5 DLC & Expansion Ideas that Would Take Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to the Next Level

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Redditors Are Making Cruise Missiles in Tears of the Kingdom
Image Source: Nintendo

Breath of the Wild had a fantastic set of DLC and it seems safe to assume Nintendo will follow suit with Tears of the Kingdom. The most useful additions from the BotW DLC included additional items that made travel and searching for things more efficient. For example, there’s a Korok mask that helps you find Koroks faster, and an ancient horse bridle that lets you teleport your horse to you. But since it’s a sequel, TotK will be expected to take things even further, so here are the 5 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC/ expansion ideas we need to see as new additions to the game.

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A Living, Active Hyrule While Reshaping the Land

Link running through Hyrule in Zelda TOTK
Image Credit: Nintendo via Twinfinite

In Breath of the Wild, you were able to build and decorate your very own house, and this feature returned in TotK. Plus, you had to help with the rebuilding of Hudson’ Construction work locations, Lookout Landing, and Lurelin Village’s restoration.

Going one step further, it would be awesome if Hyrule Castle could be rebuilt into a thriving palace full of NPCs, and of course, Princess Zelda. To take things to the max, there could be ways to use the Ultrahand to actually construct new buildings, and alter the landscape. Players can create roads, caves, flatten the land, and other similar effects. This feature alone would undoubtedly make Tears of the Kingdom a way better game.

Imagine if there were endless quests to get materials, make friends with NPCs, and populate a growing kingdom with surrounding villages and towns. The NPCs you recruit can provide additional story elements and services to help you take on more dangerous missions in the Depths and all over Hyrule.

With these developments, this Zelda game would become soft of a mashup between Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, and similar simulation RPG games. Also similar to an MMO, TotK would be an evolving and continual experience that’s ripe for endless adventure. Who knows– what if that’s the next direction the Zelda franchise goes?

Lorulean Blacksmith Meets Tower Defense

Link speaking to Dento about the Lightscale Trident in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Image Credit: Nintendo via Twinfinite

In Zelda: Link Between Worlds on the 3DS and A Link to the Past on the SNES, the Lorulean Blacksmith was the character who made weapons and armor for Hylian soldiers and helped Link upgrade the Master Sword. TotK has Dento the blacksmith in the Zora Domain to help you build a special weapon, and in Breath of the Wild, we met Cedro the Blacksmith, and learned that the Blacksmith Guild was lost during the Calamity. It would be great to see them return more in depth in DLC.

Since weapon breakage and crafting are mainstays in this particular franchise, the Blacksmith can help give players access to more options using materials they collect to craft their favorite styles of weapons and gear. Since this would be DLC for after players complete the story, it would reward players for having spent so much time hunting down the weapons they like, and make it all accessible from the Blacksmith Guild at anytime. New weapons and cosmetic upgrades would also be possible.

To make things even more exciting, the Blacksmith can evolve his role by learning how to use Zonai to allow Link the ability to build traps to bolster the defenses of a given village, town, or area against the monsters of the world. After that, players could trigger a quest or mode that resembles tower defense and Hyrule Warriors where hordes of enemies attack the fortified location and the players have to help Link eliminated the mob of foes.

How often do we see random travelers in Hyrule being attacked by moblins? And let’s not forget that scary blood moon that keeps the baddies from disappearing completely. It would make total sense if Link had to help the people of Hyrule defend themselves against regular attacks from Hyrule’s monsters. There should be a “Mega Blood Moon” in a specific area that starts rising, signaling the players that a horde is about to attack that location. Then, players would have three days before the Mega Blood Moon reaches its peak and the battle begins!

More Creative Amiibo Functionality

tears of the kingdom amiibo
Image Source: Amazon

Amiibos are a big help in the Zelda franchise on the Switch, and grant a bunch of useful items every day that you activate them. But there is not much else to the Amiibo functionality other than the occasional thematic bonus of Epona, a rare weapon, and Wolf Link (only in the BotW).

Nintendo can definitely do better with how Amiibos are used, and can prevent any functions from being unlocked that make players feel like they are being forced to buy the toys. There was backlash against Skyward Sword’s fast travel being locked behind Amiibo support, and if this is the case, then Amiibo should be able to grant extras and cosmetics that don’t affect certain gameplay elements.

A fun idea would be to have each Amiibo generate a small mascot, or miniature version of the character that looks exactly like the Amiibo being used. This mascot could be floating nearby Link, or sitting on his shoulder. They could perform funny interactions, animations, and poses.

On that note, Amiibo could also generate dolls and other unique items that can only be used to decorate Link’s home or other character’s homes around Hyrule. Bringing the collectibility aspect from the toys into the game world would be a fun way for players to enjoy their Amiibo in more engaging ways. Maybe Nintendo could let players create a custom Amiibo based on their favorite gear loadout from their Link character!

More Zonai Devices and Parts Galore

How to use Zonai Device Dispenser in Zelda: Tears
Image Source: Nintendo via Twinfinite

There are a plethora of Zonai parts that players can use to build all kinds of unique contraptions. But this new mechanic has only barely scratched the surface of possibilities. TotK has turned every player into a mechanic, inventor, and tinkerer of sorts, so Nintendo should continue with this theme.

The most critical aspect of the Zonai are the devices that players stash in their inventory to build all kinds of contraptions anytime they want. And players have been doing just that with all kinds of wild and ambitious builds out there. But there’s still room for more.

Parts that don’t exist yet include ways to make traps, sensors, buttons, and elastic items that can be configured for some fun and interesting effects. If taking into account the earlier idea of the Blacksmith and a tower defense mode, the amount of things to create would expand exponentially.

Players could make weapons that attach to homes and buildings to help defend against hordes of monsters during a Mega Blood Moon. More Zonai is never a bad thing, and might even inspire TotK players into becoming real-life engineers and mechanics.

A New Game Mode With The Depths

tears of the kingdom link depths light root
Image credit: Nintendo

The Depths were an unexpected addition to the Switch franchise and proved to be a challenging and engrossing area that has familiar dark-mirrored qualities to Hyrule. Filled with monsters, this is definitely one scary place.

There are only small amounts of story elements and side quests dedicated to the Depths, and all of them are almost completely optional. By going beyond the small side quests, you can find secret outfits, new Gloom enemies, and Zonaite mines. This is all welcome and seems ripe for DLC content. Beyond giving us more extras in the depths, Nintendo should add a complete story to it, possibly one that involves Zelda being the main playable character.

This would also be the perfect place to see the return of Dark Link, or maybe the story can somehow tie to Midna from Twilight Princess, or even Lorule from Link Between Worlds. Lorule would be totally epic if the entire depths were built-out to mirror the top world of Hyrule while adding elements from the original top-down action adventure RPG featuring the 7 sages.

With all of these elements at play, it would be more than just a side story, it would be more like an… under ta–er, story? Well, you know what we mean, and The Depths could open up a darker, grittier story and gameplay experience similar to Majora’s Mask.

With the high probability that Master Mode is already planned and in the works, these are the 5 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC/ expansion ideas we need to see as new developments. Be sure to check out all of our guides and features for Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, and let us know your ideas for DLC!


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Author
Dennis Limmer
Dennis is a freelance writer for Twinfinite covering all things video games and anime since August 2023. A storyteller and artist who enjoys partaking in the art created by others and promoting culture.