I’m not doing the weapon degradation discourse again. I simply refuse. I do find it funny, however, that Nintendo decided to make 99 percent of weapons in Tears of the Kingdom physically degraded from the moment you pick them up (the only weapons that aren’t are weapons found in The Depths and makeshift weapons like Sticks and, um, Long Sticks). If this isn’t a message to Zelda players saying, “Suck it up, this is the direction we’re going in,” then I don’t know what is.
Like it or not, the developers want you to find alternative methods of dealing death and destruction to the minions of Ganon. “But there’s not even bombs in this one!!1!” I hear you cry. And I ignore you. Modern Zelda is about thinking outside the box, not just throwing a hand grenade at any Bokoblin that looks in your direction. Want to run through an entire game with a single overpowered weapon? Play Call of Duty.
Tears of the Kingdom is an interesting beast. There’s a lot I like about it, but plenty of things that I think could be improved, or don’t quite work for me. I’m not a fan of Ultrahand, the ability that the game pushes you to use more often than any other. Exploring Hyrule is a little dull compared with the areas above and below it, and many parts of the game feel gated behind the main quest, which is a big departure from the true freedom that I felt in Breath of the Wild. However, the opportunities for lateral thinking to solve Hyrule’s puzzles are abundant, and Hylian Pine Cones often come into play.
My first encounter with Hyrule’s most explosive resource was the moment I attempted to enter Rito Village. An NPC was subtly explaining the pine cones’ capabilities by telling a story of an accident their friend had, and I needed to get across a nearby gap. While most players (read: boring bastards) built a makeshift bridge using Ultrahand, I solved the puzzle the way the game intended. I threw a pine cone on the fire. It exploded. I sailed the updraft across the gap, leaving that poor NPC to deal with her first-degree burns alone.
My colleague Eric Switzer used this exact tactic (minus the aggravated assault) to unknowingly traverse the path to the Wind Temple before meeting Tulin. It turned the game into a survival platformer, and Eric’s outside-the-box thinking allowed him to surpass the barriers that the game had put in place. Who needs Tulin when you’ve got a bag full of pine cones?
As well as being a creative way of navigating Hyrule, Hylian Pine Cones can be used as a deadly weapon. Remember those Sheikah Slate bombs that you used as a crutch to get through combat encounters and cheese Eventide Isle in Breath of the Wild? Pine cones do the same job, but better.
Yeet a pine cone at a group of Bokoblins warming themselves by the fire and watch chaos ensue. By chaos, I mean wild panic, burning flesh, and a blank-faced Link staring impassively over the destruction he’s caused. If you’re worried about getting close enough to throw it without being noticed, either look into the game’s stealth systems or attach your pine cone to an arrow. Boom.
No campfire for this group of Bokoblins? Think outside the box. Whip yourself up a quick fire arrow (attach a Fire Fruit), and burn up the grass near your target. Then pine cone away. Tears of the Kingdom rewards this kind of lateral thinking, and if you’re as bored of the combat as we are, then it rewards using pine cones as the game’s most devastating weapon.