How to Make Easy Money on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Zelda: Breath of the Wild will likely go down as my favourite Zelda game of all time - even surpassing Ocarina of Time. There are so many locations, secrets, easter eggs, and interesting people you meet along the way, all of which creates a truly unbelievable game. One thing I love about this game in particular is the way that having rupees takes on extra importance due to the emphasis on survival. Getting rupees can be done by sourcing materials like sapphire, ruby, amber, and topaz, but it can be quite time consuming and challenging to find these items and dodge enemies along the way. I love the exploration element of the game, but this easy way to make money helps when you need rupees fast. Although this method isn’t a well-kept secret, hopefully it’ll be beneficial to anyone who is unaware of it. 

Firstly, it helps if you have discovered a large portion of the map, and if you have encountered any nearby shrines. If not, this method is still viable, it just makes things a little trickier. First off, you’ll need protective clothing - ideally the Snowquill set. You can pick this up in Rito Village if you have enough rupees. The headscarf isn’t a necessity if you can afford the trousers and tunic - as the former is the most expensive item of Snowquill clothing. Once you have the protective clothing, you’ll need to keep heading north into the Hebra region. It’s important that you head towards the Hebra Tower so you have a future fast travel point, as the tower is in close proximity to where you can make easy money.

 

Now, once you have the cold-resistance clothing and ascended Hebra Tower, you’ll want to leap off the top (obviously using your glider) heading northeast. It won’t take very long until you notice an isolated lodge that is wrapped around a snowy, mountainous landscape. Drop down into Pondo’s Lodge, where incidentally, you can cook materials and food or sleep until morning. Pondo should be outside the lodge next to a large snowball. Talk to Pondo and he will explain the rules of ‘snowling’, in a rather pun-filled manner. Each time you take on this snow bowling challenge, it will cost 20 rupees - but you’ll earn those back even if you manage to knock down seven pins. The aim here is to earn strikes, as these will earn you the jackpot.

But I’m sure you aren’t interested in winning 20 rupees to break even, you’ll want that magical gold rupee that garners 300 rupees. In order to do this, follow these steps:

1. Line yourself up so that you’re in the eyeline of both Pondo AND the moose head pin at the top of the hill.
2. Do a 180 degree turn without moving out of position, and have the centre of the camera focused on the centre pin.
3. THROW the ball (do not simply drop) down the hill and watch it slalom down.
4. If you don’t get a strike, you’ll have a second shot where you can get a spare or even eight or nine pins. It’s important at this point to adjust to the situation, rather than going in at the same angle.

Pondo will then give you your winnings, if you’ve earned them. The best part is, there’s no limit on how many times you can play, so the potential of winning 300 rupees a minute becomes very lucrative very quickly.

Something I figured out while doing this is that lining yourself up between Pondo and the moose head needs to be exact. If you’re ever so slightly out of line, getting a strike becomes a little harder - although you can still hit enough pins to make money. But hitting a strike and getting 300 rupees becomes really enjoyable, and I found it hard to call it quits. Rupees don’t drop by defeating enemies, so this method of earning rupees takes on extra significance - and it’s fun. Rupees can go towards buying critters and materials that help regenerate your health or that create elixirs, along with buying clothing and freeing the Great Fairies. This way of money-making helped me complete the ‘Hylian Homeowner’ side quest, where you can buy your own house in the quaint Hateno Village.

Hopefully this method will help some people in need of getting rupees fast, and if there are any other ways to make money in Breath of the Wild, let people know in the comment section below and share your stories with GameGrin!