The Zonai Wing is one of the Zonai devices that can be used in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It can be argued to be one of the best and most handy devices Link can use in exploring all of Hyrule, especially now that a lot of verticality has been added to the entire map. So knowing the capabilities and limitations of the Zonai Wing will definitely make a huge difference in one’s gameplay.
Read ahead as we talk about the Zonai Wing and share some tips and tricks on how to use it to its full extent in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
How to get the Zonai Wing
The Zonai Wing can be first encountered in the icy region of the Great Sky Islands, just past the Gutanbac Shrine. Like with the other Zonai devices, once Link finds them, they will become available as drops in the Zonai Dispensers as well.
Zonai Wing Basics
The Zonai Wing can be considered as one big paper glider or a paper plane, but unlike them, Link cannot throw them using his Ultrahand – but the ability can still be used as one of the launch options, as we’ll discuss later on below.
Launching a Zonai Wing
The Zonai Wing can be launched using the slide seen in the Great Sky Islands. These are notches on the stone ground that make the wings slide down to the edge of the cliff where they can glide the rest of the way. Once it is gliding, it will continue to glide forwards with or without Link on it.
Gliding
A gliding Zonai Wing will fly straight in the air in a shallow downward slope. The Zonai Wing can only last for 75 seconds gliding in the air before it despawns. During its last 15 seconds, the wing will pulse green, serving as a signal that it will despawn soon.
However, this spawn time only counts down when the wing is gliding. If the Zonai Wing is going up in elevation with the help of a Zonai Fan, or if the wing has stalled and is free falling down to the ground, its countdown towards its despawn will stop until it goes back into its gliding orientation once again.
Controlling a Zonai Wing
The Zonai Wing can be manually controlled by repositioning the center of mass on top of it, i.e.: where Link stands is where the wing will generally go.
If Link stands on the head of the wing, this will make the wing point down and enter a steeper downward slope. This is helpful if you want to lower your altitude or land sooner. Be careful as the wing is basically an open platform, so Link will fall off if he steps off the wing.
If Link stands on the wing, it will make the wing glide and roll to that direction. The closer Link is to the tip of the wing, the steeper the roll will be. Be reminded that gliders have little to no yaw movement, so the wing will turn in a wide circle. Despite that, this turning and rolling can be used as a tighter way to drop in elevation as Link can just continuously ride the wing as it spirals downwards.
Having Link stand on the tail does little effect to the gliding length of the wing and it can potentially cause the wing to simply stall. The most efficient way to maintain a long distance glide path is to simply just stand in the middle circle of the wing.
Advanced Zonai Wing Tips
There are more stuff that can be done with a Zonai Wing that require a bit more engineering and clever manipulation. We recommend to first unlock the Paraglider as it will not only serve as a safety net, but it is also required to make Link perform some of the nifty wing tricks.
Launch Zonai Wings everywhere
Zonai Wings can actually be launched without the need of using a slide which is can only be found in certain locations. With the help of the Ultrahand and the Recall abilities, you can launch a wing from any cliffside.
Start by picking up a Zonai Wing with Ultrahand and dangle it over a cliff on a reasonable height that you can reach; it is recommended to place it just slightly below the cliff to make it easier for you to ride. Once it is positioned, release it and quickly switch to the Recall ability and use it on the free falling wing. The ability should allow the wing to rewind back to how you handled with using the Ultrahand. Jump on the wing then end the Recall ability and the wing should start gliding.
If you are having trouble getting the timing on when to jump on the wing, you can prolong the time that the wing stays in the same spot by slightly wiggling the wing using the Ultrahand on the launch point. The Recall ability can only record objects when they are moving even slightly, so doing this will will give you more time to jump on it.
Using Fans on Wings
Fans can be attached on the wing to give it more elevation and to prevent it from despawning sooner. Fans can also be attached to blow air backwards to give the wing forward thrust to gain more gliding distance. Using 2-3 fans on the wing is most efficient when it comes to the fan-to-distance ratio.
You can even angle the wing upwards beforehand and simply place the fans for forward thrust. This should allow the wing to launch and gain altitude without having to place a fan directly underneath. Fans can also be attached mid-flight, but this takes more skill to do quickly as once the fan is spawned, it can easily fall off the wing before you can grab it with the Ultrahand.
Alternatively, Rockets can also be attached on wings which, if oriented for forward thrust, would give the wing a longer distance in a short amount of time.
Launching Wings mid-flight
Launching Wings mid-flight is a technique that can be used to make Link fly for great distances, and the length he can reach will only depend on how much Zonai Wings are in his inventory. To be able to do this, you will need to unlock the Paraglider which can be unlocked in the early parts of Hyrule. Also, arrange your quick use bar (Up D-pad) in a way so that you can quickly deploy a wing without having to rummage through the inventory.
While gliding down using the Paraglider, you can spawn a Zonai Wing mid-flight. When it spawns, it usually appears just below and slightly ahead of where the camera is facing forward; this is important to take note as the wing’s spawning will depend on which lateral direction the camera is facing and not where Link is facing.
Immediately after the wing spawns, let go of the Paraglider while holding the Left analog stick forward. This will cause Link to fall down and move a bit forward just enough to land directly on top of the wing. When trying this out for the first time, it may help master the timing to also point the camera directly downwards. This will allow you to see as the wing passes under Link; the timing of when to let go is when Link is just above the tail of the wing.
Just before the wing despawns, you can simply jump off and glide, and spawn a new wing to ride on. You can continue doing this and cover a lot of distance as long as you have Zonai Wing capsules with you.
That explains how to use and control Zonai Wings in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Also check out these other guides that we have prepared for your convenience:
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