While not night-and-day, asset streaming was optimized. Shrine loading and fast traveling feel fractionally faster—we’re talking milliseconds, but for speedrunners, milliseconds matter. The "Worse" Argument: The Glitch Purge Here is where the controversy begins. The Breath of the Wild speedrunning community relies on exploits. Nintendo’s 1.6.0 patch was a killer for fun, harmless glitches.
For casual players, these terms mean nothing. For veterans, these were the best ways to mess around. Moon Jump allowed you to leap across Hyrule Field in a single bound. Slot Transfer allowed you to duplicate weapons, bows, and shields infinitely. Update 1.6.0 systematically patched these out. If you are a player who enjoys breaking the game for fun, 1.6.0 is worse because it turned Hyrule into a sandbox with higher walls. zelda botw 160 update better
Does Version 1.6.0 improve the game, or did it break beloved mechanics? Let’s break down the performance, glitch fixes, and quality-of-life changes to answer the ultimate question: What Exactly is Version 1.6.0? First, a quick clarification. Breath of the Wild exists on two primary platforms: the Nintendo Switch and the Wii U. Both received a final major update in late 2019 / early 2020, often referred to as the "master patch." On Switch, this is Update 1.6.0; on Wii U, it mirrors the same changes (sometimes listed as 1.5.0 depending on region). While not night-and-day, asset streaming was optimized
On Wii U specifically, some users argue that 1.6.0 increased input lag on the GamePad. While Nintendo claimed optimization, Wii U hardware simply struggled with the new memory allocation. Many Wii U players downgraded back to 1.5.0 for smoother response times. The Cemu (Emulator) Factor – Where "Better" is Complicated If you are playing Breath of the Wild on PC via the Cemu emulator, the question " Zelda BOTW 1.6.0 update better " depends entirely on your mods. The Breath of the Wild speedrunning community relies
YES, the Zelda BOTW 1.6.0 update is better. The improved frame rate stability (especially in docked mode), reduced crashing, and fixed memory leaks outweigh the loss of glitches you never used. You will enjoy a smoother, more polished version of the game.
Pre-1.6.0, Korok Forest was a notorious nightmare. The frame rate would plummet to 15-20 FPS, stuttering heavily. Post-1.6.0, while not perfect, the dynamic resolution scaling was tweaked. The game aggressively lowers resolution to maintain a steadier 30 FPS. Result? Korok Forest is still laggy, but it no longer feels like a slideshow. Similarly, fighting Moblins with electric weapons during rain—a known FPS killer—is noticeably smoother.
Before 1.6.0, long-haul players (200+ hour save files) occasionally reported memory leak crashes, especially when using the Travel Medallion rapidly. Update 1.6.0 fixed several memory management issues, making a "crash to home screen" extremely rare.