The sheer size of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can be overwhelming at times. There are so many activities in the game that it can take a long time to get through everything there is to do and see.
One thing that can help you out as you navigate the treacherous land of Hyrule is understanding how certain items can be used to your advantage. Once again, with the sheer amount of devices at your disposal, this can seem daunting as well. This list explains the best items to stock up on during your adventures.
Updated by Erin Rice on May 29, 2023: As The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gets older, newer mechanics and items have been found. 5 New additions have been added to this list to reflect the items that have been found since the original writing of this article.
15 Sage's Will
This item can be found in multiple places around the Sky Islands. There are a total of 20 throughout the game. They are used to increase the damage and abilities of your different Sages, and you'll need to collect 4 of them if you want to upgrade a Sage.
Since there are 20 in total, you can upgrade every Sage once. This can become extremely helpful if you rely on your Sages to help you defeat enemies. Here is a guide to finding the different locations of each Sage's Will.
14 Bubbul Gems
Bubbul Gems are items found when you kill Bubbulfrogs within caves. Every cave has a Bubbulfrog. These items can be traded to an NPC known as Koltin in exchange for different items. He will give you Monster Masks, Monster Parts, and pieces of the Mystic Armor set.
These items can come in handy if you want to blend in with monsters, make elixirs, or use the Mystic Armor set to lose Rupees instead of Hearts. For a complete guide on Bubbul Gems, you can check this one out.
13 Fire Fruit
At first, it may seem that this item is only good for starting fires, which, after all, is its main purpose. However, the Fire Fruit can be used for a plethora of different activities. Not only does it allow you to catch vines on fire, remove these obstacles from your way, and allow you to catch enemies on fire, dealing a good bit of damage, but it also allows you to catch grass on fire.
This might not seem very useful until you remember that Link can use the wind these fires generate to use his paraglider. This can be a great item to get out of a tricky situation or to reach higher ground quickly. You can find these fruits throughout Hyrule, especially in areas that need them in order to progress.
12 Flower Bombs
These items, as the name suggests, are the bombs of this Zelda game. Usually, Link has a set of bombs he is able to carry around and place where needed. Now, he can shoot the bombs with his arrows. These items are essential if you do not have any items that have been fused with boulders or rocks to create hammers. They will allow you to blow through any of the rocks that can be blown up that block path throughout the game.
Not only that, but if you don't want to use the durability of your weapons to chop into the different mineral deposits that drop gemstones and flint, you can use these to blow them up, saving your weapons. Flower Bombs can be found throughout caves and in The Depths.
11 Chuchu Jelly
Like the last two items, this one might not seem like much at first. However, these can be essential. Each color of Chuchu Jelly will do different things. For instance, the White Chuchu Jelly will freeze enemies in their tracks. This can be so helpful if you are taking on something that is strong.
You can also use the Blue Chuchu Jelly (the most common kind in the beginning) to cleanse the sludge that is plaguing the land of Zora's Domain. This can be super helpful if you don't have any Splash Fruit or you don't have Sidon's water abilities quite yet. You can find many different Chuchus around the game in various places.
10 Brightbloom Seeds
You need to pick these up every chance that you get. While exploring The Depths, you won't be able to see anything at all unless you have lit up the various Lightroots underground. You could find the Miner's Set, located deep within The Depths, but you need light to find it. However, with Brightbloom Seeds, you can attach them to your arrows and make The Depths lighter.
This will allow you to explore the area freely without worrying about running into Monsters or the Gloom that covers the area. Not only are you able to use these while exploring The Depths, but you can use them at night or in caves to help see. These items are found a lot in caves.
9 Hearty Truffles
Hearty Truffles are a type of mushroom you can find while exploring Hyrule. Like with any food, it may be tempting to eat it without cooking it but do not make that mistake with these. Hearty Truffles will automatically give Link a full recovery (no matter how many Hearts you have) and, depending on the amount of Hearty Truffles you add to the dish, will allow you to gain additional temporary hearts.
This can be invaluable while you are fighting the many overworld bosses or the various Temple bosses. The additional Hearts may only be there until they are lost, but they can be beneficial during these tough battles. These are pretty hard to come by, so make sure that you don't waste them. You can find Hearty Truffles in caves.
8 Gemstones
Gemstones are found throughout the land in mineral deposits that Link must smash in order to obtain the gemstones within. They are also common items that come in treasure chests. While it is super tempting to sell them, as they fetch a nice price with the kingdom's many merchants, you don't want to make that mistake. When combined with weapons, these gemstones turn them into elemental shooting weapons.
Fusing a Ruby with any weapon will create a weapon that not only works as it originally did but also is able to shoot fire. Topaz allows the weapon to shoot electricity. Then Sapphire allows the weapon to shoot ice. Opals will allow it to shoot water. Gemstones can be a valuable item to keep around because these are pretty important elements that can be used to do certain things, such as melting ice and cleansing sludge. Gemstones are found throughout Hyrule's many caves.
7 Sticky Lizards and Sticky Frogs
Sticky Lizards and Sticky Frogs are found throughout the many caves that dot the land of Hyrule. You can usually find them in the areas of these that have water. Their unique properties allow them to stick to the cave walls, despite them being wet. When they are cooked in an elixir with Monster Parts, you are able to create the Sticky Elixir.
Depending on the amount of Sticky Lizards and Sticky Frogs you add, you can boost the time this elixir lasts. Basically, it allows Link to climb wet walls and cliffsides without the fear of falling. While the new Froggy Armor allows you to do this, it can be difficult to get, meaning these are vital for now.
6 Zonai Charges
Zonai Charges are items you can find throughout the game in chests, from killed Zonai Constructs, or by trading Zonaite for them. The regular Zonai Charges will add an additional battery to your Zonai Battery. This is extremely useful if you are trying to use Zonai Devices to explore The Depths.
If you use Large Zonai Charges, they will prevent an entire section of your battery from depleting for a certain amount of time. This means that you can use as many Zonai Devices as you want within that time limit without losing battery.
5 Sundelions
A pretty frustrating part of the game is that Link loses Hearts from the Gloom in The Depths and in the overworld until he is able to either be cleansed at a Lightroot or reach an area that has sunlight on the surface level. However, there is a way to bypass that entirely. You can find flowers known as Sundelions on the many different Sky Islands that float around Hyrule.
While it may not be clear what these items do at first, cooking them into a meal allows Link to recover Hearts that are lost by the Gloom. Depending on how many Sundelions you add to the dish, you can increase the number of Hearts this will restore. This acts similar to The Depths Armor set.
4 Zonaite
Zonaite is an extremely important resource within the game. If you want to use the Autobuild function but don't have all the necessary Zonai Devices, you can exchange Zonaite for them. You can also use Zonaite to exchange for Crystallized Charges or Zonai Charges. Crystallized Charges can then be used in order to obtain more Zonai batteries.
Large Zonaites cannot be used to create items from Autobuild, but they do have their purposes. They will go much further when trying to purchase Crystallized Charges and Zonai Charges. These items can be mined in The Depths or found by killing creatures in The Depths.
3 Monster Eyes
When you kill a Monster that can fly, you will obtain that Monster's eyeball. While you might think that these are just regular Monster Parts that can be mixed into elixirs or sold to merchants around Hyrule, this isn't the only use of the items. They are actually some of the most useful items in the game. These items can be found on any of the flying enemies.
When you attach one of these eyes to an arrow, the arrow will follow whatever enemy you were aiming at until it hits it. This can mean life or death for someone who isn't good at aiming their bow. They also come in handy when fighting other flying enemies. While they may not seem like much at first, they are extremely valuable.
2 Fairies
Fairies are rare creatures that can become one of the best resources Link has. As long as Link has one within his inventory, he will be revived upon death. The Fairy will fly out of his pouch and revive him from whatever misfortune he has experienced.
You can use as many Fairies as you have within the span of a single battle. They can be the deciding factor between winning or losing a fight. You can find these in caves that have water and near water sources in Hyrule.
1 Silver Monster Parts
Silver Monster Parts are dropped when you kill a Monster that is silver. Usually, these are the hardest Monsters (besides bosses) that you can find in the game. Combining these Monster Parts into elixirs might not make them stronger, but fusing them into weapons certainly does a lot. You can find Silver Monster Parts from any silver monster. They will start to spawn when you progress further along in the game.
For example, adding this Silver Lizalfos Horn (which has a base damage of 34) to a Gerudo Scimitar (with a base damage of 8) created a Silver Lizal Reaper, which does 76 damage due to the Gerudo Scimitar doubling the Silver Lizalfos Horn's damage when fused. When you add these Monster Parts to weapons that are already powerful, you can create something that is unstoppable. They can allow you to cut through Monsters and enemies with ease.