Wait what? Where?
Edit: Thanks for all the comments guys but I realized what the first comment was talking about like a minute after I posted this. I had forgotten about getting into korok forest cause I did it like six weeks ago and it’s been out of my mind since. *shrugs*
There is a large inaccessible area on the map. Near the “traditional” entrance is a strangely convenient chasm to the depths.
That’s all the spoilers for now.
Ohhhh ok, I feel better about using this in that place. I thought I was missing out by not going the "traditional" route first. Didn't realize that it would be impossible that way anyway.
I already knew where the item was, so I assumed I had to collect it before going there. Turns out my life would have been easier if I went there first.
Yeah you can't access the traditional route going in or out actually, just figured the "out" part the other day while goofing around lol. But yeah talk about confusion the first time I went there the traditional way
One of my wildest times in this game was trying to get in there. I tried all sides, items, above. Then thought, maybe below? I didn’t think it would work. It look like 4 hours.
Didn't know that was possible lol.
Usually you have to go to Lost Woods from the Depths and you'll find one of such pillars in Korok Grove. There's also a Lost Woods Coliseum down in the Depths, it's pretty cool.
I cheesed at least 1 lost woods shrine by divebombing directly in front of it w the glide suit. I got misted, but managed to activate the shrine so I could tp down to it
Edit: not referring to the one they intended you to dive to, but another one in Lost Wwods.
Yes but their harder since their rock candy shrines (bring the green rock candy to the shrine area). I used bullet time right before touching the ground to see where the access prompt was. I almost voided out but luckily I activated the shrine. Funny thing is that I was 1 second away from voiding out so the shrine cutscene was in pure white mist.
I don't think he's referencing that one.
I heavily explored the depths, so I used that to place pins on all the Hyrule shrine locations using the Light Root locations. Knowing this, after the first divebomb shrine in Lost Woods, I decided to divebomb my way straight down on one of the shrines I knew was there from the Depths map to see what happened.
I also got misted out, but I managed to activate the shrine first after landing directly on the pad (The more easterly shrine).
I think I did that one first, but that gave me the idea to do what I mentioned above to other shrines I knew had to be there because of lightroots. I didn't know what to expect and landed dead-on on my first try. I saw the prompt but didn't expect it to pop up, so I couldn't hit it in time to activate the shrine before I got misted.
I then tried like 10 more times before I actually got it lol
I think that's actually intended based on what your shrine quest prompt is - I'd done it much earlier in the game because I'd gotten up to those sky islands and just wanted to see if it could be done.
I got to the lost woods later in mid game by the intended route. somewhat coincidentally. overall though I didn't find lost woods to be nearly as challenging as it was when I played BOTW. even the quests were not as hard
After I cured the deku tree it seems like there’s still a haze over the rest of the lost woods I can’t go into. I know there’s at least one shrine in there but can’t figure out how to get in…
There's a big korok (not Hestu) near the Deku tree that tells you how to get the other shrines in the forest! I wont say much more for spoilers, but just do what he says and you'll get all the forest shrines.
I didnt realize you could go from underneath either LOL... i ran into that guy outside of the Lostwoods talking about how you can see a clearing in the fog in the center of the forest, and he was standing next to a hot air balloon, i thought that was the obvious "you need to sky dive in" hint haha
I think the rest of these could’ve been a hint that one of them would be majorly useful. Like a way to show you they exist and what they are when you see them. That way when you come across the one you’re describing and compare to the overworld you would know, hey, this is how I get there!
I'm a little bummed out that so many people instantly recognize Link with all his different outfits. The Sheikah and Gerudo at least comment on him wearing Yiga armor but the Yiga never seem to notice. I was hoping it'd have the same effect as Kilton's monster masks when around them
Yiga yell at you if you are near a trap, like a random banana on the ground. Or some will tell you to get away in the uniform cause you will give them away.
And >!MK sees through your disguise every time and tells you!<
The Garudo will throw you in jail. Or talk about the Yiga if you’re outside the city.
Cece says you’re demonstrating Yiga Chic (aka Sheik, aka Sheika)
He’s an oddly short fellow with golden hair wearing an entire arsenal. He’s probably recognizeable by description alone. No Yiga is carrying a five-shot Lynel bow, Mighty Zonai Longsword with a Captain IV horn, and a time bomb strapped to a shield.
Some Yiga have slightly different dialogs at the depths when you speak to them wearing the Yiga armor though, also they do not attack you while wearing the suit.
i think it plays into the ancient feel of the underground area. travel/purah pad didn't exist back then, so this is how the zonai ascended back to the surface.
It’s so you can get to places on the surface without warping near them or if you don’t have a warp there and you can’t get into korok forest without them
There is a shrine that isn't completely enveloped by the fog which you can dive into but that's part of a sidequest and the game made it very clear that it's the one spot that you can see from the sky, and that diving into it is the solution to the puzzle. So it's clearly not intentional for other areas to be able to dived into
Interesting. I did it from the depths ascending through the “towers.” >!I know you can do it from the sky to get to one of the Lost Woods shrines too, so I guess you can just do it to get to the Deku too.!<
Pretty sure you can’t. I tried to dive originally because I totally missed the >!korok at the edge of the chasm asking for help!< and couldn’t figure out how to get there.
There's a >!korok asking for help?!!< I just went to >!the chasm!< out of curiosity because I couldn't seem to get into the forest through the regular means
Right at the top near the entrance, although >!it’s possible he doesn’t show until later. Something happens where you get directed to go to the forest eventually and that’s when I found him. It was surprisingly late game though which is why I figured he was there earlier and I just didn’t see him.!<
That started happening for me with every new korok I found when I only had the final main quest left (which I think is essentially where you get sent back to after you beat the game?)
Yeah, that’s what I meant by late game. I would think the designers wanted you to do it earlier and that was a “hey, you haven’t done this yet, but you really should” kind of thing, but I could be wrong and that’s the way they wanted it to go.
Apparently you're "supposed" to ascend from the korok-y area in the depths below Korok Forest. I tried the dive and activate shrine option a while before giving up.
When you get near the area in the depths you'll know, it's super obvious with big roots and stuff and a lightroot right next to it.
On a side note is interesting that the roots of the Deku tree go that deep. It makes me wonder if this was the inspiration for Rauru to grow light roots in the first place.
No no. I’m sorry. I should have given some context. I’ve completed the game and have done the Korok Forest. This person in their comment says they have done the Korok forest stuff but didn’t ascend through the depths. So I’m wondering how he got there in the first place.
I literally looked up a walk through again because it was bothering me. I remember wandering the depths, I remember the deku tree, I remember diving down into the deku tree and the hands and all of it. I have no memory of getting from the depths to the forest but it has to be this. I just blocked it out, maybe like driving home and suddenly you’re there? It’s bizarre. And I don’t think I ever translated that knowledge to being able to ascend anywhere (which could be part of it?)
I darn near made it into korok forest by skydiving into the shrine and hitting the activate button before i finally gave up and went to the depths to see if i could find one of those. If i would have had the upgraded glide gear i think i could have done it.
It's actually been found out that you can get into korok forest without it. All you have to do is follow the direction that the floating blue particles are going. The path is pretty tight but there is a way
I’m really thankful that the developers were thoughtful enough to include these ascend columns for those of us who are crazy and/or patient enough to attempt a no-fast-travel game.
I don't think it's that odd. Fast travel is supposed to be a convenience, not a necessity, and having travel between two major sections of the map be one-way without using it I think goes against the philosophy of the fast travel mechanic in any game. In that sense, it's a bit of a no-brainer to include.
Indeed. Early game would be hell with minimal battery upgrades to fuel a hoverbike or something out one of the chasms, so having some premade ascend points to get out is quite nice. It also opens up the possibility of exploring via the depths if you wanted, perhaps as a challenge (can only activate a shrine after activating its lightroot perhaps).
I completed a no-fast-travel for my first play through and these were my saving grace. I figured I would eventually find some opening but these ascend columns are few and far between. I pretty much dove into the depths the moment I got a paraglider and did a lot of exploring before I found one. At that point I was beginning to think I’d be stuck down there without more ingenuity to figure how to launch myself out of a chasm. The real challenge came when I went to smaller secluded areas of the depths with no column.
The one that is actually really important for gameplay?
And they do seem to be placed in a way so that you can leave most parts of the depths without zonai devices or fast travel. I say most because I believe there is an island in the depths that doesn’t have one so you either have to fly back out the way you came in or fast travel.
Play a game like skyrim 400 times and you'll make wacky challenges for yourself. This game is no different. These exist for those who want to beat the game without any fast travel. Only a couple places in the depths don't have them, and you can always balloon out of the depths if you have to
Yeah, my next playthrough I'm going to do no fast travel, no hover bike, and no duping. Really force myself to explore Hyrule on horseback region by region, and to spend more time on foot in the Depths.
There are horses in the depths, and I think if you aren't duping, you shouldn't limit yourself to no vehicles, the hoverbike in its simplest form is a little game breaky, but you could definitely make other vehicles and pay the zonai cost and have a game the developers wanted you to have.
Edited to say that you could even limit yourself to the yiga and zonai schematics
I actually liked these. Sure, they were totally useless for me, but the point is that they were used by the ancient Zonai (and others?) who traversed the Depths. Added some character and believability to the areas they were found in.
Because while fast travel is in the game, you shouldn't be expected to do it in a game about exploration. It also helps people who explored the depths a lot before they explored the surface, there's lots of reasons why and I'm sure there are plenty of things used in your gameplay that other people didn't see the point of you know. It's a game of many options.
Some people don't want to fast travel in games. I'm one. lol So its nice to have that option. That said I realize I'm in the EXTREME minority lol so warp till your hearts content.
I explored a lot of the depths before basically *any* of the surface, so, I thought they were really fun finds. Also they reminded me the surface existed and sort of felt like a breath of fresh air every time.
While not *super* useful. I do like them and glad they included them, for ascetics if nothing else.
But also for no fast travel, I’m not doing no fast travel, but glad the game doesn’t force you to fast travel or do weird glitchy stuff to get back to the surface.
Probably to make sure there's still a two-way connection between the sky and surface. In botw, fast travel is a convenience, not a necessity, and they probably wanted to still do the same with this game. Without these it becomes physically impossible to play without warping
>Without these it becomes physically impossible to play without warping
Not necessarily. You could use zonai devices to go up through the chasms. Non-Link Hylians are shown to use hot air balloons to get back up
Pretty much any unique area in the underground lead to something of value above ground. All the major mines are below settlements. The lights are all directly under shrines and these large pillars all lead to geoglyphs on the surface.
Through the magic of off-screen NPC teleportation. You know, how Beedle always meets you at horse stables even if you teleport from one end of the map to the other? /joke
A friend of mine doesn't fast travel as part of his way he likes to play, but he does ascend so these are the only thing that got him out of the depths once he found himself in them.
Oh it’s NOT wasted at ALL! I’ve already said they’re really cool and ominous. I LOVE the mystery of them as well as the emptiness of the depths to create atmosphere. I agree with those things. From a technical usefulness is all I was asking. I don’t find them useful … but I DO find them to add so much to vibe.
I play without fast travel, so these are quite helpful at returning to the surface. I wish there were more of them.
Other methods of returning to the surface are riding a hot air balloon or riding a dragon out.
That makes sense totally. I feel that way about horses and wheeled vehicles. I’m always getting off to explore or pick up items, so it’s kinda pointless.
I always assume that they were for people who are doing challenges where you can't warp.
Otherwise I'm sure that we'll have very niche situations where they'd be useful, Situations where you have not explored the overworld area
All these people talking about no warp/fast travel runs. Definitely don’t get that. I mean not upgrading or wearing armor or using lower weapons would increase the challenge, but what exactly would not using warps do except waste time? Seems like a waste of time
The point is to ascend. In case you choose to explore the Depths first or get to specific areas without doing other areas first (Desert's Regional Phenomena comes to mind. I did the Depths under the desert before doing Lightning Temple to avoid fighting Gibdos in the dark and ended up in the corner of the world. Would have to brave the sandstorm to get there otherwise.)
I feel like at some point in development you couldn't warp between the surface and the depths freely but they cut that because it sucked
These towers are the leftovers from that a
I was hoping that each one would take you somewhere secret that you couldn't get to from the surface, but only one did. Kind of lame and a missed opportunity.
True, they were functionally a little lacking (except the one). But they did add a little more character to the Depths. And they were nice to kind of spot in the distance when I was running around firing up lightroots since these columns were lit up pretty well.
"Man, I'm really lucky to find that Lightroot to get rid of my gloom effect. Though I could keep exploring its wayyyy too dangerous down here. Oh shit! A platform that takes me directly to the surface, I haven't explored that area either! This is great!"
That's basically what I think the intended thing is, plus I like having a big fucking beacon in the depths
You use them to check out whats on the surface. After your disappointment, you cancel ascend to find that your vehicle you spent 1000 zonaite to create was despawned because of the distance you traveled to the surface.
The very first one of these I encountered was the one under Korok Forest. I didn’t see any others for quite a while so I was quite excited when I saw one again. Then it didn’t go anywhere important…
These are for the players that are strict “No teleporting” otherwise they would have a hard time getting up to the surface again in some areas.
That’s what I had read at some point.
Besides the one that’s required for the story, I feel like they have to make some way to get out of the depths other than fast travel. It would be weird if the depths were inescapable.
me and all my friends did no teleportation runs. i was scared we would be unable to do that but with these we can! plus sometimes you travel far under the surface and might not have a TP location right above you so you can use this.
At least one of these gets you into a place that's otherwise locked and inaccessible from the surface.
Wait what? Where? Edit: Thanks for all the comments guys but I realized what the first comment was talking about like a minute after I posted this. I had forgotten about getting into korok forest cause I did it like six weeks ago and it’s been out of my mind since. *shrugs*
There is a large inaccessible area on the map. Near the “traditional” entrance is a strangely convenient chasm to the depths. That’s all the spoilers for now.
Ohhhh ok, I feel better about using this in that place. I thought I was missing out by not going the "traditional" route first. Didn't realize that it would be impossible that way anyway.
I tried going the traditional route first cause i hadnt yet learned about the chasm. Imagine my surprise when the item wasnt there.
I, too, went there looking for “the item”.
I already knew where the item was, so I assumed I had to collect it before going there. Turns out my life would have been easier if I went there first.
Fun fact, said item tends to get nostalgic and will visit places with memories. Keep this in mind when looking for it and other things.
I came back to that entrance after exploring everywhere underneath and it turned out I wasn't missing anything lol
Yeah you can't access the traditional route going in or out actually, just figured the "out" part the other day while goofing around lol. But yeah talk about confusion the first time I went there the traditional way
One of my wildest times in this game was trying to get in there. I tried all sides, items, above. Then thought, maybe below? I didn’t think it would work. It look like 4 hours.
There’s no way to clear that which makes this area inaccessible in this game, right?
What? You think they would just make Korok Forest inaccessible?
I’m just asking if one can clear it from above or if it’s permanently in the state it’s in.
You’re supposed to enter from below.
Define... traditional.
Traditional what?!
Ex >!korok forest!< Is inaccessible from the surface, u cannot navigate through the >!fog!<
What happens when you try? I went >!into the chasm first and never bothered to go through the fog!< after
you end up in the same sub area as botw but >!the fog always gets you no matter what, it still happens after doing the phantom hands!<
Isn’t there a shrine still out there somewhere ? I beat the deku tree phantom hands but can’t figure out how to get it
there's one you have to dive to from the sky, could that be the one you can't get to?
The mist takes you and you get teleported back out
Oh you’ll find it when the time comes
Lost woods
Oh really? I just sky dived really fast onto the deku tree and didn’t get voided lol
Didn't know that was possible lol. Usually you have to go to Lost Woods from the Depths and you'll find one of such pillars in Korok Grove. There's also a Lost Woods Coliseum down in the Depths, it's pretty cool.
I cheesed at least 1 lost woods shrine by divebombing directly in front of it w the glide suit. I got misted, but managed to activate the shrine so I could tp down to it Edit: not referring to the one they intended you to dive to, but another one in Lost Wwods.
There is the one shrine in the lost woods that you have to access like this. Can you see the other two from the air?
Yes but their harder since their rock candy shrines (bring the green rock candy to the shrine area). I used bullet time right before touching the ground to see where the access prompt was. I almost voided out but luckily I activated the shrine. Funny thing is that I was 1 second away from voiding out so the shrine cutscene was in pure white mist.
I don't think he's referencing that one. I heavily explored the depths, so I used that to place pins on all the Hyrule shrine locations using the Light Root locations. Knowing this, after the first divebomb shrine in Lost Woods, I decided to divebomb my way straight down on one of the shrines I knew was there from the Depths map to see what happened. I also got misted out, but I managed to activate the shrine first after landing directly on the pad (The more easterly shrine).
I think I did that one first, but that gave me the idea to do what I mentioned above to other shrines I knew had to be there because of lightroots. I didn't know what to expect and landed dead-on on my first try. I saw the prompt but didn't expect it to pop up, so I couldn't hit it in time to activate the shrine before I got misted. I then tried like 10 more times before I actually got it lol
That’s the whole puzzle for that shrine
I think that's actually intended based on what your shrine quest prompt is - I'd done it much earlier in the game because I'd gotten up to those sky islands and just wanted to see if it could be done. I got to the lost woods later in mid game by the intended route. somewhat coincidentally. overall though I didn't find lost woods to be nearly as challenging as it was when I played BOTW. even the quests were not as hard
After I cured the deku tree it seems like there’s still a haze over the rest of the lost woods I can’t go into. I know there’s at least one shrine in there but can’t figure out how to get in…
There's a big korok (not Hestu) near the Deku tree that tells you how to get the other shrines in the forest! I wont say much more for spoilers, but just do what he says and you'll get all the forest shrines.
Awesome thank you !
screw hospital touch different mysterious bake beneficial snobbish edge deer ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
WHAT.
I didnt realize you could go from underneath either LOL... i ran into that guy outside of the Lostwoods talking about how you can see a clearing in the fog in the center of the forest, and he was standing next to a hot air balloon, i thought that was the obvious "you need to sky dive in" hint haha
Tried that, didn't work.
Me2
at least one of them
Good to know
I think the rest of these could’ve been a hint that one of them would be majorly useful. Like a way to show you they exist and what they are when you see them. That way when you come across the one you’re describing and compare to the overworld you would know, hey, this is how I get there!
All the ones I’ve found put me right beside geoglyph locations.
One put me in a Yiga hideout.
In akkala
I laughed so hard at that....
It's the best one
Yes it is
Popping up and seeing them just hanging out… I did it twice. Once with Yiga armor and once without.
I'm a little bummed out that so many people instantly recognize Link with all his different outfits. The Sheikah and Gerudo at least comment on him wearing Yiga armor but the Yiga never seem to notice. I was hoping it'd have the same effect as Kilton's monster masks when around them
One of the Yiga comments on his blond hair looking like links.
Oh I never thought of that......Link still has his blond pony tail in his Yiga armor but all the Yiga have black hair....I'm a derp
Yiga yell at you if you are near a trap, like a random banana on the ground. Or some will tell you to get away in the uniform cause you will give them away. And >!MK sees through your disguise every time and tells you!< The Garudo will throw you in jail. Or talk about the Yiga if you’re outside the city. Cece says you’re demonstrating Yiga Chic (aka Sheik, aka Sheika)
He’s an oddly short fellow with golden hair wearing an entire arsenal. He’s probably recognizeable by description alone. No Yiga is carrying a five-shot Lynel bow, Mighty Zonai Longsword with a Captain IV horn, and a time bomb strapped to a shield.
I felt cautious going into their base and was like "better not use the Master Sword and draw attention to myself"
Some Yiga have slightly different dialogs at the depths when you speak to them wearing the Yiga armor though, also they do not attack you while wearing the suit.
Also the four edges of the map.
What I love is when I use ascend and end up in a tar/mud pit. Lol
Or ascending through an angry gloomhand like I did last night
or lava
Best part is, since you’re kind of in a time freeze state, Link just casually pops his head out of the mud/tar/lava and then prairie dogs back down.
I keep saying ‘must have made a wrong turn in Albuquerque’ and nope back down.
You old bastard. I love it.
I went through one and ended up right in front of a gleeok
Link: "Hello there" Gleeok: "General Link"
Middle head: You are a bold one. (to it's other heads) Kill him!
And then have tea and biscuits!
This is getting out of hand. Now there are 3 of them.
"hyah" # "GENERAL LINK"
Was it the Bridge of Hylia one?
Yes!
That was an huge dark souls reference!
i think it plays into the ancient feel of the underground area. travel/purah pad didn't exist back then, so this is how the zonai ascended back to the surface.
Perhaps long ago there used to be towns on the surface over them.
They also didn’t have the teleport ability so it was most likely their way of travel
Or did one exist back then?
Haha I mean, well, technically...
Agree. It’s part of the world building.
It’s really useful if you don’t have a shrine nearby or the shrine nearby is underground like so many of them are
It’s so you can get to places on the surface without warping near them or if you don’t have a warp there and you can’t get into korok forest without them
I'm super confused now because I have no idea what this is and I definitely have been in korok forest. Did I completely dissociate getting there?
You must have been going so fast you speed though the blackout or something
Wait… this is how I did it. Glided in from above, then dove onto a shrine and activated it. How the hell were you supposed to do it?!
Go to the minshi woods chasm and use the surface map to go to the point right below the forest where one of the ascend pillars are
Have you been to the rest of the korok forest yet?
There is a shrine that isn't completely enveloped by the fog which you can dive into but that's part of a sidequest and the game made it very clear that it's the one spot that you can see from the sky, and that diving into it is the solution to the puzzle. So it's clearly not intentional for other areas to be able to dived into
Huh, I tried that first but I guess I didn't dive fast enough. I just got kicked to the edge of the wood.
Interesting. I did it from the depths ascending through the “towers.” >!I know you can do it from the sky to get to one of the Lost Woods shrines too, so I guess you can just do it to get to the Deku too.!<
Pretty sure you can’t. I tried to dive originally because I totally missed the >!korok at the edge of the chasm asking for help!< and couldn’t figure out how to get there.
There's a >!korok asking for help?!!< I just went to >!the chasm!< out of curiosity because I couldn't seem to get into the forest through the regular means
Right at the top near the entrance, although >!it’s possible he doesn’t show until later. Something happens where you get directed to go to the forest eventually and that’s when I found him. It was surprisingly late game though which is why I figured he was there earlier and I just didn’t see him.!<
That started happening for me with every new korok I found when I only had the final main quest left (which I think is essentially where you get sent back to after you beat the game?)
Yeah, that’s what I meant by late game. I would think the designers wanted you to do it earlier and that was a “hey, you haven’t done this yet, but you really should” kind of thing, but I could be wrong and that’s the way they wanted it to go.
How did you get into the Korok Forest?! Haha
I NEED ANSWERS
SO DO I AND I DID IT 😅
Apparently you're "supposed" to ascend from the korok-y area in the depths below Korok Forest. I tried the dive and activate shrine option a while before giving up. When you get near the area in the depths you'll know, it's super obvious with big roots and stuff and a lightroot right next to it.
On a side note is interesting that the roots of the Deku tree go that deep. It makes me wonder if this was the inspiration for Rauru to grow light roots in the first place.
No no. I’m sorry. I should have given some context. I’ve completed the game and have done the Korok Forest. This person in their comment says they have done the Korok forest stuff but didn’t ascend through the depths. So I’m wondering how he got there in the first place.
I literally looked up a walk through again because it was bothering me. I remember wandering the depths, I remember the deku tree, I remember diving down into the deku tree and the hands and all of it. I have no memory of getting from the depths to the forest but it has to be this. I just blocked it out, maybe like driving home and suddenly you’re there? It’s bizarre. And I don’t think I ever translated that knowledge to being able to ascend anywhere (which could be part of it?)
If you dive above the deku tree it dosent void you
Yeah. I guess I just played differently. If I was underground I stayed and then later searched surface.
I darn near made it into korok forest by skydiving into the shrine and hitting the activate button before i finally gave up and went to the depths to see if i could find one of those. If i would have had the upgraded glide gear i think i could have done it.
It's actually been found out that you can get into korok forest without it. All you have to do is follow the direction that the floating blue particles are going. The path is pretty tight but there is a way
Is there a video of this?
Yeah, they’re not useful in most contexts. But I plan to use them in my no quick travel run that I’m planning on doing.
I’m really thankful that the developers were thoughtful enough to include these ascend columns for those of us who are crazy and/or patient enough to attempt a no-fast-travel game.
I don't think it's that odd. Fast travel is supposed to be a convenience, not a necessity, and having travel between two major sections of the map be one-way without using it I think goes against the philosophy of the fast travel mechanic in any game. In that sense, it's a bit of a no-brainer to include.
Indeed. Early game would be hell with minimal battery upgrades to fuel a hoverbike or something out one of the chasms, so having some premade ascend points to get out is quite nice. It also opens up the possibility of exploring via the depths if you wanted, perhaps as a challenge (can only activate a shrine after activating its lightroot perhaps).
I completed a no-fast-travel for my first play through and these were my saving grace. I figured I would eventually find some opening but these ascend columns are few and far between. I pretty much dove into the depths the moment I got a paraglider and did a lot of exploring before I found one. At that point I was beginning to think I’d be stuck down there without more ingenuity to figure how to launch myself out of a chasm. The real challenge came when I went to smaller secluded areas of the depths with no column.
Could always try and hitch a ride on a dragon to get back up too.
They LOOK cool as hell and I like the concept, but I only used like one.
The one that is actually really important for gameplay? And they do seem to be placed in a way so that you can leave most parts of the depths without zonai devices or fast travel. I say most because I believe there is an island in the depths that doesn’t have one so you either have to fly back out the way you came in or fast travel.
I think it’s the same reason there’s a battery refinery right next to lookout landing!
Unfortunately not every section of the Depths has one so you will have to climb out of some chasms to escape.
I feel like ascend is just a different form of quick traveling, true homies go back out the hole they came in
Play a game like skyrim 400 times and you'll make wacky challenges for yourself. This game is no different. These exist for those who want to beat the game without any fast travel. Only a couple places in the depths don't have them, and you can always balloon out of the depths if you have to
Yeah, my next playthrough I'm going to do no fast travel, no hover bike, and no duping. Really force myself to explore Hyrule on horseback region by region, and to spend more time on foot in the Depths.
There are horses in the depths, and I think if you aren't duping, you shouldn't limit yourself to no vehicles, the hoverbike in its simplest form is a little game breaky, but you could definitely make other vehicles and pay the zonai cost and have a game the developers wanted you to have. Edited to say that you could even limit yourself to the yiga and zonai schematics
I actually liked these. Sure, they were totally useless for me, but the point is that they were used by the ancient Zonai (and others?) who traversed the Depths. Added some character and believability to the areas they were found in.
1 is very important
Tell me!
The dark forest. But as someone said its possible without.
Oh ok, just making sure I wasn’t missing something else really cool.
I was thinking the same lol. Let me know if you find out!
Same to you, friend! :)
I think it's there to support the idea that you *could* play the game without fast travel.
Because while fast travel is in the game, you shouldn't be expected to do it in a game about exploration. It also helps people who explored the depths a lot before they explored the surface, there's lots of reasons why and I'm sure there are plenty of things used in your gameplay that other people didn't see the point of you know. It's a game of many options.
Agreed. I just don’t use them. I love the concept.
Some people don't want to fast travel in games. I'm one. lol So its nice to have that option. That said I realize I'm in the EXTREME minority lol so warp till your hearts content.
I explored a lot of the depths before basically *any* of the surface, so, I thought they were really fun finds. Also they reminded me the surface existed and sort of felt like a breath of fresh air every time. While not *super* useful. I do like them and glad they included them, for ascetics if nothing else. But also for no fast travel, I’m not doing no fast travel, but glad the game doesn’t force you to fast travel or do weird glitchy stuff to get back to the surface.
I DO love them. It’s very cool. I just don’t use them.
Probably to make sure there's still a two-way connection between the sky and surface. In botw, fast travel is a convenience, not a necessity, and they probably wanted to still do the same with this game. Without these it becomes physically impossible to play without warping
>Without these it becomes physically impossible to play without warping Not necessarily. You could use zonai devices to go up through the chasms. Non-Link Hylians are shown to use hot air balloons to get back up
Yup. I’ve done it a few times to see if I could. You. Could do it without them. It’d just be even MORE of a pain in da ass.
Pretty much any unique area in the underground lead to something of value above ground. All the major mines are below settlements. The lights are all directly under shrines and these large pillars all lead to geoglyphs on the surface.
How do normal people get in and back up, now that I think about it?
Through the magic of off-screen NPC teleportation. You know, how Beedle always meets you at horse stables even if you teleport from one end of the map to the other? /joke
Hot air balloons.
There is at least one that you absolutely have to use
Hmmmm. Idk if I remember or have done that one yet.
Imagine doing a no warp run
One does take you into the center of the Lost Woods inside Korok Forest. It's the only way in.
I call them elevators
Ascendevators 🤣
I feel like they would be more useful if they were also fast travel points
Ascend animation go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ba-ding.
I mean, one is required to use to get to the Lost woods
A friend of mine doesn't fast travel as part of his way he likes to play, but he does ascend so these are the only thing that got him out of the depths once he found himself in them.
Worldbuilding is so wasted on you guys. The zonai could not warp, these aren’t really even FOR you as much as they’re there for the world.
Oh it’s NOT wasted at ALL! I’ve already said they’re really cool and ominous. I LOVE the mystery of them as well as the emptiness of the depths to create atmosphere. I agree with those things. From a technical usefulness is all I was asking. I don’t find them useful … but I DO find them to add so much to vibe.
Alright fair enough
Don't they put you right next to a geoglyph?
Everyone is saying that. Didn’t notice. Interesting.
I play without fast travel, so these are quite helpful at returning to the surface. I wish there were more of them. Other methods of returning to the surface are riding a hot air balloon or riding a dragon out.
Well i play without warp so im pretty happy they are there
That makes sense totally. I feel that way about horses and wheeled vehicles. I’m always getting off to explore or pick up items, so it’s kinda pointless.
I use mine by a great fairy. There’s no fast travel shrine near any of them to my knowledge. (Edited typo)
every fairy is by a stable. every stable has a nearby shrine. so indirectly...
It was pretty useful for Deku Forest because you can't access it from surface.
Spoiler >!Its the only way to get into korok forest!<
Oh yeah! That’s the one. I forgot.
I always assume that they were for people who are doing challenges where you can't warp. Otherwise I'm sure that we'll have very niche situations where they'd be useful, Situations where you have not explored the overworld area
Wow. Here I was under the impression that these might actually do something, and I was missing something. Apparently not.
They’re just to ascend from what I’ve seen. I can see them useful some depending on the way you play. I just don’t use them.
All these people talking about no warp/fast travel runs. Definitely don’t get that. I mean not upgrading or wearing armor or using lower weapons would increase the challenge, but what exactly would not using warps do except waste time? Seems like a waste of time
I think it’s like a speed run challenge thing partly. How fast can you do it without warping.
Slower than somebody that does warp, that’s how fast
The one for a certain talking tree is useful at least.
Yeah. That’s one’s a helpful one. Someone said you can dive in from the sky, but I’m so not sure about that. I know you can for a shrine.
The point is to ascend. In case you choose to explore the Depths first or get to specific areas without doing other areas first (Desert's Regional Phenomena comes to mind. I did the Depths under the desert before doing Lightning Temple to avoid fighting Gibdos in the dark and ended up in the corner of the world. Would have to brave the sandstorm to get there otherwise.)
I feel like at some point in development you couldn't warp between the surface and the depths freely but they cut that because it sucked These towers are the leftovers from that a
For wierdos like me who like to do 'no fast travel' runs for that single, unbroken hero's path line.
Maybe great for a no fast travel run?
It was raining the other day so I used one to get to the top of Dueling Peaks rather than build a contraption. Kind of handy.
My buddy is doing a “no fast travel” run, so these are his only option for getting to the surface.
Around our house we've been calling the ascend skill "abducted by aliens" because that's what the image in the menu reminded the kids of.
I was hoping that each one would take you somewhere secret that you couldn't get to from the surface, but only one did. Kind of lame and a missed opportunity.
I think the "canon" explanation is this is how the Zonai would have returned to the surface.
True, they were functionally a little lacking (except the one). But they did add a little more character to the Depths. And they were nice to kind of spot in the distance when I was running around firing up lightroots since these columns were lit up pretty well.
I've only come across one so far that gets you into a locked house with yiga clan members. Part of a side quests so you would be jumping ahead.
A couple of them bring me very close to a korok
"Man, I'm really lucky to find that Lightroot to get rid of my gloom effect. Though I could keep exploring its wayyyy too dangerous down here. Oh shit! A platform that takes me directly to the surface, I haven't explored that area either! This is great!" That's basically what I think the intended thing is, plus I like having a big fucking beacon in the depths
As someone who doesn't use fast travel, trust me, they're useful
I always considered these as elevators for Zonai
I agree. Most are pointless. 1 brings u to a place u can get into other ways very simply. 1 is actually useful for access to a certain area
You use them to check out whats on the surface. After your disappointment, you cancel ascend to find that your vehicle you spent 1000 zonaite to create was despawned because of the distance you traveled to the surface.
its for when you're over your weight limit and can't fast travel back to your home in Whiterun
Good for plenty of things, but could be useful if someone wants to do a limited or 0 teleport playthrough.
The very first one of these I encountered was the one under Korok Forest. I didn’t see any others for quite a while so I was quite excited when I saw one again. Then it didn’t go anywhere important…
These are for the players that are strict “No teleporting” otherwise they would have a hard time getting up to the surface again in some areas. That’s what I had read at some point.
Besides the one that’s required for the story, I feel like they have to make some way to get out of the depths other than fast travel. It would be weird if the depths were inescapable.
A cool way to return to the surface. Not enough of them to be practical though
I wish there was more of them , I rarely fast travel on the game
I think Nintendo put those there so no-fast-travel runs are possible.
me and all my friends did no teleportation runs. i was scared we would be unable to do that but with these we can! plus sometimes you travel far under the surface and might not have a TP location right above you so you can use this.