In order to aid him on his journey, Link is equipped with a bundle of new abilities in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but some are ultimately more useful than others. The newest Zelda game picks up immediately after the events of Breath of the Wild, with the protagonist and Princess Zelda having only a brief moment to rest before being separated and having to save the kingdom from yet another threat. Luckily, Link has a number of new tricks up his sleeve this time around, which allow him to fight his way through Hyrule - but also make for some refreshing gameplay in TOTK.
Although the game is a direct continuation of Breath of the Wild, players aren't able to retain any progress from the previous title when playing Tears of the Kingdom. This means that Stasis, Magnesis, Cryonis, Remote Bomb, and Master Cycle Zero are all no longer in Link's arsenal of abilities, for better or for worse. Fortunately, for those wanting to snap some shots of the game's breathtaking map the camera has remained part of the gameplay, and players can still also use amiibo in TOTK to unlock special Paraglider items and materials. But alongside these basic functions, Link also has five new abilities in Tears of the Kingdom.
5 Fuse
One of the most exciting new abilities in TOTK is Fuse, which grants Link the power to combine various items from his environment and his inventory to invent one-of-a-kind weapons and shields. After BOTW's notoriously disliked durability system, this rune lifts the weight off players' shoulders somewhat, as they no longer need to worry about a damaged or broken weapon nearly as much. If Link's current weapon breaks, he can simply create another one and go on his way. Depending on what materials are used, these new creations will offer players differing damage, durability stats, or even impose magical effects.
The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to this new ability in Tears of the Kingdom, but Fuse doesn't come without its downsides. As a result of the new weapon crafting system, players are no longer able to find weapons, which can make the system a bit less gratifying. It can seem especially underwhelming near the start of the game, where Link's weapons will be much lower in durability, therefore requiring him to craft frequently. Combined with the fact that it's impossible to Fuse items directly from the inventory, this new TOTK ability may have its frustrating moments, but it's overall a solid creative flair to the game.
4 Recall
Recall, which allows Link to manipulate time, is no doubt one of the coolest new runes by sheer nature. While it's required to beat the Great Sky Island Shrines in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it can also be used in an astounding number of other ways, both inside and outside of combat.
Its most obvious purpose is traversing the now-fragmented map of Hyrule; for example, players can stand atop a fallen object and send it back through time to move along its reversed trajectory. What's even better, though, is that Recall can also be used to throw weapons back at enemies. It's certainly situational, and it requires a bit of forethought, but that doesn't stop Recall from being endlessly satisfying and entertaining.
3 Ultrahand
Although Fuse already lets players go wild with their weapon creations, another new ability in Tears of the Kingdom called Ultrahand outdoes itself with its unlimited potential for creativity. With Ultrahand, Link can pick up, move, and stick together various items on the map to construct any object of his desire. While this rune is often used to solve puzzles in Shrines, its most exciting use is making vehicles, which can range from simple rafts to speedy cars. As long as players have an energy source and a fan, Ultrahand allows players to cruise around Hyrule in their own unique creations, which is an undeniable blast.
This new TOTK ability isn't just good for traversing the game's open-world map, though. Players have already started testing the limits of Ultrahand, with some managing to make some hilariously inappropriate robot creations that stick out like a sore thumb in the otherwise family-friendly Zelda title. Explicit or not, many have already taken to posting their builds in the newly-created Hyrule Engineering sub-Reddit, proving just how expansive the new Ultrahand ability truly is. Only time will tell what inventions (or monstrosities) players will be able to come up with.
2 Autobuild
Whereas the other four new abilities are presented to players during the tutorial Shrines, Autobuild is a slightly more secretive ability that they won't unlock until they're a bit closer to beating Tears of the Kingdom. As its name would imply, Autobuild is essentially an the Ultrahand ability that lets Link recreate his past constructs with greater ease. As long as he has all the required resources, he can simply select his desired previous build from a list, and the materials will meld together automatically.
Autobuild can only be found during an optional quest, so players will need to go out of their way to obtain this new ability in TOTK. Luckily, it can be obtained at the same time as the Camera, during the quest "Camera Work in the Depths." Players - and Link - should find that the brief detour is well worth it in the end, as Autobuild is one of the best new runes, simply for its convenience.
1 Ascend
The best new ability in TOTK is Ascend, which allows Link to travel upwards through objects, ceilings, and even entire mountains. It may be the simplest of the bunch conceptually, but its value in the game's open-world map cannot be understated. With this rune unlocked, players will no longer need to spend several minutes scaling treacherous terrain or platforming through a puzzle manually; with the mere press of a button, they can effortlessly come out on top. Plus, Link can even use it to teleport on top of large enough enemies, giving him a significant advantage in battle.
Naturally, this ability does have its limitations - but it's most often a massive time-saver that only serves to make their experience more streamlined and enjoyable. Even though it may not necessarily be the most glamorous, Ascend is the best ability in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
