Exploring the massive world of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild offers players endless freedom and optional content. Beyond the main story objectives, the title is filled with dozens of unique side activities that enrich the world and reward curious travelers. Understanding the exact breakdown of these optional tasks helps completionists properly track their journey across the open-world masterpiece.
The Total Number of Side Quests in Hyrule
In total, Breath of the Wild contains 76 standard side quests scattered throughout its vast regions and settlements. These objectives are completely separate from the 42 Shrine Quests and the 15 main story quests required to complete Link's core journey. Players looking for coverage on open-world RPG strategies often consult daily gaming news to stay updated on completion guides and hidden secrets.
Finding all 76 quests requires visiting every town, stable, and remote outpost across the map. Most of these tasks are handed out by non-playable characters who need assistance with daily problems or rare monster encounters. Keeping track of your adventure log ensures no local favor goes unfulfilled during your exploration.
Distinguishing Between Quest Types
It is crucial for players to distinguish standard side quests from Shrine Quests and Main Quests. While Shrine Quests always reveal a hidden ancient shrine upon completion, regular side quests offer immediate rewards like rupees, armor, materials, or recipes. Understanding this distinction helps players prioritize their playtime based on whether they seek spirit orbs or unique gear.
Additionally, downloading the official expansion passes introduces extra side content to the log screen. The DLC packs add 20 additional EX side quests, raising the grand total of side missions to 96 for those with full content installed. This distinction is vital when comparing completion stats with other players.
Notable and Complex Side Adventures
While many tasks involve simple fetch mechanics or gathering rare ingredients, several side quests feature elaborate storylines and long-term goals. The most famous example is From the Ground Up, which tasks Link with building the entire community of Tarrey Town from scratch. This multi-stage adventure requires recruiting specific villagers from around the kingdom and gathering massive amounts of wood.
Other memorable quests involve taking photographs of rare fauna, defeating regional bosses, or solving riddles handed down by ancient travelers. These varied tasks prevent exploration from feeling repetitive while providing meaningful rewards that aid in combat or traversal. Completing them deepens your connection to Hyrule's surviving populations.
Tracking Completion and Rewards
Your quest log dynamically tracks active and completed missions, making it easy to see which tasks remain unfinished. Once you defeat Calamity Ganon for the first time, your save file unlocks a percentage tracker on the map screen along with a numerical tracker in the quest log. This feature clearly shows your progress toward clearing all 76 base game side quests.
Reaching a 100% completion rate on the map requires more than just finishing every side quest, as Korok seeds and locations also count toward that total. However, completing every optional quest grants the satisfaction of solving all local problems and collecting unique armor pieces. It remains one of the most rewarding accomplishments for dedicated Zelda enthusiasts.
