5 More of the Toughest Enemies in Breath of the Wild—and How To Kill Them

The many enemies of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild pose unique challenges, testing the player’s skill in patience, nimble finger work, and quick response times. We’ve already revealed how to tackle five of the toughest baddies in Hyrule, but there are still plenty more out there just waiting to send Link back to the reload screen. Here are tips on how to tackle even more of the enemies of Breath of the Wild.

Yiga Blademaster

Unlike their Yiga Footsoldier brethern, Yiga Blademasters are pretty tough. That is, if you’re in the Yiga secret lair. Out in the wild, they’re not so bad. But in both scenarios, a single hit can completely wipe out all your heart containers. A strategic approach is merited.

While in pursuit of Master Kohga in the Yiga hideout, alerting a Yiga Blademaster to your presence will draw Link into combat with additional Yiga clan members. To avoid this, go completely stealth. Each area in the secret lair will have pillars you can climb and paraglide down from, allowing you to use Sneakstrike when they aren’t looking (be sure to wear your Sheikah armor and grab some stealth or speed boosting elixirs, if needed).

If you do get pulled into battle, don’t panic. You don’t necessarily need to start over, even if you’re up against several Blademasters. In the final room of the hidden lair, try using Meteor and Lightning Rods. Carry two of each (farm them from Crenel Hills east of Hyrule Castle if you need some). In closed quarters, they are highly effective at dealing huge damage to the Blademasters, as their unpredictable trajectory bouncing off all the obstacles in the room will make up for the Blademasters’ disappearing/reappearing act, trapping them in fire and electricity and allowing you to attack them with a melee weapon—if you even need to.

Molduga

There is only one type of Molduga, and they are only found in the desert. Personally, I like to farm Molduga parts at the Arbiter’s Grounds. There are several pillars there to climb, from which you can track Molduga’s movements and lob bombs at him from afar. The bombs are to get his attention but also to deal damage. Throw one, which will cause the Molduga to get closer to investigate, allowing you to detonate when they are in proximity. Once the Molduga is damaged, it will jump out onto the surface of the sand, allowing you to throw more bombs. Use Bomb Arrows, and if you can, get a Lynel Bow, which shoots three at a time, or the Forest Dweller Bow, which shoots two.

Stalnox

The Stalnox is more or less a skeleton Hinox, with the characteristics both of the Stalfos, and the Hinox. It only comes out at night and appears as a pile of bones during the day. Like the Hinox, Link must strike its eye, however, the Stalnox will drop its eye on the ground and it must be struck with a melee weapon. The Stalnox will not die if the damage is not dealt to the eye directly; he will not fall to the ground like a regular Hinox and does not respond to melee damage. Towards the end of the battle, he will begin to cover his eye if he sees Link aiming at it, so move quickly. The eye has its own damage bar and the Stalnox will die once it has been depleted.

Rock Octorok

The Rock Octorok, like the Molduga, can be undone by its curiosity with bombs. They can’t be defeated like a regular Octorok that Link finds out in the water or in the fields of Hyrule, but the solution is so simple, it doesn’t matter. When you see a Rock Octorok on Death Mountain and it begins to suck in air, throw a bomb. It will swallow the bomb, allowing Link to detonate it, killing the Rock Octorok.

As a word of advice, maybe don’t kill the Rock Octorok right away. First check to see if you have any rusty or inferior equipment like a Rusty Shield or Rusty Broadsword. The Rock Octorok will suck it up and spit out a brand new shiny item, sometimes of higher quality too.

Treasure Octorok

The Treasure Octorok, with its tantalizing promise of treasure and its ability to knock Link flat on his butt, can be daunting at first. However, he too can be undone by curiosity. When you spot a buried treasure chest from a distance, first bring up your Magnesis rune tool, and see if you can lift the item out of the ground. If you can’t, you have a Treasure Octorok on your hands. Shoot it with an arrow and it will peek its head out of the ground, allowing you to quickly follow up with another arrow and kill it, preventing it from injuring Link and getting away.

Holly Green is the assistant editor of Paste Games and a reporter and semiprofessional photographer. She is also the author of Fry Scores: An Unofficial Guide To Video Game Grub. You can find her work at Gamasutra, Polygon, Unwinnable, and other videogame news publications.