Hidden powers await those who master the secrets of Hyrule. From ancient Zonai blessings to mystical Rauru skills, here’s how to attain every ability Link can wield in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and shape the adventure on your terms.
Below, we list out the abilities and how to unlock them. The good news is most of them are available within the first few hours of the game by completing Great Sky Island’s shrines – and from there, there’s on additional ability to track down.
For possible spoiler reasons, we’ll discuss this at the end of the page in the event you want to discover this first-hand.
How to unlock Recall (rewinding time)
Complete Ukouh Shrine, In-isa Shrine, and Gutanbac Shrine on Great Sky Island. Return to the Temple of Time at coordinates 0453, -0825, 1455. Interact with the central object inside to trigger a cutscene where Zelda grants Recall, reversing object motion for traversal and combat.
To unlock Recall, you must complete the Nachoyah Shrine on Great Sky Island.
Recall allows you to ‘rewind’ objects in the world. As Nintendo showed in a pre-release gameplay demonstration, Link uses the Recall ability on a rock that fell off a sky island, making it shoot back into the sky like an elevator. Link can stand on the rock as it goes back up into the sky, using it as a vantage point to jump off of and glide to a sky island.
How to unlock Fuse (combining weapons)
Complete the In-isa Shrine on Great Sky Island during the tutorial section. This grants access to the Fuse ability, which activates by holding L to select it from the ability wheel. Equip a weapon or shield, approach a nearby material or drop one from inventory, then press Y for weapons or ZL for shields to attach it while glowing green objects highlight fuse options.
To unlock Fuse, you must complete the In-isa Shrine on Great Sky Island.
Using the Fuse ability, you can combine weapons, shields, and arrows with inanimate objects to create a specialized weapon. These weapons appear to be studier, and some of them have unique abilities. Our best Fuse combinations can give you both specific recommendations and ideas for where this ability can go. And if you want to reverse the process, the good news is you can un-Fuse, too.
How to unlock Ultrahand (building structures)
Head to the Great Sky Island’s first shrine, Ukouh Shrine. After solving its puzzles with Recall, meet Captain Construct outside and paraglide to the glowing green hand statue nearby. Fuse a rock to it using the nearby Zonaite device, then grab materials like logs and stones from the area. Build a makeshift bridge or ramp across the gap to reach the statue’s platform, activating Ultrahand to manipulate objects and assemble structures for progression.
To unlock Ultrahand, you must complete the Ukouh Shrine on Great Sky Island.
The Ultrahand ability is different from the Fuse ability: Rather than combining things together, you’re kind of glueing them together. By sticking objects together in specific ways, you can create vehicles, whether it’s a boat, car, or plane. It’s also used to solve puzzles throughout the world, including (but not limited to) Addison’s Hudson Construction puzzles.
How to unlock Ascend (float through ceilings)
Link gains the Ascend ability after reaching the Gutanbac Shrine on the Great Sky Island during the opening section of the game. Completing the shrine’s puzzle teaches how to move upward through ceilings or cliffs to reach higher areas. This power becomes incredibly useful for escaping caves, climbing tall structures quickly, and finding shortcuts in temples and the open world.
To unlock Ascend, you must complete the Gutanbac Shrine on Great Sky Island.
Using Ascend, you no longer need to climb every mountain you see, waiting your precious stamina. Instead, you can aim at the ceiling of a cave and swim straight through it to get to the top of the mountain. While you likely won’t be able to do this for every mountain, it’ll still be a helpful tool that’ll save you time and stamina.
How to unlock Link’s final ‘missing’ ability
After finishing Great Sky Island and gaining Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall, head to Lookout Landing on the surface to speak with Josha and Purah. Follow their guidance into the Depths below Hyrule, located via chasms near the Great Plateau. There, activate a luminous stone statue to gain the Camera, filling the last spot in Link’s ability wheel.
Once you have unlocked the above four abilities and completed the Great Sky Island region, you are then free to explore Hyrule. However, you’ll quickly realize that one additional ability is missing from your selection tool. So, what is this final ability, and how do you find it?
[Ed. note: This section contains spoilers for a neat mechanic in Tears of the Kingdom.]
The ability in question is named Autobuild. The in-game description says it will “instantly re-create your Ultrahand projects, using nearby items and zonaite. Autobuild [also] records your previous creations.”
In summary, it allows you to quickly build creations from a list without having to Ultrahand them manually. Ideally, you’d do this when the required components are close by, consuming them; if they are not, then you have to use zonaite, a resource you can find (mostly in the Depths) to make up the difference.
How to unlock Autobuild early before main story
Autobuild in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can be unlocked early, right after getting the paraglider and camera, by heading straight to the Great Abandoned Central Mine in the Depths-skipping main story progress like sage quests.
Prerequisites
First, obtain the paraglider from Purah at Lookout Landing during the “Crisis at Hyrule Castle” main quest, and complete the “Camera Work in the Depths” side adventure with Josha to access the Depths safely (recommended but not strictly required).
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these steps to reach the mine quickly, located at coordinates roughly -0485, -1525, -0505 in the Depths (north of Temple of Time ruins).
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Enter the Depths via any chasm, such as the one at Hyrule Castle Docks (-0250, 1150, 0015) after the camera quest.
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Activate nearby Lightroots (e.g., Nihcayam Lightroot) for light and fast travel; use Brightbloom Seeds to navigate darkness.
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Head south from Nihcayam Lightroot along Miner Construct statues pointing the way, through the Grove of Time, avoiding or fighting minor enemies.
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Enter the large temple-like structure (Great Abandoned Central Mine); speak to the Steward Construct to unlock Autobuild instantly.
Boss Encounter
After a quick tutorial repairing demo vehicles with Ultrahand and Autobuild, Master Kohga ambushes you-save beforehand. Dodge his magnetic attacks, fuse metal weapons to shields, and parry or shoot with arrows; warp out if overwhelmed before the full fight.
This skips hours of story, letting you auto-rebuild contraptions from your history immediately.
How to beat Master Kohga in Great Abandoned Central Mine
Master Kohga in the Great Abandoned Central Mine pilots a spiked vehicle that rams and drops boulders, upgrading defenses as his health drops.
Phase 1 Strategy
Stay mobile on your own vehicle or foot to dodge rams and boulders. Shoot arrows (ideally fused with Keese Eyeballs for homing) at Kohga to knock him off his ride, then rush in for melee combos until he recovers.
Phase 2 Upgrades
He adds top armor, a front shield, and side barriers, plus a charged ram-sidestep these and bait him into arena walls to stun him briefly for arrows or close-range hits.
Tips
Fuse metal weapons to your shield for magnetic parries; save before the fight as escape isn’t possible once enclosed. Victory yields a Huge Crystallized Charge.
