The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds on everything that Breath of the Wild was, making for an even bigger, better, and downright overwhelming game to get stuck into. This altered version of Hyrule has a lot of things to discover, places to see, and stuff you'll want to do throughout your adventure.
However, you may be feeling pretty lost after leaving the Great Sky Island and having everything available to you. You could have just touched ground in Hyrule or spent a few hours exploring, and still feel lost as to what you should be doing - in the best way, of course. Here are some of the things you'll want to do early on in the game.
10 Load Up On Zonai Devices Right Away
If you're quite the explorer, you'll have discovered two of the Zonai Device Dispensers on the Great Sky Island at the start of the game. These are the big gacha machines that let you insert Zonai Charges in order to receive a bunch of Zonai Devices, conveniently packaged for you to carry around for later use.
After fighting a bunch of the constructs on the Great Sky Island, you should already have a nice little collection of Zonai Charges. Go ahead and put the majority of them in the machines. These two machines will only give you some basic stuff (you can see what after using them by hovering over the icon on the map), but these basic devices are exactly what you'll want in bulk for all of your early construction experiments and Korok puzzle solving. You'll get plenty more Zonai Charges throughout the game, and you'll find even more machines, so don't be afraid to stock up for the long run.
9 Buy The Hylian Set From Lookout Landing
Shortly after your first visit to Lookout Landing, you'll notice a little shop in the courtyard where someone will be selling items. This will expand over the course of the game, but for now, you should prioritize buying the Hylian set of clothing - the Hylian Hood, Hylian Tunic, and Hylian Trousers.
There are lots of outfits and armors in the game, but at this point you'll probably only have the Archaic Tunic and Archaic Legwear. While new and stylish, it won't offer you much protection, and this game can be hard. The Hylian set will up your armor stat quite a bit, and is a cheap one to upgrade later on. It'll cost you some precious rupees, so if you're running short there, look to caves for gems and loot that you can sell.
8 Find Hestu And Upgrade Your Inventory
If you're listening to Purah's suggestions early on, she'll recommend you travel the road west out of Lookout Landing toward the Rito Village. This is because it's the easiest to get to, and the best region to start with, but more importantly, there are some early-game quests and characters to meet, including Hestu. Hestu is the large Korok that will accept the Korok Seeds you have collected in order to expand your inventory, and can be found up on the hill near Lindor's Brow Skyview Tower, just west of Hyrule Ridge.
You'll want to find him and do this as early as possible, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, while Fuse helps weapon durability greatly, you'll still be going through weapons on a regular basis, so being able to carry more is always a must. Secondly, after you have spoken to him and gotten some upgrades, he will move to the Lookout Landing courtyard, making him easily accessible once you have more Korok Seeds. A third reason? Everybody loves Hestu.
7 Tame A Horse, Any Horse
Whether it be right outside Lookout Landing, by the first Stables you come across, or out somewhere that you've aimlessly wandered into, Hyrule is plentiful with horses. There are different types, and certain types will be harder to tame, requiring more stamina and soothing. However, all of this aside, you should just get yourself any horse that you can, as soon as you can.
You can register multiple horses at a stable, so don't worry about finding and picking out your perfect, dream horse just yet. For now, all you need is a trustworthy steed that can take you across the ruined kingdom at a speed much faster than Link's walking. You may very well hop off the horse every ten seconds to look at something you've seen just off the path, but rest assured, a horse will make everything a lot easier.
6 Make Your Way To Hateno Village And Kakariko Village
You might choose to head straight for Rito Village or you might go off in a completely different direction, but if there's somewhere else you should look to, it's the Necluda region. Just past the Dueling Peaks at the southeastern part of Hyrule Field, you'll find the roads that lead to both Hateno Village and Kakariko Village, both of which were present in Breath of the Wild.
Not only is it exciting to go and see exactly what has changed, but they'll offer some new quests, services, and lore for you to uncover at any time in your adventure - so might as well do it earlier. More and more people across Hyrule flock to both of the villages in Tears of the Kingdom, so head off in the same direction and go see what all the fuss is about in each location.
5 Lower Links Hylian Hood
Once you've finished the main questline in Hateno Village, you can speak to Cece inside her clothing shop. Not only will she sell the unique clothing items you find in the game, in case you lose them at any point, but she also offers a feature that is not outrightly presented.
If Link talks to Cece while wearing the Hylian Hood - which can be purchased from either Lookout Landing or from Cece's shop - then she will offer to remove the hood. If accepted, Link will don the Hylian Hood with the hood pulled down, much like in the opening section of the game. It's a minor thing, and one that you may or may not want, but is something that is absolutely worth noting early on in the game. To change the hood back, just wear it and speak to Cece again.
4 Buy Arrows Every Chance You Get, Please
Okay, so this one is going to become clear at some point or another, but if you tackle it earlier on, then it'll be less of a pain down the line. If you use your bow often, for puzzles or combat or just to activate some devices, then you are going to need arrows. However, whether it be because of the varying uses or because of the difficulty of the game, arrows seem to deplete a lot more than they used to.
Every time you pass a shop or see Beedle out on his travels, you should purchase all the arrows that you can. They can be expensive, so this might only be a few at a time early on, but it'll help out so much in the sticky situations where you could really do with some.
3 Explore The Depths Under Hyrule Field
If you take on the early quest from Josha at Lookout Landing, then you'll be familiar with the Chasm just outside in Hyrule Field and the terrifying Depths that lurk below. While this is a spooky place to dive into when you feel so unprepared, it's absolutely worth looking around, at least in that area.
The game knows that this is probably the first area you'll drop into the Depths, and it's relatively simple; not easy, but simple. Just throw a bunch of Lightbloom Seeds everywhere and keep away from the gloom. You can find some pretty good gear down here, which is super helpful this early in the game, but it's still a daunting place to explore.
2 Upgrade Your Energy Cells ASAP, Just A Little Bit
That little battery that comes up and depletes whenever you're using Zonai Devices is super helpful, but it will very quickly become not enough to facilitate your wild and wonderful creations. Upgrading it is as easy as speaking to the Crystal Refinery construct just outside the Nachoyah Shrine on the Great Sky Island, or the one just outside the Lookout Landing north gate - but the resource cost will catch you out.
This can be a little bit of a grind, but that's all the more reason to start early on. You'll need 100 Crystalized Charges to get another Energy Cell, and you can get these by finding them or using Zonaite at a Forge Construct (there's one on the Great Sky Island). You might have to gather up some Zonaite from the Depths, but the increased Energy Cells will stop a lot of hardships down the line.
1 Return To The Lookout Landing Shelter After You've Helped The First Region
After you've spent a little time with the game, you'll have helped one of the regions with their problems - whether that be the Rito Village or if you went to another one first. Regardless, once you've done this, you'll want to head back to Lookout Landing anyway, but while you're there, you should head back down into the shelter underneath the courtyard.
There will be a new quest here, along with a new service and a location to explore. It's difficult, but the treasures can be super helpful in your adventures to come. As soon as you can, head back down there and see what's going on.