Its contents having previously been kept under tight lock and key, Nintendo has finally blown the doors wide open on what The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild players can expect with the arrival of the open world adventure’s first piece of DLC. Despite many having viewed the Expansion Pass’ original announcement with a cautionary raised eyebrow due to an apparent lack of content, that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case. A wide range of new items, modes and other tidbits are par for the course for the first add-on, which includes Trial of the Sword – a 45-room dungeon known previously as Cave of Trials.
Upon beginning the challenge, Link will be stripped of all armor and weapons and be required to defeat each room’s group of enemies with items only obtained from within. Meeting the challenge head-on and completing all 45 rooms will, according to Nintendo, awaken the “true power of the Master Sword,” causing it to remain in its glowing, powered-up state permanently. For those looking for an even greater challenge than the one provided with Breath’s of the Wild‘s standard campaign, Hard Mode will make a return as part of the bumper update, which boasts an increased number of “higher-ranking enemies” as well as giving all foes the ability to slowly regenerate hitpoints during battle.
As for general improvements to core gameplay, a few new features are included to give those struggling to explore every nook and cranny of Hyrule a helping hand. Hero’s Path Mode, which documents the last 200 hours of Link’s movement across the map with a green marker, will benefit new and existing players alike, as it will work retroactively for existing save files. Complementing that is the Travel Medallion, a trinket that allows Link to create a custom teleport point on the map, although only one can be registered at a time.
Finally, a whole host of new equipment, including a wearable Majora’s Mask and one themed after the nature-loving Koroks will be obtainable, the latter of which help you find any remaining seeds you’ve yet to uncover, though we’re not sure the reward for doing so is worth it.
That about wraps things up for now, then, but when can you expect to download the new content? Nintendo doesn’t provide a release date in its press release, so one can only assume that it’s still coming around early summer, followed later in the year by a second expansion. For more details on that, see here.
