Speedrun Tips Guide — Fastest Routes & Time-Saving Techniques

Whether you're doing an actual speedrun or just want to see the credits as efficiently as possible, TotK has several powerful time-saving techniques. This guide covers the fastest temple order, major sequence breaks, and casual efficiency tips that save hours even in a normal playthrough.

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Fastest Temple Order (Time Efficiency)

Standard optimal order for story completion:

1. Wind Temple (Hebra/Rito) — Tulin's Gust is the most impactful ability for the rest of the game
2. Fire Temple (Eldin) — Yunobo's Charge opens many exploration paths
3. Water Temple (Lanayru) — Sidon's Water Shield is useful for the remaining temples
4. Lightning Temple (Gerudo) — Riju's Lightning is the strongest combat ability
5. Spirit Temple (Depths) — Mineru is powerful but the spirit temple is accessed later in the story chain

Why this order: Tulin's Gust (Wind Temple) makes every subsequent temple and travel sequence faster. Getting it first is the single biggest time save in a normal completion run.

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Major Sequence Breaks

Hyrule Castle Skip (Story)

• TotK allows entering Hyrule Castle at any time without completing all temples
• Skip straight to the final boss area after completing the minimum story triggers
• What you miss: Without all sages, the final boss sequence may be harder — but it's doable

Wind Temple — Reach the Top Without the Rito Quest

• The Wind Temple cloud layer is accessible by stacking sky islands or using high-altitude launch from Tabantha Skyview Tower
• You can enter the Wind Temple before completing the Rito Village questline
• Saves: 20-30 minutes of dialogue and Rito Village NPC interactions

Ascend Through Dungeon Floors

• Ascend can bypass certain dungeon locked floors by passing through ceilings
• Some temple progression gates are bypassable via creative Ascend use
• Fire Temple in particular has several Ascend shortcuts that skip puzzle sequences

Depths Shortcut — Central Mine

• The Great Abandoned Central Mine in the Depths is the core hub for several quest triggers
• Dropping directly to it via the central Hyrule Chasm (near Hyrule Castle) gets you there faster than navigating from the edge

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Time-Saving Techniques

Fast Shrine Completion

• Rauru's Blessing shrines (combat trial or open chest only) — identify them immediately (no environmental puzzle) and clear in 30 seconds
• Phantom Passage shrines (hidden activation shrines) — find by checking all interaction points around the shrine entrance
• Skip non-essential shrine puzzles if you only need the fast travel point — you can always return

Paraglider Efficiency

• Never run when you can glide
• Tulin Gust chain — Tulin → glide → Tulin → glide creates faster travel than running on flat ground
• Use updrafts whenever available — mountain peaks, cooking fires, Zonai launchers all create free altitude

Cooking Batch

• Cook 4× of your most-used meal at once rather than individually
• Best batch cook: 4× Endura Carrot (stamina) + 1 Swift Carrot for a long-duration endurance meal
• Cooking 20 meals at once before a dungeon run saves repeated cooking breaks

Fast Travel Network First

• Every shrine you activate = faster travel for the rest of the game
• Prioritizing shrine activation over combat early compresses travel time in every subsequent session

Autobuild Hoverbike on Demand

• Once hoverbike is saved to Autobuild, fast transit anywhere becomes: launch from tower → activate hoverbike → destination
• Time saved versus running: dramatic

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Any-Percent Route Overview

TotK any-percent (story completion only):

1. Great Sky Island (4 shrines + Temple of Time — unavoidable)
2. Lookout Landing (1 story trigger — unavoidable)
3. Wind Temple approach (Tulin recruitment) → Wind Temple → Colgera
4. Fire Temple → Marbled Gohma
5. (Optional: Water + Lightning to unlock remaining sages for boss)
6. Hyrule Castle → Ganondorf final sequence

Estimated time (optimal casual): 15-25 hours first playthrough; 6-8 hours for practiced routing

Actual speedrun records: World record times are under 2 hours for optimized any-percent with glitches. This guide covers casual-fast, not glitch-heavy speedruns.

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Efficiency Tips for Normal Play

Talk to NPCs While Walking

• Walk and trigger NPC dialogue simultaneously — approach NPCs while moving to initiate dialogue faster than stopping first

Skip Cutscenes (If Available)

• Some memory/cutscene sequences allow skipping after initial trigger
• Press any button during non-interactive cutscenes — some skip, some don't

Blood Moon Timing

• If you need enemy drops, plan Blood Moon farming as a dedicated session rather than interrupting exploration
• Know the rough Blood Moon timing (triggered after game time passes a threshold) and plan around it

Shrine Routing

• Never shrine-hunt randomly. Use Sensor+ set to Shrine and sweep a region systematically
• One complete regional sweep is faster than multiple partial sweeps

Horse Fast Travel

• Register a horse near each region you're working in — horses can be fast-called from any stable
• A horse + stable network supplements fast travel in areas between shrines

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Quick Tips

• Tulin as first temple — the Wind Temple is the single best sequence investment for any-percent casual or completionist. Get it ASAP.
• Ascend is your friend — Ascend through floors, ceilings, cave roofs, and terrain. Many puzzle rooms can be partially or fully bypassed with creative Ascend placement.
• Hoverbike is the fastest ground vehicle — once unlocked and saved to Autobuild, nothing on foot or horseback competes. Everything becomes faster.
• Skip the Depths until you need it — the Depths is a massive time sink. If you're doing a fast clear, defer Depths exploration until after story completion.
• Prioritize fast travel point density — every shrine = one fewer long run. The early investment in shrine activation pays compound returns.

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See also: Fast Travel Guide | Temple Order Guide | Paraglider Guide