as you continue your adventure!