TL;DR
- Fuse transforms basic gear into powerful tools through creative item combinations
- Early-game weapon fusions focus on resource gathering, elemental effects, and boss materials
- Shield fusions enable mobility options while avoiding durability-draining attachments
- Arrow modifications provide tactical advantages like homing, lighting, and instant elimination
- Mastering Fuse mechanics early dramatically accelerates progression and combat effectiveness
The Fuse mechanic in Tears of the Kingdom represents one of the most transformative gameplay innovations, allowing players to combine virtually any items in their inventory with weapons, shields, or arrows. This system unlocks during your initial exploration of the Great Sky Island starting area, where you’ll receive hands-on training with this revolutionary feature.
To activate Fuse, hold the L button and select the Fuse action from the ability wheel. The system offers multiple application methods depending on your equipped gear:
- Melee Weapons: Press Y while holding a weapon to fuse materials directly to it
- Shields: Use ZL button to initiate shield-based fusions
- Arrows: Aim with ZR, then press up on the D-pad to access attachable materials
- Fuse Compatibility: Nearly any material, weapon component, Zonai Device, or equipment piece can serve as fusion material
- Power Assessment: Check your inventory screen to view the Fuse attack power statistic displayed beneath item names
- Material Preparation: If an item resides in your inventory, simply hold and drop it before activating Fuse to target it
- Fusion Removal: Access the inventory tab, select the fused item, and choose “Destroy Fused Material” to separate components
- Professional Separation: Visit the general goods store in Tarrey Town within Akkala region, where an NPC will dismantle fused equipment for 20 rupees
You can see the Fuse attack power via the inventory screen.
Common Beginner Mistake: Many players overlook that fused materials don’t need to be in the quick-select wheel—any inventory item can be dropped and fused directly.
Strategic weapon fusions can dramatically accelerate your early-game effectiveness, transforming basic gear into specialized tools for combat, resource gathering, and exploration. These combinations represent the foundation of advanced gameplay strategies you’ll develop throughout your adventure.
- Boulders or Rocks: Essential for mining ore deposits and clearing obstructed pathways. Fuse these to spears for rapid thrusting attacks or broadswords for powerful spinning strikes that efficiently break obstacles.
- Spiked Iron Balls: Deliver a substantial +15 damage boost, making them invaluable against early-game enemies. Their weight also provides additional impact force against shielded opponents.
- Spear Extensions: Combining spears with additional spears or halberds significantly extends your melee reach, allowing safer engagement with dangerous foes.
- Zonai-Synergy Weapons: Zonaite weapons bearing the “resonates with Zonai Devices” description receive attack power bonuses when fused with compatible Zonai technology.
- Elemental Gemstones: Rubies (fire), sapphires (ice), and topazes (shock) enable spell-like projectile attacks with each swing. These elemental effects can create environmental advantages like freezing water surfaces or igniting grassy areas.
- World Boss Components: Defeating enemies like Flux Constructs, Hinox, Frox, and Talus yields unique body parts that, when fused, provide exceptional damage-per-second improvements unavailable through standard materials.
- Advanced Technique – Gloom Weapon Bypass: Gloom weapons inflict a debilitating effect that prevents heart recovery while equipped. However, attaching a Gloom weapon as fusion material to a basic weapon (like a wooden stick) allows you to benefit from their high damage output without suffering the health-draining consequences.
- Elite Material – Silver Lynel Drops: Though challenging to obtain early, Silver Lynel Saber Horns and Mace Horns offer some of the highest attack power values in the game.
Rocks destroying rocks. Simple as that.
Optimization Tip: Always carry multiple fused weapons with different elemental properties to handle varied enemy types and environmental challenges efficiently.
Shield fusions extend beyond simple durability improvements, offering creative mobility solutions and tactical advantages that can completely change your approach to traversal and combat situations.
- Shield Stacking: Fusing a shield to another shield substantially increases the damage absorption capacity before breaking, effectively doubling your defensive capabilities in many cases.
- Vertical Launch Systems: Springs and Time Bombs fused to shields enable instant elevation gains. Execute a Shield Surf by holding ZL, pressing X to jump, then A—this triggers the device instead of standard surfing, propelling you upward for aerial attacks or evasion.
- Rocket Propulsion: Attaching Rockets to shields provides even greater vertical ascent. Simply maintain the block button to activate the rocket boost without requiring the Shield Surf input sequence.
- Avoidance Category – Constant Activation Devices: Flame, Frost, and Shock Emitters continuously drain shield durability when fused, as if blocking attacks constantly. Instead, activate these devices separately using Ultrahand control, which consumes Energy Cell power but preserves your shield’s condition.
Time Bombs and Springs launch you instantly. You can follow this by drawing your bow to slow down time while in mid-air.
Common Pitfall: Players often fuse Zonai Emitters to shields without realizing the continuous durability drain, often destroying valuable shields within minutes of use.
Arrow fusions provide the most versatile tactical options in Tears of the Kingdom, transforming standard ammunition into specialized tools for combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving scenarios.
- Explosive Ordinance – Bomb Flowers: Create area-of-effect explosions perfect for clearing enemy groups or demolishing environmental obstacles. The blast radius typically affects a 5-meter area, making them ideal for clustered opponents.
- Elemental Projectiles: Fire Fruits, Ice Fruits, and Shock Fruits imbue arrows with their respective elements, enabling strategic advantages against elementally vulnerable enemies.
- Illumination Solutions – Brightbloom Seeds: Essential for navigating the lightless Depths/Chasms, these seeds illuminate dark areas when attached to arrows, revealing hidden paths and resources.
- Precision Guidance – Keese Eyeballs: Provide homing capabilities to arrows, dramatically improving accuracy against fast-moving or aerial targets like Aerocudas and mounted Bokoblins.
- Endgame Elimination – Ancient Blades: These rare components instantly disintegrate most enemies upon impact. After completing the Fifth Sage quest chain, purchase additional Ancient Blades from Constructs at 50 Zonaite each, requiring consistent ore mining in the Depths to maintain supply.
Advanced Strategy: Combine Keese Eyeballs with elemental fruits to create homing elemental arrows that consistently strike enemy weak points.
These represent just the foundational Fuse strategies for early-game progression. As you advance, explore interconnected systems like Ultrahand construction techniques, the Autobuild automation system, and comprehensive Zonai Device applications to further enhance your capabilities.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom contains countless mechanics and systems to master. For additional guidance, consult our comprehensive guides hub covering all aspects of Hyrule exploration and mastery.
Action Checklist
- Master Fuse controls: L-button activation, Y for weapons, ZL for shields, D-pad up for arrows
- Create specialized tools: fuse rocks to spears for mining, spiked balls for combat
- Experiment with elemental gemstones on weapons for projectile attacks
- Develop shield mobility: attach rockets or springs for vertical movement options
- Practice arrow modifications: test homing, explosive, and elemental combinations
No reproduction without permission:SeeYouSoon Game Club » Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – Best Fuses For The Early Game Master Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Fuse system with expert early-game weapon, shield, and arrow combinations
