Breath of the Wild has been one of the most critically acclaimed games of the last decade. It’s a massive open world with gorgeous visuals that’s waiting to be explored, ripe with treasure, adventure, and a lot of danger.
It’s no surprise many people got a Wii U and later a Nintendo Switch just to play this game, even if they weren’t particularly interested in the console itself.
Whether you’re one of these people or not, I’m sure you’re all thirsty for more Breath of the Wild. It’s a fantastic game, and it can be hard to play something else after experiencing it.
Lucky for us, the modding community has gone above and beyond to mess with BotW. And we’ll be taking a look at the very best mods you can get for the game.
Keep in mind that some of these mods only work on the CemU Emulator, while others can run on the Wii U or Nintendo Switch – provided you follow the right steps to install them.
For those of you playing Breath of the Wild on the Cemu Wii U Emulator, having to translate the Wii U controller prompts to your gamepad of choice can be a bit jarring.
Worry not, for the modding community has you covered. Whether you’re using a PS4 DualShock or an Xbox gamepad, there’s a mod that’ll change the in-game button layout to resemble what you have in your hands.
Even the tutorial prompts have been updated!
Now you can’t blame the controls when a Moblin gets through your defenses.
One of the toughest choices you’ll have to make in Breath of the Wild is whether to use your powerful, hard-earned weapons and risk them breaking or stick to inferior Boko Clubs.
The Sword That Sealed The Darkness is a slight expansion to the Master Sword questline that slightly improves the situation by providing you with a weak but unbreakable Broken Sword after first speaking with Impa.
The fully-fixed Master Sword is also unbreakable now. You’ll find stronger weapons for sure, but you’ll always be able to fall back on your trusty sword if you break them.
Most game developers prefer to keep nighttime in open-world games relatively well-lit to cut players some slack.
That’s fine and dandy for most players.
But for those of us who want the time of day to feel meaningful and affect the way we traverse the world, the Darker Nights / Brighter Lights mod is a must-have.
As its name suggests, the mod makes nights much darker. It makes finding light sources more critical and also contributes to a more atmospheric look.
The mod also makes a Wearable Lantern available for purchase at Beedle’s Shop to make your nighttime combat and exploration a tad easier in an immersive fashion.
Breath of the Wild has a stunning soundtrack with fantastic arrangements of classic TLoZ tunes and new ones alike.
But after playing for long enough, we may want something different.
This extensive music overhaul features remixed versions of great tunes from famous franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Chrono Trigger, Persona, Magi, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and even Donkey Kong Country, among others.
It’s a wonderful way to keep the ambiance in BotW fresh. And the mod’s creator did a fantastic job of creating smooth loops and transitions.
We’ve covered some great mods, and we have tons yet to talk about. But you won’t be able to enjoy them to their full extent without the BCML Cross-Platform Mod Loader.
Sure, you can get one or two mods running fine without much trouble. But once they start piling up, you’ll begin noticing odd bugs and crashes all the time.
Installing mods through the BCML will keep your game nice and stable for the most part – and it’s simply the easiest way to go about modding BotW.
Refer to this video for some guidance on how to use it.
The Zora have always been a favorite of mine among TLoZ races.
And Princess Ruto was a bit of a heartbreaker among my young friends back when Ocarina of Time first came out.
This mod uses her model from Hyrule Warriors to make her a playable character in Breath of the Wild – with appropriate Zora skills like faster swim speed and the ability to swim up waterfalls like a salmon.
Along with the legendary Princess Ruto comes a fully-playable and painfully cute Mipha.
This mod replaces Link’s default armor for… well, Mipha. The mod also includes some armor sets for the Zora Champion, which the player can dye for added customization.
Like the playable Ruto, Mipha can swim faster than Link. And she can also swim up waterfalls. In addition, she gets an unbreakable Lightscale Trident.
Mipha gets a bit more credit than Princess Ruto for the detailed work that’s gone into her facial expressions, which the latter lacks. She’ll wince when in pain, smile when something good happens, and look adorable at all times.
Few BotW mods are as famous and widely-used as this playable Linkle, which goes above and beyond to make her the new protagonist of this epic adventure.
Introduced in Hyrule Warriors, Linkle believes herself to be the reincarnated hero of Hyrule – and in this mod, she gets to be just that. Especially if you install the Dialogue Fix.
Among the best things about this mod is the support it gets from the community.
Linkle is adorable as-is. But she’s not above applying some light makeup when the situation calls for it.
This simple mod improves customization by giving Linkle 15 lipstick colors and 30 makeup variations.
Such variety will undoubtedly help you create the perfect look depending on your favorite outfit, or just what kind of character you imagine her to be.
Whether you’re playing as Link or his look-alike Linkle, you’ll appreciate this iconic armor.
Originally belonging to Geralt of Rivia, this armor makes its way from The Witcher III into the world of Breath of the Wild – complete with the School of the Wolf pendant worn by Geralt at all times.
Considering it’s just a retexture of the Stealth Chest Guard and the Stealth Pants from the base game, it’s honestly amazing how perfect this looks – and it fits with the game’s atmosphere remarkably well too.
There’s no doubt that TLoZ: Breath of the Wild is a beautiful game.
But for modders, there’s nothing that can’t be improved.
BlueLegacy’s ReShade Preset attempts to do just that with some small tweaks that result in a cleaner-looking game.
All colors are also much more intense, which goes a long way to giving each area a bit more personality. The desert looks legitimately hot, while snowy peaks have a bit of a magical look – and the coastal regions make me think of summer in Cancún.
This video can help you get it up and running on your Cemu emulator in no time.
Zelda’s Ballad features an entirely new Zelda model, and the author has created countless different outfits for the warrior princess – most of which can be dyed, changing their color palette and often their appearance as well.
Other than that, you can choose your favorite hairstyle for the princess – and there are plenty of extra add-ons to try out.
And our three heroes – Link, Linkle, and Zelda – are full of holiday spirit.
Winter Wonderland introduces a merry Christmas outfit with a Santa Claus-like style for each of these characters, along with several other X-mas staples like candy canes and gingerbread cookies.
There’s even a sled!
And don’t worry, you won’t have to drag it up Mount Granajh to ride it. This mod covers the entirety of Hyrule in snow.
As we’ve mentioned before, keeping up with your weapon’s durability can be pretty limiting while exploring the vast expanse that is Breath of the Wild’s map.
The Crafting Project mod aims to alleviate the situation by letting you craft your own arsenal – provided you have the required materials, which you’ll have to gather from all around.
The new materials added by this mod include Iron, Coal, Silver, Gold, and even Eldin Ore, among others. So get mining!
Base Breath of the Wild has a couple of things to improve in the way of balance.
Some areas may feel too easy, others way too hard, and progression through the game is far from perfect.
If you’re nitpicky like me, consider the Hyrule Rebalance mod.
It touches almost every aspect of the game to fix the most blatantly unbalanced aspects of BotW, as well as some “broken” mechanics like the controversial durability system.
Better drops on stronger foes, rebalanced enemy and wildlife stats that are more in-line with Link’s own expected development, and a more logical relationship between armor and weapon stats and their prices are only some of the many tweaks.
It also lets you upgrade and dye all armor sets, all shields can bash for damage, and some enemies have a few new tricks up their sleeves. It’s a massive and delightful mod!
In our day and age, you can turn anything into Dark Souls.
Hyrule Souls is the tool for the job in the case of TLoZ: Breath of the Wild.
It adds a bonfire system, changes weapon names to something more in-line with the Dark Souls aesthetic – and there’s even an Estus Flask that replaces food as your main healing item!
While the base combat mechanics remain the same, there’s a heavier focus on dodging and parrying – as one or two hits from any boss are sure to end your adventure.
It’s in beta as of this writing, and there are still some kinks to work out. But if you like a challenge you should try it out.
But it doesn’t compare to the insanity that is Relics of the Past.
This mod is aimed at veterans who’ve already cleared the game at least once and feel comfortable with its combat mechanics.
Enemies are stronger, there are many more guardians scattered throughout the map – and high-level mobs like Moblins will assault you from the very beginning of the game.
On the flip side, you’ll be given access to some decent equipment from the get-go as well. And some balance changes have been implemented to let you strategize a bit more.
It’s pandemonium at first.
But once you find some good gear and get used to the treacherous difficulty, you’ll be fine.
Speaking of good gear, take a look at the single most amazing weapon mod for Breath of the Wild.
The Moon Slayer Weapon Set is comprised of the Moon Slayer Sword, the Midnight Sun Bow, and the Altair’s Embrace Shield – all passed down to Link by an ancient hero who sought Wisdom instead of Courage, and was exiled for his rebellion.
These black-and-gold weapons have captivating visual effects and custom models that blew me away when I first saw them.
They’re also very powerful, and can kill Beast Ganon just like the Master Sword.
To get them you’ll have to beat a fittingly black-and-gold Lynel atop Laparoh Mesa, in the Gerudo Highlands.
I loved them in Fallout 4, I loved them in Skyrim, and I’m loving Survival of the Wild for BotW.
It’s a fantastic way to spice things up on a second playthrough.
And it’ll deeply alter how you move through the game. Among other things, Fast Travel is disabled, there’s now a hunger system, and climates will generally be harsher on Link if he’s not adequately prepared.
Other than that, the mod also includes Darker Nights / Brighter Nights and the Wearable Lantern we covered earlier in the article.
You’ll also be treated to a minimalist UI for deeper immersion.
The most ambitious project to come out of the BotW modding community is Second Wind.
It’s a massive collaborative effort to overhaul almost every aspect of the game, and introduce a wealth of new features and content. Really it’s something you have to experience to love.
It includes aspects of Survival of the Wild, Relics of the Past, Hyrule Rebalance, and some other mods we’ve discussed so far, but it doesn’t stop there.
New blacksmiths, overhauled shrines, all new music, and several new questlines are waiting for players in Second Wind – including The Ancient Island, the project’s main feature which will take Link to an entirely new area to explore.
It’s still in beta as of this writing, and not all promised features are quite there yet.
But it’s a pleasure to play regardless, and there’s a lot more to come in future updates for sure.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
