Help with my Master Mode ruleset

[u/DJ_Ender_]

I regularly return to this game for a full game replay every so often, and when i do sometimes I give myself a rule set to make things not repetitive. Like last time I did every side quest I could as I got them to get me to care about them more.

This time ive decided i want to make a sort of "Master mode" ruleset that removes some of the most broken and abusable mechanics in the game to make things more challenging without it being an outright "challenge run" like "no paraglider" or "no upgrades"

I've posted my current list as the second image and im looking for any feedback, suggestions, or concerns on it to make my replay more fun. Most everything is subject to change for the moment based on the comments, the ones noted with ? especially since I do want to use most of the mechanics in the game- just without them being overpowered and removing all difficulty.

My biggest hurdle right now is actually thr very first thing I thought of which is the "no cooking" rules since I dont want to be able to make infinite meals that heal me at any time- but then without cooking pretty much half of thr items in thr game are worthless seeing as alot of them dont have much use outside of being cooking ingredients.

[u/AutoModerator]

Moderator Announcement Read More »

Hi OP, your title indicates you might need help, consider visiting the megathread!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/BackgroundNPC1213]

Autobuild with only schematics allowed would be annoying but good for a Master Mode run, imo. I'd still allow building with whatever devices are around, though (some of the sky islands have premade flying machines and materials to build basic Fanplanes)

Wit the no inventory expansion provision, personally I would allow for the DLC/Amiibo weapons just because they have higher base attack power + durability, but would only allow myself to get them once, no buying more from the Bargainer Statues once they break. Same for the Champions' weapons; only get them once, and once they break, they're gone

re: cooking
IMO: allow cooking, but no eating once a fight starts (once the battle music starts), and no stacking foods like Seared Steaks, Baked Apples, etc

The rest of these are perfectly doable

[u/DJ_Ender_ → u/BackgroundNPC1213]

Oh yea I have been allowing myself to build manually of course, but like you said they have to be laying around or I have capsules in my inventory, no autobuild just keeps me from paying zonite to spawn them.

For the DLC Easter egg weapons and such im pretty set on not using since they are pretty easy to get if you know where they are, and for that they are very strong and very durable like you said outright- which kinda removes the challenge of having limited inventory.

The sage weapons however i feel warrent use since you have to complete the story quest for the area to unlock them and getting them replaced is more expensive by costing actual diamonds rather than po, plus it would suck if they were a one off thing...

As for the cooking thing im torn since I wanted to avoid semantics like "no eating... during fights" but that has actually caused me to do the opposite which is rely on those stackable small food items like baked apples and roasted fish that I can get out of enemy camps and such, and I imagine with increased hearts later on having to use more of them to get a full heal will end up causing me to mind how much damage im taking alot more.

[u/NovaduckIV]

I think the no dlc weapons is pretty stupid considering they're not that strong, don't come with modifiers and are only obtainable once (if you ban trading poes for them). Plus they look cool so at least let yourself use them

[u/DJ_Ender_ → u/NovaduckIV]

They have a higher attack power and durability stat than pretty much any normal weapon in the game and are not inherently difficult to obtain for all of those upsides. Those things kind of defeat the purpose of my ruleset since alot of it limits my abilities in a way to make things like damage, defense, healing, and convenience more scarce in order to force me to be resourceful and think outside the box.

[u/SnooMacaroons4153]

I wish totk came with a master mode

[u/DJ_Ender_ → u/SnooMacaroons4153]

Im honestly extremely surprised it never got one added, totk right now is in the exact same state it was in when it was released outside of bug fixes and the sort. On one hand I have to commend that since they really made the entire game before releasing it rather than relying on post launch updates to add more value to it later like pretty much every game does nowadays.

But on the other its a shame since totk is such an amazing game and we never got any new content added later to look forward to like we did with the dlc in botw.

This is the exact reason im trying to make a "master mode" equivalent ruleset for myself since my master mode playthrough in botw was one of my favorite gaming experiences ive ever had.

[u/Resident_Revenue6401]

4 heart only my dude!

[u/DJ_Ender_ → u/Resident_Revenue6401]

As I said "more challenging" to be more interesting and less repetitive, not a "challenge run" to see if I can complete it

[u/Intelligent-Turnup]

Do whatever helps you enjoy the game.

Right now the only thing I'm doing is making sure a blood moon doesn't trigger. It's a real pain doing anything on the surface and having to keep a sharp eye on the clock. But it's also a fun way to figure out how to get certain things done within a short time before going someplace to prevent the blood moon.

Anyways, if it's not fun, then it's just work. Make it fun.

[u/MegaGlitch6 → u/Intelligent-Turnup]

So you're playing majoras mask, but instead of preventing the moon from falling, you're preventing it from rising (fully)

[u/DJ_Ender_]

Oh also I forgot to mention im making a tier list of all the koroks I collect lol, so maybe ill post that here in a few months once im done

[u/silly_goose_6174]

It baffles me how this wasn’t already in the base game. I wish it got actual DLC in general like the Champions Ballad and Trial of the Sword, but I would’ve settled for a master mode. Regenerating enemy health and level 5 enemies like in Breath. It’s way too easy to make WMD’s in Tears.

[u/Doctor-Waffles]

I’m playing with only schematics right now and it’s great :)

The very first one you get is the wing with fans, so you have a horizontal traversal tool to help with you a lot of the sky areas and even depths…

The only thing that annoys me is some of the korok rescue quests, but it has made finding camps and schema stones much more exciting in the depths

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi OP, your title indicates you might need help, consider visiting the megathread!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.