In the shadow of the Imprisonment, a rookie’s courage can tilt the tide of battle-but only if you master the battlefield before the first strike.
Do every side quest
Completing side quests in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment boosts your arsenal with rare weapons, costumes, and materials that strengthen characters for tougher battles. These missions scatter across maps and often reward exclusive hearts or rupees, which you spend to upgrade attacks and defenses. Prioritize them between story missions to build momentum, as stronger gear lets you chain combos and clear enemy waves faster. Skip them only if rushing the main campaign, but circling back pays off with smoother progression.
Some side quests are required to unlock new story missions, but you should complete every side quest regardless of how mandatory it is. They’re excellent ways to keep ahead of the difficulty curve as the story progresses, but some even unlock new playable characters as well. Then there’s the kind of side quest that isn’t playable, but requires you to deliver specific items. Most of these are tied to a playable character you’ve recruited and will give them something new, such as more hearts or new attacks. Definitely do these as soon as you can.
Check your aside quests
Side quests are more than filler-they’re a steady source of resources, experience, and rare materials that boost your main fighters. Keep an eye on your quest log between missions and clear out any tasks tied to your characters’ progress or weapon upgrades. Completing them regularly keeps your army strong, your gear improved, and your combat options wider as the difficulty rises.
Aside quests are non-essential objectives for each character, such as having Zelda defeat a specified number of Bokoblins, but you should treat them as essential. Completing them earns you rewards like rupees, food, or critter items, and while that might not sound exceptionally helpful at first, you need a lot of stuff to complete side quests as the game progresses. Glance at the aside quest menu before starting a mission to see what’s up for grabs, and take a few minutes in battle to knock it off the list.
Upgrade your weapons
Enhancing your weapons early gives you a strong advantage in every battle. Visit the blacksmith between missions to fuse weapons and transfer powerful traits from one to another. Focus on combining those that increase attack power or elemental bonuses. Keep an eye on weapon rarity and durability, as stronger gear often comes with higher upgrade potential. Regular maintenance and smart fusion choices keep your warrior’s arsenal sharp and deadly throughout the campaign.
This might seem obvious, but you get exactly one notice at the very beginning of Age of Imprisonment that the blacksmith exists and no further reminders. Upgrading weapons with Zonaite steel makes them stronger, of course, but at higher improvement levels, you also unlock new perks for them.
Seals are for second playthroughs
Seals offer small boosts to stats and abilities, but they’re best saved for your second playthrough. During your first run, most weapons will be replaced quickly, making seal optimization a waste of precious materials. Once you unlock higher weapon tiers and settle into preferred characters, enhancing seals becomes much more rewarding. At that stage, experimenting with combinations can noticeably improve performance in long missions or tougher battles.
That said, don’t worry much about Zonaite steel with specific seals. Using multiple steel pieces with the same seal adds a stronger bonus effect to the weapon, but it – and the grind to get them – won’t be necessary for your initial playthrough on the default difficulty. Focus on standard upgrades and learning how each playable character works instead.
Experiment with all your skills
Each character in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment brings a unique set of abilities, weapons, and combat styles, so don’t hesitate to mix things up. Try pairing characters’ special attacks with different elemental effects or switching mid-battle to adjust your strategy. Testing combos in various scenarios helps you find unexpected synergies and refine your timing. The more you experiment, the better you’ll understand how to use each hero’s strengths to control the flow of battle.
It’s easy to get comfortable with one or two skill combos that work, but especially on higher difficulty modes, you want to make ample use of every combo in the right circumstances. Some, like Rauru’s upgraded second strong attack, are excellent at clearing out enemy hordes fast, but struggle to break a tough foe’s guard. Meanwhile, his fourth basic attack combo reaches further than any others and lets you target foes without getting too close. Mixing and matching is fun and functional, in other words.
Use your specials liberally
Special attacks charge quickly in combat, so there’s no reason to hold them back. Using them often clears groups of enemies faster, builds combo momentum, and keeps pressure on enemy captains. These moves also give you breathing room to reposition or heal without interruption. Since meters fill through regular combat, staying aggressive ensures you’ll always have another special ready for the next wave.
Special attacks – the ones you activate with “A” when the golden meter in the top left is full – aren’t quite as powerful as they were in Age of Calamity. Sync attacks are the real game changers, so once your special meter fills up, dish that bad boy out on the nearest big enemy.
Make a camp
Setting up a camp between battles gives your units a place to regroup and recover. Use it to manage your roster, cook meals that boost stats, and upgrade weapons before heading out again. Camps also let you store materials and fuse gear safely, creating a balance between preparation and action. Keeping your camp well supplied can make the difference between surviving a tough fight and being forced to retreat.
A little ways into Age of Imprisonment, you unlock the option to set up camp on some maps and, a bit later, to camp before starting a quest. Always do this. Camps in Age of Imprisonment let you spend ingredients to get bonus effects, like extra experience points or a faster charge for your special meter. That’s in addition to refilling your hearts and replenishing your Zonai battery charge.
Link up with friendlies
Link up with friendlies to coordinate attacks, share resources, and cover each other’s weaknesses in tight skirmishes. Teamwork lets you trap opponents, stack buffs, and execute combo sequences more reliably, giving you consistent openings to seize control of the battlefield.
Age of Imprisonment doesn’t really tell you this, but your hero’s sync attacks aren’t limited to just your two other allies. When the meter is full, you can link up with any nearby allied commander (Hylian captains, for example) for a different kind of sync attack.
Remember to send your allies out
Sending your allies on missions keeps multiple fronts under control while freeing you to focus on tougher objectives. Each character can gather materials, capture outposts, or defend key positions on the map. Keep an eye on their progress through the command menu and adjust their routes as situations change. Proper coordination prevents being overwhelmed and helps maintain momentum during longer battles.
Map management isn’t quite as big of a thing in Age of Imprisonment as it is in other Warriors spinoffs like Fire Emblem: Three Hopes. However, during missions with multiple objectives across larger maps, it’s still a good idea to direct one of your allies to a far-flung outpost or an NPC commander in trouble. It gets things done more quickly, and since most encounters include a friendly NPC you can link up with for sync attacks, you’re not missing out on any opportunities by having the team multitask.
Use your Zonai devices a lot
Use Zonai devices liberally to keep pressure on foes, extend your mobility, and create openings for decisive strikes. Their unique abilities let you control the battlefield, while quick gadget combos can turn the tide in tight skirmishes. Mix defensive setups with offense to stay versatile and adaptable in encounters.
Speaking of Zonai devices, once you’ve got one in Age of Imprisonment, it’s yours for keeps. You can use it as many times as you want until you run out of battery, and it won’t vanish, unlike in Tears of the Kingdom. You can refill your battery using a charge item – and you start each mission with three – or by visiting a camp. These are almost always required in boss fights once the war against Ganondorf begins, so make sure to save some charge refills for the end of main story missions.
You can use stuff that isn’t on your quick access
Utilize items beyond your quick access bar to keep pressure on enemies, experiment with different gear combinations, and test unconventional tools that can tip the balance in tough skirmishes.
Best characters to prioritize leveling early game
Prioritize Link and Zelda for early leveling in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, as they offer versatile combos and strong map control from the start.
Top Early Characters
Link excels with balanced melee and ranged attacks, making him ideal for clearing enemy groups and bosses efficiently. Zelda’s magic-based specials provide area denial and high damage output, synergizing well in sync attacks.
Secondary Picks
Purah provides utility through gadgets for crowd control and objective defense, unlocking more value post-level 10. Impa rounds out the roster with fast mobility and flurry rush potential against shielded foes.
Leveling Strategy
Focus resources on these four via side quests and blacksmith upgrades to hit level 20 quickly, enabling legend mode access. Avoid spreading materials thin on niche characters until main story chapter 3.
Which supports pair best with an early DPS
Zelda and Purah pair best with early DPS like Link in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, enhancing sync attacks and providing utility for sustained map dominance.
Primary Support Pairings
Zelda complements Link’s melee focus with magic barriers and area-of-effect heals during syncs, allowing aggressive pushes without constant retreats. Purah’s gadgets deploy proximity mines and speed buffs, ideal for protecting DPS during outpost captures and crowd clears.
Secondary Options
Impa offers mobility bursts to reposition DPS quickly, synergizing with flurry rushes on bosses. Pair her after unlocking via early quests for shielded enemy matchups.
Team Synergy Tips
Position supports on the map for overlapping auras, prioritizing Zelda for boss phases and Purah for mob waves. Level these to 15 first to maximize early legend mode viability.
