Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) — Best Defense Recipes and Ingredients

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom best defense recipes will increase your survivability in combat situations. Still, we feel that it’s better to also discuss the ideal materials that you’ll be using. Here’s our guide on the best defense recipes and ingredients in TotK.

What to Use For the Best Defense Recipes and Ingredients in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

How to Choose the Best Defense Ingredients in TotK

Generally speaking, the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom best defense recipes simply rely on certain basic ingredients. The key differences are in how many hearts they’ll provide and the resulting recipe names. However, each piece of an item yields the same effect: +50 seconds defense boost per item and the “Tough” prefix.

• Armoranth — Tough Fried Wild Greens; +0 hearts.
• Ironshroom — Tough Mushroom Skewer; +1 heart.
• Fortified Pumpkin — Tough Simmered Fruit; +1 heart.
• Armored Porgy — Tough Fish Skewer; +2 hearts.
• Ironshell Crab — Tough Seafood Skewer; +2 hearts.

I suggest using five of the same item when cooking a meal. This will net you a “Tough” item with a +04:10 defense buff duration.

Related: Best Attack Recipes Guide

TotK Best Defense Recipe Results When Adding Seasonings and Other Ingredients

Given the above, I’ve listed down some resulting recipes when we combine various ingredients and seasonings. For this part, I’ve used a single Ironshroom as an example.

• Add Hylian Tomato — Tough Tomato Mushroom Stew; +3 hearts; +1:20 defense buff duration.
• Add Raw Meat — Tough Meat and Mushroom Skewer; +3 hearts; +1:20 defense buff duration.
• Add Prime Meat — Tough Meat and Mushroom Skewer; +4 hearts; +1:20 defense buff duration.
• Add Hylian Rice — Tough Mushroom Rice Balls; +3 hearts; +1:50 defense buff duration.
• Add Rock Salt — Tough Salt-Grilled Mushrooms; +1 heart; +1:50 defense buff duration.
• Add Oil Jar — Tough Mushroom Skewer; +1 heart; +2:10 defense buff duration.
• Add Rock Salt + Oil Jar — Tough Salt-Grilled Mushrooms; +3:10 defense buff duration.

Knowing the above, we can say that the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom best defense recipes are those have both healing and toughness buffs, as well as those with a decent duration. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, you could just use five of the same basic ingredient. Last but not least, try to avoid certain items like Hearty Truffles and Hearty Radishes, since they have the tendency to overwrite the defensive-oriented buff in favor of healing.

In any case, now you know the TotK best defense recipes and ingredients. Be sure to visit our Zelda: TotK guides hub for more tips, strategies, and walkthroughs.