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Critters are a category of materials inTears of the Kingdomthat are used for making elixirs and armor enhancement. Unlike inanimate materials, critters will flee if too much noise is made, meaning that farming them can get tedious very quickly.
Tears of the Kingdomuses three separate maps: The Surface (Hyrule), Sky Islands, and The Depths. Insects such as butterflies and darners can be found on the Sky Islands and The Surface, but they won’t spawn in The Depths. In fact, the only critter that will spawn below Hyrule are the Deep Fireflies. Unlike Sunset Fireflies, these little guys will appear regardless of the in-game time of day.
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Deep Firefly Locations
Deep Firefliesare thinner than their Sunset Firefly counterparts, and they give off a pale, almost-lilac glow. This makes them easy to spot in areas that have not yet been illuminated by a Lightroot orBrightbloom Seeds. Deep Fireflies will appear in The Depths, butthey prefer wooded areas.
Like the Sunset Fireflies, Deep Fireflies will be scared off if Link makes too much noise. It’s better tocrouchand thenslowly walk over to them. Players can increase their Stealth by takingSneaky Elixirsor wearingstealth-enhancing armorsuch as the Yiga Set or the Sheikah Set. Keep an eye on theNoise Meterin the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Unlike frogs and lizards, which can be collected after they’ve been hit with an arrow, shooting or striking a Deep Firefly will destroy it. This also applies to Restless Crickets and other insect-critters.TotKplayers are going to have to approach the Deep Firefly and pressA-buttonwhen prompted.
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Nisoiji Lightroot
Players who havespoken toJoshaatLookout Landingafter activating the first Skyview Towercan follow her toRobbie. This will unlock the “Camera Work in The Depths” side quest, which also nets Link theCameraAbilityinTears of the Kingdom. Players will then need tomeet up with Robbie in The Depths.
Go to theHyrule Field Chasm, south of Lookout Landing, next to theJiosin Shrine (-0240, -0374, 0026). Before diving into the Chasm, ensure Link hasBrightbloom Seedsin his inventory. It will be difficult, albeit not impossible, to navigate The Depths and find Robbie.
EachShrine of LightonThe Surfacecorresponds to aLightrootinThe Depths. Thus, as soon as players land at the bottom of the Hyrule Field Chasm, they should see theNisoiji Lightrootnearby. Go to the Lightroot and Activate it to light up the surrounding area.
A little way north of the Lightroom are some Deep Fireflies at-0242, -0355,and-0479.
Grove of Time
Another area that is rich in Deep Fireflies is theGrove of Time (-0367, -1561, -0467). This iswestof theNuzimak Lightroot (-0178, -1559, -0473). Players can reach the Nuzimak Lightroot on foot, or they candive into the Chasmson theGreat Plateau. The Grove of Time and the Nuzimak Lightroot arenortheast of the Great Abanadoned Central Mine.
The Grove of Time hasgloom-infested Evermeans. Fortunately, all it takes is a few hacks with an axe or sword to get rid of them. Players can also toss Fire Fruit or a Bomb Flower to set it ablaze. However, getting hit by the Evermeans in The Depths will cause Link to permanently lose a heart due to the gloom. While gloom damage can be recovered at Lightroots, it’s still not a good idea to let them get too close.
In the Grove of Time, there’s a large tree stump (-0375, -1573, -0472)that houses atreasure chest, anEvermean, and agroup of Deep Fireflies. Unfortunately, the Evermean will spring to life when Link gets too close. In doing so, it will scare off the Deep Fireflies. The best way to get the fireflies is tostand on top of the tree, and thenuse the paraglider to glide towards the Fireflies. MashA-buttonto collect them as Link gets closer.
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Where to Use Deep Fireflies
Cooking a Deep Firefly with a Monster Part will create aBright Elixir. As its name implies, consuming a Bright Elixir will emanate a glow from Link. This will make it a little easier to see when navigating The Depths orpitch-black caves on The Surface. However, since playersBrightbloom Seedsare rather common, and players can get theMiner’s Armor Set, it may not be worth cooking Deep Fireflies to get Bright Elixirs. Brightbloom Seeds can be used to light up areas from far away when thrown or shot from an arrow. Each part of the Miner’s Set glows, and once it reaches level 2, Link will get its Set Bonus.
Deep Fireflies are also used for armor upgrades. In fact, they’re a requirement for the The Depths SEt if players want to enhance it to level 1. Armor upgrading unlocks by doing the following:
Here are the armor sets that require Deep Fireflies to upgrade:
★
5
★★★
12
As mentioned, the Miner’s Armor Set receives itsSet Bonus at ★★/level-2. So, if players just want its Set Bonus, there’s no need to upgrade it further. However, the Depths Armor Set needsone Deep Firefly per piece(i.e, three in total) to get to ★/level-1. After that, players can start farming materials for The Depths Armor Set’s ★★/level-2.
The Depths Armor Set is obtained from the giant Poe Statues in The Depths and the one in Lookout Landing. There aresevenin total, and if players want all pieces of the armor set, they’re going to need to track them down. The Depths Armor gives Linkgloom resistance, and its Set Bonus gives Linkgloom-attack resistance. Therefore, this may be an armor that’s worth upgrading if players intend on spending a lot of time in The Depths or fighting gloom-enhanced monsters.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available for Nintendo Switch.
