Master the shield surf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

02 June 2023 , 16:00

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Shield surfing is a handy way to get around quicker when travelling downhill. (Image: Aaron Potter)

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Rescuing Princess Zelda is far from a bore in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at the best of times, but it becomes a lot cooler when you realise that Link hasn’t forgotten his ability to shield surf in the six years between this game’s release and its predecessor Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Absolutely any shield you pick up can be used to surf and slide down steep slopes, helping you get around a lot quicker than running – or even paragliding – typically allows for.

Just because Link hasn’t forgotten how to shield surf doesn’t mean you haven’t, however, but the good news is that it’s a relatively simple act to pull off. If you’ve been scratching your head trying to work out the best way to hit the not so icy slopes, here’s how to shield surf in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

How to shield surf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The first thing you want to do to start shield surfing is to equip a shield. You will have to stay conscious of your shield’s durability, by the way – but luckily absolutely any shield will do the trick. Once equipped, pose with your shield as if you’re about to defend yourself from an incoming attack using the ZL button. After this, simply press X to jump and press A while in the air. Link will do a (rather cool) flip mid-air and then start surfing on his shield after landing. Pressing B will then stop the shield surf.

There you have it, that’s how you get Link to shield surf in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It works extremely similarly to how it works in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can get really creative using the shield surf with Link’s new Fuse ability. Just like how it works with weapons, any shield can have almost any other material or weapon fused onto it to imbue it with special qualities.

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Nintendo Switch players so far have discovered, for instance, that if you fuse a mine cart to one of Link’s shields, you can get around a lot faster than you would otherwise because it has wheels. Attaching a Spring device to your shield is dangerous but has a similar cool effect, bouncing Link up into the air with a lot more force than if he was to jump normally. In this way, shield surfing in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offers many more opportunities than it did in the previous game.

Aaron Potter