Extreme Cold
In some areas of Hyrule, like mountain peaks and the Gerudo desert at night, the temperatures will drop to dangerously low levels. If you aren’t prepared, you’ll shiver and slowly lose hearts. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge near your minimap--the blue section is the danger zone.
There are two ways to combat the cold: cold-resistant gear, like the Warm Doublet, and meals or elixirs that grant you temporary cold resistance. You’ll have access to both options very early on. Spicy Peppers, Warm Darners, and Summerwing Butterflies will all make cold-resistant dishes or elixirs (respectively) and can be found in a lot of areas--check out our full cooking guide if you aren’t sure where to begin.
Note: If you’re just starting the game, go to the old man’s house on the Great Plateau. Inside are a bunch of Spicy Peppers and a diary. If you make the dish he describes in the diary, he will give you a Warm Doublet. The dish is Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry (any meat + Hyrule Bass + Spicy Pepper). Talk to him at his cooking pot after you’ve made it to receive the Warm Doublet. If you don’t get a Warm Doublet this way, he’ll give you one after you complete the Cryonis trial (Keh Namut Shrine) on the Great Plateau, so you would have to make cold-resistant dishes first in order to get there.
In the especially bitter cold, you’ll need higher-level resistance, so either prepare a stronger meal or elixir or equip multiple armor pieces at once. Be warned, though: no amount of preparation will save you from icy water. Use rafts, tree trunks, or ice blocks to cross safely.
You can also equip fire weapons (such as the Flameblade) to stay warm.
Advantages: You can drop some food items, like raw meat, in the snow or icy water to freeze them, which gives them heat-resistant properties. Frozen food stacks in your inventory. Note that this does not work in the desert at night, even though the temperature is low.
