Zelda Tears of the Kingdom: How to build and drive vehicles

Here's everything you need to know to cruise around Hyrule in style

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a game with too many options, almost. The brand-new Ultrahand ability allows you to attach building materials and random items to one another, and if you’re smart, you can use this ability to create functional vehicles you can use to traverse Hyrule.

You can make cars to go across the land, gliders to explore the skies, and much more. The possibilities might not be endless, but it certainly feels like it. In this guide we’re breaking down some essential tips you’ll need to build vehicles fit to travel across Hyrule in style, so read below if you want to cruise in a chaotic vehicle while defeating Ganon.

For more Zelda guides and tips, like how to find and activate all Skyview Towers, or an explanation of all Zonai Devices, make sure to read our full Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.

Find your base

Any vehicle needs somewhere for you to stand. This could be a plank of wood, or a log, or a stone slab – heck, even a boulder, if you want. The main point is that it needs to be balanced and stable, so something flat is best, as are at least four wheels – we just want to keep things simple, for now.

Propulsion

Vehicles need to be pushed along – unless you’re cruising downhill, of course. Zonai devices are going to be your main source of propulsion. For a humble cart you’ve built yourself, attaching a fan at the back to push it along is pretty acceptable – as long as it’s not too heavy. Later on in the game you’ll be able to find Zonai devices that are also wheels, which are much more efficient at getting around quickly.

Power source

For some reason, Link in this game acts as a walking battery – it’s probably his arm or something. Link stores a set amount of power that he can recharge, and he can use it to power Zonai devices. This means Link simply needs to board a vehicle and activate it to get it moving – an easy way of activating a Zonai devices is throwing a Zonai Charge at it, and then picking it back up after. But you don’t just need to rely on Link’s own battery – you can attach Zonai batteries to vehicles to power them for longer periods of time.

Steering Stick

Once you’ve built a functional vehicle the only thing you really need is a Steering Stick. This is exactly what it sounds like – a small platform with a stick on it that Link can use to steer and control vehicles. Now, if you do happen to have mounted Zonai weapons on your vehicle, you won’t usually have control of when they fire, but otherwise, vehicles with Zonai wheels, or gliders, can be controlled brilliantly with the Steering Stick. Mounting a Steering Stick also activates all attached Zonai devices without the need for a Zonai Charge.

Gliders

Gliders are a bit unique, so it’s worth mentioning. They fly through the air, but even with power, they have a limited amount of time they can glide for before landing – otherwise, they will literally burst and disappear in mid-air. Still, the trickiest thing is getting them in the air to start with. Multiple sky islands have rails leading off the island which can be used as runways for gliders, but you can also use Rockets to literally blast Gliders into the air before gliding onwards. Without rockets or rails, getting a glider off the ground usually requires wheels and a cliff of some kind. A humble cart does great for this – you don’t even really need to attach it to the Glider, instead acting as loose detachable wheels.

Less is more

We’ve already mentioned how important the balance of these vehicles is, but now consider the weight and how much power your items use. For example, you could attach weapons to your cars or glider, but they’ll drastically increase the amount of power the vehicles uses while being moved. Not to mention, if you overbuild your cars and carts, they just might be more difficult to actually move. Simplicity is often the best way to go when building vehicles in Tears of the Kingdom, so keep things lightweight, efficient, and you’ll be able to take your vehicles much further.