Triforce Blitz is a Ocarina of Time Randomizer game mode that emphasizes understanding a seed's logic and on-the-fly routing. Triforce Blitz seeds are short; many seeds can be completed in under an hour, and there is a time limit of two hours for competitive play. Some runners have described Triforce Blitz as "puzzle rando".
Seeds can be generated on the Triforce Blitz website, or alternatively through Elagatua's fork on the OoT Randomizer website.
The Seed of the Day on the Triforce Blitz website is currently generated using the Season 3 settings.
The Basics
Three Triforce pieces have been scattered into the dungeons of Hyrule. Find all three and warp to the credits!
Where to find Triforce Pieces
Triforce pieces can only be found in dungeons. This means they can't be found in overworld locations. Dungeons include the temples (Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit), the spiritual stone dungeons (Deku Tree, Dodongos Cavern, very occasionally Jabu Jabu's Belly), the side dungeons (Bottom of the Well, Gerudo's Training Ground, Ice Cavern), and Ganon's Castle.
Triforce Blitz uses the Chest Appearance Matches Contents setting, which places major items in large chests. Triforce pieces are major items and will always appear in large chests, so make sure to prioritize those when you see them!
Ganon's Castle Bridge
Access to Ganon's castle (the rainbow bridge) is granted when Link possesses two dungeon rewards (spiritual stones or medallions). Since Link starts the seed with one dungeon reward, this means that the bridge will open after completing any single dungeon that rewards a spiritual stone or medallion.
Completing Dungeons Quickly
Dungeons in Triforce Blitz do not contain boss keys. The doors that would normally require boss keys are left unlocked, and Link may proceed directly to the boss without completing the rest of the dungeon if possible or desired.
Additionally, Jabu Jabu's Belly and Forest Temple have their shortcuts enabled. This lowers the platform leading to Barinade and activates the elevator leading to Phantom Ganon without needing to complete the rest of their respective dungeons.
Playing with a Time Limit
For races and competitive play, Triforce Blitz has a time limit of 2 hours. This means that any Triforce pieces found after the 2 hour mark do not count towards your score for the seed. A runner's score is determined by the total number of Triforce pieces found within the time limit, as well as the time when their most recent Triforce piece was found.
Consider the following example of three runners:
| First Triforce Piece found | Second Triforce Piece found | Third Triforce Piece found | Score | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner A | 0:20:00 | 1:20:00 | n/a | 2/3 pieces found (1:20:00) | 2nd place |
| Runner B | 0:40:00 | 1:00:00 | n/a | 2/3 pieces found (1:00:00) | 1st place |
| Runner C | 0:10:00 | n/a | n/a | 1/3 pieces found (0:10:00) | 3rd place |
In the rare event of a head-to-head race where neither runner has found a Triforce piece when the time limit expires, sudden victory rules activate and the first runner to find a single Triforce piece wins.
For casual play, runners are more than welcome to play at their own pace! Don't feel pressure to stop at the two hour mark if you are still enjoying your run!
Other Timesavers
Some checks and settings have been altered to keep things moving quickly. Additionally, many time consuming checks have been disabled entirely.
- Anju in Kakariko Village only requires 3 collected chickens.
- Pierre the scarecrow can be summoned immediately without having to set his song in Lake Hylia.
- The Biggoron trading quest is Claim Check only.
- (S3 Only) Princess Ruto waits for Link on the top floor of Jabu Jabu's Belly, speeding up access to two checks.
- (S3 Only) To accommodate the Shadow Gate clip route, the door leading from the Gibdo room to the Boat is now one way only, preventing a reverse clear order through Shadow Temple. Additionally, the hidden Floormaster check is always a small key to prevent the possibility of soft locks.
- The following checks are disabled:
- Skull Mask and Mask of Truth
- 30, 40, and 50 Golden Skulltullas
- Boomerang chest in Jabu Jabu's Belly
- Frogs 2
Ruleset
Competitive Triforce Blitz races use the Standard racing ruleset that governs what glitches and tricks are allowed in a run, unless otherwise specified.
(S3 Only): Shadow Gate Clip is a trick that has been allowed for Season 3. This clip is not normally allowed under the Standard racing ruleset, so runners should be careful not to use this trick in game modes other than Triforce Blitz.
Hints
Triforce Blitz features an incredibly strong hint distribution with a variety of custom hint types not found in any other game mode. These hints allow runners to race through the seed aggressively and skip locations, since two hours is not enough time to full clear the entire world.
Path Count
Video - Path count explanation
Appearances: All seasons
Path count hints are located outside the Temple of Time and give information about how many items are logically required to reach the location of each individual Triforce piece in the seed. These hints form the cornerstone of any run since they can allow a runner to eliminate certain areas depending on how many items are logically required to reach them. They also provide a general idea of the difficulty of obtaining a specific Triforce piece. If the path count is very high for one piece, it may be a good idea to postpone tracking it down, or potentially skipping it entirely to obtain the other pieces more quickly.
A typical path count hint reads like this:
They say that the path of courage requires 2 steps.
If the Triforce of Courage for this seed was somewhere in Forest Temple, the accompanying spoiler log could look like this:
":goal_locations": {
"triforce_hunt": {
"Path of courage": {
"KF Kokiri Sword Chest": "Bomb Bag",
"GC Pot Freestanding PoH": "Progressive Hookshot"
}
}
}The path count gives a good indication of how difficult a Triforce piece will be to obtain within the 2 hour time limit.
| Path Count | Difficulty to obtain Triforce piece within time limit |
|---|---|
| 0-5 | Easy |
| 6-10 | Average |
| 11-15 | Challenging |
| 16-19 | Consider prioritizing other pieces |
| 20+ | Potentially impossible without major logic sequence breaks |
Keep in mind that it is possible that major logic skips will exist that can allow a runner to obtain a piece quickly, even if the logical route to obtain it is extremely long. Furthermore, even low path count Triforce pieces can sometimes be challenging when multiple dungeons are locked by the same number of items.
Path
Video - How path hints are selected
Appearances: All seasons
A path hint contains information about where an item leading to a Triforce piece is located. An item is "path" if it is logically required to reach the location containing the Triforce piece.
They say that the Spirit Temple is on the path of power.
An item may be on the path to multiple Triforce pieces. However, any specific item will only ever appear in one Path hint, regardless of how many Triforce pieces it is used to obtain.
Dungeon locations are prioritized above overworld locations for selection in path hints. As a result, if a dungeon has useful items or progression, it is very likely hinted. Conversely, if a dungeon is not hinted, it often will not have useful items or progression. Use the generous amount of path hints to create an efficient route chaining together high priority locations, and try to avoid clearing dungeons without a reason to do so.
Because of how often Zelda's Lullaby appears on the path, that song's location is excluded from being chosen in a Path hint.
Unlock
Appearances: Season 2, Season 3
Unlock hints give information about two path items, where one item logically locks access to the location of the other. Both items referenced in the Unlock hint will be on the path to at least one Triforce piece.
They say that Din's Fire unlocks the way to Ruto's Letter.
While the first item in the hint will lock access to the second item, there can be additional items separating the two mentioned in the hint. For example, Din's Fire may lock a Hookshot in Shadow Temple, which could then lock Ruto's Letter in Forest Temple.
Unlock hints are unique based on the second item in the hint. A seed could not have two Unlock hints that unlock the way to Ruto's Letter, but could have two hints pointing to different items locked by Din's Fire.
When generating Unlock hints, items deep in the seed's playthrough are weighted more heavily and are more likely to be chosen.
Shop
Appearances: Season 3
Shop hints are hints available for purchase in child Market potion and item shops. The item shop sells hints for a wallet, a scale, a bomb bag, and a bow. The potion shop sells hints for a hookshot, magic, and the first and second strength upgrades.
A text box containing the hint will be shown to the runner upon purchasing the hint item. The hint text provides the area where the item can be found, as well as whether the item is path, wanderer, or foolish.
They say that Kokiri Forest hoards a path Bow.
An item will be hinted as path if a copy of that item is on the path at least one Triforce piece in the seed.
An item will be hinted as wanderer if a copy of that item is not on the path to any Triforce pieces, but the seed's playthrough obtains the item on the route to collecting all 3 Triforce pieces. In the case that multiple Strength Upgrades are wanderer, the first copy obtained by the playthrough determines which one is chosen as the first Strength Upgrade.
An item will be hinted as foolish if a copy of that item is not on the path to any Triforce pieces, and no copies of that item are obtained by the seed's playthrough.
Below are the current prices for each shop hint available for purchase:
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Wallet | Free |
| Scale | 40 |
| Bomb Bag | 99 |
| Bow | 99 |
| Strength 1 | 99 |
| Strength 2 | 200 |
| Hookshot | 200 |
| Magic | 200 |
Barren
Appearances: All seasons
Also known as "foolish" hints. Barren hints reveal an area without any logical progression items or Triforce pieces that is generally safe to skip.
They say that plundering Jabu Jabu's Belly is a foolish choice.
Barren dungeons are prioritized for selection before overworld areas. Because Jabu Jabu's Belly only has 3 active checks in Triforce Blitz, it is hinted as foolish extremely often, to the point where runners may be suspicious when it isn't hinted as foolish.
Echo
Appearances: Season 3
Echo hints are a random copy of an existing path hint in the seed, chosen without regard to any other locations already included in an echo hint.
Echo hints replaced sometimes hints in season 3 as the last resort when there were otherwise not enough hints to fill all of the hint stones in the seed.
They echo that Death Mountain Trail is on the path of wisdom.
Echo hints increase the odds of finding relevant path information in seeds with low path counts. However, echo hints do not keep track of locations already picked by other echo hints. Therefore, these hints cannot be used to try and deduce "double" path locations. For example, finding 3 copies of a specific path hint would indicate that there are two items on the path in that location. However, finding 3 echoes of a specific path hint would not indicate anything about how many items are on the path there.
Junk
Appearances: Season 3 (briefly)
See the main Junk hint article for more information about Junk hints, if you really have to.
With the addition of Echo hints, Junk hints will only appear when a seed has zero hintable path locations, which is extraordinarily rare.
Why aren't ReDead called ReAlive?
Retired Hint Types
Certain hint types were present in previous seasons but are no longer included the current season.
Wanderer
Appearances: Season 1, Season 2
A wanderer hint contains information about the location of an item that the spoiler log's playthrough used to complete the seed but is not logically required.
They say that Kakariko Village is on the way of the wanderer.
Wanderer hints can provide information about useful items like Bomb Bags or Strength Upgrades, but can also point to items often considered bait, such as Tunics, Wallets, or Bottles. Chasing these hints involves a certain amount of risk, thus the name of "wanderer".
Unlock Wanderer
Appearances: Season 2
Unlock Wanderer hints follow the format of Unlock hints, except that the second item in the hint comes from the seed's playthrough instead of from the path items.
They say that the Megaton Hammer unlocks the wanderer's way to a Hookshot.
While the second item in the hint comes from the seed's playthrough, the first item in the hint can either be a path item or from the seed's playthrough.
Just like regular Unlock hints, items deep in the seed's playthrough are weighted more heavily and are more likely to be chosen.
Sometimes
Appearances: Season 1, Season 2
See the main Location hint article for a full list of possible Sometimes hint locations.
Sometimes hints are included as a last resort when there are otherwise not enough hints to fill all of the hint stones in the seed.
They say that Darunia's dance leads to a Piece of Heart.
While the information in a Sometimes hint will likely not be useful, the mere existence of a Sometimes hint can tell a runner valuable information about the seed. Finding a Sometimes hint indicates that there may be significant overlap between the items on the path to each Triforce piece. Finding a Sometimes hint may incentivize runners to skip checks aggressively, focusing only on areas that provide additional hints.
Hint Minutiae
Occasionally, having a deep understanding of the hint system can provide critical information in a seed. Here are some important details to keep in mind:
- If the free song given at the start of a seed is on the path to a Triforce piece, it will be counted in the number of steps for that piece's path count. However, the free song will not appear in any specific path hint.
- Likewise, if an item or song in an Always hint location (20 Golden Skulltulas, Song from Ocarina of Time, Sheik in Kakariko) is on the path to a Triforce piece, it will be counted in the number of steps for that piece's path count.
- Items located in dungeons are prioritized over items located in the overworld when Path hints are selected. However, this only applies to items on the specific path that is being hinted. For example, if Market (an overworld location) is hinted on the Path to Wisdom, this guarantees that all other dungeon items on the Path to Wisdom have been included as hints somewhere in the seed. This quirk can be used in some seeds to avoid blindly clearing unhinted dungeons for items, since a dungeon with a path item will very frequently be hinted.
- The generator will attempt to create at least one Path hint for each Triforce piece in the seed. Occasionally, a Triforce piece may not have any hints referencing its path. This can happen in seeds where the path count for each Triforce piece is very low. If this happens, it means that the all items on that path were either:
- hinted on different paths, or
- are in Always hinted locations
Logic Minutiae
Generally, the logic of Triforce Blitz seeds mirrors what runners are accustomed to from playing other modes that use the Standard Ruleset. However, there are a handful of quirks that should be kept in mind when learning this mode:
- In Forest Temple, the basement and Phantom Ganon checks only require a hookshot.
- In Water Temple, all checks logically require the Iron Boots, including Morpha. Default logic allows logical access to Morpha using a Gold Scale because boss keys are disabled. We preempt the logic in this case to match more closely what runners would expect coming from other game modes.
- (S3 only) In Shadow Temple, all small key logic is unchanged, even though the small key lock has been removed from the door in the Gibdo room before the boat. The requirements for checks in Shadow assume that this small key lock still exists, despite its removal.
Seasons
Currently, there have been two seasons of Triforce Blitz with a tournament played for each season. Additionally, an "off-season" mode called Jabu's Revenge was released after the second season. Development of the third season of Triforce Blitz is complete and will be available in the coming weeks.
Season 1
Hint Distribution
| Hint Type | Amount | Copies of Each Hint | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always | 3 | 2 | 20 Golden Skulltulas, Song from Ocarina of Time, Sheik in Kakariko |
| Path Count | 3 | 1 | At the Temple of Time |
| Path | 10 | 2 | First copy of first hint is located at the Temple of Time |
| Barren | 5 | 2 | |
| Wanderer | Fill remaining stones | 2 | |
| Sometimes | Fill remaining stones | 1 |
Tournament
Winner: Favio94
Finals VODs: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Wanderer (consolation) bracket winner: Natheirean
Season 2
The second season of Triforce Blitz introduced Unlock hints to the core game, as well as many other quality of play improvements.
Hint Distribution
The 20 Golden Skulltulla reward hint is available at the Skulltulla House in Kakariko Village and no longer appears on a Gossip Stone.
| Hint Type | Amount | Copies of Each Hint | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always | 2 | 2 | Song from Ocarina of Time, Sheik in Kakariko |
| Path Count | 3 | 1 | At the Temple of Time |
| Path | 1 | 1 | At the Temple of Time (rightmost stone) |
| Unlock | 3 | 2 | |
| Path | 9 | 2 | |
| Barren | 4 | 2 | |
| Wanderer | Fill remaining stones | 2 | Can be in either Path or Unlock format |
| Sometimes | Fill remaining stones | 1 |
Tournament
Winner: Ramond
Jabu's Revenge
Jabu's Revenge was a off-season game mode released between season 2 and season 3. In Jabu's Revenge, Triforce pieces can only be found on Golden Skulltullas inside dungeons, instead of inside dungeon chests. The name is a joking reference to how often Jabu Jabu's Belly was hinted foolish in Season 2, since Jabu Jabu's Belly has more Golden Skulltullas than chests.
Hint Distribution
See Season 2 hint distribution.
Season 3
The third season of Triforce Blitz introduced Shop hints to the core game, as well as many other quality of play improvements.
Restrictions were added to the generator to eliminate seeds with extremely low path counts. Season 3 seeds are guaranteed to:
- have no more than one 0 path count piece
- have the sum of all three path counts be at least 4
Chest Textures
Heart chest textures were disabled for Season 3.
Additionally, a new Bombchu chest texture was added. Bombchus no longer appear in large chests, but instead appear in small chests with the special Bombchu chest texture.
Hint Distribution
Wanderer hints have been removed, and sometimes hints are now replaced with junk hints.
| Hint Type | Amount | Copies of Each Hint | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always | 2 | 2 | Song from Ocarina of Time, Sheik in Kakariko (20 Skulls hint still at Skull House) |
| Path Count | 3 | 1 | At the Temple of Time |
| Path | 1 | 1 | At the Temple of Time (rightmost stone) |
| Unlock | 3 | 2 | |
| Barren | 4 | 2 | |
| Path | Fill remaining stones | 2 | Normally, there will be 10 path hints total (including the Temple of Time hint) |
| Echo | Fill remaining stones | 1 | |
| Junk | Fill remaining stones | 2 |