Greetings, fellow heroes of Hyrule! If you‘re embarking on your grand adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, then you‘ve certainly encountered (or at least heard spine-chilling tales about) the mighty lynels. As an experienced explorer and lynel hunter, I‘m here to equip you with everything you need to know to tackle these formidable foes. So sharpen your blade, ready your shield, and let‘s delve in!
What are Lynels?
For the uninitiated, lynels are massive, lion-like centaur creatures that have been a staple of the Zelda series since the original NES game. In Tears of the Kingdom, they‘re back and more ferocious than ever. You‘ll find them roaming the wilds of Hyrule, often guarding valuable treasures or key locations.
Lynels boast an imposing physical design that‘s a clear evolution from their Breath of the Wild counterparts. They stand nearly twice Link‘s height with rippling muscles, razor-sharp claws, and eyes that gleam with predatory intelligence. Lynels wield devastating melee weapons like swords, spears, and crusher weapons, along with a mighty bow for long-range combat.
Lynel Variants and Abilities
As of version 1.1.0, there are at least three distinct lynel variants confirmed in Tears of the Kingdom:
| Lynel Type | Location | Weapon | Elemental Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red-Maned Lynel | West of Illumeni Plateau | Lynel Sword, Lynel Bow | None |
| White-Maned Lynel | East of Ukuku Plains | Lynel Spear, Lynel Bow | Ice |
| Silver Lynel | ??? | Lynel Crusher, Lynel Bow | Fire, Ice, Electricity |
Each lynel type is more powerful than the last, with Silver Lynels representing the pinnacle of lynel might. In addition to their standard moves like charging, swiping, and trampling, lynels in Tears of the Kingdom have picked up some deadly new abilities:
Elemental Weapons: Some lynels can imbue their weapons with fire, ice, or electricity for added damage and status effects. A fire sword will ignite you, while an ice spear can freeze you solid!
Area-of-Effect Attacks: Lynels can now slam their weapons into the ground to unleash shockwaves or summon spikes of earth, ice, or fire in a wide radius. Dodging is key to avoiding major damage.
Improved Archery: Lynel bows fire a spread of multiple arrows at once, making them even harder to avoid. Some lynels will also rapid-fire volleys of arrows or curve their shots to throw off your timing.
Enhanced Mobility: Lynels seem even faster and more agile in Tears of the Kingdom, able to leap great distances, scale cliff faces, and quickly maneuver during battle. Nowhere is safe!
From a technical perspective, it‘s clear that the lynels of Tears of the Kingdom represent a major step forward in Nintendo‘s enemy AI design. Lynels are already renowned for their surprising intelligence and ability to adapt to the player‘s actions, but the new variants take this to another level with their expanded move sets, situational awareness, and dynamic combat behavior.
According to an analysis by GameXplain, the lynels in Tears of the Kingdom boast up to 50% more animations compared to Breath of the Wild, with more fluid transitions between attacks and movement states. This allows them to combo moves in unpredictable ways, creating a greater sense of organic, reactive combat.
Nintendo has also apparently fine-tuned the lynels‘ decision-making and target prioritization algorithms, enabling them to better assess threats and exploit openings in the player‘s defense. For instance, if you‘re too reliant on shield parries, a lynel may delay its attacks to throw off your timing, or even grab and crush your shield, leaving you vulnerable!
This level of advanced AI is a testament to Nintendo‘s commitment to creating immersive, dynamic, and challenging open-world experiences. It‘s exciting to ponder how these innovations in lynel AI design may translate into Nintendo‘s future titles and inspire other game developers in the industry.
Why Hunt Lynels?
Now, you may be wondering: why should I bother fighting lynels at all? They‘re so big and scary! Can‘t I just enjoy picking flowers and completing fetch quests? Well, my friend, there are several compelling reasons to seek out these fearsome foes:
Valuable Resources: Lynels drop some of the rarest and most valuable monster parts in the game when defeated, including Lynel Hooves, Lynel Horns, and Lynel Guts. These materials are essential for upgrading armor sets at Great Fairy Fountains and unlocking perks like charge attacks and bonus hearts. They‘re also worth a pretty rupee if you decide to sell them!
Powerful Weapons: Lynels are known for carrying a veritable armory of high-end weaponry, from Lynel Swords and Spears to Lynel Bows and Crushers. These weapons boast significantly higher damage output compared to standard armaments, with added perks like extended durability or elemental buffs. A single Lynel Sword can carry you through multiple boss fights!
Bragging Rights: Let‘s be real: taking down a lynel is the ultimate flex in the world of Zelda. These beasts are designed to be the apex predators of Hyrule, the final exam for aspiring heroes. When you stand triumphant over a fallen lynel, you know you‘ve truly earned your place among the legends. Plus, that victory selfie is going to rake in the Likes on the Sheikah Slate social feed.
Exciting Challenges: For many players, lynels represent the epitome of Zelda combat encounters: demanding, dynamic, and deeply rewarding to overcome. No two lynel fights are exactly alike, and the constant dance of attacking, dodging, and parrying keeps you engaged in a way that other enemy types just can‘t match. In a game full of possibilities, lynels provide a reliable source of adrenaline-pumping, heart-pounding action.
From a game design perspective, lynels fulfill an important role in Tears of the Kingdom‘s overall pacing and progression structure. They serve as formidable mid-boss roadblocks that test players‘ combat mastery and preparation, while also providing valuable upgrades and resources that enable further exploration and character growth.
In this sense, lynels act as key nodes in the game‘s interlocking systems of challenge and reward, adventure and adversity. By punctuating stretches of open-world wandering with intense, climactic confrontations, lynels help maintain an engaging rhythm that propels players ever onward.
Lynel Combat Tactics
Alright, so you‘re sold on the idea of hunting lynels. But how do you actually go about defeating these majestic monsters? As a seasoned lynel slayer, I‘m happy to share some hard-won wisdom:
Come Prepared
First and foremost, never engage a lynel without the proper equipment and preparation. Here‘s a quick checklist for your pre-hunt kit:
Stock up on hearty meals and elixirs. You‘ll want at least two dishes or potions that can fully restore hearts, plus a few extra for insurance. Prioritize heart-increasing buffs over attack or defense boosts.
Bring fairies in a jar. These little lifesavers will automatically revive you if you fall in battle, allowing you to re-engage the lynel with full health. I recommend carrying at least 3-4 fairies.
Equip your strongest weapons with durability to spare. Lynels can take a beating, so you‘ll need weapons that can keep up. Ideally you‘ll want at least one strong one-handed weapon, a spear for ranged poking, and a two-hander for when the lynel is staggered.
Upgrade your armor. Whether you opt for the barbarian set for maximum damage or the soldier set for added defense, having your armor upgraded as much as possible is essential for surviving lynel hits. If you can hit the set bonus, even better!
Pack your best arrows. You‘ll be relying on arrow counters and headshots to create openings, so bring plenty of arrows with high damage modifiers. Ancient Arrows are ideal, but well-aimed bomb arrows can also work in a pinch.
Mind Your Spacing
Lynels love to use charging attacks and lunging swipes to close distance quickly, so it‘s important to maintain a medium distance most of the time. Too close and you won‘t have time to react to their attacks; too far and you won‘t be able to punish their openings.
Try to always keep the lynel on-screen and strafe around it in a wide circle. This will bait out its charges and fire blasts, which are easier to avoid than its melee strings. When you see an attack coming, prioritize evasion over offense. A single missed dodge could cost you a huge chunk of health!
Master the Flurry Rush
The key to victory in any lynel fight is mastering the timing of your shield parries and dodge counters. When you successfully parry a lynel‘s attack with your shield, it will be stunned for a few seconds, allowing you to unleash a flurry of attacks. Similarly, dodging just before an attack connects will trigger a slow-motion Flurry Rush, your chance to dish out serious damage.
Here are the key timings to learn for each lynel attack:
| Attack | Dodge Timing | Parry Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Sword Swipe | Just before the blade hits | Just as the blade swings forward |
| Charging Stab | When lynel rears back | As the lynel starts charging |
| Fireball | When the flames appear in its mouth | When the fireball is launched |
| Triple Fireball | Roll between each fireball | Parry each fireball separately |
| Shockwave Slam | As the weapon hits the ground | As the lynel leaps into the air |
It takes practice, but once you can consistently parry and dodge a lynel‘s attacks, its huge health bar will melt like butter on Death Mountain. Just be careful of overextending during your counterattacks – a greedy extra swipe could leave you vulnerable to a follow-up smash.
Target the Face
Another critical aspect of fighting lynels is landing headshots with your arrows whenever possible. A well-placed arrow to the face will stun a lynel, opening it up for mounting (yes, you can actually mount and ride lynels in Tears of the Kingdom!).
While riding a lynel, you can slash away at it with your melee weapon and eventually topple it for huge damage. This is often the fastest way to defeat a lynel, especially if you build up a collection of high-damage two-handed weapons.
The trick to landing consistent headshots is to wait for a lynel to perform certain moves that leave its head exposed, such as:
- Roaring to the sky
- Rearing back on its hind legs
- Recovering after a missed charge
- Aiming its own bow at you
With a bit of anticipation and steady aim, you can chuck arrows right between a lynel‘s eyes and break its composure. Don‘t get too trigger-happy though, as arrows to the body are far less effective and you may find yourself running out of ammo at a crucial moment.
Use the Environment
One of the joys of fighting lynels in Tears of the Kingdom‘s open world is the ability to leverage the environment to your advantage. Whereas lynels in more linear Zelda games could often be cheesed with obstacle abuse, here they are able to dynamically navigate and adapt to any terrain.
That said, you can still use cliffs, boulders, ruins, and even enemy encampments to help manage a lynel‘s aggression and create opportunities. For example, if there‘s a convoy of Bokoblins roaming near a lynel, you can bait the lynel into charging them, causing chaos and possibly some infighting.
While the monsters are distracted, you can pepper the lynel with arrows or go for a sneaky mounting move. You can also use the Ultrahand ability to move objects around the battlefield or build makeshift barricades to control a lynel‘s movement options.
Just be careful not to get too cocky with the craftiness – lynels are smart enough to flank around cover and will gleefully smash apart any pillar you try to hide behind!
Tips and Tricks
To wrap things up, here are a few final tips and tricks I‘ve picked up over my many (many) lynel encounters:
- Lynels drop more and better loot the first few times you defeat them in an area, so it‘s worth farming a lynel 2-3 times if you‘re in need of parts or weapons.
- Cook up dishes with Hearty ingredients and Elemental Chuchu Jelly to boost your resistances before fighting elemental lynels. A Chilly Elixir can help you shrug off an Ice-Breath Lynel‘s freezing attacks.
- Mounting a lynel is not only an effective combat technique, but also a useful mobility option. You can ride a lynel to traverse the environment more quickly or reach high ledges, just be ready to bail when it starts thrashing!
- Before engaging a lynel, use your scope to survey the surrounding area and mark a few escape routes or favorable combat positions. Having a game plan will help you stay focused and avoid panic.
- Don‘t forget to snap a few memorial selfies with your fallen lynel foes and share them with friends. Bragging rights are half the fun, after all! Just make sure the lynel is actually dead first – I learned that one the hard way.
And there you have it, my fellow knights-errant: the ultimate guide to hunting lynels in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I hope these tips and insights have equipped you with the knowledge and confidence needed to tackle these mighty beasts and reap the sweet rewards.
Remember, every hero starts somewhere. The first lynel you face will probably trounce you soundly. But each defeat is a chance to learn, adapt, and come back stronger. Keep at it, stay determined, and soon you‘ll be the one filling Hyrule Field with lynel corpses.
Until next time, happy hunting! And may the goddess smile upon you.
