Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 10 Best Ways To Get To Higher Platforms

The question of how to reach new heights in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one that players must often deal with. Zelda TOTK delights in placing shrines, equipment chests, materials, and more just out of Link’s reach, leaving players to figure out just how to get to them. But Hyrule is a vast sandbox, and creativity and out-of-the-box thinking go a long way.

Some solutions for reaching higher platforms are fairly obvious; a careful combination of Link’s new abilities in Zelda: TOTK will often be enough to get players where they need to go. In addition, however, the game is remarkably accepting of new and unconventional ideas involving Zonai devices, Link’s glider, and unexpected combinations of certain materials. Learning how to use these can make exploring Hyrule a bit easier.

10 Zonai Wing

Players will become familiar with the Zonai Wing from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s tutorial area, and it remains an option for reaching high places throughout the game. Link can use a Zonai Wing to glide long distances, changing direction and movement speed by walking and standing on different points. The Wing even works without additional Zonai components. However, without them, the Wing requires players to glide off cliff edges, making it hard to control and much less useful.

However, players can also attach Zonai fans and control sticks to create a proper Zonai flying machine. Unlocking the Autobuild ability in Zelda: TOTK also lets players deploy their customized Zonai Wings anywhere as long as they have the components. The Zonai Wing puts high places within easy reach as long as players have the components to spare.

9 Skyview Towers

Skyview Towers such as Zelda: TOTK’s Upland Zorana Skyview Tower are scattered all over Hyrule, and by activating them, Link receives valuable map data for their surrounding regions. This makes them essential to exploration, allowing players to get a much better view of nearby terrain features and points of interest. However, it’s worth noting that Link is catapulted high into the skies when activating a Skyview Tower, giving players a big window to skydive and glide back down to locations that are otherwise hard to reach.

There are only fifteen Skyview Towers in the game, so their use is ultimately situational; it would be excessive to use them to reach a slightly out-of-reach treasure chest, for example. However, they are ideal for reaching very high places and are practically essential for players looking to explore Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom’s Sky Islands.

8 Recall

Recall allows Link to target objects and rewind them through time. It’s incredibly useful for puzzle-solving, but players willing to experiment with Recall will find they can also use it to reach higher platforms in certain situations. For example, players can move and drop blocks using Link’s Ultrahand ability before grabbing onto them and using Recall to rewind time. This can give Link a bit of extra height to glide or climb onto cliffs and hillsides before his stamina runs out.

Recall is a bit of an unconventional choice for reaching high places, but as far as Zelda: TOTK is concerned, the only real limit is players’ imaginations.

7 Zonai Rocket Shield

The Zonai Rocket Shield is one of the most useful Fuses in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for a good reason: it’s handy, versatile, and can be used just about anywhere as long as players have the components. To craft a Rocket Shield, players must fuse a Zonai Rocket to one of their shields. When activated, the shield will launch Link into the air, giving him a big boost and allowing him to glide toward otherwise inaccessible areas.

The only real downside to the Rocket Shield is that Zonai Rockets can only be used once and will detach from Link’s shield when used. Of course, players can always stock up at Zonai dispensers, but it’s recommended that players only use the Rocket Shield when they are out of ideas. It’s well worth saving Zonai components for particularly tricky puzzles or obstacles.

6 Zonai Hot Air Balloon

The Zonai Hot Air Balloon combines the Zonai Flame Emitter and Zonai Balloon components. Players can place a Flame Emitter in the slot underneath a Zonai Balloon. When activated, the flame heats the air, causing the balloon to rise. Players can attach this mechanism to a wide variety of basic platforms, whether it’s carts or even two logs attached together. Again, much like the Rocket Shield, players can easily build a Hot Air Balloon as long as they have the right components.

Like all Zonai components, however, the Zonai Flame Emitter drains Link’s Zonai Energy Cell. This limits how high players can go before the Flame Emitter runs out of power. However, Link can use up Zonai Charges to give the Energy Cell a bit of extra power. The Zonai Hot Air Balloon is a unique high-tech creation, and aside from reaching high places, it’s also great for some aerial sightseeing.

5 Climbing

Climbing is a basic gameplay mechanic in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but when players are surrounded by high-tech Zonai vehicles, it can sometimes be easy to forget that it’s still an option. Link can scale most surfaces and even climb slippery surfaces using Zelda TOTK’s Froggy Armor set. Unlike other methods for reaching high places, it doesn’t require tinkering with hard-to-find Zonai components or experimenting with Link’s new abilities.

The only limitation on climbing is Link’s stamina, which players can upgrade by obtaining Stamina Vessels. Climbing may be basic, but it’s also flexible and convenient. Many items are actually within reach as long as players are willing to spend time climbing.

4 Zonai Springs

Players will probably be familiar with Zonai Springs from the Morok Shrine in Zelda TOTK, where Link uses them to bounce and reach great heights. Like Zonai Rockets and Balloons, Springs can also be obtained from Zonai Dispensers, giving Link a chance to place and use them to reach high places all over Hyrule.

The most significant advantage of Zonai Springs compared to other Zonai Devices is the lack of setup; players can place and use Zonai Springs wherever they want or even combine multiple springs for a bigger boost. But, of course, it’s also worth keeping in mind that once players remove a Zonai Spring from its capsule, it can’t be returned to their inventories.

3 Bomb Jump

The Bomb Jump is a neat move that involves shield-surfing using a shield with a Bomb Flower fused to it. To shield-surf in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, all players have to do is jump while blocking with their shield, pressing A to slide the shield under Link’s feet. When Link shield-surfs with a shield with a Bomb Flower fused to it, this triggers a powerful explosion that bounces Link into the air, giving him a small window to glide over to higher platforms.

While reasonably easy to assemble, it’s worth noting that this takes a massive chunk of any shield’s durability. Therefore, players should avoid using their best shields for the Bomb Jump and for shield-surfing in general.

2 Hylian Pine Cone Fires

Making fire in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom requires nothing more than Flint and Wood: both extremely common materials. However, when Hylian Pine Cones are added to campfires, the flames grow in intensity, giving off extra heat and plumes of rising hot air. Link can jump and deploy his glider, catching the rising air currents to reach higher platforms. It’s a surprisingly big boost, and players can use the height gained to glide great distances.

Players can set up these Pine Cone Fires on most flat surfaces, and all three materials are easy to find. However, it’s worth noting that Link might catch fire if he gets too close, so care should be taken.

1 Ascend

Ascend is one of Link’s new abilities in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, allowing players to teleport up to the top of most objects simply. It’s a game-changing power that gives players an impressive amount of freedom to explore wherever they like. As such, it’s the go-to ability for players looking to reach high places with minimal effort. In addition, it’s perfect for exploring caves and ruins, allowing players to travel between different floors with a few button presses.

That being said, Link needs to have a surface above him for Ascend to work, making it less useful when scaling Hyrule’s cliffsides. In many situations, Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom players will need to rely on other, unique solutions to get where they need to go.