Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Korok Mask Location Guide

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a follow-up to Breath of the Wild which offers everything it had and more. With an open world teeming with activity and seamless gameplay features, this newest installment of the Legend of Zelda franchise is yet another crown jewel in its lineup of titles. Given how overwhelming it can be when starting a new game, it can be difficult to find out where to go and what to do. One side-quest that players might stumble upon is finding Korok Seeds throughout the map. Just like in the other games, Korok Seeds are used to trade to a merchant (Hestu) to increase inventory space. There are hundreds of these seeds waiting to be found throughout Hyrule and players will be spending their entire playthrough hunting them down.

Now, players might find these seeds by dumb luck when exploring Hyrule. However, there is a special item that can help Link sniff them out which is the Korok Mask. Players can go after the mask whenever they feel like it. If they decide to get the mask early in the game, then it is going to be a pretty tough affair. It is not impossible, though. Just be ready for a bone-crushing battle. Players will need to smite the Black Gloom Hinox in order to have access to a chest that holds the mask. Which, by the way, will be no easy task.

The Korok Mask is located deep within the Great Hyrule Forest. Head to the NorthWest region of this forest to find the Forest Coliseum. It will be pretty easy to spot on the map once players come across it. There are a few ways to get to the Forest Coliseum. However, the best way is through the path full of Mighty Bananas. This will lead straight to the Coliseum. Players can gain access to this by starting their journey at the Minshi Woods Chasm. Head Northeast then climb down when you reach Lookout Landing. Once Link makes it to the bottom, go Northwest to find a Ramobnukas Lightroot. The path with the Mighty Bananas will be nearby. Luckily, once the Ramobnukas Lightroot is found, players can use it to Fast Travel to this location whenever they need to. This will prove useful because, once again, beating the Black Gloom Hinox is no easy feat.

Defeating The Black Gloom Hinox

This boss battle starts as soon as Link makes his way to the middle of the Coliseum. This boss takes off up to 5 hearts with a single blow. So, be sure to stock up on Sundelions to help Link restore some hearts during this fight. Thus, cooking various meals with Dark Clump can allow Link to be resistant to Gloom. Gloom is a new feature in Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that reduces the number of hearts Link can carry. It is a highly dangerous ooze that can give players a hard time. When it comes to quest items, experimenting with various recipes and exploring Hyrule is essential when facing Black Gloom. There is a difference between being struck with attacks that are corrupted with Black Gloom, as opposed to trudging through it in the wild. Some items are resistant to stagnant Black Gloom, while it won’t do anything against attacks, for instance.

In order to beat this Hinox, players will need to rely on the age-old “hit and run” tactics. This boss has a pretty long reach, so stay far away from it and hit its eye with projectiles. Besides the fact that this Hinox is covered in Black Gloom, it is really no different than any other Hinox in this game. After enough hits, it will come tumbling down onto the ground, stunned. This is the cue to run up to it and slash it with Link’s weapon. It will spring back up pretty quickly, so just two or three hits will suffice. You don’t want to be in its vicinity once it is back on its feet. So, continue to keep your distance and repeat this pattern. Toward the end of this fight, the Hinox will start shielding its eye. So, aiming and firing projectiles will need to be executed extra quickly to score some hits during this phase. Players will need to wait for the eye to open back up for that split-second until they fire at it. So, just keep moving and avoid its attacks while continuing to aim for the eye until it is finally beaten.

Preparing For The Korok Mask

Once the Black Gloom Hinox has been slain, a chest will appear and the Korok Mask will be inside it for the taking. This mask was part of DLC in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, it is now part of the base game in Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Before taking on the Black Gloom Hinox, it would be wise if players increase their number of hearts. The cooking and crafting mechanics in this installment is robust. There are all kinds of meals that Link can make that have assorted effects. Certain meals to try out are; Sunny Veggie Rice Balls, Hearty Fried Wild Greens, and Hearty Radishes. These are only a few meals that players can try out that will increase Link’s heart-carrying capacity and restore them.

Conclusion

There are almost endless things to do in Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. When it comes to expanding Link’s inventory, Korok Seeds will need to be collected. With the Korok Mask now part of the base game, finding Korok Seeds is now less of a hassle. If players want to enrich their playthrough, then finding all of the Korok Seeds will definitely be the best course of action. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available for the Nintendo Switch.