Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: All Sage Abilities RANKED!
The Sage Abilities are fundamentally flawed in how they are activated, yet still a very fun aspect in Tears of the Kingdom. With five Sages total, all of these abilities are quite powerful and very fun to use! Also, just to compare these abilities to Breath of the Wild, I thought it'd be fun to throw the Champion Abilities on this ranking as well! Now without further ado, RPG Ranked presents... Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: All Sage Abilities RANKED!
9. Yunobo's Sage Ability
Other than the occasional puzzles and sequences that you need Yunobo for, Yunobo is just awful. He is definitely the weak link of the Sages in Tears of the Kingdom, and it isn't even close. The damage his ability does is rather weak, and while it can be used to light up a field of grass to start an updraft, there are many other ways to do that. Almost anything Yunobo can do can be done better by so many other things in the game. Breaking rocks? Get a cannon for an endless explosive extravaganza. Updrafts? Start a quick fire and throw a pinecone or two into it for great effect. Dealing damage? Literally any of these other abilities. Even Riju can do Yunobo's job better than him, because she can also blow up rocks with her lightning... and also do more damage on top of that! The biggest saving grace of Yunobo is the fact he is the second strongest of the Sages in terms of pure attack power, and he can deal good damage to armored enemies or those pesky pebblets with his Goron gear. Overall, Yunobo still is worth having on your team, but everything he can do can be done better by Riju, Zonai Devices, Bomb Flowers, or even the mere pinecone.
8. Daruk's Protection
Another Goron, another underwhelming ability. The idea of having three charges to literally make yourself invincible is actually quite awesome. At least it is quite awesome on paper, that is. In practice, a skilled Breath of the Wild player can simply pull out a shield and parry to create space, or do a quick evade and get in a flurry rush for huge damage... Daruk's Protection cannot do either of these things. I very rarely found myself using Daruk's Protection even half an hour after getting it—it just was not that useful. It is still leagues ahead of Yunobo's ability, but personally, I just found this to be incredibly underwhelming. Honestly, I'd only use it when I couldn't give two craps about parrying guardian lasers and I just wanted to get on with my freaking life. Overall, this is a nice ability to avoid getting sniped by Guardians while peacefully exploring, but by the time you get access to this ability, you will likely have enough of a grip on the combat system of Breath of the Wild that it will not be all that useful.
7. Riju's Sage Ability
Even though I was talking up Riju as being better than Yunobo, that's nothing to write home about judging that Yunobo sets such a low standard. Riju is great for two things: 1) blowing things up better than Yunobo can or 2) exposing Gibdos or armored enemies. Honestly, once you get powerful fused weapons and powerful bows, doing slightly more damage just is not worth the pain of activating this ability. Personally, I just prefer to let Riju do her own thing and hit enemies with her sword, occasionally summoning her if I need to kill a Gibdo or if I just want to see that epic lightning animation. Otherwise? She pales in comparison to her predecessor Urbosa in almost every way.
6. Sidon's Sage Ability
At first sight, Sidon's Sage Ability is as fundamentally flawed and unnecessary as Daruk's Protection. Even if it can be used more often, it is harder to use! However, this ability has so much more depth and usefulness than Daruk's Protection when you start to analyze it on a deeper level. While it is still not groundbreaking, it has two incredible uses outside of protecting Link: 1) it can be used to weaken or kill fire enemies or sludge enemies such as Igneo Taluses, Fire Wizzrobes, or Mucktoroks and 2) it can easily make Link wet. You may be asking, why is making Link wet good? Well, if you have the Zora Spear or the Lightscale Trident, you can deal double damage when wet! This can potentially make some of the best weapon combinations in the game if this ability is used right! However, even though these are two great upsides to Sidon's ability, they are still too niche to place any higher on this list. And besides, Sidon is easily the weakest attacker of all the sages, so that is quite unfortunate...
5. Mineru's Sage Ability
Mineru has easily the weirdest ability on this list, as she gives you a mech to ride on. In a game where you can create things that can already be as powerful as Mineru, this disappointed me a little bit. However, Mineru has some undeniable strengths over Zonai Device creations. First of all, she can pack more of a punch and be more accessible than Homing Carts and Construct Heads. Second of all, if you ride on her, you can quickly traverse over sand, snow, and even the gloom! If you have a Fan attached on her back, that is. Also, I love how customizable Mineru is in battle compared to the other Sages, as you can make her your own. My personal favorite things to give Mineru are a Frost Emitter, a Cannon, and of course, a Fan on her back. This makes her a very useful ally! While Mineru is still not anything that special, I find her customizability and her gloom-resistant powers to be more useful than the previous abilities on this list.
4. Urbosa's Fury
This is the first ability on this list that is not mediocre or bad. In fact, there is such a huge gap between this and Mineru that I'd say there are two or three tiers between the two. Urbosa's Fury is easily the best way of dealing damage in Breath of the Wild, and with the upgrade gained from the DLC? Urbosa's Fury can become an ability that charges quickly enough to take down Lynels without a single worry. With Urbosa's Fury, Link can dish out immeasurable amounts of damage, and it makes me sad that such power was not given to Riju, who just feels like a complete discount version of Urbosa. Overall, I absolutely adored this ability, and it may just be the ability I miss the most in Tears of the Kingdom.
3. Mipha's Grace
While Urbosa's Fury is mostly only useful in combat, Mipha's Grace is just such an amazing passive ability to have. Want to have a second life in combat and fairies just aren't doing it for you? Mipha's got your back. Accidentally forget to use your paraglider? Mipha's got you. Want to save your Hearty Durians, Truffles, Radishes, and Bass? Purposefully kill yourself to get extra hearts! (I don't recommend this last one, but you know, it's always an option). Mipha's Grace is just always a great ability to have, whereas every other ability before this on this list was either bad, niche, or delegated to just combat. Overall, I can't think of a single time where Mipha's Grace isn't incredible, and therefore, it places in third on this list.
2. Tulin's Sage Ability
This ability is phenomenal. With this ability, you can fly over gaps with ease. You can reposition in the middle of "bullet time" to get a better vantage while aiming. You can paraglide quicker and more effectively. You can blow enemies over and prepare them for a powerful attack. You can blow boats forward or blow sand away. You can do so, so much with this ability! And on top of all of this, Tulin also is the strongest of all the Sages in terms of attacks, as he has quick long-range attacks that hit criticals and knock enemies over! Overall, Tulin definitely deserves the second place spot on this list, but there is still one that is better...
1. Revali's Gale
Far and away the most useful ability on this list, Revali's Gale just has so many fantastic uses (and quite a short cooldown to boot!). Revali's Gale lets you easily reach heights that are otherwise not very accessible, and can bypass the pesky rain falling from the sky! Revali's Gale can get you a very quick vantage point, allowing you to enter "bullet time" in battle and dish out huge amounts of damage. Or if a Guardian is just about to shoot you and you just aren't skilled enough at parrying? Shoot to the sky, and the Guardian will definitely miss you. Overall, Revali's gale is just so good both in-battle and out-of-battle, and for that, Revali's Gale is the best ability on this list.