Breath of the Wild speedrunners freak out after discovering a bug that lets Link fly
Four years after launch, folks are still finding game-breaking Breath of the Wild bugs
Almost five years from launch, Breath of the Wild speedrunners have figured out how to fly, and they are absolutely wigging out.
The "sky gliding" exploit was first discovered over the weekend by Twitter user LegendofLinkk, who was kind enough to share some pretty intricate instructions on how you can take to the skies as Link in Breath of the Wild yourself. In our testing, GamesRadar found the exploit to be very accessible, even to someone who's never messed around with Breath of the Wild glitches before.
OMG! #BreathoftheWild #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/5bMayPOwijSeptember 4, 2021
一人称飛行のやり方。低めの段差じゃないとバクダン以外でやるのは難しいかも? #ゼルダの伝説 #BreathoftheWild #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/WGMCAgth5SSeptember 6, 2021
I orbit, therefore am moon.#BreathoftheWild pic.twitter.com/mp2iZKsWY3September 6, 2021
All you need to do is equip a bow and shield, place a bomb right in front of link in a way that it won't move from its position, hold ZL so that Link is using his shield, then hit ZR and A really quickly while still holding ZL. The timing of that step is crucial, as you need to almost roll into A from ZR for it to work. If you see Link holding the bomb and his bow over his head, you're on the right track.
Now, jump, and while in midair, press B and start at the same time. This should unequip your bow without dropping the bomb. While you're on the pause screen, unequip your shield and unpause, and you'll see Link standing with the bomb and bow overhead again. Finally, aim your bow but cancel the shot with B, and then walk onto the ledge at the end of the tower while holding B and the directional pad. Off you go! (You can also check out tutorials from JoeDun and Kleric if you're more of a visual learner.)
As you can see in the above tweets, speedrunners are having a blast with the new exploit, which makes sense - it's fun getting to fly around when you're not supposed to. Obviously though, this is a much bigger deal to speedrunners, who are now able to bypass pretty much any obstacle in the game - not to mention the laws of gravity - to get to Ganon and initiate the final battle.
Here are some games like Breath of the Wild to play if you feel like you're running out of stuff to do in Hyrule.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.