How to find Korok Seeds in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
Tips for finding Korok Seeds in TOTK, from helping Koroks find their friends to simpler puzzles
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok Seeds are special items used to expand your inventory and allow you to hold more weapons, bows and shields when you trade them to the merchant Hestu. Seeds themselves are spread all over Hyrule, hidden by little Korok spirits behind challenges, puzzles, skill tests, or sometimes just under rocks for you to turn over - they're a diverse bunch and don't all put in the same amount of effort into hiding the seeds, frankly.
Finding Korok Seeds in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is something that's easy enough to do in small numbers, but finding more than a few is a process that'll take time - a lot of time - but far less with the info below. If you want to go hunting for Korok seeds in TOTK, we'll explain how to find them, as well as the special Korok mask, just below!
Tips for finding Korok Seeds in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
We've laid out all the best tips for finding Korok Seeds in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom just below - you can scroll down to find out a lot more details, but for a quick summary, check below.
- Listen and look out for "I need to meet my friend" puzzles
- Look out for disappearing flowers or plants
- Check all randomly-placed rocks, patterns, or anything out of place
- Shoot any targets or balloons you see dotted across Hyrule
- Find the Korok Mask
- Koroks can be found anywhere except shrines and The Depths
How to find Korok Seeds in TOTK
TOTK Korok Seed puzzles are meant to be short and snappy, little distractions instead of major brain-twisters. If you're having trouble solving a Korok puzzle, it might be because you haven't found a key element of that puzzle yet.
To find Korok Seeds in Tears of the Kingdom, you need to find Koroks, unsurprisingly. These little green plant spirits are hidden all over Hyrule, and we do mean hidden - you need to do something to get them to reveal themselves, usually a little puzzle or bit of clever thinking.
We'll go more into some of these elements below, but generally speaking Koroks aren't too difficult to find once you have all the details of what you're looking at.
How to solve Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok Seed puzzles
Korok Seeds are hiding everywhere in Tears of the Kingdom, but here are the most common and recurring locations we've uncovered:
- Out-of-place object
- Match the pattern
- Move the Korok
- Teleporting flower
- Catching the invisible Korok
- Balloon target practice
- Pull the chain
- Fix what's broken
You can click on any of these for more information, or scroll down to see them all! We'll also update this list as any more reveal themselves, but going through the game knowing what kind of brain-teasers the Koroks hide behind will ensure you get a lot more seeds than most!
Korok puzzle: Out of place object
The most basic - and common - Korok puzzle is simply about finding something that doesn't seem to fit in with what's around it. A rock high up in a tree? A pile of leaves on a barren volcano? A ring of flowers in a desert? If you see something that stands out or doesn't make sense, go and interact with it - there's a good chance a Korok will reveal itself!
Korok puzzle: Match the Pattern
The other really common puzzle, sometimes you'll see a pattern that's almost - but not quite - finished. A ring of rocks with a gap in it is a common one - go plug that gap by putting down one more rock and that's a Seed earned. Otherwise you might see two metal sculptures that don't quite match until you add a piece to one using Ultrahand. Or if there's three shrines and two of them have bananas in front of them, put a banana in the last one!
Korok puzzle: Move the Korok
The new puzzle that comes up a lot is a Korok who is turned over because of the giant backpack that's overstuffed. They need to reach a friend, marked nearby with campfire smoke - you need to move them using vehicles and Ultrahand to that campsite to get the reward.
Korok puzzle: Teleporting flower
Sometimes you'll see a tall yellow flower - and when you walk up to it, it vanishes! When this happens, it's actually teleported a short distance away. Find it, do it again and it'll keep moving. Eventually it'll turn into a white flower - touch that to reveal the Korok.
Korok puzzle: Catching the invisible Korok
Every now and then you'll see a little glittery sparkle with leaves and petals moving around, flying fast across the landscape. Catch it! They move in circles so you might be able to get in its way - and when you do, you'll discover it's an invisible Korok.
Korok puzzle: Balloon target practice
A very simple "puzzle" that's really more of a skill test. Sometimes you'll find wooden platforms with engravings of leaves on them - while you stand on them you'll be able to see balloons with targets floating around! Without leaving the platform, use a bow to shoot all the balloons, and the last one popped will spawn in a Korok.
Korok puzzle: Pull the chain
Sometimes you'll see a chain with a plug-like object at the end, stuck into a tree stump or similar object. This one is simple - use Ultrahand to add enough weight to the other end so that the chain is pulled out of the stump. The Korok will reveal itself when you do.
Korok puzzle: Fix what's broken
Similar to pattern-matching, sometimes you'll see a shed with a broken roof or something you can patch up with Ultrahand. It's a broad one, but if the pieces are nearby, stick them back into place to get a Korok to appear!
How to get the Korok Mask in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
The Korok mask is a special piece of armor that players can get down in the Depths of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Specifically, under the Northeast corner of the Lost Woods is the Forest Coliseum. Head inside and some Yiga will release a Hinox for you to fight, but if you win, there'll be a chest you can open with the Korok Mask inside!
When you wear it, this mask rattles whenever you're close to an undiscovered Korok. Admittedly it won't solve the puzzle or anything, but it can let you know that you're close to a new Seed.
What to do with Korok Seeds
In TOTK, Korok Seeds are given to the merchant Hestu, who uses them to expand the amount of weapons, shields and bows you can carry at one time. However, Hestu's services get more expensive the more you go to him, so after a while you'll need dozens of Seeds for a single inventory expansion. If you want help finding Hestu's location in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, we've outlined that for you in another guide.
Of course, all this begs the question: how many Korok Seeds in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom? We've laid out the answer at the guide attached, as well as what you can get for finding them all!
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
- Jasmine Gould-WilsonStaff Writer, 12DOVE