Showing posts with label Stone Talus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stone Talus. Show all posts
Friday, January 4, 2019
Monday, December 31, 2018
Beach Blanket Bokoblins
Here it is folks, my last entry. Maybe just for now, maybe forever. I really did love writing this blog, but it just became so time consuming and taxing, having to replay everything I've already done and take all the screenshots. I haven't even played this game in over a year, except to take screenshots for this blog! Still, this was a fun writing project, and I will use the skills I learned here as I pursue other projects. But, I'm not done writing about video games yet! I just need to broaden my focus. So, I hope you will enjoy reading my new blog, about video games and pop culture: The Woebegone Golem. New posts start January 7th!
I eventually give up on solving the mystery of the three trees. I will be back though! The hills I’ve been following don’t go on much further, so I glide back down to the main path once I near Dueling Peaks. When I reach the stable proper, I nab a few more things for my camera - animals, a few ingredients - before warping back to Hateno Village - specifically the Tech Lab. Before I head back to Kakariko, there’s a few more things to finish up around here.
I chose here and not further into town because the things that need taking care of are all outside of town, and we are going to start by taking care of those sheep rustling monsters. I head down the path from the lab until I reach the point it forks to the left, leading to the beach.
As the path winds down the mountainside, I can see Hateno Beach and Bar below me. I see what looks like an enemy encampment - looks like that is where the sheep rustlers are based - and far off in the center of the bay, the orange glow of a shrine. I pull out my scope just to be sure. Yep! There are a few other oddities in the bay. I see a strange rock formation with a large flock of birds hovering above, and even more outcroppings along the coastline that will require exploring.
The path turns to the left, running north for a short while until it reaches a small pond with a waterfalls, surrounded by trees. In the center of the pond is a lilypad ring, which also means a Korok. I backtrack a little, there’s a short cliff I can climb to reach above the waterfall so I can dive in. Well, hover over and drop in. Korok Seed please!
I find another new ingredient/critter scurrying across the beach - Crabs! I find two main varieties, there’s the red Ironshell Crab, which raises defense, and the blue Razorclaw Crab, which raises attack. Though living, I think they count as seafood similar to fish, and so should be cooked with food instead of potion ingredients.
As I near the camp, I can see that it’s a busy one. Really busy. I move from the beach into the grass, giving the blin’s a wide berth so that that they don’t see me as I approach. There’s a set of hills nearby I can hide behind that are close enough that I can make out the details of the camp’s inhabitants.
I count a total of EIGHT bokoblins or all colors, including a a couple of new and presumably more powerful Black Bokoblins, the real ones. There’s also a Blue Moblin in attendance, but he’s the only one. I can see two sheep being kept in some sort of pen, which I assume are Koyin’s. Surprised they’re smart enough to build something like that, frankly.
This isn’t going to be an easy fight. There’s a ton of enemies, some very high level, and little to no cover for me to take once I get in there. It’s late in the afternoon, night will fall soon, so I decide to wait and use that to my advantage. Most of them should fall asleep, hopefully giving me at least a little bit of an advantage.
A few in-game hours after he sun goes down, all but two of the blin’s are asleep. The two who are awake aren't even acting like lookouts, they're just dancing around a campfire. I know I won’t be able to sneak up and murder all of them in their sleep, so let’s just start with the biggest guy: the mobilin.
I sneak close to the sleeping Moblin, waiting for the Sneakstrike command to pop up. After I land the blow, I continue to attack him with my club, reducing him to black ash and moblin parts. Unfortunately, in the commotion I also woke up and alerted all the remaining bokoblins. Retreat!
I move back so that I’m not in the middle of the group, doing my best to attack them from a distance as they approach. They have their own archers though, and I take a few arrows in the side when I’m trying to focus on the nasty black fucker in front of me. This is not an easy or pretty fight. I’m surrounded by 3 bokoblins, one black and two blue, and there’s one or two more still in the fort trying to hit me with arrows. I try to focus on the weaker enemies and using weapons that can fling them away, get some distance between us. I nearly lose it and end up having to eat some of my prepared food when I get close to death, but I manage to take out the bokoblins accosting me on foot.
That just leaves two more bokoblins, one heading towards me on foot with a spear, and a much weaker red one firing arrows at me from the fort. Still dodging arrows, I take out the last blue bokoblin and run up the ramp and knock out the last one. As his body disintegrates into monster parts, the nearby chest is unlocked - holding inside a Ruby. I also get the notification that my quest log has been updated. The sheep are free to go!
Before I go back to town to complete the quest, I want to finish exploring down here. This is as far east as I seem to be able to go, and I can see on the map a few nearby areas that warrant some investigating. It starts raining as I finish exploring the strip of land I’m on, though I don’t find much else beyond more crabs until I head towards the southern end. There, what do I find but a yellow Korok flower! I touch it, and watch as it jumped from the shore to a nearby rock in the water. It continues to bounce around rocks along the shoreline until finally, the white flower appears on the largest rock, netting me another Korok Seed.
In front of that shallow pool, however, is a very obvious Korok puzzle: a ring of stones. This one, however, is missing not one but three. I have to do a little hunting - the stones aren’t in obvious places, and there are also exactly three of them. The three empty spots are all on different sides of the circle, so I use that as a hint, exploring in each direction of the hole. Doesn’t take too long before my new Korok buddy shows up and gives me another Korok Seed.
From the stone circle, I find a second Korok puzzle - another yellow flower to chase. This one starts on the right side of the point, atop a rocky hill. From there, it leads me up the east end of the rocky hills surrounding the pool, before finally giving up my 45th Korok Seed.
And from there, I spot yet another Korok puzzle - this time a pinwheel on top of a rocky outcropping just north of where I am. It stands at the center of the pool making up Mapla Point. It’s not a far climb from where the white flower and Korok lead me to. Once there and with ym bow out, three balloons appear and begin to rotate around me. Not nearly as annoying as the last one of these I did. Only takes me three shots and bam, 46th Korok Seed.
From my spot atop Mapla Point, I look out into the ocean to the east. I see islands in the distance, though I suspect that I would hit na invisible wall long before I made it there. Slightly more to the south appears to be an island I could actually swim too, however. Probably a few fun things to discover there in the future.
I look down into the pool of water, which is filled with any number of rocks and boulders. And what do you know, another Korok puzzle. This one is a simple lilypad circle in the water, so after angling myself, I leap from the outcropping and pull out my glider. Then I am myself to be sitting above the circle, and drop the glider. Fall, splash, Korok Seed!
Well, that was quite the Korok hunting expedition. I swim towards shallow water so I can exit the pool, ready to move south now. Then I wander too close to one of the giant boulders down here.
Oh goddamnit. Another fucking Talus.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 41
Sheep: No longer rustled
Deepback Bay: Not very deep
Mapla Point: A good place for Koroks and ROCK MONSTERS
I eventually give up on solving the mystery of the three trees. I will be back though! The hills I’ve been following don’t go on much further, so I glide back down to the main path once I near Dueling Peaks. When I reach the stable proper, I nab a few more things for my camera - animals, a few ingredients - before warping back to Hateno Village - specifically the Tech Lab. Before I head back to Kakariko, there’s a few more things to finish up around here.
Hateno Ancient Tech Lab
 |
| That's a lot of water. |
As the path winds down the mountainside, I can see Hateno Beach and Bar below me. I see what looks like an enemy encampment - looks like that is where the sheep rustlers are based - and far off in the center of the bay, the orange glow of a shrine. I pull out my scope just to be sure. Yep! There are a few other oddities in the bay. I see a strange rock formation with a large flock of birds hovering above, and even more outcroppings along the coastline that will require exploring.
The path turns to the left, running north for a short while until it reaches a small pond with a waterfalls, surrounded by trees. In the center of the pond is a lilypad ring, which also means a Korok. I backtrack a little, there’s a short cliff I can climb to reach above the waterfall so I can dive in. Well, hover over and drop in. Korok Seed please!
Hateno Beach
I continue following the winding path down the mountain until I am let out at the beach. Hateno Bay stretches wide before me, a bokoblin encampment to the left, the shrine and strange rock formation to the right. Along the coastline I see what appears to be a Lizafos? But it’s tan. The same color as the sand. Since they all seem to resemble chameleons in this game...it must be hiding? Or trying to hide. I ignore it for now, breaking to the left towards the camp.I find another new ingredient/critter scurrying across the beach - Crabs! I find two main varieties, there’s the red Ironshell Crab, which raises defense, and the blue Razorclaw Crab, which raises attack. Though living, I think they count as seafood similar to fish, and so should be cooked with food instead of potion ingredients.
 |
| That's a lot of 'blins |
As I near the camp, I can see that it’s a busy one. Really busy. I move from the beach into the grass, giving the blin’s a wide berth so that that they don’t see me as I approach. There’s a set of hills nearby I can hide behind that are close enough that I can make out the details of the camp’s inhabitants.
I count a total of EIGHT bokoblins or all colors, including a a couple of new and presumably more powerful Black Bokoblins, the real ones. There’s also a Blue Moblin in attendance, but he’s the only one. I can see two sheep being kept in some sort of pen, which I assume are Koyin’s. Surprised they’re smart enough to build something like that, frankly.
This isn’t going to be an easy fight. There’s a ton of enemies, some very high level, and little to no cover for me to take once I get in there. It’s late in the afternoon, night will fall soon, so I decide to wait and use that to my advantage. Most of them should fall asleep, hopefully giving me at least a little bit of an advantage.
A few in-game hours after he sun goes down, all but two of the blin’s are asleep. The two who are awake aren't even acting like lookouts, they're just dancing around a campfire. I know I won’t be able to sneak up and murder all of them in their sleep, so let’s just start with the biggest guy: the mobilin.
 |
| Headshot! |
I sneak close to the sleeping Moblin, waiting for the Sneakstrike command to pop up. After I land the blow, I continue to attack him with my club, reducing him to black ash and moblin parts. Unfortunately, in the commotion I also woke up and alerted all the remaining bokoblins. Retreat!
I move back so that I’m not in the middle of the group, doing my best to attack them from a distance as they approach. They have their own archers though, and I take a few arrows in the side when I’m trying to focus on the nasty black fucker in front of me. This is not an easy or pretty fight. I’m surrounded by 3 bokoblins, one black and two blue, and there’s one or two more still in the fort trying to hit me with arrows. I try to focus on the weaker enemies and using weapons that can fling them away, get some distance between us. I nearly lose it and end up having to eat some of my prepared food when I get close to death, but I manage to take out the bokoblins accosting me on foot.
 |
| Apologies to the palm trees destroyed as collateral damage. |
Before I go back to town to complete the quest, I want to finish exploring down here. This is as far east as I seem to be able to go, and I can see on the map a few nearby areas that warrant some investigating. It starts raining as I finish exploring the strip of land I’m on, though I don’t find much else beyond more crabs until I head towards the southern end. There, what do I find but a yellow Korok flower! I touch it, and watch as it jumped from the shore to a nearby rock in the water. It continues to bounce around rocks along the shoreline until finally, the white flower appears on the largest rock, netting me another Korok Seed.
Deepback Bay
Heading around the coastline, I see a boat docked on the beach. That’s convenient. As I head towards it, I am attacked not once, but twice by a trio of enemies. The first is a set of giant blue Chus, which I am happy are not any of the elemental variety. The second appears to be a trio of small Stone Taluses. Tali? I dunno, but they're called Pebblits and I use my sledgehammer to reduce them to rubble. When I'm finished, I continue to the raft and hop aboard and use my korok leaf to blow me across the bay. I wish I had a more exciting story to tell you, but I don’t. I exit Deepback Bay almost as fast as I entered it.Mapla Point
On this new coastline I find more crabs, and I stock up. They seem like they count as fish for food, rather than a potion ingredient, so I can see making a lot of useful recipes out of them. I round the corner to Mapla Point proper, seeing a large shallow pool of water nestled among the rocky hills. |
| I should have gotten three different seeds for this one. |
From the stone circle, I find a second Korok puzzle - another yellow flower to chase. This one starts on the right side of the point, atop a rocky hill. From there, it leads me up the east end of the rocky hills surrounding the pool, before finally giving up my 45th Korok Seed.
And from there, I spot yet another Korok puzzle - this time a pinwheel on top of a rocky outcropping just north of where I am. It stands at the center of the pool making up Mapla Point. It’s not a far climb from where the white flower and Korok lead me to. Once there and with ym bow out, three balloons appear and begin to rotate around me. Not nearly as annoying as the last one of these I did. Only takes me three shots and bam, 46th Korok Seed.
From my spot atop Mapla Point, I look out into the ocean to the east. I see islands in the distance, though I suspect that I would hit na invisible wall long before I made it there. Slightly more to the south appears to be an island I could actually swim too, however. Probably a few fun things to discover there in the future.
 |
| Maybe she's mad that I killed her babies earlier? |
Well, that was quite the Korok hunting expedition. I swim towards shallow water so I can exit the pool, ready to move south now. Then I wander too close to one of the giant boulders down here.
Oh goddamnit. Another fucking Talus.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 41
Sheep: No longer rustled
Deepback Bay: Not very deep
Mapla Point: A good place for Koroks and ROCK MONSTERS
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
In Which I Am a Backtracking Shutterbug
I walk into the lab after warping in, moving to Symin in the back. I hand over the three sunshrooms as requested, and in return he gives me 3 Hearty Truffles. He asks if I liked using the Sheikah Sensor+, and then also let’s me know he has something else he wants to talk to me about, when I have a chance.
No time like the present, my dude! He says he’s found another way to help my search for stuff with the Sensor. He again goes over how I can use pictures to blahblahblah. Then he asks me to put my Slate back on the Guidance Stone. Even Purah is in the dark about what he’s about to do, but wants to see it anyway so she allows it. (Snap!)
Rather than a rune or an upgrade, a picture is added to my Hyrule Compendium - this one is for Mighty Bananas, something I haven’t found in the wild yet (heh). Apparently, Symin discovered that it’s possible to recover pictures that were in the compendium in the past. Which they will be happy to do for me...for a nominal fee. I mean, that’s cool but I think I’ll enjoy taking these pictures myself. In fact… It probably wouldn’t hurt to fill in what I can right now, right? Then It’ll be easier to keep updated as I go along.
Time for a quick trip back to the Great Plateau! It won’t take too long, just enough to grab shots of the enemies and items that I can, then I’ll make the walk down to Dueling Peaks Stable, and then I’ll warp back here. Anything on the Kakariko-Hateno path I can grab on my way back to Impa. Actually that reminds me, I have another side quest I can complete now, I should be able to find a Traveler’s Sword somewhere on the plateau.
I work quickly though, cataloging things as I search. I learnt hat while you can add enemies, you cannot add the parts they drop. The same is true for animals. But the Compendium lists what each creature can drop, so you essentially are still able to hunt down anything you need, you just have to find the thing to kill for it first.
I also learn, entirely by accident, that you can take selfies! You can even have Link make a number of different poses using the left thumb stick. And even more when you hit the ZL button, for a total of nine. I screw around a little with it, taking pictures of my equipment for the Compendium while having Link make any number of ridiculous poses.
Once I’m finished there, I make my way down the path through the East Post and Outpost Ruins. I take pictures of the Moblins and a few other ingredients and items I couldn’t find on the plateau. Bugs and other critters prove particularly difficult, since the camera requires you to be fairly close for the picture to register, even with the zoom.
In an attempt to capture some of these creatures on camera, I wandered a bit far from the path, ending up southeast of Outpost Ruins on a small hill. A hill with a boulder on it that I don’t think twice about… until it starts moving, revealing itself to be a Talus. That makes three. This one looks different from the last two though - instead of a normal Ore Deposit weak point, this one appears to have a Luminous Stone Deposit sticking out of it’s back. It also has the subtitle (Luminous) after it’s name, if that wasn’t clear. Didn’t realize these could have subtypes!
Before the fight gets going, I snap a picture of it for my compendium - it registers different to the one on the plateau that I snapped a picture of not too long ago. Similar to the different colored bokoblins and moblins, they are considered different creatures. Incidentally, I also learned that the bokoblins I’ve been referring to as black are in fact blue.
This fight seems more difficult to my tumbles with the last two taluses. I don’t know if it has higher defense or HP, but it’s health bar seems to be going down much slower than them. His weak point is also placed in something of an odd location, directly on the center of it’s back, and I end up relying on my bombs more than I do arrows to know it over. But, when it’s knocked to the ground I can nail him head on with a sledgehammer pretty easily.
It’s a more difficult fight then I care to admit to - he actually even killed me once, forcing me to start the battle over upon reloading - but I eventually manage to take him down in a nice explosion of Luminous Stones, Flint, and even a Diamond! I mark my map with a skull to mark the location of the Talus for future reference.
With THAT adventure down, I should get moving again...right after I explore that building I now see just a little further southeast of here, on a place called Scout’s Hill.
There’s not much, just a solitary building/ruin, but it seems like it was important enough to label in fairly large letters on the map… oh well. It’s nice up here, peaceful. I would be very, very curious to see a version of this Hyrule with all the buildings still in tact. It would be a very different game. I also find a lone rock in the middle of the ruin. Korok!
There’s nothing else here for me to do, I suppose. I could hang out with my Korok buddy? Nah. I pull out my scope and scan the horizon for anything interesting. There’s plenty to the south and west, but for now I’m sticking to portions of the map that are uncovered - I’ve got enough to do as it is.
I see a few things across the river that could be interesting, but nothing that wouldn’t require some off-the-path climbing. So instead, I glide towards Proxim bridge, following down the Hylia River, name so because it seems to empty into Lake Hylia to the south. I can’t quite make the distance to the bridge and land on a beach just south of it - and right next to another Korok puzzle. It’s a Magnesis puzzle, so I switch runes and make the two sets of blocks match and get my Korok Seed.
I climb up the beach hills, intending to walk my way back around to the path. Purely out of habit, looking for bugs or critters hiding under rocks, I grab one just up the first hill. And it reveals another Korok. This brings my Korok Seed total to 40!
After that little surprise, I notice a small Bokoblin camp on another beach just below me ahead. Been a little while since I’ve seen one of these I haven’t already slaughtered! They’re all red boys, so it’s not a difficult or long fight - and bokoblins still can’t swim, so with a few well placed swings, they are all quickly down for the count. I open a nearby chest to obtain an Opal, which I am happy to replenish my gemstone stores with.
Standing on this small peninsula the bokoblins made camp on, I can see...something under Proxim Bridge. And even looking at the map, I looks like there’s a sandbar, or at least shallow enough water for me to stand under one of the awnings. Should be able to swim there from here…
It’s another Korok. Damn dudes, that’s like, four of them in a row. Now if I could just locate Hestu to spend them…
...Jesus Christ is that another Korok? I see an orange pinwheel on one of the hills rocky peaks. As I approach and pull out my bow, three balloon targets burst into existence, and immediately begin to move about in a confusing pattern. Never easy with these guys. I waste about half a dozen arrows, lost to the swamp below, but I nail all three balloons and get my 5th Korok Seed in a row, bringing me to a total of 41.
I continue along the hilltops further, passing by the Korok I found over here earlier, happily chilling in his spot on the giant logs. A few more hilltops over and I find another oddity. Three trees, all lined up perfectly. Two of the trees hold only a single apple, while the third holds many. Even the two trees that have the single apple have them in the exact same location. Hmm. This has to be a puzzle, right?
But what? First, I try picking all the apples. Nope. Maybe the apples make some kind of arrow that I just can’t see from this angle? I try firing off arrows in the direction it would be pointing, nothing. Oh! Maybe I have to throw a boomerang around all three trees? Nope, nothing, and I almost lost my boomerang too. Finally, I try cutting the trees down, starting with the one that held the most apples. And still nothing happens.
Sigh.
I hate Koroks.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 41
Symin: Sunshroomed
Traveler’s Swords: Lost to the ether
Korok Puzzles: Frustrating as all hell
 |
| Wait, is she making rocker hands? |
Rather than a rune or an upgrade, a picture is added to my Hyrule Compendium - this one is for Mighty Bananas, something I haven’t found in the wild yet (heh). Apparently, Symin discovered that it’s possible to recover pictures that were in the compendium in the past. Which they will be happy to do for me...for a nominal fee. I mean, that’s cool but I think I’ll enjoy taking these pictures myself. In fact… It probably wouldn’t hurt to fill in what I can right now, right? Then It’ll be easier to keep updated as I go along.
Time for a quick trip back to the Great Plateau! It won’t take too long, just enough to grab shots of the enemies and items that I can, then I’ll make the walk down to Dueling Peaks Stable, and then I’ll warp back here. Anything on the Kakariko-Hateno path I can grab on my way back to Impa. Actually that reminds me, I have another side quest I can complete now, I should be able to find a Traveler’s Sword somewhere on the plateau.
 |
| Back back back again... |
The Great Plateau
I don’t find a single Traveler’s Sword on the plateau. Not a single one. Did the ones i found earlier all come from chests? I scour the plateau, hitting all of the Bokoblin camps I can remember, but none of them are carrying one. Sigh.I work quickly though, cataloging things as I search. I learnt hat while you can add enemies, you cannot add the parts they drop. The same is true for animals. But the Compendium lists what each creature can drop, so you essentially are still able to hunt down anything you need, you just have to find the thing to kill for it first.
I also learn, entirely by accident, that you can take selfies! You can even have Link make a number of different poses using the left thumb stick. And even more when you hit the ZL button, for a total of nine. I screw around a little with it, taking pictures of my equipment for the Compendium while having Link make any number of ridiculous poses.
Once I’m finished there, I make my way down the path through the East Post and Outpost Ruins. I take pictures of the Moblins and a few other ingredients and items I couldn’t find on the plateau. Bugs and other critters prove particularly difficult, since the camera requires you to be fairly close for the picture to register, even with the zoom.
In an attempt to capture some of these creatures on camera, I wandered a bit far from the path, ending up southeast of Outpost Ruins on a small hill. A hill with a boulder on it that I don’t think twice about… until it starts moving, revealing itself to be a Talus. That makes three. This one looks different from the last two though - instead of a normal Ore Deposit weak point, this one appears to have a Luminous Stone Deposit sticking out of it’s back. It also has the subtitle (Luminous) after it’s name, if that wasn’t clear. Didn’t realize these could have subtypes!
 |
| Oww. |
Before the fight gets going, I snap a picture of it for my compendium - it registers different to the one on the plateau that I snapped a picture of not too long ago. Similar to the different colored bokoblins and moblins, they are considered different creatures. Incidentally, I also learned that the bokoblins I’ve been referring to as black are in fact blue.
This fight seems more difficult to my tumbles with the last two taluses. I don’t know if it has higher defense or HP, but it’s health bar seems to be going down much slower than them. His weak point is also placed in something of an odd location, directly on the center of it’s back, and I end up relying on my bombs more than I do arrows to know it over. But, when it’s knocked to the ground I can nail him head on with a sledgehammer pretty easily.
It’s a more difficult fight then I care to admit to - he actually even killed me once, forcing me to start the battle over upon reloading - but I eventually manage to take him down in a nice explosion of Luminous Stones, Flint, and even a Diamond! I mark my map with a skull to mark the location of the Talus for future reference.
With THAT adventure down, I should get moving again...right after I explore that building I now see just a little further southeast of here, on a place called Scout’s Hill.
Scout’s Hill
 |
| This game really needs a photo mode. So creepy/beautiful. |
There’s nothing else here for me to do, I suppose. I could hang out with my Korok buddy? Nah. I pull out my scope and scan the horizon for anything interesting. There’s plenty to the south and west, but for now I’m sticking to portions of the map that are uncovered - I’ve got enough to do as it is.
I see a few things across the river that could be interesting, but nothing that wouldn’t require some off-the-path climbing. So instead, I glide towards Proxim bridge, following down the Hylia River, name so because it seems to empty into Lake Hylia to the south. I can’t quite make the distance to the bridge and land on a beach just south of it - and right next to another Korok puzzle. It’s a Magnesis puzzle, so I switch runes and make the two sets of blocks match and get my Korok Seed.
 |
| ...I could crush you so easily... |
After that little surprise, I notice a small Bokoblin camp on another beach just below me ahead. Been a little while since I’ve seen one of these I haven’t already slaughtered! They’re all red boys, so it’s not a difficult or long fight - and bokoblins still can’t swim, so with a few well placed swings, they are all quickly down for the count. I open a nearby chest to obtain an Opal, which I am happy to replenish my gemstone stores with.
 |
| This was intensely satisfying. |
It’s another Korok. Damn dudes, that’s like, four of them in a row. Now if I could just locate Hestu to spend them…
Hills of Baumer
Rather then continue on the path I’ve already traveled, I decide to follow along the hilltops to the south. I had already been up here once, avoiding the boulder traps as I navigated up the large fallen logs. This time I just climb up the old fashioned way. I can see a huge swamp to the south, just littered with burnt out buildings. It’s very tempting to explore down there...but I hold off....Jesus Christ is that another Korok? I see an orange pinwheel on one of the hills rocky peaks. As I approach and pull out my bow, three balloon targets burst into existence, and immediately begin to move about in a confusing pattern. Never easy with these guys. I waste about half a dozen arrows, lost to the swamp below, but I nail all three balloons and get my 5th Korok Seed in a row, bringing me to a total of 41.
 |
| WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOU!? |
But what? First, I try picking all the apples. Nope. Maybe the apples make some kind of arrow that I just can’t see from this angle? I try firing off arrows in the direction it would be pointing, nothing. Oh! Maybe I have to throw a boomerang around all three trees? Nope, nothing, and I almost lost my boomerang too. Finally, I try cutting the trees down, starting with the one that held the most apples. And still nothing happens.
Sigh.
I hate Koroks.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 41
Symin: Sunshroomed
Traveler’s Swords: Lost to the ether
Korok Puzzles: Frustrating as all hell
Friday, May 18, 2018
Monday, May 14, 2018
But It Wasn't a Rock...It Was a Rock...Monster!
(I sincerely hope you read the title of today’s post in your best B-52’s impression.)
I don’t have to run all the way back to Calip’s cabin, as by the time I exit the shrine it is once again daytime. He’s right back here, still conducting his research. I talk to him and point out the giant shrine that is now here...and he chalks it up to a luck and plans to redouble is efforts. ...You do you, buddy. I’m taking my horse and getting out of this creepy place.
The path leads me south and up a hill, where I come face to face with Toma once again. She again insists that I should let my fashion sense shine through. It’s nice, if not a little ignorant, to remain that resolute in the face of such a bleak world. Continuing up the hill, I see not only the Hateno Tower, but also a small land bridge with a path leading down into the cavern. I also spot a cracked wall hiding a chest with an Amber.
As I carefully guide Fabio across the bridge, a dark bokoblin hiding in the tall grass decides it’s time to attack. I leap off Fabio’s back with a strength and speed I didn’t know was possible (seriously, Link must have the thighs of a GOD), and work to dispatch him as quickly as I can. Not wanting Fabio to get caught in any further crossfire, I park him against the cliff walls before I descend into the cavern.
The cavern is, well, cavernous. I think this is technically the first cavern like this that I’ve seen, and I’m digging it. I haven’t visited even 10% of the world and I’m enjoying the difference in geography I’ve seen so far. The giant mountains of Dueling Peaks, the more rounded valleys and peaks surrounding Kakariko, the cliffs and caverns here in East Necluda… I’m sure I’ll notice some similarities in smaller areas but I just remember looking from Mount Hylia on the plateau, they each region had a distinct look and color palette. It continues to be impressive.
I see the basic layout of the camp as I get closer, a few guard towers, one with a chest, and a fire at the center. A few 'blins man the towers while the rest are congregated around the fire and their dinner. A few bomb barrel litter the camp as well. Why do they store those? I've yet to see those weaponized by anyone other than myself, and why would you store them so close to a FUCKING FIRE? I guess Ganon didn’t impart much intelligence to his minions. I’m not gonna complain. After taking out the nearest guard tower I sneak a little closer, pull out a fire arrow, and aim for the closest barrel. In the ensuing chaos there is only one survivor, and I finish him with an arrow to the head before he has a chance to fire back. The chest opens to relinquish another Opal. I also take some Seared Steak from the fire for my troubles, and find a dozen or so Baked Apples strewn about that must have been cooked by the explosion.
I exit and return to Fabio. To reach Hateno, I probably need to head back across the bridge and east, but the Sheikah Tower takes precedence over that. Need my map filled in. So, I lead Fabio further south, up along the Cliffs of Quince.
Most of the Cliffs of Quince are made up of a long, flat plain. It’s actually pretty beautiful, if you ignore the massive holes in the ground leading to. deadly drop into the caverns below. Definitely want to make sure I don’t leave the camera pointed up for too long. I find a herd of wild horses along the eastern side, though I can also see to the south a group with bokoblin riders. I go north instead.
I avoid a napping moblin under a tree and explore the rest of the field. Other then some large holes leading into the cavern below, the only thing I find of any interest is a Korok puzzle. Matching the cubes with Magnesis gets me my 26th Korok Seed. Circling around to the west, I can look out over nearly all of East Necluda - from Fort Hateno to Dueling Peaks.
As I head further south, ready to take on the bokoblins on horseback, I see that the cliffs actually extend much further southwest than I realized. There’s a small forest, and according to the map it’s located in a place known as Mount Rozudo, and it’s actually a part of East Necluda, located just east of Bubinga Forest. Though I can’t see any other way of getting there from any of those locations. Sneaky map is sneaky. Since I don’t see any other way to get there and it’s technically in an area I’ve already been, might as well make a quick detour, right?
It’s a bit of a trek just getting there. Not perilous or anything (though there is a giant hole to my left known as Oakle’s Navel), but it’s a walk. I enter the forest, seeing a deer run off in the distance. Then I notice a pair of bokoblins hunting a boar. I save that boar. After that, the western half of the forest is safe to explore, and towards the southern edge I find a korok pinwheel which activates another pair of low flying acorn targets to pop up over the treetops. After I break the targets (and my bow) I collect my Korok Seed.
Since everything to the east is still a big blur, I look at my map to make sure I’m not missing anything while I’m here. I see something that might be of interest - it looks like a small lake and a few trees on a cliff immediately south of here. I just need to climb up a few cliffs. They are at enough of an angle that it feels like the intended path, cutting west and then back east with the slope of the cliffs. I take out a couple of keese on the way, night having fallen some time ago.
It’s kind of cute! A little spring all on it’s own up in the mountains. As I approach there’s something...strange about the water? Not like a weird color but I think I see...steam? And like the water is moving more than lake water would. It’s a hot spring! I figure this out by accident when I have Link hop in and see his health regaining slowly while he bathes. There’s no name on the map for it but I’m gonna call it the Mount Rozudo Hot Spring. I also see a ring of lily pads in the water next to me. You know what that means!
Once Link’s health is restored I walk him out of the spring. Looking up, I can see an outcropping placed just perfectly for diving. Very courteous of the koroks to do that. After climbing up the cliffs, I dive, and get my 29th Korok Seed. I paraglide back down to the forest to finish exploring.
After gathering a few random ingredients, I find a cave on the eastern side filled with ore deposits that are glowing. But more pressingly, I see a fire and bokoblin camp on the other side. Once I get closer I can see that all the bokoblins are actually asleep, not even someone in a guard tower watching. So using stealth to my advantage, I inch closer to the sleeping group, until I am close enough to one of the strong 'blins to perform a Sneakstrike.
That leaves him stunned long enough for me to finish him off while his buddies wake up and run for their weapons. I should see about stealing those first next time. I should also probably put on my stealth outfit next time since that's why iI fucking bought it. *Sigh*
There’s only two of them, one red and one blue (not black like I had previously thought, apparently), and I finish them off without too much of a problem. A chest nearby gives me some Fire Arrows, but that's it for this little grove. I head back through the tunnel, taking my sledgehammer to the Luminous Stone Deposits, releasing what else but some Luminous Stones. These glowing deposits are specific to these, and different from the other types of deposits I've come across.
With nothing else to do here, I leave Mount Rozudo the way I came, passing over Oakle's Navel again back to the Cliffs of Quince. Time to finish here and get to the tower. Along the southern part of the cliffs, I take out another moblin, I'm much less intimidated by their side now. That just leaves the bokoblins on horseback.
I haven’t actually seen bokoblins riding horses before. I’m tempted to climb onto Fabio and turn this into a full on horseback battle, but with all the cliffs and drops up here I’d rather play it safe. Nothing I can really hide behind, so I say fuck it and just go running in, ready to draw my bow.
They’ve got bows too, but shitty aim. I knock one of them off their horse with a well placed arrow and finish him off with my sword. I repeat this on the remaining bokoblins until the cliffs are safe. Woo! That just leaves the spot in the center. I climb up and find...nothing. Just some rocks.
Oh fuck, nevermind, they’re moving. Another Stone Talus. Not one of a kind, apparently. No worries, I took down one of these massive fuckers already, I can get this guy no problem. Well, almost no problem. The area I have to work with is smaller then on the plateau, so I find myself running a little more frantically to dodge the boulders he chucks. He’s got the same weak spot on his back. Which I am only just now realizing is identical to the Ore Deposits I’ve been smashing with my hammer. I seriously have to stop relying on video game logic, things in this game seem to behave a lot like they should. Advanced physics will do that I guess.
I knock him over with an arrow to the weak spot, then climb up and pull out my hammer. I can see Amber and other ores go flying with each smack of the hammer. Once he picks himself back up, I’m knocked off, but only have to repeat myself once more before he explodes in a shower of stone. I go around the battlefield collecting my winnings of Amber, Flint, Opal, and Ruby. I rejoin Fabio when I finish.
Alright. Next stop, Hateno Tower! It sitting on another mountain top, this one to the left of my path. Glad I went over that land bridge. Along the path I fight a few bokoblins and moblins. All are solo, either patrolling the path or waiting to ambush me, but none gives me any trouble. The path leads me up, closer to the tower, until I reach another fork (along with another bokoblin and moblin to dispatch).
Just a single blue bokoblin stands between me and the tower. I go ahead and hop off Fabio at the fork, I’ll just float back down to him once I’m done. After killing the bokoblin, I approach the tower and discover a whole new problem though.
Thorns. The tower is covered in thorns.
Why can’t these things be simple.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 9
Koroks Found: 30
Caves: Spelunked
Hot Spring: Sprung
Thorns: Everywhere
I don’t have to run all the way back to Calip’s cabin, as by the time I exit the shrine it is once again daytime. He’s right back here, still conducting his research. I talk to him and point out the giant shrine that is now here...and he chalks it up to a luck and plans to redouble is efforts. ...You do you, buddy. I’m taking my horse and getting out of this creepy place.
Fir River
Fabio and I get back on the road, headed east towards Hateno. Still no signs of the tower so my map is just a blue blob with a gold circle to head towards. Hopefully once I get around these valleys and hills I’ll be able to see something. Across the river from me, I still see the large cavern, but not a way to enter short of swimming across the river. Bokoblins aren’t aquatic, so I don’t think I have much to worry about. |
| I'm happy enough to see another person that I'm going to ignore the fact that you should be coming from the other direction |
The path leads me south and up a hill, where I come face to face with Toma once again. She again insists that I should let my fashion sense shine through. It’s nice, if not a little ignorant, to remain that resolute in the face of such a bleak world. Continuing up the hill, I see not only the Hateno Tower, but also a small land bridge with a path leading down into the cavern. I also spot a cracked wall hiding a chest with an Amber.
As I carefully guide Fabio across the bridge, a dark bokoblin hiding in the tall grass decides it’s time to attack. I leap off Fabio’s back with a strength and speed I didn’t know was possible (seriously, Link must have the thighs of a GOD), and work to dispatch him as quickly as I can. Not wanting Fabio to get caught in any further crossfire, I park him against the cliff walls before I descend into the cavern.
The cavern is, well, cavernous. I think this is technically the first cavern like this that I’ve seen, and I’m digging it. I haven’t visited even 10% of the world and I’m enjoying the difference in geography I’ve seen so far. The giant mountains of Dueling Peaks, the more rounded valleys and peaks surrounding Kakariko, the cliffs and caverns here in East Necluda… I’m sure I’ll notice some similarities in smaller areas but I just remember looking from Mount Hylia on the plateau, they each region had a distinct look and color palette. It continues to be impressive.
 |
| Your poor fire safety habits brought this on yourselves. |
I exit and return to Fabio. To reach Hateno, I probably need to head back across the bridge and east, but the Sheikah Tower takes precedence over that. Need my map filled in. So, I lead Fabio further south, up along the Cliffs of Quince.
Cliffs of Quince
The path towards the tower leads me back the top of the cavern I was just exploring. The tower eventually moves to my left, leaving a wide swath of unexplored land to my right. Since I cleared out the downstairs, let’s make the upstairs match.Most of the Cliffs of Quince are made up of a long, flat plain. It’s actually pretty beautiful, if you ignore the massive holes in the ground leading to. deadly drop into the caverns below. Definitely want to make sure I don’t leave the camera pointed up for too long. I find a herd of wild horses along the eastern side, though I can also see to the south a group with bokoblin riders. I go north instead.
I avoid a napping moblin under a tree and explore the rest of the field. Other then some large holes leading into the cavern below, the only thing I find of any interest is a Korok puzzle. Matching the cubes with Magnesis gets me my 26th Korok Seed. Circling around to the west, I can look out over nearly all of East Necluda - from Fort Hateno to Dueling Peaks.
As I head further south, ready to take on the bokoblins on horseback, I see that the cliffs actually extend much further southwest than I realized. There’s a small forest, and according to the map it’s located in a place known as Mount Rozudo, and it’s actually a part of East Necluda, located just east of Bubinga Forest. Though I can’t see any other way of getting there from any of those locations. Sneaky map is sneaky. Since I don’t see any other way to get there and it’s technically in an area I’ve already been, might as well make a quick detour, right?
Mount Rozudo
 |
| You guys get off on making these things difficult, don't you? |
Since everything to the east is still a big blur, I look at my map to make sure I’m not missing anything while I’m here. I see something that might be of interest - it looks like a small lake and a few trees on a cliff immediately south of here. I just need to climb up a few cliffs. They are at enough of an angle that it feels like the intended path, cutting west and then back east with the slope of the cliffs. I take out a couple of keese on the way, night having fallen some time ago.
It’s kind of cute! A little spring all on it’s own up in the mountains. As I approach there’s something...strange about the water? Not like a weird color but I think I see...steam? And like the water is moving more than lake water would. It’s a hot spring! I figure this out by accident when I have Link hop in and see his health regaining slowly while he bathes. There’s no name on the map for it but I’m gonna call it the Mount Rozudo Hot Spring. I also see a ring of lily pads in the water next to me. You know what that means!
 |
| *golf clap* |
After gathering a few random ingredients, I find a cave on the eastern side filled with ore deposits that are glowing. But more pressingly, I see a fire and bokoblin camp on the other side. Once I get closer I can see that all the bokoblins are actually asleep, not even someone in a guard tower watching. So using stealth to my advantage, I inch closer to the sleeping group, until I am close enough to one of the strong 'blins to perform a Sneakstrike.
That leaves him stunned long enough for me to finish him off while his buddies wake up and run for their weapons. I should see about stealing those first next time. I should also probably put on my stealth outfit next time since that's why iI fucking bought it. *Sigh*
There’s only two of them, one red and one blue (not black like I had previously thought, apparently), and I finish them off without too much of a problem. A chest nearby gives me some Fire Arrows, but that's it for this little grove. I head back through the tunnel, taking my sledgehammer to the Luminous Stone Deposits, releasing what else but some Luminous Stones. These glowing deposits are specific to these, and different from the other types of deposits I've come across.
With nothing else to do here, I leave Mount Rozudo the way I came, passing over Oakle's Navel again back to the Cliffs of Quince. Time to finish here and get to the tower. Along the southern part of the cliffs, I take out another moblin, I'm much less intimidated by their side now. That just leaves the bokoblins on horseback.
 |
| That's never gonna get old. |
They’ve got bows too, but shitty aim. I knock one of them off their horse with a well placed arrow and finish him off with my sword. I repeat this on the remaining bokoblins until the cliffs are safe. Woo! That just leaves the spot in the center. I climb up and find...nothing. Just some rocks.
Oh fuck, nevermind, they’re moving. Another Stone Talus. Not one of a kind, apparently. No worries, I took down one of these massive fuckers already, I can get this guy no problem. Well, almost no problem. The area I have to work with is smaller then on the plateau, so I find myself running a little more frantically to dodge the boulders he chucks. He’s got the same weak spot on his back. Which I am only just now realizing is identical to the Ore Deposits I’ve been smashing with my hammer. I seriously have to stop relying on video game logic, things in this game seem to behave a lot like they should. Advanced physics will do that I guess.
I knock him over with an arrow to the weak spot, then climb up and pull out my hammer. I can see Amber and other ores go flying with each smack of the hammer. Once he picks himself back up, I’m knocked off, but only have to repeat myself once more before he explodes in a shower of stone. I go around the battlefield collecting my winnings of Amber, Flint, Opal, and Ruby. I rejoin Fabio when I finish.
 |
| ...how? This thing wasn't even above ground a few days ago. |
Just a single blue bokoblin stands between me and the tower. I go ahead and hop off Fabio at the fork, I’ll just float back down to him once I’m done. After killing the bokoblin, I approach the tower and discover a whole new problem though.
Thorns. The tower is covered in thorns.
Why can’t these things be simple.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 9
Koroks Found: 30
Caves: Spelunked
Hot Spring: Sprung
Thorns: Everywhere
Friday, April 20, 2018
Monday, April 16, 2018
The Temple May Protect You From the Rain but Not Me, Buddy
After killing the Stalnox, I make sure to find where it’s body died to collect my loot. For being stuck in a skeleton these are pretty nice. By far the nicest is the Thunderblade, matching the Flameblade I got just down the river from here. Once I’m done I return to my horse, just as the sun is rising. We make our way back to the stable where I dismount. Time to finish cleaning up loose threads I think. I leave Fabio at the stable before fast traveling back to where this all began.
I exit the shrine and quickly get to work, backtracking to the places I’ve been previously and checking every nook and cranny for anything I may have missed. My first stop is the Temple of Time.
I make my way through the ruins again, killing bokoblins left and right and checking for anything I missed the first time around. Pleased to say it actually seems like I was pretty thorough! I explore more of the open land around the edges of the temple, though I don't find much beyond insects and flowers.
As I reached the top of the temple, I see something I missed the first time around that would have been pretty useful - a ladder to the roof. How the hell did I miss this the first time? I don’t have much time to contemplate before the weather changes, and it begins to rain. After I hear the first crack of thunder, I raced inside of the building to take shelter, unequipping any metal equipment I had on me.
I could probably just fast travel to one of the other shrines on the plateau, but eh, I wasn’t really in a rush, so I just hunkered down for a bit. Shortly after I hid inside the building, I hear another loud crack of thunder, this one happening just outside the main temple doors. I pan the camera over and watch as a bokoblin I had previously ignored ran inside the temple himself, taking refuge from the storm. I stood there and watched as he remained posted by the door, looking out for when it was safe to exit again.
That is...just so amazing. I’m not saying the AI is super advanced in this game, but the way the NPCs can interact with the environment is astounding. I stand there in solidarity with my new rain-buddy, as we waited to be able to continue our respective travels…
...enh, I’m bored. Let’s kill him.
When the thunder dies down and I am a couple of bokoblin teeth richer, I leave the temple out the back. The Woodcutter’s House is pretty much in a dead end area, so I can start there and fan out to the rest of the plateau. Getting there isn’t any trouble. For the most part, I avoid bokoblins I’ve previously killed, not worth wasting the weapons when I’ve already explored the area. I gather up all the ingredients I find along the way too.
I exit the cabin and move towards the large trees. I probably want to cross the cliff one more time just to be sure I didn’t miss anything. I just remember being so annoyed that I couldn’t get to the Shrine at the top of the cliff from here. That shrine seems like it’s not really in a good place in general there’s no obvious path to it from the mountains…
Wait. What. WHAT.
What. The hell. Is THAT?!
There, carved into the cliffside, going all the way up, are a series of platforms. Platforms that are all a fairly short, easily climbable distance from each other. Platforms that are not just one of the ways I could have reached the shrine, but from all appearances is the intended way to reach the shrine.
What the fuck else in this game have I completely missed?
A few chests and a Korok, apparently. From the cabin, I make my way around the Great Plateau, this time exploring all the nooks and crannies I can find. I do my best to avoid enemies, as they don’t really have anything I need anymore. I especially try to avoid those laser shooting rusted assholes in the Eastern Abbey. I tried shooting one with an arrow and it didn’t even make a dent. No thank you.
Eventually, I am making my way back down from Mount Hylia, circling around the cliffs to the Forest of Spirits again. I can see the familiar skull-shaped rock of one of the forests’ goblin camps. I could probably just float down from here really…buuuut wait. I see some other outcroppings along the cliffside, not connected to the path. Places that require a paraglider to float to!
I jump from the cliff, but don’t go far - the main cliff I am aiming for is below me. As I get closer I can make out some small structures on it - looks like a Korok cube puzzle! It’s pretty straightforward, requiring very little manipulation with my Magnesis rune. The cube slides into place and with a pop, I have one more Korok seed. Once I’m done here, I float gently down to the ground of the forest below, far from any prying 'blin eyes.
I approach the clearing from the south, seeing the mound of rocks at the center that make up the Talus’s body. He’s asleep, but once I get close enough he won’t be. Unlike my giant skeleton friend. I double check my weapons - a sword and bow of decent strength - and move towards him. He’s got some mushroom growing around and on him, and as the ground begins to rumble I scoop up a few to eat later. Might need them.
The boss music starts as soon as the rumbing does. As I dash away from the boulders as they pry themselves from the ground, the Talus’s health bar displays on the screen. Let’s do this.
I circle around him as he flings his arms at me, looking for an opening. I find one fast - turns out throwing your arms means you have to then make yourself new arms. As the Stone Talus slams his body down into the ground, intent on pulling back up more boulders to throw at me, I take note of the black rock on it’s shoulder once more. After another bout of arm-chucking, I use my bow to strike it with an arrow.
He did not like that at all. In a daze, he collapses to the ground, unmoving. I think I found my weak spot. I shoot it with another couple of arrows before he pulls himself off the ground, ready to attack again. Looking at his health bar, it doesn’t seem like I did all that much damage. Going to need a different strategy.
My first thought is to try Remote Bombs. They blow up rocks, he is made of rocks, that should do some damage, right? It half works - I do see that I’m able to damage him, and the explosions even blow his arms off. It’s still kinda slow and frankly, dangerous - I have to run close enough to throw the bomb near enough to hurt him. I’m gonna need to find a way to hit his weak spot more directly.
Ultimately it is a combination of the two techniques that cinchest the battle for me. Circling around him, I force the Talus to somewhat give chase to me, dropping remote bombs behind me as I go and blowing off one of his arms when he stumbles over one. Then while he is reforming them, I shoot the weak spot on his back.
As he stumbles and falls, I make a break for it - I climb right up the side of him. After I pull myself up I pull out my sword and wail on the weak spot, over and over. I can see that I am doing significantly more damage to his health bar now. I manage to pull off a few combos with my sword before he picks himself back off and I am forced back to the ground.
The Talus continues the battle, following the same attack pattern. He doesn't learn from his mistakes. It takes another two rounds, and I break one of my weapons, but I finally manage to best him. As my weapon makes its final strike, the boss music reaches a crescendo and his boulder-body explodes into a shower of precious stones. I’m riiiiiiiiich! Again!
I happily collect my winnings, which I guess are also his corpse. I wonder if bosses also respawn after a Blood Moon? Something to come back and investigate. And then exploit.
With the defeat of the big scary rock monster, I have accomplished everything I can recall needing to on my return trip here. I scour the forest and the surrounding areas one final time before making my way back towards Dueling Peaks. Instead of fast traveling, I decide to take the scenic route and make sure the path I’ve traveled so far has also been thoroughly explored.
I warp up to the Sheikah tower to make my leap - I wanna see if I can land in that same hut I did the first time. Dawn is just starting to break as I float over the plateau’s edge. I can see the bokoblins and moblins below me starting to wake up. I can see a giant yellow dragon floating across the southern sky…
Wait what?
Holy shit. Holy shit. What the everloving fuck is THAT thing. It’s gorgeous. A long serpentine dragon, weaving through the clouds over Lake Hylia. His hide seems to be made of a bright, electric yellow. I’m nowhere near him, wouldn’t know how to begin finding him. And then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished, out of my site to wherever he slumbers during the day. If my skeleton friends have been any indicator, living and previously-living things in these parts definitely follow a diurnal cycle.
Oh god I hope that doesn’t mean its a zombie dragon.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 8
Koroks Found: 22
Rock Monster: Rubble
Gemstone Shower: Taken
Dragon Discovered: YES
Shrine of Resurrection
Things look a bit different now that the lights are on. Much less spooky. I walk back into the first room where I was asleep, expecting nothing, but seeing a distinct Korok-shimmer coming from inside the...coffin. How long have you been here little guy? I collect my seed from the weird little guy, floating in my former tomb. |
| Did this dude just move into my old place? |
I make my way through the ruins again, killing bokoblins left and right and checking for anything I missed the first time around. Pleased to say it actually seems like I was pretty thorough! I explore more of the open land around the edges of the temple, though I don't find much beyond insects and flowers.
As I reached the top of the temple, I see something I missed the first time around that would have been pretty useful - a ladder to the roof. How the hell did I miss this the first time? I don’t have much time to contemplate before the weather changes, and it begins to rain. After I hear the first crack of thunder, I raced inside of the building to take shelter, unequipping any metal equipment I had on me.
I could probably just fast travel to one of the other shrines on the plateau, but eh, I wasn’t really in a rush, so I just hunkered down for a bit. Shortly after I hid inside the building, I hear another loud crack of thunder, this one happening just outside the main temple doors. I pan the camera over and watch as a bokoblin I had previously ignored ran inside the temple himself, taking refuge from the storm. I stood there and watched as he remained posted by the door, looking out for when it was safe to exit again.
 |
| Even evil fears electrocution. |
...enh, I’m bored. Let’s kill him.
When the thunder dies down and I am a couple of bokoblin teeth richer, I leave the temple out the back. The Woodcutter’s House is pretty much in a dead end area, so I can start there and fan out to the rest of the plateau. Getting there isn’t any trouble. For the most part, I avoid bokoblins I’ve previously killed, not worth wasting the weapons when I’ve already explored the area. I gather up all the ingredients I find along the way too.
Woodcutter's House
The cabin is just like I remembered leaving it. There are apples and spicy peppers on the shelves again, and stamella shrooms on the outside. The journal hasn’t been updated since the last time, and I see no sign of the king’s ghost here now. Kinda lonely again. I miss Fabio.I exit the cabin and move towards the large trees. I probably want to cross the cliff one more time just to be sure I didn’t miss anything. I just remember being so annoyed that I couldn’t get to the Shrine at the top of the cliff from here. That shrine seems like it’s not really in a good place in general there’s no obvious path to it from the mountains…
 |
| I hate everything. |
What. The hell. Is THAT?!
There, carved into the cliffside, going all the way up, are a series of platforms. Platforms that are all a fairly short, easily climbable distance from each other. Platforms that are not just one of the ways I could have reached the shrine, but from all appearances is the intended way to reach the shrine.
What the fuck else in this game have I completely missed?
A few chests and a Korok, apparently. From the cabin, I make my way around the Great Plateau, this time exploring all the nooks and crannies I can find. I do my best to avoid enemies, as they don’t really have anything I need anymore. I especially try to avoid those laser shooting rusted assholes in the Eastern Abbey. I tried shooting one with an arrow and it didn’t even make a dent. No thank you.
Eventually, I am making my way back down from Mount Hylia, circling around the cliffs to the Forest of Spirits again. I can see the familiar skull-shaped rock of one of the forests’ goblin camps. I could probably just float down from here really…buuuut wait. I see some other outcroppings along the cliffside, not connected to the path. Places that require a paraglider to float to!
 |
| The cube puzzles are pretty cool at least. |
Forest of Spirits
It’s time to go talus hunting. I double check that I have an adequate cache of weapons and food beforehand, and set out for the forest. I skirt by the camps of bokoblins I pass on the way, not wanting to waste any of my weapons on them. I’m gonna need 'em for the big guy.I approach the clearing from the south, seeing the mound of rocks at the center that make up the Talus’s body. He’s asleep, but once I get close enough he won’t be. Unlike my giant skeleton friend. I double check my weapons - a sword and bow of decent strength - and move towards him. He’s got some mushroom growing around and on him, and as the ground begins to rumble I scoop up a few to eat later. Might need them.
 |
| Protip: Always aim for the thing that sticks out. |
I circle around him as he flings his arms at me, looking for an opening. I find one fast - turns out throwing your arms means you have to then make yourself new arms. As the Stone Talus slams his body down into the ground, intent on pulling back up more boulders to throw at me, I take note of the black rock on it’s shoulder once more. After another bout of arm-chucking, I use my bow to strike it with an arrow.
He did not like that at all. In a daze, he collapses to the ground, unmoving. I think I found my weak spot. I shoot it with another couple of arrows before he pulls himself off the ground, ready to attack again. Looking at his health bar, it doesn’t seem like I did all that much damage. Going to need a different strategy.
 |
| Blowing things up is also a safe bet |
My first thought is to try Remote Bombs. They blow up rocks, he is made of rocks, that should do some damage, right? It half works - I do see that I’m able to damage him, and the explosions even blow his arms off. It’s still kinda slow and frankly, dangerous - I have to run close enough to throw the bomb near enough to hurt him. I’m gonna need to find a way to hit his weak spot more directly.
Ultimately it is a combination of the two techniques that cinchest the battle for me. Circling around him, I force the Talus to somewhat give chase to me, dropping remote bombs behind me as I go and blowing off one of his arms when he stumbles over one. Then while he is reforming them, I shoot the weak spot on his back.
As he stumbles and falls, I make a break for it - I climb right up the side of him. After I pull myself up I pull out my sword and wail on the weak spot, over and over. I can see that I am doing significantly more damage to his health bar now. I manage to pull off a few combos with my sword before he picks himself back off and I am forced back to the ground.
 |
| I'M RIIIIIIIICH (again) |
I happily collect my winnings, which I guess are also his corpse. I wonder if bosses also respawn after a Blood Moon? Something to come back and investigate. And then exploit.
With the defeat of the big scary rock monster, I have accomplished everything I can recall needing to on my return trip here. I scour the forest and the surrounding areas one final time before making my way back towards Dueling Peaks. Instead of fast traveling, I decide to take the scenic route and make sure the path I’ve traveled so far has also been thoroughly explored.
I warp up to the Sheikah tower to make my leap - I wanna see if I can land in that same hut I did the first time. Dawn is just starting to break as I float over the plateau’s edge. I can see the bokoblins and moblins below me starting to wake up. I can see a giant yellow dragon floating across the southern sky…
 |
| I can't even think of something funny to say here. (or ever. BURN!) |
Wait what?
Holy shit. Holy shit. What the everloving fuck is THAT thing. It’s gorgeous. A long serpentine dragon, weaving through the clouds over Lake Hylia. His hide seems to be made of a bright, electric yellow. I’m nowhere near him, wouldn’t know how to begin finding him. And then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished, out of my site to wherever he slumbers during the day. If my skeleton friends have been any indicator, living and previously-living things in these parts definitely follow a diurnal cycle.
Oh god I hope that doesn’t mean its a zombie dragon.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 8
Koroks Found: 22
Rock Monster: Rubble
Gemstone Shower: Taken
Dragon Discovered: YES
Friday, October 20, 2017
Monday, October 16, 2017
Forest of Shenanigans and Pants Shitting
Sidenote: For a brief second here I used my Wolf Link Amiibo, because I am a sucker for any game that let’s you have a dog as a party member/team-mate. Fallout, Persona 3, EarthBound – just gimme a puppy. However, he immediately ran off and started slaughtering everything in sight, killing bokoblins in a single hit. So, I reloaded without summoning him, as I didn’t want the game to start off too simple. Totally summoning him later though.
Let’s make this seafood fry, eh? I walk back over to the fire and cooking pot, and use a nearby Torch to light it. I grab the fish, the red pepper, and the meat from my inventory and throw them in the pot. I like the little cooking jingle that plays every time. I like that I cooked the right thing even more: the Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. Woo!
Before I collect my reward from the Old Man, I decide to give cooking a couple of other things a shot. I go ahead mix up another Fruit and Mushroom Mix. Then I get a little curious – you’re not supposed to combine something inedible with food, but it can’t hurt to see what happens. I grab an Apple and a Bokoblin Horn and throw them in. The cooking music is…less than cheerful, and the game won’t even show me what I ended up making – just some censored monstrosity.
Worth it.
It’s gotten late, and the Old Man has left his hunting spot to come back to the campfire. I talk to him, and show him the dish. He happily hands over the Warm Doublet right there, doesn’t even take the food from me. Probably because he can’t eat it because he is definitely a ghost.
Now, I could head back to the mountains and continue my shrine hunting…but there’s a lot of forest to explore, and I’m already here… After finding the first Korok, it couldn’t hurt for me to spend a little more time exploring the area, and even re-examine some of the places I’ve already been for what I might have missed.
I use the campfire to wait until morning again – skeletons are still annoying and eat through weapons way more then they should – and then I explore the forest around the campsite. I climb a few trees and find some Bird Eggs. I find more boars and gather some more meat. I also kill a squirrel and a couple birds, leaving behind acorns and Raw Bird Thigh for cooking. Just for reference, that means we have fish, poultry, and “meat.”
I find a tree with roots large enough for me to walk under, with a mound of leaves underneath. Hmmm. The leaves look out of place, like they aren’t just a part of the environment. The game has been pretty straight forward with some of the physics stuff, so I run back over to the fire and drop one of my more well-used weapons to pick up a torch, which I then light and walk back over to the leaves. Not long after and the leaves all burn away, leaving only a rock. When picked up, another (less chatty) Korok, and another seed to give to this Hestu fellow.
Back near the campsite, I see a weird rock formation begging to be climbed. At the top is another rock, which when lifted…Korok!
…Fuck there’s like hundreds of them, aren’t there? My completionist ass won’t be happy until I find them all. *sigh* Yay?
The paths wind through the trees up hills and through valleys. Deeper in, I come across giant trees, or at least what’s left of them. Some have been hollowed out, creating a tunnel in the middle of the forest. There’s a…pinwheel in the middle? I approach, and touching it triggers a chime and causes the pinwheel to teleport further away in a poof. I repeat this two more times until…Korok! No rock lifting required.
North of the giant tree’s I see a bokoblin camp in a small clearing. I haven’t really weaponized my Remote Bomb’s just yet, and I’d since I basically have an infinite amount, let’s see what they can do. I climb to a decent vantage point atop the giant trees. Three bokoblins, one on a tower and the other two paired together on the ground. I sneak over towards them and back up another tree. My first attempt misses the mark a little, but it doesn’t end up mattering - upon noticing the bomb, they both rush over to inspect.
Boom goes the dynamite, or however these magic glowing things work. They fall for it a second time as well. After that, I just take aim at my remaining foe – who by this time has noticed me – and watch as the chest switches to that pleasant golden color I’ve come to love. I net a nice Opal.
I’m somewhat close to the northern edge of the forest, so I turn around and explore in the other direction. As I near the forest’s southern border, I see the cliff that was the path I took down when I first awoke. I also see a pile of bombable rocks, with a chest containing Amber beneath the rubble. Lots of precious stones but still not a single rupee. There’s a joke about millennials hating diamonds in their somewhere but I’m too lazy to write it.
Then I see something kind of weird...off in the distance, a glowing green light. I can place a pin on it, obviously, but the mountain it’s coming from is off-plateau, so out of bounds for me for now. I change the marker to a stamp - I’ll have to check that out later.
A little further northwest I spot a clearing, unlabeled on the map. There’s a decent amount of resources around it – I gather up mushrooms, apples, even some honey. Nothing too fancy but, pleasant. As I continue to gather items, the ground starts to shake. And then a giant boulder in the middle of the clearing, near where I am standing, starts moving. And then the music changes.
What the fuck is happening?
A BIG ASS FUCKING ROCK MONSTER IS WHAT
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
Of course, my immediate response is to immediately start running around like a spaz. My fingers having completely forgotten the button layout, Link start whistling and then crouching while running into a wall.
That’s a mood.
According to the Boss health meter at the top of my screen, this thing is a Stone Talus. The location is also noted. It looks like a large boulder with several smaller boulders acting as its arms and legs. Arms which it is currently firing at me in rapid succession. There’s a smaller black rock on it’s back, maybe a weak spot, but I’m not exactly going to get closer to check.
I am in no shape to try and fight this thing. So I run, back towards the Old Man and presumably safety, all the while dodging giant boulders being flung at me by a VERY angry rock monster. Eventually the music calms, the health meter vanishes, and I’m safe again.
Heart Containers: 3
Koroks Found: 4
Shrines Completed: 2
Warm Doublet’s Earned: 1
Rock Monsters Awoken: 1
Boulders to the Head: 1
 |
| Big Buck Hunter Hyrule |
Forest of Spirits
I head towards the smokestack sitting just outside some small ruins in the middle of the forest, with a fire and another cooking pot. Not far away is the Old Man, scouting some boars for hunting. He asks that I crouch so as to remain silent and not scare away his prey. After watching him fire a few arrows and hit nothing, I notch one of my own and attempt to take down a boar. It takes a couple of hits, but I manage it – and look, it dropped the very generic sounding “Raw Meat” that I needed!Let’s make this seafood fry, eh? I walk back over to the fire and cooking pot, and use a nearby Torch to light it. I grab the fish, the red pepper, and the meat from my inventory and throw them in the pot. I like the little cooking jingle that plays every time. I like that I cooked the right thing even more: the Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. Woo!
Before I collect my reward from the Old Man, I decide to give cooking a couple of other things a shot. I go ahead mix up another Fruit and Mushroom Mix. Then I get a little curious – you’re not supposed to combine something inedible with food, but it can’t hurt to see what happens. I grab an Apple and a Bokoblin Horn and throw them in. The cooking music is…less than cheerful, and the game won’t even show me what I ended up making – just some censored monstrosity.
Worth it.
 |
| No living being could maintain a beard like that in the wild. |
Now, I could head back to the mountains and continue my shrine hunting…but there’s a lot of forest to explore, and I’m already here… After finding the first Korok, it couldn’t hurt for me to spend a little more time exploring the area, and even re-examine some of the places I’ve already been for what I might have missed.
I use the campfire to wait until morning again – skeletons are still annoying and eat through weapons way more then they should – and then I explore the forest around the campsite. I climb a few trees and find some Bird Eggs. I find more boars and gather some more meat. I also kill a squirrel and a couple birds, leaving behind acorns and Raw Bird Thigh for cooking. Just for reference, that means we have fish, poultry, and “meat.”
I find a tree with roots large enough for me to walk under, with a mound of leaves underneath. Hmmm. The leaves look out of place, like they aren’t just a part of the environment. The game has been pretty straight forward with some of the physics stuff, so I run back over to the fire and drop one of my more well-used weapons to pick up a torch, which I then light and walk back over to the leaves. Not long after and the leaves all burn away, leaving only a rock. When picked up, another (less chatty) Korok, and another seed to give to this Hestu fellow.
 |
| It's like if leaves were a Scooby Doo villain. |
Back near the campsite, I see a weird rock formation begging to be climbed. At the top is another rock, which when lifted…Korok!
…Fuck there’s like hundreds of them, aren’t there? My completionist ass won’t be happy until I find them all. *sigh* Yay?
The paths wind through the trees up hills and through valleys. Deeper in, I come across giant trees, or at least what’s left of them. Some have been hollowed out, creating a tunnel in the middle of the forest. There’s a…pinwheel in the middle? I approach, and touching it triggers a chime and causes the pinwheel to teleport further away in a poof. I repeat this two more times until…Korok! No rock lifting required.
North of the giant tree’s I see a bokoblin camp in a small clearing. I haven’t really weaponized my Remote Bomb’s just yet, and I’d since I basically have an infinite amount, let’s see what they can do. I climb to a decent vantage point atop the giant trees. Three bokoblins, one on a tower and the other two paired together on the ground. I sneak over towards them and back up another tree. My first attempt misses the mark a little, but it doesn’t end up mattering - upon noticing the bomb, they both rush over to inspect.
 |
| Dance, puppets, dance. |
Boom goes the dynamite, or however these magic glowing things work. They fall for it a second time as well. After that, I just take aim at my remaining foe – who by this time has noticed me – and watch as the chest switches to that pleasant golden color I’ve come to love. I net a nice Opal.
I’m somewhat close to the northern edge of the forest, so I turn around and explore in the other direction. As I near the forest’s southern border, I see the cliff that was the path I took down when I first awoke. I also see a pile of bombable rocks, with a chest containing Amber beneath the rubble. Lots of precious stones but still not a single rupee. There’s a joke about millennials hating diamonds in their somewhere but I’m too lazy to write it.
Then I see something kind of weird...off in the distance, a glowing green light. I can place a pin on it, obviously, but the mountain it’s coming from is off-plateau, so out of bounds for me for now. I change the marker to a stamp - I’ll have to check that out later.
 |
| I love shit like this. |
A little further northwest I spot a clearing, unlabeled on the map. There’s a decent amount of resources around it – I gather up mushrooms, apples, even some honey. Nothing too fancy but, pleasant. As I continue to gather items, the ground starts to shake. And then a giant boulder in the middle of the clearing, near where I am standing, starts moving. And then the music changes.
What the fuck is happening?
A BIG ASS FUCKING ROCK MONSTER IS WHAT
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
Of course, my immediate response is to immediately start running around like a spaz. My fingers having completely forgotten the button layout, Link start whistling and then crouching while running into a wall.
 |
| HELLO GAME COULD YOU PLEASE STOP DOING THIS TO ME THANKS |
According to the Boss health meter at the top of my screen, this thing is a Stone Talus. The location is also noted. It looks like a large boulder with several smaller boulders acting as its arms and legs. Arms which it is currently firing at me in rapid succession. There’s a smaller black rock on it’s back, maybe a weak spot, but I’m not exactly going to get closer to check.
I am in no shape to try and fight this thing. So I run, back towards the Old Man and presumably safety, all the while dodging giant boulders being flung at me by a VERY angry rock monster. Eventually the music calms, the health meter vanishes, and I’m safe again.
Heart Containers: 3
Koroks Found: 4
Shrines Completed: 2
Warm Doublet’s Earned: 1
Rock Monsters Awoken: 1
Boulders to the Head: 1
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