Hints

MMR adds various hints throughout the game to help players through seeds. The exact types of hints available in each seed will depend on the hint settings, which can be found in the seed generator's Comfort tab.

Hints are determined only after randomizing the rest of the seed. Only randomized checks and items will be hinted.

MMR will take enabled victory modes into account when determining importance and hints.

Importance

After placing all items, MMR evaluates every randomized check for its value in logically progressing through the seed. This is called importance. MMR uses importance to determine what Way of the Hero and Foolish hints are possible, and it will be mentioned in location hints if the Indicate Importance option is on.

For items with multiple copies, every individual copy could have different importance. For multi-location checks, every individual location can have different importance.

• An item and check are required if the item must be obtained on that check and at that location in order to logically complete the seed.
• An item and check are important if obtaining the item on that check and at that location would help with progression through the seed, but there is at least one alternative available.

Termina Gossip Stones

The following is for the Competitive hint distribution option, which is used in practically all competitive settings.

There are 24 standalone Gossip Stones throughout Termina proper, plus four "gossip grottos" in Termina Field containing four Gossips each. In MMR, each Termina Field gossip grotto will receive the same four blocks of text, making for a total of 28 Gossip slots.

MMR can place 14 different Gossip Stone hints. Each hint will have two copies, and if the hint is for a required item, both copies of the hint will be accessible before that item is needed. (This applies to both location hints and Way of the Hero hints.)

The Free hints option allows players to read Gossip Stone hints without the Mask of Truth. The Clear hints option will cause the hints to give exact names of items and checks.

Location hints

Apparently Butler brings a Blast Mask (not required)...

Location hints name a specific check and the item on that check. If Indicate Importance is on, the hint will add "(required)" if the item is required, or "(not required)" otherwise. A "(not required)" item could still be important! For instance, it's possible for both Gibdo Mask and Garo's Mask to be stated as "(not required)" in the same seed.

A location hint can name multiple related checks at once. Aliens Defense and Cremia are a popular example.

MMR allows location hints to be customized. Competitive settings commonly divide location hints into two tiers:

• Always hints are given in every seed. Runners won't have to do an always-hinted check unless they find a hint that says otherwise.
• Sometimes hints are not given in every seed. Runners still have to consider sometimes-hinted checks when the check isn't hinted.

Some competitive settings use rotating always hints, in which only a certain number of always hints are actually given in the seed and the leftover always-tier checks are junked. The effect is the same for runners: they still needn't do always-hinted checks unless told otherwise. (MMR will ensure that the number of required and important items placed on always-tier checks won't exceed the specified number of hint slots!)

Way of the Hero hints

It appears Pinnacle Rock is on the Way of the Hero...

Way of the Hero hints (or "WotHs" for short) name a region that is guaranteed to have at least one required randomized item.

There are a few exceptions:

• The item cannot be already hinted by another Termina Gossip Stone location hint or another enabled region hint.
• When songs are shuffled among songs, the item cannot be a song that's solely for access to vanilla remains or Majora. To be eligible for WotH, a song must lock a required randomized item or an unavoidable set of important randomized items. This special rule is ignored when Mix Songs with Items is on; there, it's easier for dungeon songs to be WotH.
• The item cannot be the Fierce Deity's Mask or Giant's Mask for the purpose of defeating Twinmold. (They can be WotH for other purposes if the settings allow for it! But this is unconventional.)
• The item cannot be a Boss Remains, Boss Key, or Small Key shuffled specifically among Great Fairy Rewards or Temples. (They can be WotH if shuffled anywhere and otherwise unhinted.)
• Stray Fairies and Gold Skulltula Tokens are exempt due to any instances of required Great Fairy and Skulltula House Rewards.
• The item cannot be a randomized bottle scoop, as bottle scoops are not assigned to specific regions.

A region with an already-hinted or otherwise un-WotH-able item can still be WotH, but only for a different item.

Each region may only be hinted WotH once.

WotH hints are not probabilistic. Regions with multiple required items are not any more likely to be chosen for a WotH hint.

The Importance Count option causes WotH hints to instead state the total number of required and important items in that region. However, all rules and exceptions for WotH hints remain in effect: there must still be at least one required WotH-eligible item.

Foolish hints

They say Beneath the Well is a foolish choice...

Foolish hints name a region that does not have any required or important items that are fully randomized.

A special variant of the foolish hint is the Foolish Except for Song hint, which names a region with only one relevant song and no other required or important randomized items. The song may be required or important. A foolish-except-song region cannot be hinted WotH too.

Some considerations and exceptions:

• Non-randomized items in that region may still be needed. Some examples include boss remains, potions from West Clock Town, and Magic Beans from the Deku Palace Bean Man.
• Boss Remains, Boss Keys, Small Keys, and dungeon Stray Fairies that are shuffled specifically among Great Fairy Rewards or Temples are ignored by foolish hints!
• Scoops are ignored by foolish hints, whether randomized or not.

Foolish hints are probabilistic. Regions with more checks are more likely to be chosen for a foolish hint when they do qualify.

The Importance Count option causes foolish hints to instead state that the region has zero important items (and foolish-except-song hints to state that the region has one important song), but they otherwise still function just like foolish hints.

Garo Hints

These are available only if Garo hints are enabled in your seed using the Competitive hint distribution option. Most competitive settings do not use Garo hints.

There are 16 Garo text blocks available, some of which are shared by multiple Garos:

• 2 in lower Ikana Canyon
• 4 in upper Ikana Canyon
• 4 in upper Ikana Canyon after the Song of Storms is played
• 4 in Ikana Castle
• 1 in Ikana Castle after Igos is defeated
• 1 in Stone Tower Temple

MMR can place 8 different hints on defeated Garos. Each hint will have two copies. These hints are of the same types as Gossip Stone hints, but are below all Gossip Stone hints in priority unless the Mix Gossip and Garo Hints option is used. Unlike Gossip Stone hints, there is no guarantee that both copies of the hint will be accessible before the item they hint is needed; furthermore, Garo hints do not affect WotH eligibility.

The Free hints option allows players to engage Garos without the Garo's Mask by responding to a C-Up prompt when Link is in position. The Clear hints option will cause the hints to give exact names of items and checks.

Oath Hint

This is available only if the Oath hint is enabled in your seed. Many current competitive settings do use the Oath hint.

When the player has enough boss remains to go to the Moon but still lacks the Oath to Order, the Boss Blue Warp at the end of a temple will lead to a cutscene in which the Giants provide a region hint for either:

• the Oath to Order itself, if Mix Songs with Items is on
• the item directly leading to the song check with the Oath to Order, if Mix Songs with Items is not on -- this can be the Deku Mask, Goron Mask, Zora Mask, Captain's Hat, Powder Keg, or Mirror Shield

Boss Remains Hint

This is available only if the Boss Remains hint is enabled in your seed and if Boss Remains are not vanilla.

Pressing C-Up at the Clock Tower door will cause Tatl to provide region hints for all boss remains in the seed. If multiple boss remains are placed in the same region, the region will only be mentioned once.

Shuffled Boss Remains will not be eligible for WotH hints if this hint is available.

Fairy and Skull Hints

These are available only if the Fairies and Skulls hints are enabled in your seed.

Visiting the Town Fairy Fountain will provide a region hint for the Clock Town Stray Fairy if it is shuffled.

Visiting each Fairy Fountain or Spider House owner will cause them to provide region hints for all of their matching Stray Fairies or Skulltula Tokens. Hints will be updated as items are collected.

The hints will provide full counts for every region with at least one matching item. Unlike with other region hints, multilocation checks can be hinted multiple times this way!

Moon Gossip Hints

These are available in all seeds, but may only be relevant in settings with early Moon access or different victory conditions.

Each of the four Moon Trials contains five Gossip Stones. In vanilla MM each Moon Gossip Stone gave a hint about one specific non-transformation mask; in MMR, the Moon Gossips instead list the exact check that holds the corresponding mask. The Moon Gossip Hints are never shuffled; each Gossip hints the same mask in every seed.

Moon Gossip Stone hints are affected by the same Free Hints and Clear Hints options used for Termina Gossip Stones, but never include the importance (even when Indicate Importance is on). Also, these hints do not prevent non-transformation masks from being eligible for WotHs.

Model Peeks and Update NPC Text

These are available only if Update World Models and/or Update NPC Text are respectively enabled in your seed.

MMR can update certain in-world models to match randomized item placements. Similarly, MMR can also edit NPC dialog or signage, even adding some contextual hints!

See Model Peeks or Update NPC Text for more details. While Update World Models will not affect item importance or WotH eligibility in any way, Update NPC Text can do so.