'Zelda: Breath of the Wild' Necluda Guide: Shrines, quests and other things to find

The Necluda region in eastern Hyrule has plenty to do for new players in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. If you choose to follow the main story, you'll find your way to Necluda very early on. It's the easiest way to get to Kakariko and Hateno villages.

However, there's plenty of cool stuff to see and do in Necluda. Here's what you need to know. 

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Necluda guide: Dueling Peaks Tower

The first thing you want to do is climb the Dueling Peaks Tower, which is (appropriately) next to the Dueling Peaks. Those are the two huge mountains that face each other and essentially act as a gate to Necluda, if you couldn't tell. This is likely one of the first towers you'll climb after getting off the Great Plateau, as there aren't any major obstacles to it and it's on the way to Kakariko Village. The Hateno Tower can be found to the east of that, but you'll have to get past some enemies to climb it.

With that out of the way, we can get started.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Necluda guide: Side quests

As with many of the side quests in Breath of the Wild, you'll find the Necluda ones at stables and villages. There's a stable on the east side of Dueling Peaks with a few things to do. Gamers Heroes has a full list of every side quest in the region, but here are a few that I think are worth doing.

For some easy money, you should talk to the two guys inside the stable. They'll offer you directions to some hidden treasure for 100 rupees. You can be a sucker and pay them, or just go get the treasure on your own. If you follow the small creek directly south of the stable to its end and climb up a little bit from there, you'll find a cracked wall. Bomb it and plunder everything inside.

The "Hylian Homeowner" side quest lets you buy and mildly customize your own house in Hateno Village. You can find a comprehensive guide here.

Eventide Island off the southeast coast of Necluda contains one of the game's most clever and challenging optional sequences. I recommend going into it knowing as little as possible, but maybe wait until you have some heart container and stamina upgrades.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Necluda guide: Shrines

Polygon has a guide to every shrine in the region. Needless to say, you should do as many of these as you can to max out your stamina and hearts. Having as many fast travel points as possible is a plus, too.

I recommend going for the Twin Memories shrines at the tops of both Dueling Peaks mountains. They're unique in that the solutions to their respective puzzles are contained within the other shrine. No other shrines in the game correspond to each other in that way, so it's pretty cool.

It's also incredibly rewarding and fun to climb the Dueling Peaks. You'll get great early-game view of the world and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Necluda guide: Other fun things to do

The area around the Dueling Peaks Stable has a ton of wild horses for you to tame. This is a great place to get used to the dynamics of horse taming early in the game, as the stable is right there if you catch one and want to register it. The forest to the south of the stable is also where I rode my first bear, if you're so inclined.

One of Link's lost memories is in the guardian graveyard near the stables. Finding all of these is key to fully understanding the game's backstory. I heartily recommend doing that, and this area is a good place to start. It's not a perilous area full of tricky obstacles or difficult enemies.

Lastly, there are plenty of the game's 900 Korok Seeds for you to find in Necluda. Click here for more information on how to find them all.

More Zelda: Breath of the Wild tips, tricks and guides

Find out all there is to know about Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including what to expect from the Wii U version, how to preserve your items, how to beat bosses like the Stone Talus, Lynel, the Guardians  and the Hinox, the best recipes for Link and how to take on the game's shrines. You'll also want to find out where all the great fairies are in the game, all available stables, how to use amiibo with your version of Zelda and how to increase your health, stamina and weapon slots.