It’s important to keep in mind that Age of Calamity is almost nothing like Breath of the Wild in terms of gameplay. While AoC arguably has more in common with The Legend of Zelda than Dynasty Warriors (unlike Hyrule Warriors,) the gameplay will be completely foreign to anyone who’s only played Zelda. Where Breath of the Wild was a slow paced & meditative experience, Age of Calamity is non-stop action.
Take the time to read tutorials, learn how characters play, and understand all the core mechanics. Age of Calamity isn’t a particularly complex game, but its combat is far more involved and demanding than anything seen in Breath of the Wild.
10 Stasis Bully
Sheikah Runes are incredibly useful in Age of Calamity and go a long way in ensuring boss fights are as well paced as they are mangeable – completely mitigating all of the original Hyrule Warriors’ problems with bosses. At the same time, AoC’s Sheikah Runes are toriduclousky overpowered. Bosses signify which Runes will counter them, but Stasis will almost always work in the player’s favor.
By waiting for a boss’ shield to pop up, players can actually Stasis them in place, chipping away at their defenses while they can’t fight back. A well timed Stasis can turn the tides in battle, making it possible to outright bully enemies like Lynel and Guardians.
9 Rod Bully
Rods are even more useful than Sheikah Runes when it comes down to it. Unlike Runes which recharge, players can only hold a set amount of Rods at any given time. This is ultimately for the best as Rods bring up a boss’ shield immediately while potentially burning, freezing, or shocking them in the process. A well timed Rod attack will stun an enemy on the spot, creating an opening where massive damage can be dealt. There’s no shortage of Wizzrobes in-game either, so make sure to use Rods and often – they turn some of AoC’s hardest challenges into comparative cakewalks.
8 Increase Max Weapon Level
Weapons no longer have durability in Age of Calamity, making the entire system far more appealing. That said, expect to rotate through different weapons on the regular, especially when taking advantage of Weapon Fusion in order to reach the max weapon level. At first, weapons can only be raised to a max of 20, but this can be increased by completing the Daily Drills that unlock on the overlord.
Players will eventually unlock a service upgrade which raises the max weapon level from 20 to 25. Not only does a Lvl 25 weapon get a new seal when maxed out, there’s yet another service unlocked in the post-game which raises weapon levels to a max of 30.
7 Sell Specialty Material To Merchants
Rupees aren’t uncommon in Age of Calamity, but it can be frustrating raising up the funds to level up party members late-game, remove weapon seals, or just purchase materials for their respective character quests. While the game never makes it clear, vendors will actually buy back any items associated with their stock. Simply sell materials to their respective vendors in order to rack up Rupees. Of course, then there’s the matter of grinding for materials.
6 Quick Charge Strong Attacks
Every playable character has their own set of unique abilities that make them stand apart in combat, with Link’s One-Handed Sword skill allowing him to quick charge his strong attacks – buffing regular strikes into advanced combos that deal massive damage and tear through boss shields when connected.
By holding down the X button when dealing heavy attacks as Link, he’ll quick charge his attacks and unleash an even stronger strike. These quick charges are also based on the length of Link’s combos, changing drastically depending on how late in the chain players choose to quick charge their strong attacks.
5 Give Orders
Battlefield management is significantly downplayed in Age of Calamity when compared to other Dynasty Warriors titles, especially the original Hyrule Warriors. There’s never a rush to save a stronghold early on, nor is it particularly necessary to give everyone orders. As a result, it’s easy to forget that players can even give orders to begin with. That said, late game story missions and the harder side quests will demand proper unit management. Taking the time to regularly give orders will not only ensure survival when AoC heightens its difficulty, it’ll simply make for a more pleasant experience.
4 Kill Guardians In Seconds
Guardians pose a constant threat throughout Age of Calamity, but there are a number of ways to circumvent them as threats. Any characters who use shields (Link and Urbosa) can actually counter Guardian beams like in Breath of the Wild, immediately stunning them while shattering a huge chunk of their shields.
It’s also possible to Rod Bully Guardians by locking them in a chain where players: use a Rod to stun them, break their Shield, and weak point attack. So long as players have multiple Rods on hand, even Malice Guardians can be comfortably slaughtered in a few short seconds.
3 Unlock Link’s Tunic
Link actually has two tunics available in Age of Calamity’s base game: the Tunic of the Wild from Breath of the Wild and Link’s scarf combo from Hyrule Warriors. Unlocking the Tunic of the Wild requires beating the game once and then completing Hyrule’s Greatest Warrior: a side mission where players fight Revali, Master Kohga, Link, and Harbinger Ganon.
Unlocking Link’s Hyrule Warriors Tunic requires 100% completion. Specifically, players can only unlock the scarf by fulfilling the criteria for The Hope of All Hyrule: the main side mission for world map completion.
2 Get The True Ending
Age of Calamity actually has two endings (neither of which are Breath of the Wild’s backstory.) The first is triggered by simply completing the final story missions. Terrako will sacrifice themself to help defeat Calamity Ganon, transitioning to credits once Link & Zelda take down the King of Evil. This isn’t the end for Terrako, however, and he can be rebuilt during the post-game.
Several Terrako side missions will show up on the world map upon beating the game, all of which offer Terrako parts which can be exchanged in order to repair them. After collecting 50 parts, Terrako will be restored to life, another set of credits will play, and they’ll join the playable roster.
1 Play As Ganon
Terrako isn’t the only unlockable post-game character, nor the last. After unlocking Terrako and playing through his first set of side missions, players will unlock Versus Calamity Ganon – a showdown with Ganon himself. The mission will only trigger once the party is in their 70s and stands out as one of the harder battles in the game. Once Calamity Ganon has been put down, he’ll join the party as the last playable character (for now.)
NEXT: The 5 Best Things About Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity (& The 5 Worst)
