The best elixirs in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Monster parts aren’t just for show, you can use them to craft some of the best elixirs to aid yourself in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Considering how many dangers Hyrule has in store — from slippery mountain cliffs to three-headed dragons — these items are essential for your survival.

If you’re searching for the most useful effects in the game, we’ve collected the best elixir options in Tears of the Kingdom. As a reminder, while you can only have the effect of one elixir at a time, pairing it up with the best armor and best weapons will create all sorts of synergies and protective combinations.

The best elixirs in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

At a glance, here are the best elixirs in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom:

• Hasty Elixir
• Hearty Elixir
• Mighty Elixir
• Enduring Elixir
• Spicy Elixir
• Sticky Elixir

Similarly to the best recipes, there are dozens of elixirs to discover and play around with in Tears of the Kingdom. Depending on the situation you’re in, you might need to prioritize one effect over the other. Sticky Elixirs have a very situational use, for example.

Most elixirs can’t recover hearts, but the effects are much stronger in comparison to meals, avoiding the need of granting better quality materials or a higher amount of them.

Remember that the length of the effect can be altered. You can use dragon materials, namely dragon horns, to get a 30-minute timer on a buff, for example. For anything else, the portable pot will come in handy.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Hasty Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: Either a hightail lizard or hot-footed frog, along with any monster material.
• Effect: Increases movement speed while running, climbing, and swimming.

When thinking about effects in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a boost to movement speed might not seem like much. That being said, making Link faster helps greatly in risky situations — either to escape from a fatal blow, give yourself that one last push to climb a mountain, or get to the other side of a lake without drowning.

As an example of the Hasty Elixir, I used two hot-footed frogs, one hightail lizard, and a chuchu jelly for a 4:10 minute buff. As always, you can play around with the amounts here for different results.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Hearty Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: At least one hearty lizard, and any monster material.
• Effect: Restores Link’s full health and grants a few yellow hearts (which are temporary.)

Unlike cooked food, elixirs don’t restore your health by default regardless of their effect. That said, you still can prepare elixirs that are focused on healing. The hearty elixir is a practical one, especially since hearty lizards are not hard to find. Whenever you’re close to a stable, you can purchase them at 100 rupees a pop from Beedle.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Mighty Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: At least one bladed rhino beetle, and any monster material.
• Effect: Increases strength.

If you still haven’t gotten your hands on the Barbarian Armor or Fierce Deity Armor sets, the Mighty Elixir can help. You can get your hands on bladed rhino beetles in the forest around East Necluda and West Necluda, as they’re usually on trees.

One particular location, called Bronas Forest, is located southeast of the Faron region. If you’re farming diamonds using the help of dondons, it’s the same location. Make sure to visit during the night (there’s a campfire near the tent where you can rest to pass the time), and look up, as beetles are usually upwards on the trees. Pair it up with any monster part, and you’ll be all set. If the beetles keep escaping from your grasp, use the Stealth Armor or Yiga Armor sets for a quiet approach.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Energizing Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: Either a restless cricket or an energetic rhino beetle, along with any monster material.
• Effect: Replenishes stamina.

Stamina is a crucial mechanic in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Making sure that you have a few Energizing Elixirs with you at all times is key for a needed pick-me-up during taxing actions for Link.

As an example, I combined two restless crickets with a chuchu jelly to recover close to half of a stamina wheel. It’s a quite decent effect overall, considering I used materials that are easy to find out in the wild.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Sticky Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: Either a sticky frog or sticky lizard, along with any monster material.
• Effect: Grants slip resistance.

If you’re yet to obtain the Froggy Armor set, or you prefer to use a different set altogether, the Sticky Elixir is for you. As the name indicates, it’ll be harder for Link to slip from wet surfaces during climbing — if there’s rain or he recently took a swim somewhere, the elixir will help.

As an example, I combined two sticky frogs, a sticky lizard, and a chuchu jelly, for a 7:10 minute slip resistance effect. If you only have one frog or lizard, you can combine them either way. Just keep in mind that the effect won’t last as long.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to make Spicy Elixir

• Elixir ingredients: Either a winterwing butterfly or a warm darner, along with a monster material.
• Effect: Grants cold resistance.

If you’re spending time in the Sky Islands, it’s likely that you’ve already stumbled upon warm darners or winterwing butterflies. Pair them up with any monster parts to create a Spicy Elixir, which is perfect for cold environments. If you’re tackling the “Messages from an Ancient Era” quest, you’ll find plenty of warm darners on the star-shaped islands.

For example, I made a Spicy Elixir using a warm darner and a bokoblin horn, and got 3:40 minutes out of the effect.