The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom expands greatly on Breath of the Wild's map, but it also makes sweeping changes to the existing landscape. BOTW set records with the largest map that had ever appeared in a Zelda game, featuring a fully open-world Hyrule. TOTK shatters that record, with the inclusion of the entire overworld map from BOTW plus two all-new areas: the sky archipelagos and the underground Depths.
However, the developers of TOTK did far more than copy and paste BOTW's map into the new game. A number of changes have occurred in the intervening years, including both the big and the small. Many of these are a result of the Upheaval, the calamitous event that once again brings disaster to Hyrule in the sequel. These are some of the biggest changes to the original BOTW map that are apparent in TOTK.
10 Gerudo Valley Has A River Running Through It
The once-arid Gerudo Valley is now arable. At some point in between the events of BOTW and TOTK, geographical changes led to a flow of water through the valley that isolates Gerudo Town from the rest of Hyrule. The lack of a road here makes the city and the nearby Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower far more difficult to reach. Players can skip the flooded canyon entirely by taking the fork in the road south of the Mini Stable and Digdogg Bridge, or by simply climbing the cliff walls along the riverbanks. Of course, building a riverboat works, too.
9 Hyrule Castle Is Floating
This is probably the first major change to BOTW's map that TOTK players will notice, and that's not just because they'll land near it on the descent from the tutorial area. Hyrule Castle, once firmly anchored to the ground, floats on a raised parcel of land above it. This makes the main areas of the castle inaccessible in the early game, although the gatehouses and surrounding walls are unaffected. That's probably for the best, as the castle contains some of TOTK's hardest bosses and leads up to its final dungeon.
8 Death Mountain Has Lost Its Lava
BOTW players probably vividly their first journey up the slopes of Death Mountain, when their wooden weapons all caught fire as they rapidly chugged heat resistance elixirs. Those days are long gone in TOTK, where Death Mountain is completely dry - except for inside its crater, where lava still flows. As a result, travel up Death Mountain is far easier; players no longer have to worry about maintaining heat resistance or swerving to avoid molten lava pools. Of course, the ascent isn't without its obstacles, including a couple tough bosses and a reunion with an old BOTW friend.
7 Caves Have Opened Up Everywhere
The addition of caves was a welcome surprise in Tears of the Kingdom - they represent a creative way to expand the original map without significantly changing its face. As players travel through Hyrule, they'll doubtless come across skittish, glowing creatures called Blupees. They'll run the moment anyone gets too close, but following one will invariably lead to a cave entrance. There are a number of items to be found in TOTK's caves, including Brightcap mushrooms, Sticky Lizards, and Glowing Cave Fish. However, the main incentive for exploring caves is collecting the Bubbul Gems that can be traded for some unique pieces of armor.
6 Shiekah Structures Are Gone
Finding Sheikah structures was a major part of exploration in BOTW, but TOTK does away with these points of interest. The ancient technological marvels - Ancient Shrines, Sheikah Towers, and Guardians - are all gone in TOTK. The Sheikah's Ancient Shrines are replaced by their Zonai counterparts, the Shrines of Light, which aren't very different apart from their greater numbers and the distinct nature of their puzzles. The people of Hyrule have constructed their own Skyview Towers, which have the added bonus of being able to launch Link into the air. Instead of Guardians, TOTK has Zonai Constructs, which aren't quite as formidable. The rearrangement of shrines and towers also means that TOTK’s fast travel points are different.
5 Giant Rings Have Landed In Kakariko Village
The cities and settlements of BOTW have also undergone enormous change in the years before TOTK, and Kakariko Village is one of the most profoundly affected. The village is now surrounded by so-called Ring Ruins, circular stone structures that crashed from the sky. Thankfully, the village itself seems unharmed. The Zonai writing inside has drawn throngs of archeologists to Kakariko, who've made their camps on cliffside perches close to the ruins themselves. As a result, the formerly sleepy, secluded valley village is now bustling with academic activity. The Ring Ruins tie into a couple of quests - one lore-revealing side quest, and one late-game main quest.
4 A New Settlement Has Sprung Up Near Hyrule Castle
The people of Hyrule have been busy rebuilding since Link defeated Calamity Ganon in BOTW, and the result of their efforts can be seen in TOTK. One of the first places Link is likely to visit on his quest is Lookout Landing, an all-new settlement just south of Hyrule Castle. Lookout Landing is small but dense, and serves as a hub area. Players can return there to buy items, upgrade their stats, and add new inventory slots - although Hestu is known to move around, so the latter isn't always available. It's also worth checking in with the people of Lookout Landing, as opportunities to help the rebuilding effort occasionally arise.
3 Gloom-Infested Chasms Have Appeared
It's important for players to watch where they step in Tears of the Kingdom, as Hyrule is full of holes. These huge, yawning chasms mainly serve as a link between the overworld and the Depths below, but they also affect the overworld itself. All entrances to the Depths are surrounded by pools of Gloom, a dark, viscous substance. Spend too long wading through Gloom, and Link's maximum health decreases. Thankfully, there are a few ways to get around this: certain dishes incorporating Dark Clumps or Sundelions can make Link Gloom-resistant, and the Depths armor set grants permanent Gloom resistance. Also, standing in sunlight can restore the lost hearts over time.
2 Tarrey Town Is Booming
One of BOTW's most delightful side quests was "From the Ground Up," in which Link participates in the construction of a brand-new town in the Akkala region. It requires significant effort and travel all over the map, but it's satisfying to watch Tarrey Town develop from a remote plateau into a charming little hamlet. In TOTK, however, Tarrey Town has grown even further. There are new structures, new residents, and even a new air tram for travel in and out of town to the nearby construction site. Players can even check in with the characters they helped settle there in BOTW, including Hudson and Rhondson, who have since had a daughter, Mattison.
1 Rocks Are Falling From The Sky
It's hard to miss the many rocks falling from the sky islands in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Some of these are small and seem to drop randomly, and are useful for little more than the occasional Ultrahand build. Others, however, comprise entirely new geological formations, and often house unique items. These new areas are easy to spot, even from a distance; they're made from the same, darker rock that makes up the sky islands, which doesn't occur naturally on the surface. It may not look like TOTK's surface area is any bigger than BOTW's map, but as it turns out, TOTK has sneakily added additional land without expanding the original map's borders.
TOTK may reuse BOTW's map for part of its playable area, but the changes it makes are so significant that it feels like a whole new world. Some of the changes are large-scale, and easily noticeable from miles off, but other, more minor changes are scattered throughout the map. Players might even right by them at first glance; it might take no less than a direct comparison between the two games' maps to spot all the differences. For all the similarities between the two, there are certainly many differences from Breath of the Wild's map to be found in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
