The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the gift that gives again and again. Although Nintendo’s open-world extravaganza is now well over four years old, player are still find New ways to break the game at the altar of entertainment. Case in point: this weekend in particular BotW Speed runners and glitch hunters LegendofLinkk found out how to get Link to fly without a glider. It’s supposed to be a total game changer for people trying to beat the game as fast as possible.
Yes, Link can “fly” with his trusty glider. But that comes with some notable limitations: on the one hand, it requires perseverance and is also subject to the whims of gravity. Thanks to an idiot named Newton, Link will slowly sink as he glides over time (and completely when he runs out of stamina). Other techniques, such as starting over tree trunks or bokoblins, are also partially restricted by gravity and speed.
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But by relying on this recently discovered trick that requires a deluge of gear and disassembly, you can get Link to fly free from the forces of nature. He’s not slowing down. He will not descend at a constant rate. He won’t burn stamina. He just goes and goes and goes. Breath of the wild Speed runners call it “BLS Sliding” (for “bow-lift smuggling”) or more simply “Sky-Sliding”.
Pulling off a sky slide is really easy. All you have to do is [deep breath]…
- Pull out a bomb.
- Space is on the floor.
- Whip out your bow.
- Press the B and Plus buttons at the same time.
- Equip your shield.
- Open your equipment menu again.
- Equip your shield, then exit the menu.
- Jump and press the B and Plus buttons at the same time.
- Equip your shield, then exit the menu.
- Set an arrow, but stop the shot immediately.
- If you’ve done the first ten steps correctly, Link should have a bow in one hand and a bomb in the other.
- Try to climb something, then immediately release the B Button.
- That’s it! You should get out of here. If you move the thumbstick back and forth, you will accelerate. If you put the thumbstick in a neutral position, Link will stop the sky and crash.
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Breath of the wild Speed runner JoeDun have broken down the process on YouTube in more detail:
Essentially, the sky-slide steps put Link in what is known as an “arched lock” state, which allows you to nudge him with objects in the game. Although, as JoeDun notes, you can technically “use whatever you can pick up”, bombs are easiest because they can be conjured up from nowhere.
But sky sliding has ramifications beyond just allowing players to explore Hyrule from 30,000 feet. Just think about what the trick means to the game Speed running Community. Side quests that require you to carry items become a breeze. Certain shrines will be very easy. And categories of any% (world record: 25 minutes and 6 seconds) to 100% (17 hours and 35 minutes).
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