Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Critters in Tears of the Kingdom are used in elixirs and armor upgrades. Unfortunately, they move quickly and are quite skittish, which makes them difficult and frustrating to grow. Some creatures and insects like the Thunderwing Butterfly only appear in very specific habitats or during a storm.

Players will have better luck farming Thunderwing Butterflies if they look to the southern regions of Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom. Thanks to The Upheaval, some of their habitats were changed from Breath of the Wild. It is likely that players will not see Thunderwing Butterflies in the wild until they have made some heavy progress in TotK’s main story.

PLAYER’S DAY VIDEO SCROLL TO CONTINUE CONTENT Location of Thunderwing Butterfly (TotK)

According to the description in the Hyrule Compendium, Thunderwing Butterflies only gather in places when it rains. Players can find them in the Faron Grasslands or Thunderhead Isles.​​​​​​​ Those who have money to spare can also buy 3 of them from Beedle at certain stables.

Faron Grasslands

Faron Grasslands is the region near Ishokin Shrine (-0565, -3524, 0129) and Highland Stable (0534, -3433, 0047). Thunderwing Butterflies are likely to spawn anywhere in Faron’s fields as long as it’s raining. Players can “speed up” the rain by waiting at a bonfire or staying at an inn or the House of Zelda (Hateno Village).

How to Unlock the Thunderhead Islands

The Thunderhead Isles are high in the sky, far to the south of Hyrule. If players have not completed the main quest “Crisis at Hyrule Castle”, the Thunderhead Isles will be obscured by a giant black cloud. When it is like this, it will be impossible to enter. Instead, players will need to do the following:

Awaken all Four Sages. Find Zelda in Hyrule Castle (“Crisis at Hyrule Castle”). Start main quest “The Fifth Sage”. Go to Kakariko Village and start “Secret of the Ring Ruins”, which then takes Link to Lake Dracozu. Get the Charged Armor, which clears the storm clouds that invade the Thunderhead Isles.

Once all of that is taken care of, Link can glide safely towards the Thunderhead Isles without getting hurt (as long as he’s not wearing metal).

Thunderwing Butterflies spawn on all small islands (near 0719, -2615, 0744) that make up the Thunderhead Isles. It’s constantly raining here, so this is arguably the best place to farm them for future armor upgrades. However, because of the rain, Link will slip if he tries to climb, so it is recommended to have the Froggy Armor Set and upgrade it to level 2. Players can also use Anti-Slip Elixirs if they don’t want to do the Lucky Adventure parallel to Post Gazette .

Thunderwing Butterflies will only spawn on Thunderhead Isles and not on Dragonhead Island.

Beedle (Thunderwing Butterfly)

As mentioned, Beedle sells Thunderwing Butterflies for 10 rupees each at Tabantha Bridge Stable and Lakeside Stable. He only has 3 in stock, so players can get a maximum of 6 from both stables. Just like any other general store, Beedle will restock its products every Blood Moon.

Thunderwing butterfly growing tips

As Thunderwing Butterflies only spawn when it’s raining, players should avoid using metal when farming for them. They are also very shy and will fly away if Link makes too much noise. The best way to avoid this is to increase Link’s stealth. Players can pick up a Sneaky Elixir, or they can equip stealth enhancement armor such as the Stealth Set from Kakariko Village. Approaching them while crouched (press the L-stick) will make them less likely to respond to Link’s moves.

Since Thunderwing Butterflies tend to fly above Link, it might be easier to paraglide towards them. If players do this, they may want to disable Tulin’s Vow in the Key Items tab in Inventory (+). Tulin’s Gust won’t scare off butterflies or other timid creatures, but it will propel Link forward, making it easier to miss the Thunderwing Butterfly. It’s also easier to disable Tulin’s Vow so players don’t accidentally trigger it when tapping the A button to catch the butterfly.

Where to use Thunderwing Butterfly

Like any other creature, Thunderwing Butterflies can be used to create elixirs. Cooking these little guys will produce an Electro Elixir, which makes Link resistant to Shock. For those who don’t know, Shock is what causes Link to drop his weapon (or shield) when hit by lightning-based attacks. Having an Electro Elixir active won’t make Link immune to lightning damage, but at least he won’t be dropping weapons any time soon. It’s good to have Electro Elixirs when exploring areas that have storms or when fighting a Thunder Gleeok.

Some might argue that the best way to use Thunderwing Butterflies is to upgrade your armor. Players will need a total of 15 Thunderwing Butterflies (and Electric Lizalfos Horns) to upgrade the entire Charged Armor Set from Level 1 to Level 2. At Level 2, Armor Sets gain a Bonus Set. So, if players want the Charged Set bonus, they’ll want to hold the Thunderwing Butterflies.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.