Stealth Guide — Sneaking, Stealth Armor & Silent Kills

Stealth is one of TotK's most underused systems. Proper stealth enables silent kills, free horse taming, easier Bubbulfrog collection, and full enemy camp clearing without alerting anyone. This guide covers the entire stealth mechanic.

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How Stealth Works in TotK

TotK's stealth system is based on noise and visibility:

Noise: Footsteps, running, jumping, landing, and weapon swings all create noise. Enemies detect Link by sound within a radius. The larger Link's noise, the larger the detection radius.

Visibility: Enemies have a cone of vision. Walking in their peripheral area or behind them reduces detection risk. Line of sight matters — being out of sight range means they can't see you regardless of other factors.

Detection state:

1. Unaware: Enemy doesn't know you exist — full stealth approach possible
2. Alert: Enemy heard or saw something — investigating, on guard
3. Combat: Full detection — fight or flee

Crouching (ZL): Reduces noise dramatically. Crouch-walking is the standard stealth movement speed. Running while crouched is possible but noisier than walking.

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The Stealth Armor Set

How to get it: Purchase from the Armor Shop in Kakariko Village (eastern Necluda region). Available from early game.

Cost: ~600 Rupees per piece (~1,800R for full set)

Set bonuses:

• Each piece: +Stealth (reduces detection radius)
• ★★ upgrade (2 pieces at Level 2): Stealth Boost — maximized stealth detection reduction
• Full set at ★★: Near-invisible for normal enemies unless you walk directly into their vision cone

Upgrade materials (Tier 1 → 2):

• 5× Blue Nightshade per piece (Tier 1)
• 5× Sunset Firefly per piece (Tier 2)

Blue Nightshade grows throughout Necluda region. Sunset Firefly appears at night in most forested areas (Korok Forest area, Faron woodlands).

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Sneaky Elixirs — When You Don't Have Stealth Armor

Sneaky Elixir provides temporary stealth boost equivalent to Stealth Armor:

Recipe: 1× critter with "sneaky" attribute + 1+ monster parts Best sneaky critter: Sneaky River Snail (found in rivers/streams throughout Hyrule)

Duration: A single elixir with 4 monster parts can last 10–20 minutes — enough for one full stealth session.

When to use instead of armor:

• Before purchasing Stealth Armor
• When you need maximum defense armor equipped but also need stealth for one encounter
• Horse taming (cheaper than buying full armor if you just need one tame)

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What Stealth Enables

1. Silent Kills

Approach an enemy from behind while crouching → ZR for a Sneak Strike. Sneak Strikes deal 8× normal weapon damage and are silent — nearby enemies don't hear them.

Chain kills: Kill one camp enemy with a sneak strike, wait for patrol to look away, creep to next, repeat. A full 6-enemy Bokoblin camp can be silently cleared this way.

Best Sneak Strike weapons: Any two-handed weapon at 8× multiplier. Even a basic two-hander at 10 attack becomes 80 attack per sneak strike — enough to one-shot most early and mid enemies.

2. Horse Taming

Wild horses detect nearby footsteps. Full Stealth Armor + crouch approach nearly eliminates noise detection. The Giant Horse (requires highest stamina to tame) is also detected by sound — stealth lets you get close before mounting attempt.

3. Bubbulfrog Collection

Bubblfrogs in cave ceilings flee when Link gets within ~15 meters. Crouch + Stealth Armor extends the approach distance significantly, giving more time to line up arrow shots.

4. Lynel Mask Combination

The Yiga Clan Mask makes Yiga enemies ignore you. Similarly, the Lynel Mask (from Koltin) makes Lynels treat you as one of their own briefly — but only if approached carefully. Stealth + Lynel Mask = walk up to a Lynel within melee range without triggering combat.

5. Yiga Clan Base Infiltration

Yiga bases in The Depths have patrol guards. Full stealth sweep (Stealth Armor + crouch + patient timing) eliminates entire bases without triggering alarms or reinforcements.

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Puffshroom Technique

Puffshroom is a throwable item that creates a cloud of spores on impact, blinding enemies for 5–10 seconds. An enemy caught in Puffshroom cloud:

• Cannot see Link
• Stands confused
• Is fully vulnerable to sneak strikes

Combo: Throw Puffshroom at enemy feet → wait for cloud to expand → walk up behind them → sneak strike.

This works regardless of your stealth gear level — even without Stealth Armor, Puffshroom creates a free sneak strike window. Extremely useful in tight spaces where approach angles are limited.

Finding Puffshrooms: Scattered throughout caves and underground areas. Purchase from Zonai device dispensers occasionally.

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Night Stealth

Dark Armor set (from Koltin, requires Bubbul Gems) provides Night Speed Up — greatly increased movement speed at night. While not a traditional stealth bonus, moving faster at night means:

• Faster between patrol positions
• Easier to outrun detection radius if spotted
• Effective for nighttime Korok hunting circuits

The Night Speed Up is additive with Stealth Armor if you mix sets, but the bonus requires 2+ Dark Armor pieces.

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Enemies and Stealth

Easy to stealth: Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, Horriblins, Constructs Harder to stealth: Lynels (heightened senses, large detection radius), Yiga Elite fighters (attentive patrol patterns) Cannot be stealthed: Mini-bosses in locked shrine rooms, any enemy already in combat state

Sleep mechanic: Some enemies sleep at night. Sleeping enemies have a reduced detection radius — walk up and sneak strike for easier kills. Hinox always sleep initially; some Bokoblins sleep at night in camps.

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Quick Tips

• Crouch everywhere by default — make it a habit in new areas before assessing threat level
• High ground reduces detection — enemies rarely look up; approach from above whenever possible
• Whistle trick: Pressing ZL while standing (not crouching) produces a directional sound — you can use this to lure enemies toward a sound while you reposition
• No armor needed for water — swimming is naturally quiet; underwater approach works on coastal enemies
• Sneak + Perfect Guard — if detected mid-sneak, immediately shield + perfect guard the first attack to convert detection into a flurry rush opportunity
• Stealthing past Silver enemies — Silver Lynels and Silver monsters are very difficult to avoid; stealth is useful for bypassing them rather than fighting if not farming

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See also: Horse Guide | Bubbulfrog Guide | Yiga Clan Guide