Ever since the idea of taking photos and selfies was introduced to games, designers have run away with it. And yes, that includes the minds behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This time around, Link does not have the Sheikah Slate, but instead the Purah Pad.
Although it’s been regulated to data duty, it’s still a most invaluable item. Thankfully, you’ll get it early on so you’ll get used to pulling it out as needed. However, despite what Zelda was shown doing with it, you don’t start with the camera unlocked. Before you can take photos of yourself, you’ll need to complete some missions. Once you do, you’ll have the option to take both useful photos and humorous selfies.
How to Get the Purah Pad
After going through the introduction to Tears of the Kingdom, Link will find himself in the Room of Awakening. Going through the chamber will teach Link the basics of movement, especially the importance of not looking before you leap (always make sure that there is water below you). Going through the chambers will eventually lead him outside where he’ll be able to leap off and dive towards the Great Sky Island below.
Move him to safely land in the large body of water below. Swim toward the surface and make your way to the Temple of Time in the distance. You’ll be stopped by a robotic construct known as a Zonai Steward. It will explain some of the circumstances and will then give you the Purah Pad that was handed to it by Zelda. However, you’re still a ways away from being able to take selfies at this point.
Now that you’ve got the Pad, you’re free to play around with it. At the start, the Purah Pad will have limited utility functions. It’s most valuable is that it holds your map which you’ll need to use to navigate the Great Sky Island to reach all the Shrines. You can also use the Scope function to view things from a distance as well as mark points of interest with Pins. Use the Purah Pad to make it through the Great Sky Island. Once you’re done, you’ll be able to dive down to Hyrule below.
Purah Pad Photo Mission – Castle Town
After you town ground on Hyrule, make your way to the nearby fort facing Hyrule Castle. Enter the fort and head to the lab to talk to Purah. She’ll update your Purah Pad and make sure that you can use it to activate and gather data from the Skyview Towers across the land. She’ll also give you the Paraglider and send you to investigate claims of Zelda being spotted nearby. Go and investigate.
Once you finish the investigation, return to Purah and report what happened. She’ll then give you a main quest involving investigating several key sights of Upheaval activity. Once she does and you’re free to move again, follow her assistant Josha as she runs to the lower level of the lab. There, you’ll be able to listen to a conversation she’s having with another scientist named Robbie.
She’ll talk about how she found a mysterious carving near the Chasms that lead to the underground realm called the Depths. Robbie will volunteer to explore and investigate the Depths for her, and she’ll encourage Link to go help and also to take photos.
Purah Pad Upgrade – Unlock the Camera for Selfies
Follow the mission marker to find the Chasm that Robbie went down. It’s nearby, just a bit south of Castle Town. Make sure you have healing items, arrows, and brightbloom seeds before you jump in. Carefully and slowly dive, using the small glowing bugs at the bottom as a reference for distance, once you can make out their shape, pull out the Paraglider to land safely. There will be another explorer nearby at a campfire.
Talk to him and he’ll tell you that Robbie went off to explore on his own. Follow the trail of campfires until you see a large orange bulb suspended in the distance. Make your way there and you’ll see Robbie set up nearby. He’ll muse about the bulb, and that’ll be your cue to light it up with the Zonai arm. This will reveal it as a Lightroot which will light up a huge chunk of the Depths map.
Talk to Robbie and he’ll point your attention to a nearby statue. He’ll ask you to take a photo and realize that the Purah Pad doesn’t have that feature yet. He’ll enable it, and from there on, you’ll be able to select the Camera function from the ability wheel. Select it and take a standard photo of the statue and show it to Robbie to satisfy him.
From this point forward, you’ll be able to take selfies whenever you want. All you need to do is select the Camera and then press the button for a self-portrait. This will put most or all of Link’s body in view, and you can use the analog stick to make him do different poses.
If you feel like sharing your Tears of the Kingdom selfies with friends, all you need to do is take an in-game screenshot. From there, your photos and selfies can be shared online, same as any other image.
