Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A different kind of challenge run: Minimalist 100%
Part 12 - Arrows
I'm actually a bit angry at myself for having tried the "Two Rings" quest last because if I had known that I was going to need a single-shot bow anyway, I would have waited with at least the dumb Korok emblem puzzles until after I found one - because then I would have been able to just pick up the undetonated Bomb Arrows during rain afterwards, thus solving the puzzle without using up any items. If anyone is going to repeat this challenge eventually: Get yourself a single-shot bow ASAP so you'll need 3 arrows less.
Since there is no "specific" bow required as long as it is a single-shot one, I have decided to make the best out of the situation and research which bow would be the best in my case. And I decided to get a Falcon Bow.
Why specifically a Falcon Bow? Because Rito-made bows have a naturally higher range than most other bows - and there are a couple of Korok Balloon Puzzles that are so annoyingly far away that you can barely hit them with a regular bow.
The only bows with a higher range are the Ancient Bow, the Twilight Bow and the Bow of Light - but the Ancient Bow would require me to unlock the Akkala Tech Lab, then farm rupees AND Ancient materials and then buy it. The Twilight Bow is amiibo-exclusive, and amiibos are forbidden in this run. And the Bow of Light is solely availiable during the last boss fight, and since glitches are forbidden in this playthrough as well, I have no way to obtain it outside of the fight.
There are 3 kinds of Rito-made bows: Swallow Bows, Falcon Bows and the unique Great Eagle Bow. The Great Eagle Bow is a multishot bow and therefore just as useless for the Two Rings quest as the bow I already own. The Swallow Bow has noticably less durability and attack power than the Falcon Bow. So the Falcon Bow is the "best" of the availiable options, as it will last the longest.
There is only a single Falcon Bow in the entire game that is not inside of a chest. and chests never respawn, unlike the stuff that is just lying around in the overworld (which respawns every Blood Moon) so picking up the "loose" one seemed like the least intrusive option - picking it up does not permanently remove an item from the game, but only temporarily.
The Falcon Bow I'm talking about is inside Hyrule Castle. The "Two Rings" quest will have to wait until after the castle section of the playthrough.
As for the "Test of Will" - I am aware that you can cancel being on fire with a 2H weapon charge attack, but A) I consider this a glitch / exploit rather than an intended gameplay mechanic, so I won't use it, and B) You have to survive for something like half a minute. It takes ca. 5-6 seconds before Link catches fire, which will immediatly cost him one heart before you can cancel being on fire. With 3 hearts, you can survive 2 cycles and the third time you catch fire, you immediatly die. You can survive 10-12 seconds this way, but not 30.
In a playthrough WITHOUT item restrictions, you can cheese both parts of the trial with Chuchu Jelly. Pop a regular, blue jelly right in front of you, and you'll be wet for ca. 30 seconds, which simultaneously keeps you cool (first playtform) and will shield you from fire (second platform).
Additional information:
- There is a glitch that makes it possible to pick up the arrows shot from a multishot bow, but it only works for regular arrows and only in specific locations (like for example the cooking pot in Kara Kara Bazaar). Light the arrows on fire, shoot into the ground and pick up the freshly spawned 3-5 arrows immediatly.
- Proof that Chuchu Jelly keeps you cool: youtube.com/watch?v=vcddh2FzU_I
A different kind of challenge run: Minimalist 100%
Part 12 - Arrows
I'm actually a bit angry at myself for having tried the "Two Rings" quest last because if I had known that I was going to need a single-shot bow anyway, I would have waited with at least the dumb Korok emblem puzzles until after I found one - because then I would have been able to just pick up the undetonated Bomb Arrows during rain afterwards, thus solving the puzzle without using up any items. If anyone is going to repeat this challenge eventually: Get yourself a single-shot bow ASAP so you'll need 3 arrows less.
Since there is no "specific" bow required as long as it is a single-shot one, I have decided to make the best out of the situation and research which bow would be the best in my case. And I decided to get a Falcon Bow.
Why specifically a Falcon Bow? Because Rito-made bows have a naturally higher range than most other bows - and there are a couple of Korok Balloon Puzzles that are so annoyingly far away that you can barely hit them with a regular bow.
The only bows with a higher range are the Ancient Bow, the Twilight Bow and the Bow of Light - but the Ancient Bow would require me to unlock the Akkala Tech Lab, then farm rupees AND Ancient materials and then buy it. The Twilight Bow is amiibo-exclusive, and amiibos are forbidden in this run. And the Bow of Light is solely availiable during the last boss fight, and since glitches are forbidden in this playthrough as well, I have no way to obtain it outside of the fight.
There are 3 kinds of Rito-made bows: Swallow Bows, Falcon Bows and the unique Great Eagle Bow. The Great Eagle Bow is a multishot bow and therefore just as useless for the Two Rings quest as the bow I already own. The Swallow Bow has noticably less durability and attack power than the Falcon Bow. So the Falcon Bow is the "best" of the availiable options, as it will last the longest.
There is only a single Falcon Bow in the entire game that is not inside of a chest. and chests never respawn, unlike the stuff that is just lying around in the overworld (which respawns every Blood Moon) so picking up the "loose" one seemed like the least intrusive option - picking it up does not permanently remove an item from the game, but only temporarily.
The Falcon Bow I'm talking about is inside Hyrule Castle. The "Two Rings" quest will have to wait until after the castle section of the playthrough.
As for the "Test of Will" - I am aware that you can cancel being on fire with a 2H weapon charge attack, but A) I consider this a glitch / exploit rather than an intended gameplay mechanic, so I won't use it, and B) You have to survive for something like half a minute. It takes ca. 5-6 seconds before Link catches fire, which will immediatly cost him one heart before you can cancel being on fire. With 3 hearts, you can survive 2 cycles and the third time you catch fire, you immediatly die. You can survive 10-12 seconds this way, but not 30.
In a playthrough WITHOUT item restrictions, you can cheese both parts of the trial with Chuchu Jelly. Pop a regular, blue jelly right in front of you, and you'll be wet for ca. 30 seconds, which simultaneously keeps you cool (first playtform) and will shield you from fire (second platform).
Additional information:
- There is a glitch that makes it possible to pick up the arrows shot from a multishot bow, but it only works for regular arrows and only in specific locations (like for example the cooking pot in Kara Kara Bazaar). Light the arrows on fire, shoot into the ground and pick up the freshly spawned 3-5 arrows immediatly.
- Proof that Chuchu Jelly keeps you cool: youtube.com/watch?v=vcddh2FzU_I
