You've probably spent forty hours just wandering around the Necluda region. Honestly, that’s the Tears of the Kingdom experience in a nutshell. You set out to save a kingdom, but then you see a weirdly shaped tree or a guy struggling with a signpost, and suddenly it's 2 AM. Completionists know the struggle. Tracking down every single interaction in this version of Hyrule is a logistical nightmare because the game doesn't just hand you a clean TOTK side quests checklist the moment you drop from the Great Sky Island.
Most players finish the main story with a quest log that looks like a Swiss cheese—full of holes. There are 139 side quests. That’s not counting the 60 Side Adventures, which are basically mini-campaigns. If you’re trying to hit that 100% marker, you aren't just looking for icons; you're looking for specific triggers that only happen after certain weather patterns or story beats. It's a lot.
Why Your Quest Log is Probably Lying to You
The biggest headache? Quest triggers. Some NPCs won't even talk to you about their problems until you've cleared a specific temple or, weirder yet, talked to a totally unrelated character across the map.
Take the "Messages from an Ancient Era" quest. You see those star-shaped islands falling from the sky? You can't just photograph the tablets and call it a day. You have to go to Lookout Landing, find Wortsworth, and then follow him to Kakariko Village. If you don't do that specific sequence, those tablets are just pretty rocks. This is why a TOTK side quests checklist is less about "where" and more about "when."
Hyrule is reactive. The world shifts.
The Regional Phenomena Ripple Effect
The bulk of the side content is gated behind the four major Regional Phenomena. It makes sense, right? You can't exactly help a Zora with their sludge problem if the sludge hasn't been "officially" addressed in the narrative.
Hebra and the Rito Aftermath
Once the blizzard clears, the Rito don't just sit around. They start rebuilding. This opens up a string of "foodie" quests. You'll find yourself hunting down Chillshrooms or trying to figure out how to bake a cake in a frozen wasteland. One easily missed quest is "Genli’s Cooking Endeavor." It’s tiny. It’s simple. But if you aren't checking the kitchen area of Rito Village after the Wind Temple, you’ll never see it.
Eldin’s New Economy
Goron City changes drastically once the Marbled Rock Roast is gone. The quests here shift from "save my brainwashed friend" to "help me run a business." The "Moon-Gazing Gorons" quest is a classic example of Nintendo's love for specific timing. You have to wait for a specific time of day at a specific location to take a picture. It’s atmospheric, sure, but it's a pain if you're rushing.
The "Missable" Quests That Aren't Actually Missable
Technically, you can't "fail" a quest in Tears of the Kingdom to the point where it disappears forever. But you can certainly lose track of them.
The Stable Trotters are the worst offenders. This isn't just one quest; it's a massive chain of Side Adventures that lead to unlocking the Great Fairies. If you don't help the musicians, you can't upgrade your armor. If you can't upgrade your armor, the Gleeoks will turn you into a puddle in three seconds.
- Honey, Bee Mine: You need courser bee honey.
- The Hornist's Dramatic Escape: Finding a guy in a hole in the middle of nowhere.
- Serenade to a Fairy: The ultimate payoff.
Most people get stuck because they find the musician in the hole first, but they haven't talked to the troupe leader at the stable near the Lucky Clover Gazette. The game expects you to be a detective.
The Depths: A Checklist Within a Checklist
The Depths are polarizing. Some people love the dark, others find it repetitive. But if you’re ignoring the Depths, you’re missing out on some of the most lore-heavy side quests.
"A Call from the Depths" is arguably the coolest quest in the game. It starts at the Temple of Time ruins on the Great Plateau. You find a trapped statue, and suddenly you're hauling four giant eyes into the chasm. It’s creepy. It’s rewarding. It gives you a full Heart Container or Stamina Vessel. Don't skip it.
The Great Checklist of 139 Side Quests
Trying to list all 139 here would be a wall of text no one wants to read. Instead, let's look at the clusters that usually trip people up. If you are checking off your TOTK side quests checklist, make sure you have hit these specific hubs:
- Lookout Landing: This place updates every time you finish a temple. Go back. Talk to everyone. Even the guards.
- Hateno Village: The whole Mayoral Election sub-plot is a massive chunk of content. It involves about six different side quests that all weave together.
- Lurelin Village: You have to liberate it first. Then you have to rebuild it. Then you have to throw a party.
- The Schools: Hateno has a school. You have to provide the curriculum. This means traveling across the map to find monsters or items to show the kids.
Honestly, the Lurelin Village Restoration is the most satisfying "long-tail" quest in the game. It’s expensive—you need a lot of logs and rice—but seeing the village come back to life is better than any gold rupee reward.
Specific Stumbling Blocks
Let's talk about "The Heroine’s Secret" in Gerudo Desert. You have to find stelae scattered around the underground bunker. Some are hidden behind breakable walls. Some require you to stand at a specific angle to "complete" the image for a photograph. It’s these "fiddly" quests that usually keep players at 98% completion for months.
Then there’s the Koltin questline. It’s not a traditional quest in the sense that it sits in your log forever. You find Bubbul Gems. You trade them for monster masks. It’s a scavenger hunt that spans the entire cave system of Hyrule. There are 147 Bubbul Frogs.
One hundred and forty-seven.
If you’re a completionist, that number either excites you or makes you want to throw your Switch into a volcano.
The Monster Medals
Kilton’s brother, Gralt, at Lookout Landing (or later at the Monster Control Crew camps) tracks your progress against "Elite" monsters.
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- Hinox
- Stone Talus
- Molduga
- Frox
- Gleeok
- Flux Construct
These don't appear in the standard quest log as "Active Quests," but they are essential for what most consider a completed checklist. You have to hunt down every single world boss. The Moldugas are easy—there are only four. The Stone Taluses? There are 87. Good luck.
Managing the Chaos
How do you actually track this without losing your mind?
Use the map pins. Use the stamps. If you see an NPC with a red "!" over their head but you're in the middle of a different task, stamp them with a specific icon (I use the person icon) and move on. Hyrule is too big to rely on memory.
Also, talk to the NPCs at stables. They often give "rumor" dialogue that doesn't trigger a quest immediately but points you toward a location where a quest will trigger. The game is designed to be played slowly. It’s a marathon, not a sprint to the credits.
Actionable Steps for Your Completionist Run
If you're staring at a half-empty quest log, do this:
- Visit every Stable: There are 14 main stables and two mini-stables. Every single one has at least one quest associated with it, usually involving the Lucky Clover Gazette.
- Check the "Completed" list online: Compare your in-game count to the regional totals. If you have 12 quests done in Central Hyrule but the total is 15, you know exactly where to start searching.
- The Cherry Blossom Trees: Offer a fruit (any fruit, even an apple) to the bowls at the base of the pink trees. Satori will light up every cave entrance in the region. This is the only way to efficiently find the remaining Bubbul Frogs.
- Prioritize the "Side Adventures" first: These are the ones with the square icons in your log. They usually unlock more minor "Side Quests" (the ones with the circular icons).
- Don't forget the Sky: There are several quests that only start on the Sky Islands, particularly the ones involving the "Old Maps" that lead to treasure in the Depths.
The beauty of the TOTK side quests checklist isn't just checking a box. It’s the fact that every single one of these tasks usually rewards you with a bit of world-building that makes Hyrule feel like a living, breathing place rather than just a digital playground. Whether it's helping a man find his lost luggage or stopping a literal demon from destroying a village, it all counts toward the story of Link's Hyrule.
Keep your Purah Pad camera ready. You're going to need it for more than just selfies.
Next Steps for Players: Start by clearing the "Potential Princess Sightings!" questline at the Lucky Clover Gazette. This single Side Adventure triggers 12 separate quests across various stables, providing a massive chunk of early-to-mid-game content and the highly useful Froggy Armor set for climbing in the rain. Once those are done, head to Hateno Village to begin the "Team Cece or Team Reede?" election arc, which unlocks the ability to lower your Hylian Hood and buy rare armor pieces.