Inventory management is a vital part of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as you’ll consistently have dozens of weapons, bows, and shields to keep track of. Just like in Breath of the Wild, you’ll want to expand the number of inventory slots you have available, and to do this you’ll need to find the big lovable Korok named Hestu. In exchange for Korok Seeds, Hestu will unlock new slots, but you’ll need to find him a couple of times before he settles down in one location for good. Here’s everything you need to know about Hestu in Tears of the Kingdom.
Hestu’s First Location
The first time you encounter Hestu will be out in the wild, near Hyrule Ridge. He’s found on the main road leading toward Lindor’s Brow Skyview Tower, so he shouldn’t be too difficult to find if you look in the area on the map above.
Talk to the Korok and you’ll unlock the Hestu’s Concerns Side Adventure, where he asks for simply one Korok Seed. By this point you should have quite a few seeds, so simply give one to Hestu and he’ll open up a new inventory slot. After that he’ll note he’s looking for a “place to relax” nearby, meaning you’ll have to find his next location if you want to keep unlocking slots.
Hestu’s Second Location
The next location you’ll find Hestu is none other than Lookout Landing, the first settlement you’ll visit on your trip through Hyrule. The problem is getting Hestu to appear seems a bit tricky, as he doesn’t automatically show up after completing the Side Adventure.
There seem to be varying reports out there, but in our experience, Hestu appeared in Lookout Landing after completing three of the game's dungeons; the Wind Temple, Fire Temple, and Water Temple. At the very least you’ll need to complete a good amount of the main story and dungeons before the Korok will appear. When he does appear in Lookout Landing, Hestu will take up residence right under the massive tree to the right of the item shop.
Of course, this all means you’ll be waiting a while to get an inventory increase. There is a way to get Hestu to appear in a different location earlier, but it requires a bit of work as you’ll need to free Korok Forest from Gloom.
How to Unlock the Korok Forest
As you complete Korok puzzles, at some point you’ll have a Korok mention how they can’t get back to Korok Forest, and how a giant hole appeared near its entrance. If you head to the Great Forest you’ll find the entire area coated in fog that makes it impossible to progress, but the Chasm that’s appeared just to the South gives you a new option. It’s easy to spot on the map, but before you jump in make sure you’re prepared with Brightbloom Seeds and food for recovery. You should also put a waypoint on Korok Forest, so you can keep apprised of which direction you need to be heading in the Depths.
Land at the bottom and look to the North. You should see a line of Poe souls leading up to a Lightroot in the dark. Head in that direction and use Brightbloom Seeds to illuminate your path. Essentially you're going to be walking on massive tree trunks for this whole section, so make sure you’re liberally using Brightblooms as you don’t want to fall off.
As you follow the path you’ll start to see a forest with creepy-faced trees. You’ll need to run straight through this area as fast as possible toward the Lightroot, as Gloom Hands will pop up and chase you. Don’t bother fighting the hands as you’ll have to fight some others soon.
Once you reach the Lightroot, look to your left to see the path you need to keep following. Follow the branch up and climb up the green roots, and when you top the hill you should be able to look down and see another Lightroot, with a stone platform next to it.
Jump down and activate the Lightroot, then head under the stone pillar and use Ascend. You’ll find yourself smack-dab in the middle of Korok Forest, but something isn’t right. The Great Deku Tree is sick and all of the Koroks are frozen stiff.
To solve the problem head to the bottom of the Great Deku Tree and through the whole just behind the Chief Korok. Inside you’ll see another small mini-chasm, so jump down and you’ll be faced with a Gloom Hand battle.
The best way to take these down is to keep your distance and pelt them with arrows. Hitting the eye in the middle of a hand will get a critical hit, and you can use Bomb Arrows to cause big damage to multiple hands at once. If you run out of arrows your best bet is long weapons like spears.
Once the hands are defeated use Ascend to head back up and talk to the Great Deku Tree. Now you can find Hestu right next to the local shrine, Musanokir Shrine, which you can use as a fast travel point whenever you need to unload some Korok Seeds.
“It's dangerous to go alone!” Check out more of Inverse’s Tears of the Kingdom coverage:
- THE INVERSE REVIEW: Tears of the Kingdom Is the Best Nintendo Switch Game Ever Made
- Tears of the Kingdom’s Best New Mechanic Could Change the Series Forever
- Why Zelda Speedrunners Plan to Take It Slow With Tears of the Kingdom
- Tears of the Kingdom Doubles Down on Breath of the Wild’s Best Inspiration
