Zelda Breath of the Wild Weapons and Shields Guide
Weapons, bows and shields - we’ve got all the inside information on where to find the very best of the best weapons and equipment, scattered throughout Hyrule in Breath of the Wild.
Everyone knows by now that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild features a huge amount of items for you to play around and experiment with, from great swords to bows. In this Zelda Breath of the Wild weapons guide, we'll be examining the few best weapons in Breath of the Wild for you, so you know which items stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Best Weapons and Shields in Breath of the Wild
While the number of items available for the player to use is widely expansive and varied, the weapon durability systems found within Breath of the Wild aren't so flexible. Swords, bows and shields all have varying scales of durability, and each item will degrade at a varying rate when used in combat - swords when an opponent or ore deposit is hit, bows when an arrow is fired, and shield upon being hit by an enemy. Your shield will also degrade when you use it to shield surf, which is slightly annoying! The only weapon that doesn't break over time is the Master Sword.
Therefore, Link is almost fighting a constant battle with his own items in Breath of the Wild, always foraging ahead for brand new, unique items while having to keep an eye on the durability and condition of his own weapons. This is part of the 'push and pull' of Breath of the Wild - the open world is inviting for creativity, but fairly restrictive in terms of how long Link can feasibly use a weapon or shield for.
It's also worth bearing in mind that certain weapons can come with specialised abilities, making them more idea in certain combat scenarios. For example, the Thunderblade might be great to use against a water based enemy, but perhaps wouldn't work so effectively against an enemy like the Stone Talus.
- Breath of the Wild: The Best Melee Weapons
- Breath of the Wild: The Best Bows
- Breath of the Wild: The Best Shields
As the name gives away, this page contains all the best melee weapons found within Breath of the Wild, including one-handed swords, two-handed swords, axes, and claymores.
You'll find a selection of the most powerful and rarest bows in Breath of the Wild on this page, with the exception of story-orientated items like the Bow of Light.
Shields play a vital part in Link surviving the harsh world of Hyrule, and these powerful shields like Daybreaker and the Knight's Shield will help him throughout Breath of the Wild.
If you happen to already have found the best weapons available to Link throughout Hyrule, then consider instead one of our guides on how best to take down certain difficult enemies within the world, such as our guide on how to kill a Lynel and all the different varieties found in the world, or our guide on how to take down both the Stone Talus and the Igneo Talus.
Additionally, each player will obviously have their own play style in Breath of the Wild, meaning that while one weapon in particular might be the best statistically, it might not be the best for you to use, if you prefer a quick weapon such as a spear to the hard hitting but heavy two handed swords.
We have a vast array of other guides on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including an essential guides article that can help newcomers get to grips with the basics of the game, and another guides hub that walks players through challenging bosses and shrines found in various corners of Hyrule. Outside of this, we have speciality guides detailing how to cook as well as the best recipes in the game, as well as instructing the player on how to successful capture and register a horse in Breath of the Wild.
In addition to all the aforementioned guides to Breath of the Wild, we've also got a whole host of core guides on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild here at US Gamer, detailing critical quests in the main plot of the game such as how to complete the Magnesis Trial, and how to upgrade the Camera by completing the Locked Mementos Quest.