Walkthrough

How the story opens up

Story battles appear on the Hyrule map one after another. Clearing a battle usually shows the next one at once, but a few gates sit between them: Learning the Blade, which you finish after The Art of the Blade, opens Where Ancient Wisdom Sleeps, and after The Hands of Evil you finish the challenges A Time for Review and Shadows in the Depths and then the quest Life in Hyrule before the next battle appears. Challenges, scouting challenges and quests branch off along the way and are described at the end of this page.

All 28 battles at a glance

The list below is the whole story in one place. Recommended levels are the numbers shown on the map, and the Korok Seed column counts the seeds hidden on the battlefield itself, so it adds up to 54.

• To the Great Plateau: A short tutorial walk with Zelda, Rauru and Sonia. Controls, rewards and what opens next.
• The Art of the Blade: Beat Typhan, Quino, Rauru, Pastos, Braton and Agraston, find the Korok Seed, chests and rewards.
• Where Ancient Wisdom Sleeps: Flame Emitter, Time Bomb, Frox, Stone Talus and Flux Construct I, plus all five chests.
• Raging Sands: Take the outposts, beat four Gerudo Captains, the Molduga and Ardi, and find all 3 Korok Seeds and 5 chests.
• The Hands of Evil: Capture the outpost as the Mysterious Construct, get the Rocket and rescue Ardi from two Gerudo Captains.
• Growing Suspicion: All three Korok Seeds, four chests, the Gerudo Assassin, Stone Talus and the final corrupted construct.
• Striking North: Rescue three Hylian Captains, beat the Hinox and Lynel, and find both Korok Seeds and all seven chests.
• Beneath the Blood Moon: Flight controls, both Korok Seed ring runs and how to beat the Frost Gleeok.
• The Howling Tempests: Unlock Fuse attacks, Calamo and Typhan, find all 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests, and beat Grimgera.
• Shadows in the Snow: Unlock Raphica, rescue Pinnec, beat the ice enemies, and find all 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• Lanayru Defiled: Clear sludge enemies, recruit Qia, get the Hydrant, beat Grimtorok, and find 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• The Behemoth in the Crater: How to beat the Moragia flight battle with Zonai attack devices and get the Korok Seed.
• Crisis on Death Mountain: Rescue the Gorons, unlock Agraston, beat the Fire Lynels and find all 5 Korok Seeds and 5 chests.
• Under Cover of Mist: Capture outposts through hidden passages, beat the Aerocudas and Grimgera, and find all 7 Korok Seeds.
• Terror of the Sands: Play as Ardi, clear Gibdo hives, defend the main outpost, and find all 4 Korok Seeds and 7 chests.
• The Crimson Omen: Beat the corrupted Forbidden Construct as Calamo and the Knight Construct, with tips for its attacks.
• A Time for Action: Four-sage outpost siege, all 4 Korok Seeds, 4 chests and the five elites.
• The Counterstrike: Outposts, Zelda joining, the Grimgohma boss fight, 4 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• Ambush in the Depths: Flight battle devices, Rock Octoroks, the breakable wall and the Black Hinox finale.
• Purging the Shadows: Flux Construct outposts, Gloom Spawns, Phantom Ganon boss fight and all 5 chests.
• Fire and Sand: Outposts, Silver Moblins, Grimgibdo boss tips, eight chests and first-clear rewards.
• Into the Fray: Zonai devices for the flight battle, the Korok ring seed and how to beat King Gleeok.
• The Archfiend’s Return: How to beat Grimgera in his third fight, best warriors and first-clear rewards.
• The Battle of Hyrule Castle: Outposts, Grimtorok and Grimgohma, 5 Korok Seeds and 6 chests.
• The Demon King, Ensnared: Outposts, Silver Lynel, Captain Construct III, three Phantom Ganons, 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• The Battle of Hyrule Field: Empty the enemy army gauge, then defeat the Archfiend Grimgibdo.
• The Final Confrontation: The Phantom Ganon wave, the L-button blast and Demon King Ganondorf strategy with Zelda and Rauru.
• A Clash of Constructs: The three-phase Forbidden Construct fight, flight tips, the ending and what opens in the post-game.

Chapter 1: battles 1 to 3

Chapter 1 is the opening: you arrive in the Era of Foundation as Zelda, spar your way into Rauru’s ranks and then follow Mineru into the Depths. Three battles teach the basics, and by the end you have Rauru, Mineru, Sync Strikes, your first Zonai devices and the quest that begins the aside-quest chain. Only The Art of the Blade hides a Korok Seed here.

• To the Great Plateau: A short tutorial walk with Zelda, Rauru and Sonia. Controls, rewards and what opens next.
• The Art of the Blade: Beat Typhan, Quino, Rauru, Pastos, Braton and Agraston, find the Korok Seed, chests and rewards.
• Where Ancient Wisdom Sleeps: Flame Emitter, Time Bomb, Frox, Stone Talus and Flux Construct I, plus all five chests.

Chapter 2: battles 4 to 9

Chapter 2 starts with the Gerudo assault on Hyrule Castle and is the longest early stretch, six battles in all. You learn to hold outposts and set up Camps in Raging Sands, pick up the Rocket as the Mysterious Construct, play Rauru alone in Growing Suspicion, fly in Beneath the Blood Moon, and finish with The Howling Tempests, which makes Calamo, Typhan and the Mysterious Construct permanent members of your roster. The chapter hides 13 Korok Seeds.

• Raging Sands: Take the outposts, beat four Gerudo Captains, the Molduga and Ardi, and find all 3 Korok Seeds and 5 chests.
• The Hands of Evil: Capture the outpost as the Mysterious Construct, get the Rocket and rescue Ardi from two Gerudo Captains.
• Growing Suspicion: All three Korok Seeds, four chests, the Gerudo Assassin, Stone Talus and the final corrupted construct.
• Striking North: Rescue three Hylian Captains, beat the Hinox and Lynel, and find both Korok Seeds and all seven chests.
• Beneath the Blood Moon: Flight controls, both Korok Seed ring runs and how to beat the Frost Gleeok.
• The Howling Tempests: Unlock Fuse attacks, Calamo and Typhan, find all 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests, and beat Grimgera.

Chapter 3: battles 10 to 14

Chapter 3 takes you through the lands of the Rito, Zora, Gorons and Koroks across five battles: Raphica joins in Shadows in the Snow (Vence’s character card follows after the results), Qia in Lanayru Defiled and Agraston in Crisis on Death Mountain, with a flight battle over the Death Mountain crater between them. This chapter is the richest for Korok Seeds, with 19 across its five battles, seven of them in Under Cover of Mist, whose clear opens Chapter 4.

• Shadows in the Snow: Unlock Raphica, rescue Pinnec, beat the ice enemies, and find all 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• Lanayru Defiled: Clear sludge enemies, recruit Qia, get the Hydrant, beat Grimtorok, and find 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• The Behemoth in the Crater: How to beat the Moragia flight battle with Zonai attack devices and get the Korok Seed.
• Crisis on Death Mountain: Rescue the Gorons, unlock Agraston, beat the Fire Lynels and find all 5 Korok Seeds and 5 chests.
• Under Cover of Mist: Capture outposts through hidden passages, beat the Aerocudas and Grimgera, and find all 7 Korok Seeds.

Chapter 4: battles 15 to 21

Chapter 4 is the biggest chapter, with seven battles. Ardi joins in Terror of the Sands, The Crimson Omen brings back the Forbidden Construct, A Time for Action and The Counterstrike each hide four Korok Seeds, Ambush in the Depths is a flight battle, and Purging the Shadows and Fire and Sand end the chapter with Phantom Ganon and the Archfiend Grimgibdo. The chapter holds 12 Korok Seeds.

• Terror of the Sands: Play as Ardi, clear Gibdo hives, defend the main outpost, and find all 4 Korok Seeds and 7 chests.
• The Crimson Omen: Beat the corrupted Forbidden Construct as Calamo and the Knight Construct, with tips for its attacks.
• A Time for Action: Four-sage outpost siege, all 4 Korok Seeds, 4 chests and the five elites.
• The Counterstrike: Outposts, Zelda joining, the Grimgohma boss fight, 4 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• Ambush in the Depths: Flight battle devices, Rock Octoroks, the breakable wall and the Black Hinox finale.
• Purging the Shadows: Flux Construct outposts, Gloom Spawns, Phantom Ganon boss fight and all 5 chests.
• Fire and Sand: Outposts, Silver Moblins, Grimgibdo boss tips, eight chests and first-clear rewards.

Chapter 5: battles 22 to 27

Chapter 5 is the march on the Demon King, in six battles: a flight battle against King Gleeok, a third meeting with Grimgera, the two-Archfiend defence of Hyrule Castle, three Phantom Ganons, the army battle on Hyrule Field and the duel with Ganondorf. You pick your own team in some of these, so bring the warriors you have levelled. The chapter hides 9 Korok Seeds, and clearing The Final Confrontation opens Chapter 6.

• Into the Fray: Zonai devices for the flight battle, the Korok ring seed and how to beat King Gleeok.
• The Archfiend’s Return: How to beat Grimgera in his third fight, best warriors and first-clear rewards.
• The Battle of Hyrule Castle: Outposts, Grimtorok and Grimgohma, 5 Korok Seeds and 6 chests.
• The Demon King, Ensnared: Outposts, Silver Lynel, Captain Construct III, three Phantom Ganons, 3 Korok Seeds and 4 chests.
• The Battle of Hyrule Field: Empty the enemy army gauge, then defeat the Archfiend Grimgibdo.
• The Final Confrontation: The Phantom Ganon wave, the L-button blast and Demon King Ganondorf strategy with Zelda and Rauru.

Chapter 6: battle 28

Chapter 6 is a single battle, a rematch against the Forbidden Construct as Calamo and the Knight Construct. Winning it plays the ending and the credits, and it opens the post-game: Vicious Battles and Lenalia’s Sketches.

How challenges and quests open between battles

Challenges are optional battles that appear on the map as the story advances. Most name a story battle as their trigger: Where Ancient Wisdom Sleeps opens Aberrant Constructs and Subterranean Panic, The Hands of Evil opens A Time for Review and Shadows in the Depths, The Howling Tempests opens the first Hylian Soldier rescues, and Under Cover of Mist opens A Lanayru Excursion, The Siblings’ Resolve, Royal Duty and A Construct Assault in the Sky. The Crimson Omen opens the first group of Lv 31-50 challenges, A Time for Action adds the Damel Forest battles, and The Battle of Hyrule Castle opens The King and the Spirits and three more. Every challenge, its trigger and its first-clear reward is on Challenges, split by level across Lv 1-30, Lv 31-50 and Lv 51-90.

Eight scouting challenges recruit the captains who do not join through the story. Quino’s For Hyrule opens after The Howling Tempests, Pinnec’s challenge after Under Cover of Mist, three more after The Crimson Omen, Braton’s after A Time for Action and Pastos’s after The Counterstrike. Lago’s challenge follows a quest Calamo gives you after Lanayru Defiled. The details are on Scouting Challenges.

Quests are handed in on the map without fighting. Each warrior’s character quests start when that warrior joins your roster and continue as you clear battles, so your first big batch comes with Rauru and Mineru in Chapter 1. The quest A New Assignment opens after Lanayru Defiled and unlocks further quests, and the aside quests that warriors request during battles start once you have finished Learning the Blade. See Quests, Character Quests, Service and Support Quests and Aside Quests.

Clearing A Clash of Constructs plays the ending and opens the Vicious Battles and the Lenalia’s Sketches quests. Use the 100% completion checklist to see everything that is left, and Korok Seed Locations if you are short of seeds.

Related guides

For the bosses you meet along the way see the Boss Guide and Enemies, and for the warriors and devices you gain see Characters and Zonai Devices.

100% Checklist