Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – Best Sage Companion Abilities Guide

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Sage companion abilities enable Link to unleash the elements. Likewise, they offer utility effects that should aid in exploration. Here’s our guide to help you with the best Sage companion abilities in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Likewise, please bear in mind that this article contains early to mid-game spoilers.

Introduction to Sage companion abilities in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

There’s a reason why we want to make note of the best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom companion abilities. That’s because once you’ve finished the initial steps in Hyrule/Lookout Landing, the open-world nature of the game allows you to visit the regions of Hebra, Gerudo, Lanayru, and Eldin, in any order. Though there is technically a best route, so check here if you’re wondering where to go first in Tears of the Kingdom.

From there, you’ll tackle their respective main quest objectives, where you’re also aided by a companion. At the end of each region’s main quest, that character will continue supporting you by handing you their Sage Vow. These are active by default, allowing you to make use of that companion’s power. You can also deactivate them, if you prefer, by checking the key items tab of your inventory. In most situations, these powers can be used by going near a companion and pressing the A button.

Tulin, Sage of Wind

There’s no doubt that the best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom companion ability comes from the Sage of Wind, Tulin. That’s why the game sort of nudges you to head to Hebra first so you can complete the Rito quest.

• Combat usage: This causes a gust of wind to blow, knocking back smaller enemies. It’s somewhat useless, but Tulin does shoot three arrows, often hitting their mark.
• Exploration usage: This is where this power becomes integral. Basically, Tulin will blow a gust of wind toward the direction that you’re facing. This creates a speed burst as you’re gliding. With repeated casts when it’s off-cooldown, you’ll be able to reach areas with ease.

Yunobo, Sage of Fire

Another great option is Yunobo’s fire element power, which you can get by going to Eldin to complete the Death Mountain/Goron City quest.

• Combat usage: Yunobo turns into a spinning ball that can be launched, bowling over enemies and igniting them. This is great when in a bind, since it deals a bit of damage, and forces enemies away from Link.
• Exploration usage: Yunobo’s rolling attack can destroy rock slides and ore nodes. If ever you’ve gotten frustrated when blunt weapons keep breaking when exploring caves or farming ores/Zonai materials, then you can let Yunobo do all the work for you. Even better, this is active when you’re riding vehicles, which means Yunobo can roll over enemies or destroy obstacles.

Riju, Sage of Lightning

You can get Riju’s ability by making your way to Gerudo to finish the Gerudo Town quest. This is, by far, the best DPS-based elemental power you can have, although it can be frustrating at times.

• Combat usage: When activated, an AoE field emanates outward. Shooting an arrow at anything within that field calls down a devastating lightning strike and explosion, which will hit multiple enemies. There are, however, a couple of problems. The first is the long cooldown and taking several seconds before the AoE field can reach faraway targets. The second is that Riju uses melee weapons. If you want to keep your distance, you’d often chase her down just to activate her ability, and then wait for the AoE field to get wider.
• Exploration usage: This is a bit like Yunobo’s rock slide/ore-breaking effect, given the destructive explosion that it causes. In a few situations, it can also be used to power up push block batteries and devices.

Sidon, Sage of Water

Sadly, this is far from the best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom companion ability. Indeed, Sidon might have the most disappointing powers out of the bunch. You can get this by going to Lanayru for the Zora’s Domain quest.

• Combat usage: Sidon creates a water bubble that encases Link, preventing one instance of damage from any source. This is great on paper, as this can save you from certain death. The problem is that, much like Riju, Sidon is an aggressive melee fighter. If he’s engaged with an enemy, you have to go near him to activate this power. And, yes, there will be moments where, upon activation, the bubble will break since you’d get hit, too. Apart from this, your first melee attack will cause that bubble to dissipate, so you can shoot out a water-based projectile.
• Exploration usage: For one thing, it cleans up gunk, a central mechanic during the Lanayru/Zora’s Domain quest chain. Likewise, you can pop it to cool off when in regions with hotter temperatures.

The Fifth Sage

Last but not least, there’s also a fifth companion summon that you can obtain in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. However, you can only reach this part of the campaign well after completing the main regional quests. You can learn more in our Fifth Sage guide. As for the other types of special actions and functions, you can head over to our abilities guide.