I've had a couple I swear despawned on me. One time I even saw another star fall after. I'm guessing they're hitting something they can't actually land on, like water.
It did not yet happen to me in TotK, but I've had the exact same issue in BotW so many times ... and people always tried to tell me "it was morning so of course it despawned" (nope, middle of the night!) or "it landed in a lake or mud, so it couldn't spawn" (nope, definitely rocky terrain. I honestly needed video proof so people back on reddit would even consider that it might be an actual glitch instead of a player mistake.
tl;dr - you're not alone.
Yup. That video's exactly what's happened to me in TotK recently.
And it's interesting to me that in your case, just as in the last two times it's happened to me, the spot where the star fragment landed was on a little ridge overlooking a cliff.
Surely the star fragment is just under the terrain. I bet if someone managed to clip through the terrain, they could get it. Makes me want to find a glitch and go after one of these.
And it's entirely possible I've seen this happen in BotW as well and just don't remember. Unfortunate they didn't patch it. ('Cuz I need to fully upgrade my Mask of Awakening. I neeeeeeed it.)
Thanks for weighing in.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a videogame developed by Nintendo for the Switch, released in 2023. It is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild and its story takes place a couple of years after the events of BotW.
♦ Rules ♦
1. Stay Civil
This is a place for friendly discussion, memes, guides, art, gameplay questions, screenshots and the like. Discrimination and harrassment won't be tolerated.
2. Mark Spoilers
It is okay to post about "related games" (such as Age of Calamity and Breath of the Wild) but please use the spoiler "censor" and do not put spoilers directly into the title, as the censor doesn't work this way. Posts about other Zelda games might be suited better in general Zelda communities, like the ones listed at the bottom of the sidebar.
3. Offtopic Posts
Anything not related to BotW, like politics, religion, non-Zelda games etc. is better suited elsewhere and will be removed. The same goes for NSFW material.
4. No Advertisements
It is okay to post about merchandise, but links to those "design your own merch" sites will be removed, as those are almost always scams featuring stolen art. Affliate links will be removed as well. This isn't Etsy.
5. Provide Sources
If you're going to post art, comics, guides, screenshots etc. that are not your own OC, please mention the name of the original creator and ideally also a link to their portfolio/website. (Pinterest is almost never the original source)
6. Suggestions are Welcome!
Feedback, requests for improvements and constructive criticism are always appreciated ;)
Other communities that might interest you:
TotK Modding Community
Breath of the Wild:
General Zelda:
You like fantasy/adventure games but Zelda isn't "dark" enough?
Legal Disclaimer: This community is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, maintained, authorized, or sponsored by Nintendo.