#and endless talus lol

[landwriter]

me, wondering why my legs are still sore two days after a three hour hike

my camera roll:

me: mmmm guess we’ll never know

[batrogers]

Listing this just because, Weirdest self-imposed challenge runs I've done for BOTW and TOTK:

1. Main Memories Only (BOTW)

I think this was my first one I ever did; I had the weird niche idea of, do you get the bonus credits scene if you get ONLY the memories in the slate?

This, incidentally, meant that -- after not playing video games for 20 years (eg. N64 era) a Switch was my first ever console I personally owned and BOTW my first game -- I set myself a challenge run in which I had to do the boss gauntlet of BOTW...

...without the Master Sword.

(Incidentally, yes you do get the bonus scene which is really funny bc it definitley implies you freed the DIvine Beasts and I most certainly did NOT.)

[Below: "No Status Effects", "Weaponless", "4 Heart Run"]

2. No Status Effects (BOTW & TOTK)

Status effects here were defined as attack/defence up & weather effects. I also cut out gloom-resistance & sunny foods in TOTK, and banned upgrading the glide set to set-bonus level. Movement effects (which I generally don't use anyways) were fine in TOTK, I don't remember for BOTW. Weapon-and-environment-based weather bonuses were permitted, but the weapon ones only ever give first-level defence.

This was significantly harder in BOTW than in TOTK. In TOTK, Sidon's ability negates entirely the environmental dangers of Death Mountain and Gerudo Desert, with a level-two protection and thirty second duration. The ability to throw items is also helpful: I struggled a lot with trying to drop chu jelly and hit it *before* it turned into a firebomb instead in BOTW.

You also, incidentally, can't use any abilities while actively on fire. This made the drones up Death Mountain in BOTW a serious problem, and I am very glad I had ancient arrows to deal with them because I could NOT magnesis them instead.

In TOTK, the hardest section was the end parts of the Rito quest (level two cold), and cold damage is pretty slow. I don't think I'd bother doing that one again, but I might repeat BOTW for kicks.

3. Weaponless (BOTW & TOTK)

Absolutely the FUCKING best of them all, highly recommend if you really want a challenge. I did NOT do Master Mode in BOTW, because I needed to be able to kill bokoblins and -- guess what you can't get in BOTW if you pick up *no* melee weapons, no bows, and no shields?

That's right. You can't repair the Sheikah Slate. At all. Which means: no camera, no upgrades. It also blocks you from completing the second Kakariko Shrine (you need to finish the great fairy picture quest to start that!) and from getting the snow and sand boots (Bozai doesn't even appear until you get the camera fixed.)

IIRC I could complete 70 shrines or so, and couldn't even pull a few from the ground at all. I also could not complete a single region, because every single one required you to at least have something in your inventory, and I did not do that -- because, if you never picked up a melee weapon, bow, or shield, Link's shirtless model never acquires a baldric which had some... fascinating results LOL.

However, it's been interesting how the game changes between BOTW and TOTK doing the same thing. in BOTW, you have unlimited remote bombs. They're not very strong but they are consistent and endless and fairly safe to use. In TOTK, however, it becomes not just a resource management game but a game of risk and reward. You can't do three of the six dungeons (you need a bow for both Gerudo and Zora quests, and you need to complete all four regions to crack the castle) but you can get Mineru if you permit Zonai device use. (Which I despise using, so that's self-limiting for me.)

The other thing that changes is that the bosses that require serious damage done become a mix of attrition and risk management. If you're willing to acquire the lightning helm and Zant's helmet, you can use sapphires and topaz with impugnity.... but breaking rocks and killing talus are resource intensive tasks in themselves. It took me 15-30 bombs to down a single overworld boss. It took *ten minutes* to kill Marbled Gohma.

And if you use a gemstone and aren't immune, those things take out 20 hearts a pop if you're caught in splash damage.

But I could also complete all but 12 shrines in TOTK without melee weapons, which I think speaks to how broad the problem solving options are. The two games function completely differently because of the different base mechanics, and it was an absolute delight.

4. Four-Heart Run, no Fairies, no Armour Upgrades (BOTW & TOTK [just started])

This was not done as a speedrun, this was a Master Mode, I'm bored let's see how long before I get tired of dying. (I did not.) This is likely to be how tears goes too, although I can be iffy about holding onto fairies or not LOL. I usualy am not very strict, but I enjoy the challenge.

IIRC I left off the BOTW run at being unable to beat Maz Koshia (I'd finidhed everything else, including Calamity Ganon.) I imagine TOTK will be similar, once I decide how to handle the Master Sword and/or Mineru question. I only just finished weaponless, so here's to hoping!