Is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild DLC Worth it? A Detailed Breakdown
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took the gaming world by storm when it launched on Nintendo Switch in 2017. Its massive open world, engrossing exploration, and inventive physics systems earned enormous critical acclaim. However, even after pouring 100+ hours into the base game, many fans are left wanting more from Link‘s latest adventure.
Enter the Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass DLC. This additional content adds brand new story quests, dungeons, gear, challenges, and ways to play. But should you spend the extra $19.99 for DLC? As a long-time Zelda fan, I‘m here to provide a detailed breakdown of everything included and help you decide if it‘s worth the cost. Let‘s dive in!
At a Glance:
- Pack 1 – The Master Trials focuses on new modes and gameplay tweaks
- Pack 2 – The Champions‘ Ballad expands the story and world
- 20+ hours of fresh content spread across the two packs
- Awesome new story quests, dungeons, gear, and challenges
- Enhances the base game in major ways beyond just extra content
- An absolute must-buy for fans of Breath of the Wild
DLC Pack 1: The Master Trials Overview
The first DLC pack primarily focuses on adding new modes and gameplay modifications beyond straight content additions. Here are all the features included in The Master Trials:
Trial of the Sword
This expansive challenge tasks you with defeating waves of enemies across 45 rooms with no gear. Completing it fully powers up the Master Sword, making it always fire at full strength. It takes 1-2 hours and offers some of the best combat gauntlets in the entire game.
Master Mode
Master Mode remixes the entire game by boosting enemies up one tier. For example, red become blue and silver become gold. Enemies also regenerate health and floating platforms contain high-tier gear. It‘s a dramatic increase in difficulty perfect for a second playthrough.
Hero‘s Path Mode
Allows you to view a map of Link‘s movements from the last 200 hours of gameplay. Helpful for optimizing exploration routes and covering areas you may have missed.
Travel Medallion
Lets you instantly warp to any custom waypoint you‘ve dropped on the map. Incredibly convenient for getting around and cutting down on travel time.
Eight New Armor Items
Including fan favorites like Majora‘s Mask (disguises Link as a Bokoblin) and Midna‘s Helmet. Useful for bonuses like attack power or disguising yourself.
Trial of the Sword adds around 2 hours of challenging combat shrines
That covers the key additions in DLC Pack 1. While it doesn‘t add a ton of raw content time, the new modes significantly impact the overall gameplay experience:
- Trial of the Sword makes powering up your blade feel truly earned
- Master Mode extends replay value with tougher enemies everywhere
- Quality of life improvements like Hero‘s Path and the Travel Medallion enhance exploration
If you love the combat, exploration, and difficulty of Breath of the Wild, Pack 1 is essential. Up next, let‘s look at the more content-focused Pack 2.
DLC Pack 2: The Champions‘ Ballad Overview
The Champions‘ Ballad serves as a full-fledged epilogue quest, focused on new story, map locations, and gear. Here‘s an overview of what‘s included:
New Main Questline
Over 3-4 hours of fresh story content and cutscenes featuring the deceased Champions. Includes four large dungeons themed after each Champion race.
16 New Shrines
Brings the total Shrines in the game up to 136. Provides fun puzzle challenges with some cool abilities like the ancient Rune bombs.
New Gear
Ancient horse gear like the bridle and saddle boosts mount speed and stamina. The Master Cycle Zero lets you summon a motorcycle to traverse Hyrule in style.
Upgraded Champion Abilities
Complete challenges to upgrade each Champion‘s special ability to make them more powerful and spammable.
Nine Treasure Quests
Discover clues about the Champions‘ lives to earn new armor sets and other goodies. Expand on the lore and backstories.
The Champions‘ Ballad is packed with awesome new content:
| Content | Estimated Hours |
|---|---|
| Main Questline & Dungeons | 3-4 hours |
| 16 Shrines | 2-3 hours |
| Treasure Quests | 1-2 hours |
| Total | 6-9 hours |
It took me about 8 hours to complete everything, making this a sizable expansion. The story content alone offers a compelling epilogue for the Champions who deserved more screen time. Pack 2 feels like the perfect way to close the book on Breath of the Wild‘s story while exploring more of its world.
Is the Expansion Pass Worth the $19.99 Price?
Considering everything you get, the Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass is well worth the $19.99 price tag. Here‘s a quick value breakdown:
- Pack 1 trials and modes add 5+ hours of gameplay
- Pack 2 side quests and dungeons add 8+ hours
- Totals around 13 hours of new content and gameplay elemetns
- Would cost $1.50 per hour of entertainment, excellent value compared to other games
For less than $20, you double Breath of the Wild‘s playtime with meaningful expansions to the story, combat, and world. That‘s a steal in my book. Nintendo‘s DLC packs are consistently high quality, and this Zelda one upholds that standard.
How the DLC Enhances Breath of the Wild‘s Gameplay
A great DLC shouldn‘t just tack on random extra content – it should meaningfully expand and enhance the base game. Here are some of the key ways these packs improve the overall Breath of the Wild experience:
- Master Mode adds a whole new layer of challenge and changes up combat
- Ancient gear makes mounts more useful for exploration
- Master Cycle Zero provides a fun new traversal option
- Travel Medallion cuts down on travel tedium immensely
- Korok Mask reduces frustration of collectible hunting
- New dungeons bring refreshing game mechanics and themes
Rather than just throwing stuff at the wall, Nintendo deliberately crafted additions that improve existing systems and fill in gaps. For example, I loved utilizing the Master Cycle Zero to more quickly explore and cross Hyrule Field. The Korok Mask also took away the annoyance of tracking down all those seeds.
Through smart design, the DLC integrates itself seamlessly into the base experience rather than feeling tacked on. This supplementary content captures that same sense of wonder and discovery that makes Breath of the Wild so mesmerizing.
Ranking the DLC Expansion Packs
While both DLC packs are excellent, if I had to rank them, I‘d give a slight edge to Pack 1. Here‘s how I‘d rate the additions:
-
Pack 1 – Master Trials. The Trial of the Sword and Master Mode bring the most unique gameplay.
-
Pack 2 – Champions‘ Ballad. Amazing story expansion, but less new ways to play.
The Master Trials edges out due to Master Mode providing an entirely fresh take on the game. Meanwhile, Champions‘ Ballad offers a more traditional (albeit excellent) extension of the existing formula. Both are stellar packs that genuinely enhance the experience.
Verdict: An Absolute Must-Buy for Zelda Fans
As both a long-time Zelda fan and avid Breath of the Wild player, I can‘t recommend the Expansion Pass strongly enough. The 20+ hours of content match the base game‘s level of quality while providing fun new ways to play. For $20, the amount of value packed in here is off the charts.
If you loved Breath of the Wild, dive right in and treat yourself to these DLC packs. And for those just starting their adventure, I‘d suggest playing 10 or so hours first to get a feel for the world, then add the DLC. Both packs integrate perfectly into the core experience rather than feeling separate.
For an incredible price, the Expansion Pass delivers some of the very best additional content in modern gaming. Don‘t hesitate on this must-buy DLC that every Zelda fan deserves to experience!