How does the Blood Moon work in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. Blood MoonThe terror that swept through the city was terrifying. Breath of WildA returns in Tears of the Kingdom – The Legend of Zelda. It can be incredibly intimidating if it’s your first time seeing one. Why did you spend all your time and effort slaying Bokoblins for nothing?

The Blood Moon can be a positive experience despite its scary sounds and dark vibes. This page covers what the Blood Moon is, and how you can make the most of Hyrule’s recurring event.

How is the Blood Moon implemented in Tears of the Kingdom?

Blood Moons occur every 168 mins of gameplay and act as reset buttons for many items in Hyrule. They can respawn weapons, shields monsters and loot. When it triggers, you will be presented with a cutscene explaining what’s going on.

The specificity of 168 minutes may seem strange, but that’s how long it takes for a week to go by, uninterrupted, in Hyrule!

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

This reset button is extremely useful — especially if you want to farm a particular item, like ZoaniteExtra battery cells Bomb flowersYou can also find sub-bosses, such as the Stone Talus, Flux Construct, Gleeok, or — for the phenomenally brave — the King GleekThe parts are rare and hard to find.

If you like an item that you see in the terrain, you can pin it on your map to collect a new one after a week. If you find an item that you like as part of the terrain, pin it on your map to collect a new one in a week’s time!

What is the Blood Moon trigger in Tears of the Kingdom?

If you want to trigger a Blood Moon, simply play the game — after 168 minutes of play, you’ll see another Blood Moon.

The obvious question is whether or not you can make a Blood Moon happen. While you may be tempted to sleep for the better part of a week to trigger it, the game knows what you’re doing and will make you wait it out.

What does Blood Moon mean?

It is possible to play through the whole game without realizing it. Blood Moon CookingThere is one mechanic, and it is worth learning about.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

It’s always wise to keep an eye on the in-game clock because different monsters come out at different times of day (hint: or at night). If it’s the night of the Blood Moon, you will see the big, red astral body creep its way up the sky, which is a great hint to stop what you’re doing.

Place a skillet in your closest cooking pot. (Stables and other establishments will have one. You could also use a Zonai potOnce the clock reaches 23:30, a short animation will begin to play and creepy music will start. Once the clock hits 23:30, a short animation begins playing and the creepy music starts — this is your cue, maestro. If you do it before the music changes, you won’t get the bonus. Here’s what Five Cooked ApplesIf you cook before 23:30, then the grant is ready.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

And here’s after:

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Any cooking you do for the next 30 in-game hours will result in a critical success. The bonuses you receive from your food are improved. For items that have dual bonuses — like when you cook with mighty bananas — which bonus you get is seemingly random, at roughly 50%.

Unfortunately, you obviously won’t get these visual cues if you’re in a cave or otherwise can’t see the sky. Listen for the change of music or the vapor trail.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

As long as you’re not otherwise engaged (usually in battle), you can drop a Zonai Pot from your devices section of your item bag to cook yourself a meal. These pots are only good for one use, but it’s better than nothing and, let’s be honest, when else are you going to use them!

What’s the story behind the Blood Moon?

[Ed. note: The following section covers spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.]

Tears of Kingdom explains the origins of the Blood Moon in one of the flashbacks you’ll when tracking down Dragon Tears. “Birth of the Demon King (Memory 10; Tear of the Dragon #8)” can be found at the Geoglyph in the North Tabantha Snowfield.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Watching this, you’ll see Ganondorf steal a Zonai Secret Stone and use it to transform himself from a mere mortal into the Demon King that plagues the entire Legend of Zelda timeline.

In order to complete his metamorphosis he releases the Blood Moon and inflicts this evil plague on the land Hyrule. He had no idea that we’d be farming Stone Talus Hearts, and Flame Gleeok Crowns, 10,000 years from now. More fool him…