Hero’s Path

The Hero’s Path is a new feature that lets you trace your entire path over all of Hyrule for the last two hundred hours (that you have spent actually playing the game- time spent in load screens, menus, and so on does not count). You can either get this view as a static, cumulative image, or you can have the game trace your path over the map- either way, seeing your path can help you figure out what areas of Hyrule you have still not been to, and it can help you track down those final shrines. You can enable this right away on the map screen, for any existing or new save files.

Master Mode

This is arguably the best new addition to the game with this expansion- this new difficulty level significantly alters the game, leveling up all enemies, changing placements, giving enemies regenerating health, adding higher leveled loot, but behind riskier enemy traps and encampments, and so on. The mode emphasizes survival and stealth, two areas Breath of the Wild is best at. You can start a new file in Master Mode as soon as you download the DLC from the main menu- Master Mode keeps a separate save file (independent of your original file), and only permits you one autosave and one manual save.

Where To Find New Gear and Items (Majora’s Mask, Tingle’s Outfit, Phantom Armor, Midna’s helmet and travel medallion and Korok Mask):

The Master Trials adds new gear to the game, as well as a Travel Medallion that lets you create one temporary teleport point on the map at will. The new gear, on the other hand, can make you undetectable by all but the toughest enemies, notify you when a Korok is in the vicinity, or let you dress up as Tingle or the Phantoms from the DS Zelda games. If you want to find all of this gear for yourself, the videos below will help you.

Trial of the Sword

The centerpiece of this DLC pack is the Trial of the Sword- this new content is made available to you as soon as you have purchased the DLC, and asks you to return the Master Sword to its pedestal in Korok Woods to start a new challenge- the Trial of the Sword. The Trial of the Sword is like an expanded Eventide Island- except there are over 50 challenge areas you need to face one after the other, and you are only permitted to save twice. All of your gear, items, and equipment is taken away from you- so you are forced to start from scratch, scavenge what you can, and take on enemies with your wits, rather than with brute force.

The gauntlet is an ordeal- but completing it unlocks the ‘true power of the Master Sword’, which is a bit underwhelming but gives you the satisfaction of knowing you’ve been able to overcome the hardest things the game was able to throw at you. There is something to be said for that, I suppose.

For the first time ever, a Zelda game will be receiving post launch content- Nintendo will release not just one, but two expansion packs for the game, the first of which, The Master Trials, is set to launch on June 30.

The Master Trials brings in a lot of new features, but it also adds a new ‘challenge’ for Link to conquer. If you have played Breath of the Wild, then this challenge, which is shown off in the video below, will seem familiar to you- it basically feels like a full fledged Eventide Island. Apparently, completing this challenge will unlock the ‘true power of the Master Sword’, which I seriously hope does not mean that it becomes indestructible, because that would just break the game.

A second expansion, called The Champion’s Ballad, is due out later this year as well. That one is a story expansion, and adds an all new dungeon to the game. It is heavily hinted that you may be playing as Zelda in that one. We can only hope.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and both of its expansions, are or will be available on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.