Tears of the Kingdom: How to Dodge

Let’s face it; you will be in a lot of combat as you progress through Tears of the Kingdom. Whether it’s regular enemies or bosses, there is no shortage of opponents to test your battle skills against. While you can swing a sword and shoot a bow around as much as you’d like, learning to avoid attacks will help you in those dicey situations when you’re low on health and want to outmaneuver your foe. If you’re curious, continue reading to discover how to dodge in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

How to Dodge in Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom has two main ways to dodge: side hop and backflip. Through an advanced combat tutorial, the game introduces you to this mechanic for the first time in Kyononis Shrine at coordinates (-0205, -4051, 0021). Using ZL to lock on to your enemy and the left thumbstick to move around, you can jump to avoid taking damage and deal counterattacks.

Both moves are similar in nature but have slightly different mechanics. Side hop is a side-step dodge you can activate by strafing left and right before jumping out of the way. Backflip is the same, but instead of moving to the sides, you’ll jump backwards before launching forward and unleashing a flurry of attacks.

The way you do both attacks is as follows:

• Side Hop – ZL (Hold) + L-stick (Left/Right) + X
• Backflip – ZL (Hold) + L-stick (Down) + X

Related: All Special Controls in Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK) Listed

While you can initiate these defensive maneuvers before going to Kyononis Shrine, this place is where you’ll hear about these moves for the first time. During the shrine’s comprehensive combat tutorial, you’ll learn four special controls, including these two. The shrine also teaches you some extra defensive moves with your shield and even a way to power up your attacks!

All Kyononis Shrine Special Controls

During your time in Kyononis Shrine, you’ll learn four different special moves:

• Side Hop
• Backflip
• Perfect Guard
• Charged Attacks

While Side Hop and Backflip are the two dodge moves I mentioned before, Perfect Guard and Charged Attacks are offensive moves you can use to deal extra damage to your enemy while taking minimal damage. Perfect Guard allows you to parry attacks, while Charged Attacks consume stamina for a damage boost.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available to play on Nintendo Switch. To learn more about the game, click the tag below to check out our complete TOTK content list!