| Region | Gerudo Desert |
|---|---|
| Location | Gerudo Town: she stands on a short flight of stone steps, a few paces from the off-duty soldier who runs Gerudo Tag Training |
| Quest giver | An unnamed, tumbleweed-obsessed Gerudo (no name tag; her speech bubbles read “They always fall apart…” and “I want to see one…”) |
| Available | As soon as you reach Gerudo Town during the Gerudo Desert chapter |
| You’ll need | Bind |
| Reward | 2 unusual crystals (Might Crystals, spent on upgrades at Lueburry’s) |
A Gerudo in Gerudo Town dreams of studying a tumbleweed up close, but they roll out of reach and fall apart whenever she grabs one. The trick is not to pick one up at all: catch a tumbleweed with Bind and let it trail behind you all the way back to her. It takes a few minutes and pays 2 Might Crystals.
How to Start
Walk up to the Gerudo on the stone steps with “They always fall apart…” above her head. She is impressed a Hylian made it all the way through the desert, then explains: “I’m looking for these elusive tumbleweeds.” You can find them blowing across the sand in Gerudo Desert, but “the pesky things roll out of reach, and if you try to grab one, they fall apart!” She admits she has managed to destroy every one she has found, and promises that if you bring her her heart’s desire, you will be well rewarded. The Elusive Tumbleweeds banner appears.
Walkthrough
Step 1: Catch a tumbleweed with Bind
Leave town for the open sand. Tumbleweeds are the brown, round bundles of twigs that roll across the dunes on their own; look on the sand just outside the town walls, for example by the pair of palm trees east of town, below the rocky ledge. Don’t try to grab one, or it falls apart. Instead, aim Bind at it. A green tether links it to Zelda and the “Release” and “Follow” prompts appear at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Lead it back to Gerudo Town
With the tumbleweed bound, simply walk. It trails along behind you as you skirt the town’s outer wall, pass the palms and cacti, and climb the steps through the arched gateway back into Gerudo Town. Keep going across the plazas toward her steps. If the tumbleweed slips free of the tether, just aim Bind at it again and carry on.
Step 3: Bring it to her
Walk the tumbleweed right up to her steps and a short scene starts: “Oh! You brought me one! Thank you so, so, sooo much!” She studies it, first thinking the delicate dried foliage explains why they break so easily, then: “No, wait… It’s not dried. This is…just a particular type of plant matter… What are these pokey bits?” She says she could spend all day gazing at this beautiful, magnificent tumbleweed, and that her dream has come true.
Reward
“Thank you, kind one. Please, take these.” Zelda holds up the reward: “You got 2 unusual crystals! They have a strange shape with rectangular whirls.” She adds that they have such peculiar shapes and hopes you enjoy observing them for many hours, and the Side Quest Complete banner appears. Unusual crystals are Might Crystals; the game just uses the old name until you meet Lueburry. Spend them on sword, bow, bomb and energy upgrades (see Might Crystal locations).
Tips
- Bind is the whole solution. Picking a tumbleweed up, the obvious approach, makes it fall apart.
- Start it together with Gerudo Tag Training, whose soldier stands on a rug just past her steps, and Tornado Ghost? in the south of town.
- These 2 crystals count toward the 150 Might Crystals in the game.
