One of the best games of 2017 is about to get even better. On Tuesday, Nintendo shared new details about The Master Trials: the first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We knew early on that the first DLC would add Hard Mode to the game, but as the press release reveals, that’s just one of several major (and minor) additions that will be added to the game this summer.
Here’s a list of everything Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Master Trials has to offer players:
- Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.
- Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure.
- Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.
- Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time.
- Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby.
- New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildafter downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom and Majora’s Mask.
That’s a massive amount of content for a DLC pack, which should put to rest any concern that Nintendo would simply toss in a new difficult mode and charge $19.99. In fact, as stoked as Zelda fans are for Hard Mode, the Trial of the Sword might be the highlight of the first pack, giving players a long and challenging new dungeon to fight through with an extremely compelling reward.
In addition to the reveal of the first DLC pack, Nintendo also released an update for Breath of the Wild this week which allows players to mix and match voice and text language. So if you want to listen to the Japanese voice actors while reading along in English, you can finally do that now.
Nintendo wasn’t ready to announce a release date yet for The Master Trials, but it should launch some time this summer. You can pick it up alongside the second DLC pack for $19.99 on the eShop.
