Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A different kind of challenge run: Minimalist 100%
Part 19 - Base Game completed
Some of the locations are just ridiculous to find. The best example are probably the Shadow Hamlet Ruins: there is nothing of greater interest up there, no Koroks or quest objectives, and they are in a spot that is so far away from the closest road that most players won't ever accidentally stumble upon that place. It is also wedged inbetween two giant rock formations, so it is not even visible unless you're already standing right in front of it anyway - from farther away, you only see barren rocks. The usual discovery method of "oh I wonder what this thing in the distance might be" simply doesn't work here.
Another highly inconvenient place is Stolock Bridge above Goron City. Passing under it does NOT count, and again there is neither a Korok nor quest objective or even treasure up there, so there is no real incentive to ever actually cross that bridge. Your Hero's Path might have a dozen different green lines all going through that spot but that still doesn't guarantee that you have been there before "the right way".
"But I have all Korok Seeds and all shrines, so I must have been in every map location by now!" is one of the most common complaints whenever someone tries to find their last missing map items and gets told that they're missing named locations, but this is sadly not true. It is super easy to accidentally miss unlocking a location, even if you have been there before, as you can see with the effing Spring of Courage in my video. I was 100% convinced that I had this location already for months and proceeded to check for random bridges and the location cluster inside Hyrule Castle for my last location, wasting my time for two weeks.
I apologize for having given up on the Koroks, but after that, combined with the fact that I had to send my Joycons in for repair because of horrendous stick drift (fifth time in 4 years), I neither had the time nor the sanity or patience left to deal with the Totori Lake one or the boiled eggs any longer.
If I ever manage to get those Koroks the "item-free" way, I'll post them in another errata section, but for now I just want to move on to the Champion's Ballad already.
Additional information:
- Mr. Cheeze's Waypoint Map (mrcheeze.github.io/botw-waypoint-map/) is a good map for the discoverable locations, but if you rather want a list, here is a google spreadsheet I made: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UJ_7bsLHo9pWDNSVnrJVriAfBgym9BllW3qY83kbP2o/edit#gid=1386834576 Feel free to copy it and use it for yourself.
- Do NOT use the list on IGN. It contains a bunch of locations that do not count for completion (like every single building in Kakariko Village despite Kakariko being ONE location - you simply don't need to enter every house), things that aren't even locations in the first place (like Kilton) and things that don't exist (like Hyrule Castle Underground and Hyrule Castle Laboratory. If you try and search for places with those specific names, you can literally search forever and not find any). Their list has 226 checkboxes, but there are only 183 actual discoverable locations in the base game. 43 things on their list are useless bullshit that doesn't count and will only make you waste time.
"Completion" count is currently at 98.61% (+3.95%)
The missing 1,39% are solely from the Champion's Ballad shrines & location.
A different kind of challenge run: Minimalist 100%
Part 19 - Base Game completed
Some of the locations are just ridiculous to find. The best example are probably the Shadow Hamlet Ruins: there is nothing of greater interest up there, no Koroks or quest objectives, and they are in a spot that is so far away from the closest road that most players won't ever accidentally stumble upon that place. It is also wedged inbetween two giant rock formations, so it is not even visible unless you're already standing right in front of it anyway - from farther away, you only see barren rocks. The usual discovery method of "oh I wonder what this thing in the distance might be" simply doesn't work here.
Another highly inconvenient place is Stolock Bridge above Goron City. Passing under it does NOT count, and again there is neither a Korok nor quest objective or even treasure up there, so there is no real incentive to ever actually cross that bridge. Your Hero's Path might have a dozen different green lines all going through that spot but that still doesn't guarantee that you have been there before "the right way".
"But I have all Korok Seeds and all shrines, so I must have been in every map location by now!" is one of the most common complaints whenever someone tries to find their last missing map items and gets told that they're missing named locations, but this is sadly not true. It is super easy to accidentally miss unlocking a location, even if you have been there before, as you can see with the effing Spring of Courage in my video. I was 100% convinced that I had this location already for months and proceeded to check for random bridges and the location cluster inside Hyrule Castle for my last location, wasting my time for two weeks.
I apologize for having given up on the Koroks, but after that, combined with the fact that I had to send my Joycons in for repair because of horrendous stick drift (fifth time in 4 years), I neither had the time nor the sanity or patience left to deal with the Totori Lake one or the boiled eggs any longer.
If I ever manage to get those Koroks the "item-free" way, I'll post them in another errata section, but for now I just want to move on to the Champion's Ballad already.
Additional information:
- Mr. Cheeze's Waypoint Map (mrcheeze.github.io/botw-waypoint-map/) is a good map for the discoverable locations, but if you rather want a list, here is a google spreadsheet I made: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UJ_7bsLHo9pWDNSVnrJVriAfBgym9BllW3qY83kbP2o/edit#gid=1386834576 Feel free to copy it and use it for yourself.
- Do NOT use the list on IGN. It contains a bunch of locations that do not count for completion (like every single building in Kakariko Village despite Kakariko being ONE location - you simply don't need to enter every house), things that aren't even locations in the first place (like Kilton) and things that don't exist (like Hyrule Castle Underground and Hyrule Castle Laboratory. If you try and search for places with those specific names, you can literally search forever and not find any). Their list has 226 checkboxes, but there are only 183 actual discoverable locations in the base game. 43 things on their list are useless bullshit that doesn't count and will only make you waste time.
"Completion" count is currently at 98.61% (+3.95%)
The missing 1,39% are solely from the Champion's Ballad shrines & location.
![[TotK] Prepping for the next Minimalist 100% Run](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pwGAHgtVuOg/mqdefault.jpg "[TotK] Prepping for the next Minimalist 100% Run
The full 100% requirements (datamined) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fBvQ17WHP3ASgtO8ode_rf1g4DfEHErMrHwwLppNTJM/edit#gid=2053006921
All credit for this spreadsheet goes to the original creator Phil and the co-authors Aeon, SuperSpazzy, KreaTV1 and Shozutko.
The spreadsheet with the documentation, rules, explanations etc. can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15CBosUfEnbcF0XjPCStMHMzohUPu1zK9hnLiSkraHMY/edit#gid=897908243
A location checklist can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12XaCeQCspe0OvKHhBXNb_BNHH6GUqYB_FzeyC7eK8E0/edit?pli=1#gid=1916393668")
