When you receive the compendium after visiting the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, it’s empty, save for the sunshroom photo that Symin gives you. He’ll sell you more photos, but at 100 rupees apiece, you’re better off snapping photos on your own.
There are 385 compendium items possible, including herbs, fishes, monsters, weapons, and more. See a new item on the ground, ready for the appropriating? Take a photo of a boat oar, for example, and later, if you happen to need a boat oar, you can switch your Sheikah sensor to find one nearby.
Why, you can even take a photo of the Ganon blights before you fight them! Right, that’s exactly what we did, as soon as the menacing music began – snapped a pic (yawn) of the creature that was readying to obliterate us. And with our free hand, we mixed a drink (not).
We confess we didn’t often use the compendium and the Sheikah sensor to search for items. We nearly always had the sensor set to shrines, and indeed, we quite forgot how to set it to anything else. Rather, we set the Demelza sensor to research. Demelza’s shouted notifications are every bit as reliable as the Sheikah sensor’s beeping.
Following are a few of our most beloved items from many a search. We’ll add to the list as we go along and discover new frustrations. Note: Our preferred locations are by no means exhaustive, but they’re the ones we use most often.
Hearty Bass
In addition to being a useful cooking ingredient, hearty bass are needed to take Zora armor to its second, set-bonus level. They are found in various bodies of water, but Demelza did her best fishing in the upper and lower Calora lakes of the Faron region.
Electric Keese
Electric keese wings are needed to upgrade the Climbing set. Look for them west of Lake Hylia en route to Wasteland Tower. Alternatively, there’s a tunnel in the Zora Domain in which several electric keese hang out on the walls sleeping or whatever it is keese do when they’re not attacking Link. If you sneak up on them, you can nearly get the entire lot of wings you need in one fell swoop. But beware: they can swarm and overcome Link, causing him to drop his weapon and remain jigging in frizzing paralysis. Shoot a couple at a time from a distance (ice arrows work well), taking care not to wake their brethren, then collect the wings when they’re all downed. Unfortunately, the ground path to the tunnel is guarded by plenty of baddies. We suggest instead marking the spot on your map, then paragliding as close as possible from Lanayru Tower. You’ll still have to traverse some way on foot, but you will save yourself a spot of trouble. Here’s the location:
Ice Keese
Speaking of the Climbing set, ice keese wings are needed to take the set to the next (third) level, and the Desert Voe armor to the second and third. Ice keese are found in the Hebra region, but if you’re in need of a wing, as yet have only a Warm Doublet, and don’t want to wander around the great Hebra expanse waiting for a keese to find you while you shiver, try teleporting to the Tahno O’ah shrine instead. Step outside the cave in the evening and before long, a couple of ice keese are likely to appear. Unfortunately, there’s also an Icy Lizalfos in the area, but if you’re in the market for Icy Lizalfos tails to upgrade the Desert Voe set; this trip makes for a good two-for-one special. Even easier, go back to the cold area of the Great Plateau where Link spent his first day; you’ll find plenty of ice keese and ice chu chus besides.
Hearty Blueshell Snails
Hearty Blueshell Snails are found off the coastal waters of Lurelin Village, among other locales. Although not needed for armor upgrades, these beauties fill a whopping three hearts, even uncooked! We don’t recommend eating them raw, but when you’re in the heat of battle, sometimes you just need that quick fix. Still, when the adrenaline subsides and your heart rate lowers, cook a single blueshell snail to fill all your hearts and add three temporary ones. Excellent rate of cooking return! (Nintendo calls the resulting dish Hearty Seafood Skewer. We argue in favor of something less generic, but what the heck.)
Ancient Cores
Purah in the Hateno tech lab will upgrade your Stasis rune in exchange for three ancient cores. Later, they are needed to purchase Ancient weapons and armor at the Akkala lab. You can earn ancient cores in certain successful battles with Guardians, but in a pinch – and if you have the rupees – purchase one from Teli, a traveling salesman who lives in Hateno. The trick is that he only offers ancient cores when it’s raining and, of course, only during normal business hours. Thus, if it’s daytime and starts to rain, teleport to Myahm Agana shrine and head out the front gate of Hateno Village.
Run along the road until you get to the crossroads with the courser bee hive; you can keep going, but we generally reverse course for Hateno Village, then repeat the run until Teli shows up.
Energetic Rhino Beetles
Used for stamina elixirs; also to upgrade Armor of the Wild Set. They are often found in trees outside Lurelin Village. But beetles and lizards do not sparkle, as mushrooms and flowers do. Be alert to what looks like a bump or blemish on a tree trunk. Approach carefully, crouching, until a “Take” prompt shows on your screen. Do not run at them like a child scattering a flock of pigeons (or like Itzal) (“HEY!” shouts Itzal during editing), or you will lose them.
Hightail lizards
Hightail lizards are needed to upgrade the Climbing set, the Snow boots, and Sand boots, and to make certain elixirs. They can be found in several locations, including the Retsam Forest near Hateno and on Lurelin’s beaches (approach cautiously to catch them), but we also like hunting in the grassy fields outside Dueling Peaks Stable. Take a sword or an axe – cutting grass won’t damage the weapon, provided you don’t hit a rock or pound the ground – and swing away. In the cleared space that appears, you may capture a restless cricket or a hightail lizard. You have to be quick, but it gets easy with practice. (Demelza is our lead cricket and lizard capturer.) You can also purchase them from Beedle at his East Akkala stable location, but Demelza insists we’re on a fixed income and if we’re going to buy any critters, it will be Smotherwing butterflies, which Itzal is terrible at catching.
Smotherwing Butterflies
To upgrade all three pieces of Flamebreaker armor to the third and fourth levels, you’ll need lots of these insects. (Also Moblin guts and Hinox guts, which call for Link’s battlefield prowess.) You can – theoretically – catch them in the Eldin and Death Mountain area, but if your butterfly net comes up empty, try Beedle at the East Akkala or Wetland stables.
Hearty Truffles
Hearty truffles may reliably be found under the westernmost hut in Lurelin Village; also next to a tree in the vicinity of the Great Fairy Mija. They’re available for purchase in the Spore Store in the Korok Forest and at the general store in Hateno.
Endura Carrots
Endura carrots, along with hearty durians, are one of the best cooking ingredients in the game. We generally visit the Great Fairy Fountains to find our carrots. Demelza, who has zero sense of direction, sometimes finds it difficult to locate the ones in the wooded area around Cotera and Mija, but the Endura carrots next to the ribs of the skeleton covering Great Fairy Tera are super easy to gather. Try also near the Malanya Spring. It’s home of the Horse God, so little surprise you’ll find carrots here.
Hearty Durians
A useful BOTW recipe combines five hearty durians in a cookpot to create Hearty Simmered Fruit, which fills all existing heart containers and provides an additional 20 temporary hearts. As you approach the maximum number of hearts (30, in any combination of actual or temporary), you could cook only one hearty durian at a time for just four temporary hearts, so as not to waste the ingredient. Hearty durians are not as easy to find as apples, unfortunately, nor even mighty bananas. They can reliably be found in the Bronas Forest near the Faron Tower, but beware of Lizalfos in the area and also lightning if you don’t have the upgraded Rubber armor set. If you’re in need of a quick fix, you can buy hearty durians from a vendor in Gerudo town, but they won’t come cheaply.
There’s also a traveling salesman named Chumin you might run into in the Sarjon woods area or near Lakeside stable. He, too, will sell you a hearty durian for 60 rupees.
Electric Chu Chus
Electric Chu Chu jelly is needed to upgrade the Rubber armor set. You can find the feisty, fizzling yellow Chu Chus in the Faron area and in the Gerudo desert, but we like to patronize the two hanging out with Bokoblins on the Clarnet Coast west of Lurelin Village. As a bonus, once you’ve cleared the area of enemies and secured your jelly, you can break open the boxes for a smattering of small goodies, including voltfruit, also needed to upgrade the rubber set. Alternatively, attack a blue Chu Chu with a shock arrow to generate electric jelly, or place blue Chu Chu jelly from your inventory on the ground and whack it with an electric weapon. (The same strategy, using a fire or ice arrow, works to transfer blue chu chus to red or white chu chu jelly, respectively.)
Voltfruit
Speaking of Rubber armor, Voltfruit is needed to upgrade the set. Get some on the Clarnet Coast as described above, or find it atop what look like cacti in the Gerudo desert.
Endura shrooms
Endura shrooms, useful in stamina recipes, are available in several locations in Hyrule, but if you want to go hunting where everyone knows your name, look under the second westernmost hut in Lurelin Village or beneath a tree not far from the Keo Ruug shrine in the Korok Forest. If you’re flush with cash, purchase them at the general store in Hateno.
Hot-footed frogs
Hot-footed frogs, when combined with monster parts, produce speed-enhancing elixirs. They are found near various watery areas throughout Hyrule. One of our favorite, most prolific frog-spotting locales is around the Malanya Spring, also home of the Horse God, near the Faron coast.