Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteAfter the final battle, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom returns you to the save from before the fight. There is no permanent post-Ganondorf world state, but you can keep exploring, finish optional goals, experiment with builds, and challenge the final boss again.
What happens after you beat Ganondorf?
The credits do not open a new post-game version of Hyrule. Loading your completed save takes you back to the point before the final battle, so unfinished quests and other activities remain available from there. The post-credits state is described in the Hyrule Archive walkthrough; Nintendo’s official game page highlights the wider mix of exploration, building, combat, and discovery the game supports.
Explore more of Hyrule
1. Finish the Shrines you skipped
Use your map to spot unexplored areas and return to Shrine markers you left unfinished. Each one offers another puzzle or combat challenge, making this a good choice if you want more gameplay without committing to a single long collection hunt.
2. Search for Korok Seeds
Look for unusual landmarks, suspicious objects, or places you passed quickly on earlier trips. You do not need to pursue every seed for the search to be satisfying; choose a region and see what you missed.
#1 Best Overall
- Enhanced performance and visuals exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2.
- Explore the skies, caves, and vast lands of Hyrule in a massive open-world adventure.
- Wield new and returning abilities to craft solutions, vehicles, and weapons.
- Discover the mystery behind the spreading gloom threatening the kingdom.
- Use the ZELDA NOTES app to share, compare, and earn daily bonuses.
3. Light up more of the Depths
Seek out unlit areas and activate their Lightroots. Better visibility makes underground routes easier to navigate and gives you a clearer sense of where you have—and have not—explored.
4. Visit sky islands you missed
Return to the sky and investigate islands that never made it onto your route. Nintendo describes the world as spanning Hyrule’s land and mysterious floating islands, so this is a natural goal if you mostly stayed on the surface.
5. Revisit caves and hard-to-find places
Check your map and explore entrances or corners you passed by. Treat this as open-ended discovery rather than a checklist with a required finish line: the reward is finding places and encounters that were easy to overlook.
Rank #2
![The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51PuJ83o9KL._SL160_.jpg)
- Ultrahand: Using the new Ultrahand ability, Link can pick up, move, and rotate almost any object, and can even attach objects together to create bridges, vehicles, and more!
- Fuse: Magically fuse almost any object to Link’s current weapon, shield, or arrow to increase durability, damage, or even add a new effect. Experiment with lots of different combinations to come up with surprising—and sometimes hilarious—results!
- Ascend: Add a new dimension to your exploration with Ascend, which gives Link the ability to pass through solid objects above him. Rise up through ceilings, hillsides, and even certain enemies to create seemingly impossible shortcuts.
- Recall: Use Recall to make objects in motion move backward through time, letting Link ride fallen boulders skyward, recover thrown weapons, or send projectiles back where they came from.
Close out stories and collections
6. Finish side quests and Side Adventures
Open the Adventure Log and choose a character or story thread that interests you. You can work through the remaining entries in any order that appeals to you.
7. Wrap up unfinished main quest threads
If you left exploration or story objectives open before heading to the final battle, return to them from your pre-battle save. This means continuing unfinished threads, not replaying quests the game already marks complete.
8. Fill in the Hyrule Compendium
Photograph creatures, materials, weapons, and other subjects you encounter to add entries. This is a relaxed collection project for players who enjoy paying attention to the details of the world.
Rank #3
![The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41i3ez7HjYL._SL160_.jpg)
- Persistent internet and compatible smart device required. Data charges may apply.
- QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.
9. Collect an armor set or pursue an upgrade
Pick a set you like and search for missing pieces, or make one upgrade project your next goal. Focusing on a single set keeps the hunt manageable and gives your exploration a purpose.
10. Set your own completion goal
Decide what “finished” means for you: clearing the objectives that interest you, exploring a region thoroughly, or pursuing a broader completionist run. Shrines, Korok Seeds, quests, and the Depths all offer different ways to keep going; there is no need to treat every collectible as mandatory.
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Make your own challenges
11. Build a new vehicle or contraption
Use Ultrahand to set yourself a design brief: make a compact land vehicle, a flying machine, or a contraption built for a particular route. Nintendo presents creative building and new ways to travel as central parts of the game, so a self-assigned engineering problem can be its own post-game activity.
Rank #4
12. Experiment with weapon fusions
Try combinations you skipped earlier, or build around a combat style you enjoy. Fuse is designed to let you make weapons from different materials, so experiment for fun rather than worrying about finding one universally best combination.
13. Take on enemies with a personal restriction
Choose a rule before a fight—use one weapon type, avoid fast travel during an expedition, or rely on a particular approach. These are player-made challenges, not official game modes, and you can adjust the restrictions to fit the encounters you want.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Optional rewards and one more rematch
14. Try compatible Zelda amiibo
Compatible Zelda amiibo can provide items, weapons, materials, or themed paraglider fabric. The rewards can vary, and a particular item may take repeated scans to receive. Nintendo Support says you can scan once per figure per day per Nintendo Account; figures are optional and sold separately. See Nintendo’s amiibo instructions for the reward and scanning details, and Nintendo’s game page for compatibility information.
15. Fight the final boss again
If you want another run at the finale, return to the pre-boss save and head back to the final battle. The credits do not permanently lock you out of replaying it.
Is there DLC to add after the ending?
In a 2023 interview reported by NPR, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said there would not be DLC, explaining that the team had implemented the elements it wanted for the world and story. That was a statement about the development plans reported at the time, not a guarantee about every future platform update. Read NPR’s report, published September 13, 2023.
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