The new Zelda Tears of the Kingdom abilities and powers are hard-coded into Link's new arm, allowing him to fuse weapon, create vehicles, reverse time and far more. These abilities aren't just gimmicks or tricks - they're essential to getting through TOTK, as well as getting the most out of it along the way. With that in mind, I'll lay out all of Link's abilities in Tears of the Kingdom below, as well as which of the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Sky Island shrines you need to reach to unlock them.
All Zelda Tears of the Kingdom abilities
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom has six abilities in total. The first four are learned in the Great Sky Island introduction section, but two are found later:
- Recall
- Fuse
- Ultrahand
- Ascend
- Camera
- Autobuild
Later on, you'll unlock the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom camera and the ability to Autobuild any constructed item, whether it be a car or a turbo-charged minecart, using a combination of Zonaite ore and design schematics.
For now though, here's a look at the main four you'll be playing with for the lengthy first half of the game.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Recall ability
Recall is an ability that allows players to "rewind" time and the path of physical objects, essentially forcing those objects to undo any motions they did recently. It's a great way to send enemy projectiles hurtling back toward them mid-throw, or as a means to cross certain rivers, lakes, or pits of lava by reversing the flow of drifting items you can step on. You learn Recall at the Temple of Time in the Great Sky Island tutorial section of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Fuse ability
Fuse is learned at the In-Isa shrine, and it's a real belter. This is an ability so complex we've gone over it in a separate guide, but for a quick breakdown here: Fuse allows you to create instant combinations of weapons and shields merged with other items like monster parts, changing how they work, how durable they are, and how much damage they can deal. Mix two weapons together for new hybrids, add special materials to introduce new elements to your arrows, stick things on your shield so blocking attacks adds trigger effects. Rubies help prevent damage from fire, for example, so that's a useful combination for your shield when you visit Goron City. Similarly, sapphires will help you prevent taking freezing damage. Fuse is pretty versatile, and can be done quickly and on-the-fly, so it's applicable in the middle of combat. However, it should not be confused with our next ability…
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Ultrahand ability
Ultrahand is a combination of telekinesis and superglue, allowing you to move and attach objects to form new structures - and more notably, the new Zelda Tears of the Kingdom vehicles. Players can lift objects like logs, fans, sails and more besides, and adhere them to other objects (as well as breaking those connections) to result in complex constructions made for a specific purpose. Vehicles are clearly the main focus here - you can build a lava-defiant, all-terrain vehicle using Zonai-powered wheels and a few slabs of concrete, or put rocket jets on a minecart for something truly off-the-rails. Ultrahand is incredible versatile, and is the key to solving many Korok puzzles needed to trade with Hestu in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, too. Ultrahand is the first ability you unlock, taught to you at the Ukouh Shrine.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Ascend ability
Simple yet effective when you can't be bothered to go climbing, Ascend causes Link to rise straight up into the air - but there's a catch. There has to be a surface within range above Link for him to rise up through, such as a ceiling, platform, the underside of an island, or similar. Once Link meets that surface, he then swims straight through it and pops out on top. It would be nice if Ascend would let Link go all the way up into the Sky Island map from down on the Surface, but unfortunately that's not the case. You'll need to rely on Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Skyview Towers to launch you up high enough to get there. You'll learn Ascend at the Gutanbac Shrine.
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