Summary
- Conjure powerful weapons using the Fuse ability to survive Hyrule and take on Ganon's underlings in Tears of the Kingdom.
- Some weapons are more useful than others, so focus on crafting the most effective ones early on to make the journey easier.
- Certain weapons like the Spiked Ball Hammer, Sapphire Sword, and Rocket Shield are easy to make and enhance Link's abilities significantly.
In order to be as well-equipped as possible to take on the many monsters that await him in his journey through Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom, Link will need to conjure up some weapons using his new Fuse ability to stand any chance of surviving the challenged posed by Ganon and his underlings.
However, while nearly every item in the game can be combined with a weapon or shield to enhance it in one way or another, there are some that are much more useful than others. These can be very easy to find and will drastically improve the effectiveness of the weapon overall, making it much easier to traverse Hyrule without having to worry about a group of Bokoblins on the horizon.
So that players can focus their attention on the main quest, it's worth crafting these weapons in the early game where they will be at their most effective, though keeping them around for the rest of the journey still isn't a bad idea since they can still prove to be extremely effective, so long as they are taken care of.
Updated September 7, 2023, by Ewan Lewis: Since the release of Tears of the Kingdom, players have been experimenting with Link's Fuse ability to see what weird and whacky weapons they can conjure up, and they've uncovered a few more that are still very easy to make. Players just booting up the game for the first time should definitely think about creating some of these early-game weapons for themselves, but it's also not a bad idea to craft them in order to speed up the first few hours of the game during a second playthrough, too.
9 Spiked Ball Hammer
One of the first items most players will try latching onto their weapons is a Rock Boulder, and while this will certainly ramp up the power of a stick or sword, it can be even more worthwhile seeking out a Spike Ball, which can easily be found lying around Bokoblin Camps and in certain shrines like the Mogg Latan Shrine and Maka Rah Shrine.
There is also a Spike Ball near the Skyview Tower, which Link is sent to really early on in the game. Considering the Spike Ball Hammer can also be used to break open boulders to harvest materials and ores, it is well worth keeping on Link's satchel for as long as possible.
8 Sapphire Sword
Each of the ores will enhance the weapon they are attached to with an elemental effect, but arguably, the best one to acquire early on is Sapphire, which will allow each swing of a weapon to let out a freezing chill that will slow enemies to a crawl. 
Sapphire can be obtained by breaking it out of Rare Ore Deposits, which can be found in bulk when entering a cave, but they can also be easily acquired by heading to Goron City.
Sapphire is especially useful compared to the other ores because a lot of the enemies in Tears of the Kingdom rely on their speed and quick attacks to overpower Link, so being able to restrict their movements goes a very long way and can make a few tricky encounters later on so much easier. Sapphire Swords can be found at certain spots on the map, but making them by hand is much quicker.
7 Rocket Shield
With the game being so centered around manipulating physics and traveling creatively, it's only fitting that a rocket would make its way into Tears of the Kingdom. Still, it's shockingly easy to acquire. Once players come across one of the many Zonai Device Dispensers scattered across the Sky Islands, they will be able to get their hands on a rocket, which simply needs to be attached to Link's shield to make him fly.
Creating a rocket shield actually makes the game much easier than it would be otherwise, especially when it comes to traversing large mountains or simply shooting into the sky without the need for a Skyview Tower. While it may not be a weapon in the traditional sense, the rocket shield can still be used to get the jump on unsuspecting enemies, leaving a group of Bokoblins wide open to an attack from way up high.
6 Bomb Flower Arrows
Bomb Flower are straightforward to find in Tears of the Kingdom, in fact, a few of them can be found lying around the Great Sky Island where Link begins his journey, so it can be a good idea to stock up on as many of them as possible since they will come in very handy for breaking enemy defenses.
They can also be found randomly during cave excursions, but to find a whole batch of them at once, it can be worth heading over to the Royal Hidden Passageway, which is behind the Emergency Shelter, as an easy way to stock up. They make clearing out camps of enemies an absolute breeze, with it being much easier to deal with them this way as opposed to wearing down and potentially breaking a weapon or two by engaging in combat.
5 Attached Bokoblin Arms
Despite the name, a Bokoblin arm can actually be obtained from Stalkoblins, which can commonly be found wandering around the Great Hyrule Forest after the sun goes down. While these enemies can initially seem like little more than a nuisance, their arms are actually extremely powerful early-game weapons.
The 20 damage a single arm offers is already more than enough to make quick work of lowly monsters, but it's when attaching two arms together that this really becomes a devastating piece of equipment. Next time players come across a pack of Stalkoblins popping up from the ground, they should make sure to keep an eye out for their long and bony arms to make the first few hours of Link's journey so much easier.
4 Beam Emitter Shield
Beam Emitters are Zonai devices that are surprisingly easy to come across despite how destructive they can be. While they work well when combined with a sword or arrow, to really make full use of this deadly accurate device, it's best attached to a shield where a steady laser beam will shoot out whenever Link is defending himself.
The Emitter itself can be found on the Lanayru Sky Archipelago, which is accessed by launching from the Upland Zorana Skyview Tower just a few miles west of Zora's Domain. Considering the fact that traveling to Zora's Domain and meeting up with Sidon is part of the main quest, it's very easy to take a quick detour and collect some Beam Emitters along the way, which are sure to obliterate any enemies they make contact with.
3 Homing Arrows
Keese are the small bat-like creatures that can be found in virtually every cave in the game, and killing them will net the player some 
Keese Eyeballs, which might seem like a fairly useless item initially, but they can actually allow arrows to track their target, making it incredibly easy to take down annoying airborne enemies like Aerocudas.
Arrows are actually extremely hard to come by in Tears of the Kingdom, so using a Keese Eyeball can help make sure that each one counts when being fired. The Homing Arrow will also prove to be incredibly useful against some of the flying bosses that Link will take on later in the game, who can be a lot harder to hit when compared to regular monsters.
2 Flamethrower Shield
In order to create a shield that is capable of spitting out flames to burn enemies to a crisp, players will first need to visit the Thyphlo Ruins Skyview Tower, which can easily be spotted when traveling in the northern region of the Great Hyrule Forest. Once at the tower, propel up into the air and glide south toward the four small islands. The island that contains the 
Flame Emitters will be the one furthest south.
On this island will be the Simosiwak Shrine Dispenser, where Link can exchange Charges or Horns for a special Zonai item that will pop out at random, but one of the most common devices that can appear in the Bravery Island dispenser is the Flame Emitter, which is great as part of a shield since it allows Link to deal significant damage to enemies while still defending himself. They can also be found on the Great Sky Island, where players can try their hand at earning it from the Gutanbac Shrine Dispenser, but it does seem to be a little less common here.
1 Mushroom Spear
During the first few hours of Tears of the Kingdom, Link will be very vulnerable to enemy attacks and can die very easily from larger enemies such as the Lizalfos in a single hit. A great way to keep him alive without needing to engage in combat every time an enemy appears is by attaching a mushroom onto the tip of a spear. Each time the mushroom makes contact with an enemy, it will fling them back and potentially knock them over, making it very easy to run through small groups without needing to sacrifice any weapon durability or needing to risk any hearts in the process.
While there are a few different kinds of mushrooms that can be found sprouting from the ground across Hyrule, it's best to keep an eye out for Hylian Shrooms since they are the easiest to find and can be seen growing all across Hyrule Field in the woodlands. Additionally, players can also buy these mushrooms in bulk for 12 Rupees by heading over to the market in Hateno Village, making them very easy to acquire but also such a good resource for helping to keep Link alive.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.