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Believe it or not, it's entirely optional – unless you want the true ending!
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Tips

Breath of the Wild Guide: How to Find the Master Sword

Believe it or not, it's entirely optional - unless you want the true ending!
Image of David Fisher
David Fisher
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Published: Mar 6, 2017 12:09 pm

This article is over 7 years old and may contain outdated information

In past installments of The Legend of Zelda, the Master Sword is not only the ultimate weapon, but also a plot device that is required to complete the game — unless you’re a glitch-abusing speed runner, that is. In Breath of the Wild, however, the Master Sword is 100% unnecessary as the game can quite literally be beaten without so much as seeing the Master Sword once. Getting to the Master Sword can be quite the challenge.

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SPOILER ALERT: This guide will lead you to an important plot device in obtaining the true ending. Proceed with caution!

Getting to the Lost Woods

To find the Master Sword, we first need to find the Korok Forest, which is deep in the Lost Woods. To do this, simply travel on horseback to the northernmost reaches of Hyrule. You can evade Guardians as much as possible, or cling to the Lanayru side of Central Hyrule to avoid as many confrontations with the deadly crawlers as possible.

The Lost Woods are entirely accessible by following the main roads, and you’ll know when you’ve arrived when you find a small stone ruin with a glowing torch inside.

Navigating Through the Fog…

Make sure you have a torch handy to get through this next portion, as it is completely necessary to navigate through the Lost Woods. Any other flammable weapon works too, but only torches last indefinitely. For the first portion, simply walk between the torches until you reach an area with two torches side by side. If you can’t see the next torch, grab your own, and light it.

Once you get to the two torches standing side by side, you’ll be at the first checkpoint on your way to the Master Sword.

When you get to the checkpoint, ensure you have a wooden weapon or torch equipped. If you don’t have one, the torch on the right will have a hand torch for you to use. Grab it, then light it in the fire before heading forward. The strategy here is to stop in between every square of trees to check which direction the embers are glowing. You can do this by rotating the camera until you see the embers flowing in a certain direction (above).

Follow the embers through the Lost Woods, stopping as frequently as possible to ensure you don’t get sent back to the checkpoint.

The Master Sword

If you successfully navigate the Lost Woods using this method, you should stumble upon the Korok Forest. Here you will find the Master Sword in its pedestal, as well as the Deku Tree. Depending on how many hearts you have, you can now grab the Master Sword for use. However, you will need at least 13 hearts to draw the Master Sword from its pedestal. Any less, and Link will meet with a terrible fate during his attempt.

To put this into perspective, Link will need to collect either:

  • 40 Spirit Orbs from 40 different Shrines
  • Complete all 4 Sacred Beast Dungeons to get 4 Heart Containers without the Master Sword, and then collect another 24 Spirit Orbs from the Shrines.

Don’t worry if you can’t draw the Master Sword immediately. To the right of the Master Sword pedestal is a shrine that you can activate to easily return to this location. The nearby Koroks will also have several secret shrines that can help guide you to in the Lost Woods. Complete these to earn an extra 3 Spirit Orbs.

Other Master Sword Facts

The Master Sword isn’t the most powerful weapon in the game, but it does have the added bonus of being the only indestructable weapon. That said, it still does wear down over time, although this only affects its damage rating. Its base strength rating is 30, and wears down to 3 if used against non-Calamity enemies. Think of it as similar to the Fierce Deity mask from Majora’s Mask.

And there you have it!

The Master Sword is a great tool in Breath of the Wild, and is key to unlocking the true ending of the game. Don’t worry about getting it as soon as possible as it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and isn’t necessary for completing any of the dungeons — but it helps!

Check out our other Breath of the Wild guides!
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Image of David Fisher
David Fisher
Author, GameSkinny columnist, and part-time childhood destroyer. David W. Fisher (otherwise known as RR-sama) is a no B.S. reviewer and journalist who will ensure that you get as close to the facts as humanly possible!