Hidden paths reveal a free guide to Zelda’s vast world, and it’s waiting for explorers.
The Breath of the Wild Explorer’s Guide, previously only available in a print edition as part of the Explorer’s Edition of the game, is available to download as a PDF from the Zelda website in its entirety – well, almost.
Pages 73 to 84 of this 100-page tome are, for some reason, missing. At first, I thought this might have been to avoid spoilers, but the missing chapters – on things like horses and great fairy fountains – don’t seem particularly spoilerific. Some later chapters are marked with a spoiler warning, and do make it into the PDF. So the missing pages are probably just a clerical error.
The Explorer’s Guide is more of an expanded manual than a full guide, featuring a walkthrough for the opening Great Plateau section, as well as more general introductions to some of the concepts and features of the wider game, like cooking and hunting for hidden Koroks.
For players new to Breath of the Wild who don’t want to go in totally blind – especially younger ones – it’s a useful little handbook. For seasoned players, paging through the guide is bound to give you an itch to explore Hyrule again, plus there are a couple of nice bits of art to look at. I’d never seen the lovely illustration opposite the content page before, which shows the very young Link of the first Legend of Zelda game proudly offering Breath of the Wild‘s Link the Master Sword.
Download link for Breath of the Wild Explorer’s Guide
The official The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Explorer’s Guide PDF is available for free download from Nintendo’s servers.
Direct Download Link
Access the 44-page guide directly via Nintendo’s hosted file: https://assets.nintendo.com/image/upload/v1675114089/Microsites/zelda-breath-of-the-wild/pdf/ExplorersGuide.pdf
Guide Details
Originally bundled with the 2017 Explorer’s Edition, this digital version includes lore, controls, combat tips, cooking recipes, Korok hints, shrine info, and a Great Plateau walkthrough-but omits pages 73-84 from the full print edition. Nintendo released it in March 2023 to prep players for Tears of the Kingdom, and the link remains active on their site.
What content is covered in the Explorer’s Guide
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Explorer’s Guide is a 44-page official PDF that introduces key game elements without full spoilers.
Core Topics
It covers Hyrule’s backstory and lore, character profiles (like Zelda, Link, and key NPCs), basic controls and mechanics such as movement, combat, and climbing. Additional sections explain cooking recipes, inventory management, enemy weaknesses, amiibo functionality, and Korok seed hunting tips.
Exploration Focus
A major highlight is the complete walkthrough of the Great Plateau starting area, including all four shrines, hidden items, and strategies for early-game survival. It omits later-game content (like pages 73-84 from the original print edition) to encourage open-world discovery.
