Alas, poor Lurelin! We knew you well, and you’re not what we remember.
It’s been a minute since we last posted, we know. We’ve been busy playing Tears of the Kingdom, but for various and sundry reasons, not playing together. (No, we haven’t broken up!) Demelza’s been doing what she does – hunting and gathering and cooking, meticulously upgrading armor, and, since she has no choice but to forge ahead without Itzal, finding and completing shrines to build up her Link’s inventory, health, and stamina. (Back when we were able to play together, shrine-solving was Itzal’s province, as was wantonly eating the meals Demelza had prepared, without thought of how much work had gone into them, she might add.)
Itzal, on the other hand, has been playing the way he always does: ham-fisted fighting and throwing controllers when aught goes awry. He has a decided lack of pants, and even the armor he does own is not much upgraded. And his weaponry? It’s but one step from the Stone Age of the Great Sky Island: most of his weapons remain rocks attached to sticks.
Recently, we were excited to get a day’s play together, during which we tackled saving Lurelin Village for Itzal. (Demelza notes for the record that she earned the everlasting gratitude of Lurelin’s villagers weeks ago. Demelza, Itzal notes, is very annoying in this post. Even if she is right about his pants.)
Rousting ruffians
For those who’ve yet to read spoilers on the Internet, cover your eyes or allow us to spoil it for you: Lurelin Village, the relaxing tourist mecca of Breath of the Wild, has in TOTK been infested by ruffians (a delightful and much unused word, btw).
Of all the changes to Hyrule wrought by Link’s and Zelda’s unfortunate foray under the castle, Lurelin’s plight was the one that most distressed Demelza. In BOTW, she had gathered countless scuttling crabs and mighty bananas in Lurelin! Alas, the tiny village was a haven no more in TOTK. She made its restoration one of her first orders of business in her own game and then regaled laggard Itzal of its resulting wonders.
Itzal, who still had a day job at this point, nodded approvingly and then threw his controller across the room each time he died trying to roust the ruffians.
Confronting the monster force
Thus, on this first day’s play together since the TOTK debut weekend, Lurelin’s rescue in Itzal’s game was our highest priority. As soon as Demelza finished tsk-ing and tutting over the state of Itzal’s larder, closet, and weaponry, she oversaw several minutes of cooking. Hearty meals, to be sure! And a few meals with either increased defense or increased attack power. The former were more important, however, since the day’s strategy was one of strike and retreat, or perhaps more accurately, muddle bud and cower.
Zelder Tip #1: In large groups of enemies, the humble muddle bud is your friend. Shoot or throw a muddle bud at an enemy, the larger the better, then dash away and allow the enemies to fall upon themselves. You’ll know an enemy is muddled if, after the initial purple haze is released, pink flower buds swirl around its head. If the muddling wears off, toss another bud until there’s but a single enemy in the group for you to finish off.
Zelder Tip #2: Muddle buds are often found around large trees in the Depths. They can also be purchased with poes from bargainer statues.
Zelder Tip #3: Don’t waste a muddle bud against a solitary foe; you’ll be the only prey in sight. Not that we know this from experience. (Itzal notes he did not know this and thus, reader, j’accuse Demelza.) A puffshroom could be used to disorient a single enemy.
There are several pockets of ruffians in Lurelin. First, there’s a group on the eastern edges of town, dancing around porgy roasting on fishing harpoons. A couple more pockets infest the middle and west of town. Then there’s the pirate ship, with one exceptionally large enemy, in addition to the usual assortment of Lizalfos, et cetera. Muddle them all! Lastly, there’s a solitary Bokoblin, of the upgraded variety, inside the Lurelin village well. You could muddle him, but, well, see Zelder Tip #3. (Demelza discovered this Bokoblin by accident, when in one of her earliest attempts at village savior, she dove into the well to escape attack. Out of the frying pan, what what.)
Restoration
When you’ve dispatched all the enemies, Bolson, he of the pink pants and earring and the contractor on Link’s house in BOTW, will “assist” you to repair the village. (Itzal found this assistance sorely lacking as HE did all the work and HE got yelled at for not doing it right.)
You’ll need to fix the casino, the inn, the restaurant, and some villagers’ homes. When that’s done, you can eat at the village restaurant for free once a day or so (the owner tried to charge us the first time for the special of the day, but not after the village was fully restored.) You’ll also sleep in the inn without charge, unless you spring for the somewhat dodgy rock salt spa treatment.
And the casino! Demelza, it must be noted, may now have a slight gambling problem. She goes to the casino every day, sometimes two or three times a day (it resets faster than the restaurant), and she brings lots of roasted porgy with her. Why roasted porgy, you ask? It seems the casino operator will let Link play only once, unless he happens to have roasted porgy in his pockets. If you’re porgy rich, it’s possible to get all three casino prizes in a single visit.
There’s also a treasure chest near the roasted porgy stand which proffers five or 20 or sometimes 50 rupees. But wait! There’s more! No, not steak knives[1], but also near the roasted porgy, a couple of rusty armaments will respawn. Demelza eschews them, but not Itzal, he of the Stone Age weaponry.
Shopping in Lurelin
Lastly, one can open a shoreside merchant boat, admittedly of limited inventory, but whatever the shopkeeper has, it’s free to Link. To open the market, talk to Garini, the erstwhile fishmonger, in Lookout Landing. He’ll hotfoot it back to Lurelin, where he’s disappointed to find his boat has gone missing. Again, YOU do all the work.
Once you locate a vessel on Tenoko Island, just pilot it back to Lurelin; after which Octorok eyeballs, armored porgy, and crabs are yours for the taking.
There’s more to Lurelin’s revival – boat racing and village flag building – but the main charm of saving this seaside village are the resulting freebies. In addition, one can once again traipse along the beach unmolested gathering mighty bananas, hydromelons, and crabs.
Suggested cocktail
And now to the most important issue: what to drink while ousting ruffians. In honor of our floral ally, the muddle bud, we’ve opted for a muddled berry mojito. When you’re muddling the fruit to create that signature pinkish/purplish color, remember the grateful citizens of Lurelin Village!
[1] Younger players may not understand this reference. Too bad. Now you know how we Zelders feel about TikTok.