Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Regional Phenomena - Which Region Should I Visit First? 1
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a follow-up to Breath of the Wild in every way imaginable, particularly in how it initially structures its story.

Once you're a few hours deep, you'll be directed to four different regions across Hyrule in order to solve that place's 'Regional Phenomena' — the Zora, the Goron, the Rito, and the Gerudo.

But in which order should you do these? We're here to tell you the best route for beating the Regional Phenomena quest in Tears of the Kingdom:

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Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Recommended Story Route

Can I visit the regions in any order?

You can go to any of the four regions in Tears of the Kingdom first. The only thing stopping you is yourself, or sometimes your resources.

So, basically, if you want to visit the Gerudo Desert first, then you absolutely can.

Which region should I start with?

While you can go to any of the four Domains in any order, Purah actually gives you a recommended order — and that's the same order we think you should visit the regions in.

That means we think the best region to start with in Tears of the Kingdom is the Rito Domain, in Hebra. Here's the order we recommend:

What do I need to know about each region?

All four of these regions have different problems to tackle, but they also have different weather biomes and different enemies, meaning there are some preparations you'll need to make if you want to make it through each of the four quests.

Rito Village Tips

For the Rito Domain, you'll need to bring cold-resistant armour and make some cold-resistant food. You should have some spicy peppers and some cold-resistant armour from the Great Sky Island; adding the peppers to the dishes you cook will help keep Link warm.

When you get to the village, you can buy the Snowquill armour set which will help protect against the chills even more.

Goron City Tips

For Eldin and the Goron storyline, you'll need fire resistance. Use fireproof lizards and monster parts to make fireproof elixirs. And as in BOTW, there's the Flamebreaker armour set waiting for you in Goron City.

Remember that fire-proof is different to heat-proof and cooling elixirs won't help you in the lava-filled caves of Eldin.

Zora Domain Tips

The Zora Domain doesn't have any weather to worry about, but it does have a lot of water. However, you'll actually get the Zora Armour as part of the storyline there, so you have nothing to worry about.

Bring plenty of blue Chuchu jelly to help with the cleanup job while you're there, though. It'll make sense when you visit.

Gerudo Town Tips

The Gerudo Desert tests both your cold resistance and your heat resistance. During the day, the desert gets scorching hot, but at night, the temperature plummets. Cooling elixirs and any cold-resistant armour and armours are good for the day, while you can swap to spicy foods and warming elixirs at night.

You can get the Desert Voe armour set from the Gerudo region to keep you cool during the heat.

Do I have to visit the regions straight away?

No, you don't! You could just explore the skies, lands, and depths of Hyrule for the rest of time and not touch the story if you really wanted.

We think it's worth it, though, because completing each story will get you some new abilities which help with both combat and traversal. You don't want to be struggling in the cold of the skies above Hebra or getting shocked by thunder in the Faron region without the tools to resist.

What happens when I've completed all four regional quests?

Once you've cleared all four areas, you'll need to head back to Lookout Landing to progress the main story, which will see you visiting Hyrule Castle.

We won't give anything else away, but Tears of the Kingdom still has plenty to give after resolving the Regional Phenomena.

So those are our recommendations on how to tackle Tears of the Kingdom's story. You can find more specific details and paths to take in our Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.