Source
r/zelda•
kava

Older person playing BOTW is looking for a few patient Zelda friends to help me with the game, mostly about buttons or combinations.

Discussion

Hello.

I'm looking for a few Zelda BOTW friends on here who would be willing to help an older lady now and again I'm playing on a Switch. (By older I mean pushing 50 - does that count?) Anyone who is patient and who won't laugh at seemly simple questions like: What button brings up the magnetic thingee? Or, how do I sprint when running? How do you do the fancy moves with the sword?

A Walk though (which I try to use minimally) will show you WHAT to do it, but I get sometimes get stuck on the HOW. I would prefer not to regularly embarrass myself in public by asking these kinds of questions for all to see.

A little background about me and generally useless info:

Back in the late 90's I was in a car accident and laid up for a few months. My friend brought me his N564 to loan and one of the games was Ocarina of Time. I was OBSESSED with this game! I was hooked from then on and now I've played most games since then and even bought a 3DS & Wii just so I could play the associated Zelda games.

I actually didn't finish Skyward Sword because I got to a dungeon in the sky and for the life of me couldn't get through it after about 50-60 tries. I'm not very coordinated on top of it all. So here I am, deeply in LOVE the Zelda games but I have a very, very difficult time trying to figure stuff out. It's the buttons. Like it takes me HOURS to learn the buttons. And I can't My learning curve is STEEP -- I can't remember the combos in the heat of the battle, my adrenaline surges or whatever so I just use the basics.
As an example, I spent the whole night googling how to bring up the magnet thingee in the first dungeon. I could SEE what I needed to do, I just couldn't figure out the button.

See? Dumb, I know.. but I'm really trying and I love the game, the puzzles and atmosphere so much!

I'm also very, very slow. It will me a year to finish this game. I only have about 1 hour per day to play and that's only if I give up my Animal Crossing New Leaf play time.

So is there anyone out there who would volunteer to get a PM and answer my seemingly silly questions now and again?

EDIT: HOLY CRAP THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You are some of the nicest folks on Reddit!

Posted May 3, 2017, 8:04 PM UTC · edited

9434
HMPoweredMan•

Not exactly what you are asking for but:

There is a very limited "manual" describing some moves you've learned if you press +, scroll to the "system" tab and select the button that says something like "ability controls." which will show you how to use any move in the game.

Also you can go to my.nintendo.com For 10 gold coins you get a .pdf file that is a mini-guide to the game, covering all of the overall features, (cooking, shrines, horseback, etc) without any spoilers.

20
kavaOP•

Thank you, I didn' t know about either of these!

10
thechongo•

I'd almost say just pick up the guide. The paperback version is relatively cheap as is organized so that you can find what you need without spoilers.

I used zeldamaps.com a bit when I knew that a shrine or something of interest was nearby but couldn't find it.

6
LitheXD•

My brother plays the switch version, so if it isn't too urgent you can pm me questions that I can either look up or ask my bro for you. I have the wiiu version, so if its general non controller questions I'd be happy to handle them.

12
Carusofilms•

The control scheme is pretty much the same in both versions as far as I can tell.

1
NancysRayguns•

Im late 30s, been playing since the original Zelda came out for NES. I played through the new game, beat it, but am still playing it through to 100%. Feel free to pm me anytime, I check reddit throughout the day/evening. Are you playing on a Switch or WiiU?

9
kavaOP•

Switch, and thank you!!

3
malaroo•

Since I don't see a straight forward answer to your actual question here, to bring up Magnesis first you have to equip it by holding Up on the D-pad (on the Switch joycon controller it's this) to display your runes, and then scroll to the red magnet icon using the camera stick. Let go of the buttons and now Magnesis will be equipped to the upper left shoulder button "L" (your pointer finger should rest naturally here; it's the highest, left-most button).

Up displays runes, left displays shields, and right displays swords. Hold any of these buttons and use the camera stick to scroll to the one you want to equip. Down whistles for your horse.

Or, how do I sprint when running?

Hold "B" while moving normally. You can also change it to "X" (and "B" becomes jump) in the options menu.

How do you do the fancy moves with the sword?

Here's a simple list of all sword functions:

First, in all combat you usually want to lock on. To lock on, face an enemy and hold the lower left shoulder button(ZL). This is right underneath the button you use for Magnesis and other runes.

  1. "Y": Swing normally. Press repeatedly to do basic combos.

  2. "Y" while in the air: Downward aerial attack. Can be used after jumping; hits harder depending on the fall height.

  3. "Y" held down: Charge up your spin attack. You can also do this attack by spinning the movement stick in a full circle. Remember, the circle has to be full, so your movement stick has to come back to where you started spinning it. This uses the spin-attack instantly rather than charging up (only works with short swords). The charge attack changes depending on your weapon type.

  4. "Y" while sprinting: Quickly draws your sword and thrusts into the direction you're sprinting.

  5. Now, this one requires very, very good timing, but you can also enter a temporary slow-mo state and attack rapidly, if you dodge an enemy's attack with perfect timing. Time will slow, and you'll have to mash "Y".

That's all the offensive commands. You can also dodge by locking on to a target, and pressing jump (X) while moving in any direction. For example: lock on(ZL), move backwards, press "X" = backflip.

One last fancy control you might want to know is how to shield surf. By holding the lock-on button, jumping into the air and pressing "A" mid-air, you can mount your shield like a snow-board and surf down hills! Careful, this damages them if not on snow.

That should cover most of the control combinations. I hope I was able to make it helpful and clear.

19
kavaOP•

I sent you some reddit gold because I wanted you to know how much I really, truly appreciated that you took the time to really explain all those controls so carefully. I'm SUPER grateful for your time & meticulous, easy to understand directions. You've helped me immensely! You didn't have to do that.. so thanks for the good deed.

4
malaroo•

Hey thank you very much! I'm glad it was able to help. I really enjoy helping others if they seem polite, and a game's personal reception comes down a lot to how well the user understands it, so I didn't want you to miss out on something great! You didn't have to do that either, so I doubly appreciate you taking the time and especially the thought behind it. Not many are so empathetic and that's what I love to encourage, so thank you again!

The controls took me a long time to get used to as well, and I've been playing Zelda for almost 30 years now, so I totally understand where you're coming from. It's wayyy more fun after you get the hang of it. I hope you get super into it! Thanks one last time.

4
kavaOP•

Thank you for this, it's extremely, extremely, extremely helpful!

1
NancysRayguns•

No problem! As Red Green says "we're in this together"

6
KolbStomp•

For non-Canadians

3
NancysRayguns•

Nice!

2
JdFalcon04•

Are you playing on Wii U, or Switch?

5
kavaOP•

Switch.

4
JdFalcon04•

I know plenty of other people have already been way more helpful than I could probably be, but still feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll do what I can!

2
DLumps09•

PM me any time you have a Nintendo game question. I tutor people for computer literacy and love Nintendo games, so I can be patient and share whatever meek knowledge I have!

5
DXNATX•

oh gosh. please come back to this board and share your stories of recent gameplay with us when you can. there are a lot of nice people on this board who come here often, know a lot about the games, and love to help so if you ever have a question just reach out.
have such a wonderful time playing BotW, I know it will be amazing!!

5
PuffyCottonCandy•

Yes i agree!!! This post made me smile OP and dont worry ur questions aren't stupid, I respect your courage to come on and ask !

4
kittychanboo•

I play on the Wii U, so if that's what you play on too I don't mind. I don't think I can help with the switch though, I'm really not sure if the buttons are similar or not

3
octropos•

  • If you look at the left controller, at the very top/back there's the "ZL" button. It says ZL on it. Go ahead and press that, and using your joystick on the left controller, you can flip through powers you get during the game. One of them should be magnesis.

  • On your right controller, press "B" (Labeled B) while you're pressing your left joystick forward to run faster.

  • If you hit your sword against an enemy 3-4 times in a row, it will be a combo and your enemy might fall to the ground. This will also knock his shield away if he's holding one.

  • Press X to jump and while you're in the air, press "Y" to do a jumping slash.

  • If you press "X" to jump and move your joystick to the left or right simultaneously, you can dodge attacks. If you dodge it in the nick of time, you will be prompted to Press "Y" which does a fancy flurry attack. I've put 100 hours into the game and I rarely get them. It has to be timed perfectly.

  • If you hold down "X" for a few seconds with your sword out can do a nice spin attack.

Fellow fans, please correct me if I got any of that wrong.

Also: Different swords take a different amounts of time to do an attack. Spears are the fastest and smaller swords are the second fastest. If you're just starting out, don't use the two handed swords just yet. They take longer to swing and therefore your enemy has more time to attack you.

3
jAquaD•

You can PM me if you think you'll need one on one help (but trust me, you won't; this game's pretty user friendly). I can't guarantee an immediate response, but the fact that you're a Zelda fan and your love of gaming has lasted decades resonates with me, so I'd love to make your experience as enriching as it can.

That said, BotW is very user friendly. As others have said, there is a controls guide in the menu pulled up when pressing the (+) button. You scroll all the way to the right, by pressing R, until you reach the options page. The 4th option down, called ability controls, keeps track of all the controls you have been prompted to do during your play through.

Other more advanced tricks have been discovered by the community, and I'm sure there are some that are yet to be found. But those involve manipulating the game's physics engine to accomplish unorthodox tricks, and aren't necessary to finish the game.

It took me hours to learn the buttons too mainly because the ABXY buttons all feel the same to me. Also, I tend to confuse the double shoulder buttons frequently. The game has been forgiving enough for me to survive, though. That and I tend to stock up on food and Spirit Orbs.

3
ArkayneShad0w•

Don't be afraid to mark something on your map to come back for it later. (To mark something on your map, press - to open it and press A. You should see some pins to choose from.) You can basically go anywhere after you get off of the Plateau, so just go wherever looks cool to you. There is no real order to the game, it's just a world that everyone experiences in a different way. Have fun!

3
moammargaret•

I'm older too and I got a bit overwhelmed by all the buttons. What I found to be really helpful is that the game pauses when you are switching out your runes, weapons, or bows. So you can take a breather and figure out if you're in the right menu. I still struggle with finding myself selecting a bow when I'm trying to select a weapon. I also tend to grab the stick tight when I'm fighting an enemy and end up accidentally crouching a lot.

3
ArkayneShad0w•

Before you press the button, tap either ZL or Y to swap between picking melee weapons or bows. (ZL for bows, Y for melee.)

2
kokomoman•

I see that you already have many replies, however they seem to be PM offers. If you're looking for answers 'now' and your playtime is limited it can be frustrating waiting for someone to get back to you on Reddit. If you're comfortable with texting or would like someone to talk you through a section, I'm more than happy to PM you my (Canadian) phone number and you can text me or call me when you need help. Let me know :)

2
Fey_fox•

You're not that much older than me, get off my lawn!

I would say for you it's kinda learning/remembering muscle memory. How I learn is I just press all the things until I know what they do, and I do this without looking. It's very much like typing, or playing an instrument.

Brain injuries are a bitch though. I know friends that have experienced them both young and old, and I've seen how they changed. Here are the control buttons for the switch I use a Wii U but apart from where the joy sticks are they look similar to me.

Just be patient with yourself. The important thing with BOTW is exploring and discovering so I would suggest as you learn focus on that. Also, if it's hard for you it's probably good for you to work at it. Doing things that are hard can help make us better.

With regards to skyward sword, the only dungeon I know of is the final one, if you got there you are so close to finishing it. If you haven't I don't want to give it away but the dungeon is a puzzle with the rooms as moving blocks. Just remember if you have a problem with any puzzle in a Zelda game, someone has posted a youtube video or a web page in how to solve it. Here's one for skyview temple. There seems to be a relationship between SS and BOTW so personally I think it's worth finishing, if only for the story aspect. If you want to know how it ends but don't want to go back into the game, I am 100% positive all the cut scenes are available on youtube.

Good Luck! Have fun :D

2
poeclock•

Count me in girl! I'm not always logged in but if I can ever help out it'd be my pleasure.

2
koumus•

Count me in. I love to help out, and whenever you need anything feel free to PM me.

2
Herrwinkler•

YouTube.

2
IzzyIzumi•

I'd love to help. Shoot me a PM whenever. I'll answer when I can.

0
EvenBetterCool•

Any time you want.

0