Zelda Challenge Runs to Flaunt That Biggoron Energy

Use It and Lose It

One of the most enthralling Borderlands Challenge Runs is swapping in whatever loot crosses your path. Yeah, you’ll abandon your prized Flameblade for a Korok Leaf, but the versatility forges an engaging run.

Cashless Society

Disregard shops entirely. You’re free to pillage and plunder to your heart’s content, though… As long as you aren’t selling anything. 

Good luck tiptoeing around Sidon’s ferocious pet Lynel without stealth gear.

Pillage-Free Run

On the contrary to a worthless rupee run, we can fabricate a consumerist dystopia where rupees are everything. If you can’t buy it, don’t use it. Toss that hideous barbarian armor and climbers gear back into the dumpster from whence it came. 

Just don’t inform EA about your “feelings of pride and accomplishment” in any upcoming surveys.

Species/Class Specific Gear

Pick a species (like Gerudo or Rito) or a character class (like barbarian). Limit usable items to your chosen species/class. If swords or armor don’t match, you’re going commando. 

Note: Ancient gear, fisherman’s garb, and knight’s gear are feasible choices. If you’re exceptionally cultured, Tingle gear and wands work, too.

Tower Drop-Off

Let’s give fast traveling some consequences. When reaching the precipice of a tower, you gotta yeet all your gear off the edge and glide into the sunset like a wannabe Clint Eastwood. 

If you sense yourself pining for old belongings, blast yourself with a bomb. Then, announce to the world that you made a Mipha shrine of rotten fish scales – and stashed it in your bedroom closet.

Blood Moon Equipment Reset

You can’t dodge a Blood Moon inventory wipe. Disaster is imminent. It’ll be like Termina all over again.

Kingdom of Eventide

Reset your gear and food upon entering a new region. The Faron region may be lush with durian fruit, but once you cross that border or teleport away, it’s gone. Gerudo Shields will only surf the dunes. Only then will you truly know the unforgiving nature of Tabantha, young Korok.

Underwear Run

Armor feels so restrictive. It’s hot and reeks of stale sweat. Fetch a pot lid and join us in our ‘Au Naturale’ revolution.

No Armor or Inventory Upgrades

Not as hardcore as roaming the desolate arctic tundra in your birthday suit, but still an invigorating warmup challenge. Plus, BotW’s Great Fairies give off major creeper vibes.

ZeldaLocke

SmallAnt took the principles of a Pokémon Nuzlocke and refurbished it to fit Breath of the Wild. 

I’ll save you a click:

• • Each weapon is only obtainable once.

• • No running from any skirmish. If an enemy spots you, it’s deathmatch time.

• • No Master Sword, Magnesis, or Bombs for combat. 

• • Permadeath. That game over screen means you’re toast. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

Drop Inventory on Death

Here’s a softer reset variant for those of us who aren’t psychopaths that murder save data on the fly.

Lava-Floor Eventide Island

Beat Eventide Island without activating it. You’ll need a Korok Leaf, some Octo Balloons, and a raft. Probably more, but I’m not spoiling it. You’re welcome to watch Kleric take the crown, though.

Death Mountain Hot Spring Crucible

Banish fireproof armor. You can only drink fireproof elixirs at hot spring ‘checkpoints’ or outside the region’s perimeter.

Enter Gerudo Town Without A Disguise

I won’t spoil this one either, but I’ll give you a hint: You can only achieve this if you haven’t spoken to Riju about divine beasts yet. If you ache for a solution anyway, here’s your proof.

Took an Arrow to the Knee

Are you ready for the ultimate troll? 

Any time you pick up an arrow, reload your most recent autosave. No purchasing arrows, either. You’re a cheeser just for thinking it. Quest gifts are fine. 

Feel free to stockpile decorative bows for your house, though. You can upgrade your bow storage, too… if you fancy yourself a connoisseur of Korok poop. 

*Cues maniacal laugh track*

Atheist Run

No praying at altars for hearts or stamina. Dye your armor black. To achieve that, you’ll need to extract the glorious essence of Lynel hooves.

You can even intensify immersion by slashing goddess statues with your trusty blade.

Trust Fund Baby

No stamina use permitted. Say goodbye to spin attacks, climbing, and bullet time. The final blow on Dark Beast Ganon is 100% possible, too. SmallAnt proved it.

Amish Link

Amish Link aches for a quiet life without all this confounded sci-fi nonsense. Link’s browsing history likely shamed him into a dramatic lifestyle change.

No Sheikah tech allowed. 

That means no activating shrines or towers. Flip off your HUD and adopt a blatant refusal to use the map. No saving outside of villages. Using autosave data is banned.

Note: You can skip tower activation by clipping through the shrines on the great plateau.

Phobia Run

Toss a dart to the dartboard. We’ll imagine Link with a life-altering fear. 

Here are some examples:

• • No swimming
  • No paraglider
  • No rock climbing. 
  • Avoid fires or thunderstorms.
  • Evacuate for shelter when darkness approaches.
  • Fear of the color blue.
  • Fear of dancing.

Overzealous

This Link incarnation blatantly denies the accomplishments of others. He’s basically Revali multiplied by 3000. 

He’s too proud to use champ abilities. He doesn’t converse with characters of royal bloodlines – aside from Zelda. He doesn’t touch royal weapons, either.

My Hair is A Bird, Your Argument is Invalid

Defeat every enemy type with a swarm of Cuckoos at least once. Lock each region’s activities until at least one enemy is slain by the mighty Cuckoo battalion.

Separation Anxiety

Carry the first metal box you spot everywhere – with the power of Magnesis!

• • Nickname it the “Companion Cube.” 
  • Gift it the coveted bud of a Silent Princess. 
  • Take your cube to the Akkala Tech Lab to perform the ceremonial ritual.
  • “By the power vested in GlaDOS, I pronounce your bond eternal.”
  • Your box must deal the final blow to each enemy you slay, lest it’s lights out for Zelda’s underpaid bodyguard.

You’ll need to skip the blights. Also, Dark Beast Ganon will de-spawn your noble, inanimate steed… but it’s the end of the game, so Link earns a lifetime of therapy once the deed is done, I suppose.

Territorial Link

Enter each combat without weapons. Whistle for attention. Ritualize staring down opponents. It’s part of an estranged alpha superiority complex. Do a few crouches to assert your dominance. 

BotW’s enemies have amusing behavior patterns, and here’s our chance to savor their depth.

Region Locked!

Pick your poison: 

• • You can only enter each region once OR
  • Finalize a certain number of tasks before bouncing elsewhere.

Honestly, challenges become more enticing when role-playing to the extreme. These jobs grant our Triforce of Courage a steady paycheck:

• Ameteur LARPer – Wear decorative armor only. Limit swordplay to charge attacks. Stamina upgrades are forbidden.
• Treasure Hunter – Only chests are lootable. Ignore random drops.
• Fisherman – Bombs are for fishing or solving shrine puzzles only.
• International Man of Mystery – Adorn Link in stealth armor throughout your playthrough. Sneak before striking your prey. Crouch before chatting up NPC’s.
• Chef – Link can only sell cooked meals to vendors. Canonically, you share your raw meats with stable dogs.

• Pirate – Navigate from one corner of the map to another with a raft. No touching other surfaces. Your main goal is balancing gratuitous amounts of loot on your vessel.

• Hitman – Sell exclusively monster loot to vendors.
• Preacher – Don’t spend Spirit Orbs on stamina. Only pious individuals may speak with Link.
• Jockey – Link must drag his horse everywhere, including glitching through divine beast dungeons.
• Athlete – No walking or fast traveling. Push beyond your body’s limitations with stamina potions. 
• Rancher – Drop off a Cucco and five lumps of raw meat in every region. Use Link’s “no sword” animation to pet every dog you stumble across.

• Farmer – Link can only sell raw produce to vendors. No plucking harvests during rain.

• Astronaut Trainee – Here’s a challenge run that’ll encourage you to learn nutty glitches. Link can only traverse the map with flying machines, wind bombs, or bullet-time bounces.
• Carpenter – Max out Links inventory solely with stacks of lumber. Bonus points for clearing the game with a woodcutter’s axe.
• Demolitionist – Bombs are king. Sprinkle them on everything.

• Poacher – Only parts from Lynels, Hinox, and Moldugas can be sold to vendors.

• Conservationist – Link can’t chop trees or gather endangered mushrooms. He can only kill enemies who appear in groups.

• Electrician – Link can’t carry any metal gear. No entering buildings during thunderstorms.

• Arsonist – Link must shoot each building he passes with bomb arrows. 

• Architect – This is basically a Tarrey Town speedrun, except you can’t use bombs or swords to harvest stacks of wood.

• Lawyer – No rescuing weary travelers or engaging in side quests. It’s bad for business. You also need to read every book and journal entry in the game.
• CEO – No stamina upgrades OR stamina-boosting foods. Compel monsters to brawl amongst themselves as much as humanly possible. (Heads up, the guards outside of Gerudo town can disarm enemies.)

• Scientist – Reach 100% completion on the compendium without activating any combat.

• Delivery Man – Ignore the plot entirely. Set a timer and deliver 100 Hydromelons to Akkala, 100 hearty bass to Gerudo Village, 100 frozen meats to Lurelin Village, and 100 mighty bananas to the Yiga-Clan Hideout. No fast traveling.

• Weatherman – No flurry rush. Link can only sell dragon shards or star fragments to vendors, and he can only navigate thunderstorms on horseback.

Food secures an enormous role in Breath of the Wild. Naturally, it lays splendid brickwork for challenge run ideas.

• Atkins Run: Red meats only. Note that most OP foods are vegetarian.
• Vegan Run: Wave passionate farewell to meat and dairy. Scott Pilgrim says it grants you superpowers. It also means no gear that uses animal parts – sparing Rito feathers since they molt naturally.
• Paleo/Caveman Run: No cooked foods.
• Pescatarian Run: Nibbling Fish Sticks for days. Also, no mingling with the Zora.
• Juice Cleanse Run: We only tolerate elixirs or milk during this playthrough. Poor Link. Please vanquish Ganon fast.
• Germaphobe: No picking food up off the ground (or collecting Korok dung for inventory upgrades.)
• Snackaholic Run: Set a timer. Stop for a snack every 2 minutes. If you miss a meal, delete your file and restart the run. Unacceptable.
• Dukan Run: No healing during battle music. Also, no carbs. They’ll go straight to Link’s hips.
• Pica Link: Rock-hard food only. Recipes must include wood or rocks.
• Food Critic Run: Only eat cooked food fresh at stables. The birth of a blood moon spoils gathered ingredients.
• Protégé Run: Unique recipes only.
• Picky Toddler Diet: No food allowed. You can heal at shrines, hot springs, or inns. If you can bug the unused asset for ice cream into your save file, I’ll allow it.

Run-less Run

Pretend there’s a lifeguard on duty. No walking. No running. You can parry and flip. You can paraglide. You can shield surf like a champ. You can wind bomb. You can climb and swim. But don’t you dare walk. Yes, It’s been done before.

Top-Down Camera Condition Run

Pick an event or two that results in pointing your camera straight down until a condition is met. I’ll toss a few sample ideas:

• • Get hit -> Camera down until battle music ceases.
  • Tame a horse -> Camera down until the horse is fed.
  • Hear a shrine -> Camera down until entering a shrine. (The Dueling Peaks find this idea hilarious.)

Map-View Challenge Run

Remember the days of lounging around playing online text-based games with dozens of AOL instant messenger windows fluttering in the background? How’s your back feeling?

Anyway, here’s a potential throwback.

The inventory storage glitch allows BotW to resume through inventory menus and navigation UI. From there, you can play BotW – in its entirety – from the overhead map screen. See how far you can trek with just ambient sounds and a map overview as guidance.

I’ll link a video tutorial below, but here’s the gist…

You’ll need these to get the glitch rolling:

• • An upgraded Sheikah sensor
  • A minimum of 1 Hyrule compendium entry
  • Access to Hyrule castle
  • The camera rune
  • A save file near a goddess statue (if you want invincibility and infinite stamina. This also opens the opportunity to play on a fresh save file)

You want to waltz up to the front gate of Hyrule castle. 

Draw your weapon, whip out your shield, then pause (and parry) nimbly enough to glitch the game into bringing up a standard Hyrule map. Note that the game normally loads a 3D dungeon map of Hyrule Castle. 

If you successfully pull it off, you’ll see a random cursor appear on-screen. It’s smooth sailing from there.

If you want the aid of infinite stamina and invincibility, you’ll need to load your save file near the goddess statue and follow a few extra steps to activate the ARMS glitch.

Note: It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this!

Slay Every Monster in Hyrule (without respawns)

You can deactivate the day/night cycle by clipping outside the Shrine of Resurrection. It’s actually easy to do. The camera rune on your Sheikah Slate pushes Link into walls. Here’s a tutorial.

One-Hit Obliterator Run

You can sneak out of the Shrine of Resurrection with the One-Hit Obliterator thanks to a complex sequence of glitch exploitation. As expected, The Obliterator drops Link to a quarter heart of health and healing becomes futile. 

You guessed it. Beat the game with a quarter heart and a beastly weapon.

Become A Lynel

I’m 100% serious. You’ll need the DLC and the Master Cycle. Also, probably this video.