Key Takeaway
Here’s how to most quickly get the Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
- Head down into the Depths via the Minshi Woods Chasm
- Travel northwest to the Rikonasum Lightroot
- Ascend through the upsidedown platform to get to the Korok Forest
- Defeat the Gloom Hands and Phantom Ganon below the Deku Tree
- Talk to the Deku Tree to start the quest “Recovering the Hero’s Sword”
- Fast travel to the Skyview Tower nearest to the Light Dragon’s location
- From the sky, drop down onto the Light Dragon’s head
- Pull out the Master Sword (requires at least two full rings of Stamina)
This entire process shouldn’t take more than an hour.
If you want an unbreakable weapon in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Link’s most iconic weapon is your best bet! To get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom, you’ll need to find a way atop the head of the Light Dragon.
Table Of Contents
How to Get the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Video Guide
Breakdown of Our Method
We found that the quickest way to get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom is to start the quest Recovering the Hero’s Sword. We did so by getting rid of the Gloom Hands and the Phantom Ganon in Korok Forest before speaking to the Deku Tree. Once done, the Light Dragon (who is “carrying” the Master Sword) begins flying much lower than before, and a quest marker for it appears on the map.
Next, we used the Skyview Tower nearest to the Light Dragon to drop down onto the serpentine being. From here, we pulled the Master Sword out of the dragon’s head, which required at least two full rings of Stamina.
How to Get to the Korok Forest (00:23 in the Video Guide)
The Korok Forest is surrounded by the pesky Lost Woods. If you try to go through the Lost Woods to get to the Korok Forest, you’ll have to deal with an annoying fog that teleports you as well as many enemies. A better way to get to the Korok Forest is through the Depths, and the best route is through the Minshi Woods Chasm.
After you drop down the aforementioned chasm, you need to make your way to the Rikonasum Lightroot for a way back up. When you get to the Rikonasum Lightroot, you can Ascend to the center of the Korok Forest.
How to Get From the Minshi Woods Chasm to the Rikonasum Lightroot
The first step is to head to the Minshi Woods Chasm (coordinates: 1038, 1662, 0158). Once you descend into the depths, travel northwest for about five minutes, and you’ll reach the Rikonasum Lightroot. Near the lightroot, you’ll see a raised area with an upsidedown stone platform above you.
Note
Stand under the inverted platform and use Ascend to swim back up to the surface world. Once you get out of the Depths, you’ll find yourself in the middle of Korok Forest. However, the Deku Tree is plagued with Gloom. You must help it to start the quest Recovering the Hero’s Sword.
Complete the Musanokir Shrine
Near the center of the Korok Forest, you’ll see the Musanokir Shrine. While it’s not necessary to complete it to make progress towards the Master Sword, it’s always good to have another convenient fast travel point. This makes it much quicker and easier to return to the Korok Forest in the future.
How to Save the Deku Tree (02:56 in the Video Guide)
You need to defeat the Gloom Hands and the Phantom Ganon under the Deku Tree to save it. This is the next step you must take to get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom. You have to first take out all the Gloom Hands, and, afterward, a Phantom Ganon spawns. While this may seem daunting, this task isn’t too hard if you use a few tricks.
Tips for Taking Out the Gloom Hands
You want to hit the Gloom Hands fast and hard! Since they’re grouped somewhat closely together, you can hit all five of them at the same time. We used 10 Bomb Flowers fused to Arrows for an explosive ranged attack method. You can destroy all five Gloom Hands with 10 Bomb Arrows.
Make sure to do so quickly, otherwise, the Gloom Hands will regenerate. Just be careful not to get caught in the explosions of your own Bomb Arrows. After the Gloom Hands have been dealt with, a Phantom Ganon immediately spawns.
Tips for Taking Out Phantom Ganon
The Phantom Ganon under the Deku Tree only has three main attacks.
- Lunging Swipe: If you’re out of melee range, Phantom Ganon flies toward you and swipes at you with its sword. You can block this by holding up your shield.
- Single Slash: Almost lazily, the red specter cuts at you with its blade. This can also be blocked with a shield.
- Spinning Slash: During this maneuver, Phantom Ganon spins around and slashes at you twice with its weapon. If both swipes hit you, the first knocks your shield back while the second one damages you. To avoid this attack, leap backward when you see your foe winding up for a strike.
Besides these attacks, you need to be careful of the puddles of Gloom that leak out of the Phantom Ganon’s feet (as well as the other Gloom puddles nearby). However, when you hit your enemy, the Gloom that emerges from Phantom Ganon gets sucked back into its hideous host.
When we defeated this Phantom Ganon, we used a weapon with 34 power—and it only took us about three minutes. We were wearing pieces of armor that had—on average—7 defense. At the times when Phantom Ganon hit us, it took out just over 4 Hearts.
TipStay strong and your foe will eventually go down! Once defeated, Phantom Ganon drops a Gloom Sword, the Demon King’s Bow, and two Dark Clumps. After the battle, loot the goods and use Ascend to make your way back up to the entrance.
Speak to the Deku Tree to Start “Recovering the Hero’s Sword”
Once the Deku Tree is free from Gloom, exit the hollow beneath the mighty forest guardian and climb the nearest root. There’s a small organic platform from where you can speak to the Deku Tree.
When you do, a short cutscene plays which enlightens you on the nature of the Master Sword. Following this, the quest Recovering the Hero’s Sword begins. As it does, the game opens your map and shows you a quest marker that’s flying through the air.
This marker is the location of the Light Dragon. Thankfully, the quest marker is attached to the Light Dragon, so you’ll always be able to find it from here on out. Fast travel to whatever Skyview Tower the Light Dragon is closest to in order to approach it efficiently.
How to Get on the Light Dragon (15:12 in the Video Guide)
This is the final step you need to take to get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom. From the Skyview Tower closest to the Light Dragon’s position, launch yourself into the sky, which brings you well above it. Dive and glide down onto the Light Dragon’s head and you’ll find the Master Sword embedded in its brow. Press and hold the A button to begin pulling the blade out.
You need two full rings of Stamina to pull the Master Sword free from the Light Dragon’s head. Since the maximum amount of Stamina you can obtain is three rings, there’s a lot of room for error. After you pull the sword from the sky serpent’s forehead, a cutscene plays that shows some lore-important details.
Once the cutscene finishes, you’re free to wield the Master Sword as you please. Well done, brave hero, you’ve reclaimed Link’s legendary blade!
Does the Master Sword Break? (21:18 in the Video Guide)
No, the Master Sword does not break. Instead, when you deplete its durability, it simply runs out of energy. When this happens, you need to wait 10 real-world minutes for it to recharge. You can check its recharging status in the weapons menu.
Can You Fuse Objects to the Master Sword?
Yes, you can fuse any material you want to the Master Sword. Whatever material you attach to the legendary blade stays attached until the Master Sword runs out of energy. At that point, the attached material breaks. However, the Master Sword is fine, so there’s no need to worry—it just needs to recharge.
On a related note, you cannot use the Break-a-Part Shop in Tarrey Town to detach items from the Master Sword. If you really want to free your infinite-durability blade from an accidentally-attached material, you can repeatedly strike it against breakable boulders that drop ore.
How Strong Is the Master Sword?
The Master Sword has roughly the same damage output as a 30-power weapon. This increases even more if you Fuse powerful materials to it. We recommend fusing high-tier monster parts, such as those from a Stalnox, Lynel, or Talus.
Since it never truly breaks, the Master Sword is arguably the best weapon in the game. What’s more, if you find its power lacking, you can boost its damage output with powerful materials as we mentioned above. Use your awesome new weapon to clear out dungeons, such as the Fire Temple and the Wind Temple. If anything gets in your way, don’t hesitate to cut it down with the Master Sword!
