Korok Seeds are something that some players were excited to see make a return in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, while others were not so thrilled. During BOTW, Koroks made their debut as little creatures to be found all over the map through various small puzzles or tasks that would gift Link a Korok Seed after finding them.
Though seemingly fun at first, their daunting total of 900 in the entire game made them something only dedicated completionists were willing to track down. However, Tears of the Kingdom finds unique ways to keep players entertained while hunting down all the Zelda: TOTK Korok Seeds so that it doesn't always feel so repetitive.
How To Find Korok Seeds
Though there are nearly a thousand of them in Tears of the Kingdom as well, sometimes it can seem like they're nearly impossible to find. Rest assured, however, there is almost always one within a couple of hundred feet of Link at all times. There are even several that can be found during the Tears of the Kingdom tutorial portion of Great Sky Island.
The best way to locate them is to look out for things that seem unusual. A suspicious circle of lily pads, an incomplete circle of rocks, a clearly meltable frozen piece of ice, and more. They tend to stick out more than players originally realize.
However, TOTK does have one difference from BOTW in this regard as a lot of the Korok Seeds will be collected two at a time. That is due to the fact that a large portion of them can be found struggling on their back with a backpack that's just a bit too large. It will also have an indicator when close enough stating "I need to reach my friend..." and thus Link will have to find some way, using his abilities, to reunite the Korok with another who should be sending out a smoke signal. Once reunited, two Korok Seeds will be received, one from each of the friends.
Where is Hestu
Though the most obvious places for Hestu to be are the Tears of the Kingdom Korok Forest or Lookout Landing, he will not be found at either of these locations, at least not at first. Hestu is currently having some issues with a couple of trees. In order to find Hestu, head just Northwest of Lookout Landing and Northeast of Hyrule Ridge. He will be waiting in a pretty wide-open area, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot. After interacting with him, he will give the Side Adventure, Hestu's Concerns, which basically just requires Link to kill some Treants.
After initially finding Hestu, he will head to Lookout Landing, but not until progress has been made in the main story quests. So don't be concerned if he is not there right away. Additionally, he may skip Lookout Landing entirely if the Korok Forest becomes unlocked before enough of the main story tasks are completed.
They're fairly easy to defeat as their weaknesses are the same as a normal tree, chopping, or fire. Once defeated, return to Hestu who will trade Korok Seeds for inventory space, just like in Zelda: BOTW. After that, Hestu will be heading to Lookout Landing and will remain there until the Korok Forest becomes available, at which time he will finally settle there.
Link can now return to Hestu at any point to trade Korok Seeds for inventory space. It's best to locate a nearby The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Shrine so that Link can fast travel to the general area.
