The Trial of the Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stands as one of the ultimate tests of combat efficiency, environmental awareness, and resource management. Stripped of all gear, armor, and inventory upon entry, players must rely purely on core mechanics and strategic foresight to survive dozens of challenging floors. Proper preparation before placing the Master Sword back into its pedestal can dramatically increase your chances of conquering all three stages.
Preparing Link Before Entering the Trial
Although your armor, weapons, and food items are stripped away when the trial begins, active status buffs granted before entering will persist inside the challenge. Consuming a dish made with five Mighty Bananas or four Armored Carp right before starting grants a level-three attack or defense boost lasting up to thirty minutes. Combining these ingredients with a Dragon Horn Scale maximizes the duration of the effect to ensure sustained advantages during early levels.
Expanding your permanent health and stamina pools prior to the challenge provides a crucial safety net against incoming damage. Maximizing the Sheikah Slate runes, particularly Remote Bombs and Stasis+, is equally vital for controlling aggressive groups of enemies. High stamina allows for prolonged slow-motion archery shots, which can quickly clear dangerous archers sitting atop watchtowers.
Mastering Basic Combat and Environmental Tactics
Conserving weapon durability is essential throughout the Beginning, Middle, and Final Trials. Utilizing Remote Bombs to deal damage, knock enemies into water, or shatter crates saves precious melee weapons for tougher encounters. Collecting every fallen branch, tree nut, and hidden chest ensures you stay well-equipped for impending boss fights.
Stealth tactics play a massive role in reducing unnecessary damage and preserving resources. Sneaking up on sleeping camps allows you to perform powerful sneakstrikes that deal multi-multiplier damage to high-tier foes. Environmental hazards like exploding barrels and metal objects can also be manipulated using Magnesis to eliminate enemies efficiently.
Navigating Rest Areas and Cooked Buffs
Rest floors interspersed between combat waves offer temporary relief and critical opportunities to restock vital supplies. Players should crouch and move slowly to capture fairies floating around the ponds before they get spooked and fly away. Chopping down every tree in rest areas allows you to cook individual wood pieces into hard-boiled wood, providing extra health recovery.
Cooking ingredients individually or in deliberate combinations maximizes healing value during rest stops. For instance, cooking heart-replenishing fish or hearty radishes individually yields meals that fully restore Link's health pool. Taking time to thoroughly scavenge rest rooms ensures Link is fully prepared to face the escalating dangers of the subsequent floors.
Conquering the Final Trials and Guardian Threats
The Final Trials introduce extreme environmental conditions alongside ancient Guardian machinery. Gathering wood to build campfires or equipping elemental weapons picked up from enemies helps regulate Link's body temperature in freezing or scorching environments. Precise parrying with shields becomes a mandatory skill to deflect Guardian beam attacks instantly back at their origin.
Saving Ancient Arrows found in hidden treasure chests for the most dangerous encounters, such as Lynels and Flying Guardians, prevents costly attrition battles. Maintaining calm decision-making and prioritizing high-threat targets first will guide you toward completing the gauntlet. Upon clearing the final floor, the Master Sword permanently awakens to its full power of sixty attack strength.
