Zelda: Breath of the Wild - How to Get the Master Sword
By Cody Gravelle 06 March 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is, without a shadow of a doubt, an early contender for 2017’s Game of the Year. Breath of the Wild has reinvigorated the Nintendo console gaming experience for the first time in what feels like years, and fans have taken notice – Breath of the Wild has received critical acclaim nearly everywhere, and some have even begun circulating the idea that it could be the best Legend of Zelda game ever made.
Part of that growing sentiment has emerged out of the sense that Breath of the Wild is a fundamentally different Legend of Zelda experience. While past entries have featured puzzles, dungeons, and exploration, Breath of the Wild amps all of these elements up, often eschewing giving gamers any help or sense of direction while doing so. Breath of the Wild doesn’t even make it easy for gamers to find Epona, and the result is that accomplishing something within Breath of the Wild almost always feels rewarding.
To that end, perhaps there is no bigger accomplishment in any Legend of Zelda game than when a player finally unlocks the Master Sword. Breath of the Wild is no different, and this guide will break down where the Master Sword is and how to get it.
Spoiler Warning: This guide details a few hidden locations in the game. Proceed with caution.
Prepare for the Master Sword
Before doing anything else, gamers will need to make sure they are ready for the Master Sword. While it is possible that players can reach the Master Sword immediately after leaving Hyrule Plateau, it’s actually impossible to obtain the legendary weapon without sinking some serious time into the game first. That’s because players will need 13 hearts just to survive pulling the Master Sword out from its resting place.
Players will need to collect 10 Heart Containers to survive pulling out the sword, which means they’ll need to complete 40 shrines before being able to do so. While this may seem time consuming, shrines in Breath of the Wild are much shorter than the dungeons of Legend of Zelda games past, which should lessen the grind to 13 hearts significantly.
Head to the Lost Woods
To get to the Lost Woods, players must follow the path through Mishi Woods located northeast of Hyrule castle. That’s just before the Death Mountain region, for those still becoming acclimatized to the world of Breath of the Wild. Once players pass the Woodland Stables, they’re on the right path to the Master Sword.
Navigating the Lost Woods
Figuring out the trick to the Lost Woods is easy, but running in blind and simply attempting to sprint through it in the hopes Link is heading in the right direction will inevitably lead players back to the beginning of the zone.
To make sure Link is following the correct path, all players need to do is follow the flow of the orbs of light that are present in the Lost Woods. They move in the direction Link is supposed to go, and will change direction fairly frequently, so keep a close eye on them to avoid being consumed by fog and spat back out at the beginning.
The Korok Forest and the Master Sword
Making it out of the Lost Woods lands players in the Korok Forest, which features a very distinct clearing that the Master Sword is in the middle of. It is impossible to miss, so don’t worry about accidentally running past the location.
Heading up to the Master Sword will trigger a cutscene, and once that finishes, gamers can simply press A to attempt to pull the Master Sword out of its resting place. It will drain players of health to do so, but as long as they have 13 hearts or more, they’ll be successful and Link will recover Breath of the Wild‘s most powerful weapon.
How to Use the Master Sword
The Master Sword is far and away the best weapon available to Link in Breath of the Wild, and is crucial for gamers to recover if they wish to best Calamity Ganon with relative ease. The sword can also be used on the random assortment of normal enemies players encounter during a playthrough of Breath of the Wild, but using the weapon too much causes it to gradually lose its attack power for a brief duration of time, so be careful to not use it too often and have it weakened at a key moment.
That’s where to find the Master Sword and how to survive acquiring the legendary blade. Let’s be honest – it’s one of the coolest weapons in gaming history, and finding it should be at the top of the list of things to do in Breath of the Wild for any fan of the series.
Check back for other Breath of the Wild news and guides!
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now on Switch and Wii U.
