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Blood Moon
The Blood Moon is an eerie mechanic in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that enhances Ganon's power, allowing the spirits of fallen enemies to return to life by the red glow.
Link will not experience a Blood Moon until he leaves the Great Plateau. The first time unsettling music plays, ashes levitate in the air, and the sky glows red, Princess Zelda will narrate the scene: explaining how Ganon's creatures will be created anew.
It's important to note that the Blood Moon does?not happen on a certain day. There are several factors that can effect when it appears - including how long you've played for, and how many enemies you have killed.
What The Blood Moon Does
There are a few effects to look out for under the red moon, the most obvious one being that enemies return from the dead. There are a few other, beneficial, effects as well.
Respawns Enemies
Every time the Blood Moon rises, everything in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild comes back to life (except your horses. Sorry). This includes monsters and guardians, even those inside shrines, so the world will never run dry of monster parts to farm.
If you remember where the combat trial shrines are, you will always be able to stock back up on free, incredibly powerful Ancient Weapons, perfect for defeating Guardians in the overworld.
Be extra careful if you notice a red moon overhead (it is first possible to see it at 9:00PM or 21:00 in-game). You may want to avoid entering enemy camps or engaging Minibosses and bosses until after the Blood Moon passes at midnight. Enemies, including bosses, will regain all of their health after a Blood Moon!
This can be to your advantage if farming Lynel parts for example, but it's difficult to plan for considering the Blood Moons are tied to in-game full moons, and the moon phases appear to be random in length.
Respawns Weapons and Ingredients
Good things come back with the Blood Moon, too, including weapons?lying on the ground, items, and enemy encampment chests. Any random chests do not respawn (like a chest with 5x Bomb Arrows). Ingredients like fruit and mushrooms come back as well, but these regrow naturally after a few in-game days pass regardless.
Consider placing stamps where you can find your favorite weapons lying around so you can return to collect them after a Blood Moon.
Cooking Bonus
Sometimes when cooking, you will hear an extra musical tune at the completion of cooking a dish. This notifies you that you had a critical success! You'll see one of the following benefits after a critical cooking success:
- Three extra hearts
- An extra yellow heart
- An extra two-fifths stamina wheel
- An extra yellow stamina wheel
- Effect duration increased
- Effect is raised one level
There's a small window at night during a Blood Moon where all of your cooking endeavors will result in a critical success, guaranteed. Start cooking at 11:30 p.m. (or 23:30) in game to get the bonus, but once the cinematic plays at midnight, you will no longer receive it. There's an easy-to-access cooking pot across from Ha Dahamar Shrine at Dueling Peaks Stable you can fast travel to in a hurry if you want to take advantage of a Blood Moon.
Affects NPCs
Some NPCs, like Hino at Dueling Peaks Stable, act quite oddly during a Blood Moon. Be on the lookout for strange behavior when the sky is red.
When Do Blood Moons Occur
As Hino says, Blood Moons occur during full moon nights at midnight. This is seemingly random after every few days pass in-game, but some players have theorized it will occur more often the more enemies are slain.
The effects of the Blood Moon, like cooking bonuses, begin at 11:30 p.m. (or 23:30) in-game, and end after the cutscene plays at midnight.
Blood Moon Glitches
Many players have reported glitchy Blood Moons that happen every day or at times other than midnight. This may be more likely to happen if the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been on for an extended period of time. Make sure to turn off your game every time you're done playing to possibly avoid this glitch.