The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild features a wide array of different weapons and weapon types. The one-handed weapons allow Link to carry his shield with him as well, making for a great offensive and defensive pairing.
Starting out in the Great Plateau
When Link takes his first steps out onto the Great Plateau, the tutorial area of Breath of the Wild, he has nothing more than the shirt on his back and a pair of raggedy trousers. The first weapon that Link finds in the wild is a measly tree branch, with little to no attack power and very low durability.
Durability is something that players learn about quite quickly in their first playthrough of the game. Each weapon has a different level of durability before it breaks, meaning Link can hit enemies with his weapons only a certain amount of times before that weapon is lost forever. Of course, the Master Sword is unbreakable, though it does lose its “charge” after a certain amount of time, rendering it useless until it recharges.
As players progress through this tutorial area, they find different weapons and learn how to swap them in and out for different combat situations. And then, when the world opens up and Link is able to travel anywhere in the massive landscape, the true hunt for better weapons begins. And soon, Link will come across a complete arsenal of valuable weapons to protect him as he quests to save Hyrule from the Calamity.
The Demon Carver
One of the best one-handed weapons that Link can come across is the Demon Carver. Throughout Hyrule, Link is targeted by assassins of the Yiga clan. Even after defeating their leader, Master Kohga, at their hideout, the assassins are still after him.
They come back with a vengeance, though, and with upgraded weapons. This Demon Carver can sometimes be dropped by a Yiga assassin after they are defeated. It carries 40 attack power and decent durability, letting Link take care of many smaller enemies in just one hit. Though it doesn’t have great reach, it is quick and powerful, letting Link get in a good amount of blows in on a boss before having to back out as well.
Savage Lynel Sword
The first time new players come across a Lynel, depending on their skill level and how much they have progressed in the game, the encounter could end disastrously. Lynels are majorly aggressive, have a huge amount of HP, and hit like trucks. They have a wide arsenal of weapons that they can use, including swords, clubs, and bows that fire multiple arrows at once.
The Savage Lynel Sword carries 58 attack power and is dropped by a silver-maned Lynel. One of the first ones is found in the North Akkala Valley near the Ancient Tech Lab. The Lynel won’t always drop the sword, so players might have to come back again after a blood moon in order to get the Lynel to drop the sword.
The sword, though not the longest of blades, packs a powerful punch. It has quite a bit of durability as well, which means it will last a long time and help players get through large sections of the game without having to worry about losing their weapon.
The Master Sword
The most legendary weapon in all Zelda games, the Master Sword is the weapon that beats back the darkness and the evil every time. It is the sword of the Hero chosen by the Goddess Hylia and is only at its most powerful in his hands.
Link can pull the Master Sword from its place by the Great Deku Tree in the Korok Forest as long as he has at least 13 hearts of HP, which means players will have to do quite a bit of Shrine puzzles throughout Hyrule before they are able to claim it. Once they do, the sword will pack a power of 30 and will never break. The sword will lose its charge, but only for a short time, after which players can use it again.
In the DLC, players are able to increase the power of the Master Sword by completing different combat trials, which are some of the most difficult combat challenges in the entire game. Once they do, the Master Sword really starts to shine as the most powerful weapon available.
