You're standing on top of a freezing peak in the Hebra Mountains. Your stamina bar is flashing red. You’ve just burned through three Spicy Pepper steaks just to stay alive, and what do you find under a random rock? A small, leafy creature shaking a rattle at you.
Yeah. It's a Korok. Again.
Collecting Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok seeds is basically the ultimate test of a player's sanity. There are 1,000 of them this time. Not 900. One thousand. It’s a staggering number that makes most completionists want to lay down in a field of Sundelions and never get up. But honestly, despite the sheer absurdity of the task, these little guys are the backbone of how you actually survive the game's tougher combat encounters.
Most people think of these seeds as a completionist's nightmare, but they’re really just a clever way Nintendo forces you to look closer at the world. If you aren't hunting for them, you're missing half the game.
The Brutal Math of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok Seeds
Let’s talk numbers because they’re kind of terrifying. In Breath of the Wild, we had 900. In Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo bumped it up. However, there’s a catch. There are actually only 800 "locations" to find.
Why the discrepancy? Because of those "I need to reach my friend!" Koroks.
You know the ones. They’re sitting there with massive backpacks that look like they weigh more than a Lynel. They can't move. They're pathetic. You have to Ultrahand them across canyons, rivers, or up mountains to reach their buddy waiting at a campfire. Each time you successfully reunite these long-lost forest spirits, they hand over two seeds instead of one.
Mathematically, you need 421 seeds to fully max out your inventory stashes. That’s it. Anything beyond that is purely for the "bragging rights" or for that one specific, smelly reward from Hestu that we all know is coming.
Why Your Inventory Space Actually Matters
You start the game with a pitiful amount of space. It’s embarrassing. You find a cool Royal Claymore and suddenly you have to drop your favorite Zora Sword because you’re out of pockets.
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Hestu is your gatekeeper here. In the early game, you’ll usually find him near Lindor’s Brow Skyview Tower, shivering because of some scary trees. Once you help him out, he moves to Lookout Landing, and eventually, he settles into Korok Forest once you’ve cleared out the literal gloom rotting the Great Deku Tree from the inside out.
The scaling cost is what gets you. The first upgrade is cheap. One seed. Easy. But by the time you're trying to unlock that final bow slot, Hestu is asking for 25 seeds. It’s a steep climb.
The Weird New Puzzles You’ll Encounter
If you played the previous game, you know the drill: pick up rocks, dive into rings of lilies, and follow the yellow flowers. But Tears of the Kingdom added some wrinkles that honestly caught me off guard the first few times.
One of the most common new ones involves the "cork" puzzles. You’ll see a giant wooden plug stuck in a stump or a hollow log, usually weighted down or attached to a chain. You can’t just pull it out with your hands. You have to get creative. I’ve seen people attach rockets to them, or submerging the weighted end in water so the buoyancy pops the cork. It’s peak "physics engine" gameplay.
Then there are the roof puzzles.
You’ll be walking under a bridge or into a small cave and see a wooden ceiling with a missing piece. Usually, there’s a small block nearby. You use Ultrahand to fit the piece into the ceiling, and—poof—seed acquired. It’s a subtle nod to the Ascend ability, forcing you to look up instead of just scanning the ground.
Those Frustrating "Reunite the Friends" Missions
Look, we all have a love-hate relationship with the backpack Koroks. On one hand, getting two seeds for one task is a great deal. On the other hand, dragging a helpless leaf creature behind a Wing device that is rapidly losing power is stressful.
Pro tip: Don’t overthink it. Most of the time, the game provides the tools you need right next to the Korok. If there are wheels and a wooden board, make a cart. If there’s a fan and a river, make a boat.
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The funniest way to handle these? Auto-build. If you’ve already built a reliable "Korok Towing Vehicle," just spend the 9 Zonaite and spawn it. It saves ten minutes of faffing about with Ultrahand glue.
Where Everyone Misses Them
If you’re stuck at 998 seeds and losing your mind, I can almost guarantee where the last few are.
- The Satori Trees: Those beautiful cherry blossom trees spread across Hyrule aren't just for show. If you place a piece of fruit (any fruit, really) in the small bowl at the base, a Satori will appear and light up all the nearby caves. While this is mainly for finding Bubbul Frogs, Koroks are almost always hiding near these landmarks.
- The Sanidin Park Ruins: People forget about the old landmarks from the first game. Just because the story doesn't take you there doesn't mean a Korok isn't hiding under a bench or on top of a horse statue.
- The Dueling Peaks: There are so many nooks and crannies in those split mountains. Check the very tips of the peaks, but also check the ledges halfway down.
- The Sky Islands: This is the big one. People forget the sky. There are Koroks on the smallest, most insignificant floating rocks in the atmosphere. If you see a lone pillar of rock floating in the sky with a single dead tree on it, there is a 90% chance a Korok is there waiting for you to find a "hidden" glitter trail.
The Myth of the "Easy" 100%
Let's be real for a second. Collecting all 1,000 Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok seeds is a chore. It is not "fun" in the traditional sense after the first 200. It becomes a scavenger hunt that requires a map.
I highly recommend using an interactive map like the ones found on Zelda Dungeon or MapGenie. Doing this blind is a recipe for a headache. The game tracks your progress by region, but it doesn't tell you where in the region you’re missing that one stubborn rock-hider.
Also, get the Korok Mask as soon as possible.
You find it in the Depths, specifically in the Forest Coliseum. You’ll have to fight a Hinox to get it, but it’s worth the trouble. The mask shakes and makes a little noise whenever a Korok is nearby. It’s a literal lifesaver when you're paragliding over a forest and don't want to miss a hidden puzzle.
The Philosophical Side of the Grind
Why did Nintendo put 1,000 of these things in the game?
It’s not because they expect you to find them all. They put so many in so that no matter where you go or how you play, you’ll find enough to upgrade your gear. It’s about density, not completion. The developers wanted the world to feel "alive" and reactive. Every time you think, "I wonder if there's something on top of that weirdly shaped pillar," and there actually is a Korok there, it reinforces the player's curiosity.
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It’s a reward for paying attention.
When you finally reach the end of the road and talk to Hestu with 1,000 seeds in your inventory, he gives you Hestu's Gift. I won't spoil the exact visual, but let's just say it's a golden version of exactly what you think it is. It does nothing. It has no stats. It’s a joke.
And honestly? That’s the most "Zelda" thing ever. The journey was the point, even if the journey involved carrying a crying forest spirit three miles uphill in a thunderstorm.
Strategies for the Final Stretch
If you’re serious about the grind, change your gameplay loop. Don't try to get them all at once. You'll burn out.
Break it down by Skyview Tower region. Spend one Saturday morning clearing out the Central Hyrule region. Use the Hero’s Path mode on your map (unlocked via Robbie’s quests) to see where you haven't walked yet. If there's a giant blank spot on your map, there’s a Korok there. Guaranteed.
Focus on the "timed" puzzles—the ones where you step on a stump with a leaf symbol and have to race to a yellow circle—early on while you have plenty of stamina. The "follow the flower" puzzles are easier to do at night because the yellow glow stands out against the dark grass.
What to do next
- Go get the Korok Mask immediately. Travel to the Forest Coliseum in the Depths (underneath the Great Hyrule Forest) and defeat the Hinox there. It’s the single most important tool for this hunt.
- Prioritize Weapon Slots. Don't balance your upgrades. Max out weapon slots first, then bows, then shields. You'll break weapons way faster than you'll ever need a fifth or sixth shield.
- Check the Great Sky Island again. Even if you think you cleared the tutorial area, there are usually 15-20 seeds hiding in corners you couldn't reach during the first hour of the game.
- Mark your map. Every time you see a "reunite the friends" Korok but don't have the time to do it, put a specific stamp on your map so you can come back later with a hoverbike.
Hunting for Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Korok seeds is a massive undertaking, but it’s the best way to see every inch of the masterpiece Nintendo built. Just don't forget to stop and enjoy the view between the rock-lifting.