Breath of the Wild updates to 1.3.1, adds new way to get gear

Another day, another update to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But this isn’t any ordinary update, this is a system first for the Nintendo Switch.

Amongst the bug fixes and gameplay improvements we normally see (including the fix for a bug that prevented players from 100% completion in Master Mode), the patch notes for Version 1.3.1 revealed an interesting new mechanic for getting gear. Sometime tomorrow, a Switch news channel will open called “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Tips from the Wild” and in it, you’ll be able to launch the game from certain posts to receive items in-game.

This is a first for the Nintendo Switch, and to be honest, we didn’t even know that it was a possibility until today. We don’t know what kind of items this will give, but apparently some items will be inaccessible at certain points in the game, depending on in-game progress and the player’s location. This also means that the Switch version now has features that the Wii U version doesn’t.

The update is available to download right now, and the news channel is expected to go live at some point tomorrow. You can read the full (if brief) patch notes below:

Version 1.3.1

• We have fixed the issue in Pack 1: The Master Trials of the Expansion Pass, in which defeating certain enemies for Kilton was not counted toward completion when playing in Master Mode.
• In-game items can now be obtained from launching the software from certain articles distributed through a new News channel (“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Tips from the Wild”) which can be accessed through News on the Home menu.
  • This channel is expected to open on 8/9/2017.
  • Depending on your game progress and location, certain items may not be obtainable.
• Various fixes to improve gameplay.