Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

By fusing arrows in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players can gain useful damage effects. Here's which materials are best for this.

As a direct sequel to the much-loved The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo's latest entry in the franchise has big shoes to fill. However, for fans of this long-running RPG franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is already proving to be one of the best yet.

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Much of its popularity can be attributed to the unique fusing mechanic introduced. While Breath of the Wild already had a decent resource system, Tears of the Kingdom takes this to the next level by allowing players to use resources to enhance their weapons. Some of the best weapons to fuse in the game are arrows, but only certain materials are worth fusing.

In terms of versatility and ease of access, Chuchu Jelly is undoubtedly one of the best fusing materials in the game. Chuchu Jelly is dropped by Chuchus which are low-level enemies found throughout Hyrule. Though the standard blue Chuchu Jelly does very little, it's the other colors that truly shine.

Each color of Chuchu Jelly has an associated elemental effect, with white creating Ice Arrows, yellow creating Shock Arrows, and red creating Fire Arrows. While players can seek out these elemental Chuchu types, they can also change blue Chuchu Jelly to another color by simply throwing the color of jelly they want into a pile of blue jelly. Players should be sure to never go anywhere without a steady stockpile of Chuchu Jelly for their arrows.

With the introduction of the Depths, a new underground realm of Hyrule, Nintendo has also introduced a whole new variety of resources that grow in these gloomy conditions. One such resource is the Puffshroom, a mushroom that gives off a strange cloud of spores.

By fusing a Puffshroom into an arrow, players can create what is essentially a smokescreen with a variety of uses. Firing Puff Arrows will produce a large cloud of smoke which can disorient and obscure enemies’ vision. This can allow players to retreat, sneak by, or surprise their enemy with little effort.

No matter where players are in Hyrule, there's always bound to be plenty of fruit nearby. In Tears of the Kingdom, however, a whole swathe of new ones have been added. Though apples continue to be abundantly useless, it's the addition of Fire Fruit, Shock Fruit, Splash Fruit, Ice Fruit, and Dazzle Fruit that is the most interesting.

When fused with arrows, these fruits lend their elemental capabilities to the weapon. In the case of Fire Fruit and Ice Fruit, this is particularly useful to either deal continued damage to enemies or freeze them in their tracks. Dazzle Fruit is another useful contender as fusing it with an arrow will essentially create a flashbang that blinds all enemies in its radius.

Among the most recently returning foes that players will encounter in Tears of the Kingdom are Gibdos, which can be found throughout the Gerudo Desert. These tough enemies can be tricky to overcome but will drop their bones and guts as resources when defeated.

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Gibdo Bones have the highest fusion power in the game and greatly increase the attack power of the weapons that they are fused to. Unfortunately, weapons fused with Gibdo Bones will shatter easily. Because of this, they are best when fused with arrows – which only need to be shot once. These Gibdo Bone Arrows deal out a great deal of damage and are best saved for boss fights.

Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz, and Opals can be mined from anywhere in Hyrule if players know where to look. Lurking within shiny obsidian ore deposits, these gems aren't too hard to come across. Though players may be more familiar with their use in selling for a high price, they do have fusing value as well.

These four gems in particular have an associated elemental effect that comes into play when fused with arrows. Rubies deal out fire damage, Sapphires deal out ice damage, Topaz deals out electric damage, and Opals deal out water damage. Fused gems create a much larger blast radius than other elemental materials and can be useful for taking down large groups of enemies. Still, they’re one of the best ways to get money in the game and should be fused with caution.

Lurking within the gloomy Depths is the Muddle Bud, a mysterious purple rose-like bloom. This wildflower has a strange scent with an even stranger effect on those who are hit by one. Simply put, the Muddle Bud disorients its target and causes them to attack anyone and anything that gets too close.

Muddle Buds grant players Muddle Arrows when fused and can be an incredibly useful tool for large camps. By strategically shooting an enemy in the thick of a group of Bokoblins, players can watch on as they hack away at each other for them. For those who prefer others to do the fighting for them, Muddle Arrows are a must-have item.

Making its triumphant return to the series is the Bomb Flower, a staple from Legend of Zelda games past. Bomb Flowers are explosive blooms that can be used against enemies in much the same way that regular bombs can. However, players should be sure to treat them with care lest things blow up in their face, literally.

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In Tears of the Kingdom, Bomb Flowers can also be fused with arrows to create Bomb Arrows. These are handy tools for dealing heavy damage to enemies or taking out a group of enemies all at once. They can also be used to break structures and clear things from players’ paths. Just be sure to shoot them from a good distance.

Players of Tears of the Kingdom can quite literally let their arrows fly when they make use of the fusing capabilities with monster wings. By fusing an arrow with a monster wing, it allows it to fly straighter and reach greater distances than it ordinarily would. This makes Wing Arrows handy for long-range attacks.

The most readily available wings come from the frustratingly abundant Keese enemies found in the game. After even the smallest amount of adventuring players will likely find themselves with a decent Keese Wing stockpile. Aerocuda Wings are also a great fusing option as they will fly farther even in windy conditions.

Shooting arrows accurately was always a bit of a challenge in Breath of the Wild, especially when it came to moving targets. However, Tears of the Kingdom changes that with the use of Eyeball Arrows. By fusing a monster eyeball with an arrow, players can unlock what is essentially a homing arrow that will lock onto their intended target.

What's more, when using Keese Eyeballs with elemental effects these new homing arrows will also deal out that same elemental damage. This grants players homing arrows in Fire, Electric, and Ice varieties. With two effects for the price of one, players should be sure to keep plenty of Keese Eyeballs on hand.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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Evangeline has been a gamer since she was old enough to figure out how to wrestle an N64 controller off her older sister. Her favourite series include Legend of Zelda, The Sims, and Spyro the Dragon. Born in Australia but now living in Scotland, Evangeline's true passion is anything related to writing. While she's not working on producing gaming content, Evangeline can be found hunched over on the couch writing her own YA sci-fi series.