You’re standing there. Naked. Well, mostly. Link is in his shorts, the Master Sword is gone, and you have exactly zero arrows in your quiver.
That’s the BotW Trial of the Sword in a nutshell. It’s the closest Breath of the Wild gets to a survival horror game. Honestly, after spending hundreds of hours becoming a literal god in Hyrule, being stripped of your ancient armor and Savage Lynel Bows is a massive reality check. It’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. And for most players, it’s the hardest thing they’ll ever do in the game.
But it’s also the most rewarding.
The Brutal Reality of the Trials
Let’s be real: the BotW Trial of the Sword isn’t just a dungeon. It’s a 54-floor gauntlet divided into three stages—Beginning, Middle, and Final. If you die on floor 12, you go back to floor 1. No checkpoints. No saving. Just the cold, hard realization that you probably shouldn't have tried to parry that Guardian Scout with a pot lid.
Most people assume the Final Trials are the hardest part. They aren't. Ask any veteran or speedrunner like Austin John or the folks over at r/Breath_of_the_Wild, and they’ll tell you the same thing: the Beginning Trials are the true nightmare.
Why? Because your gear is garbage.
You’re fighting Blue Bokoblins with a soup ladle and a Woodcutter’s Axe. In the Middle and Final trials, the game starts giving you Royal Claymores and Ancient Arrows. But in those first 12 floors? You are scraping by on sticks and prayer.
The Master Mode Problem
If you’re playing on Master Mode, the BotW Trial of the Sword shifts from "difficult" to "statistically unfair." Enemies regenerate health. That means you can’t just chip away at a Black Lizalfos with bombs anymore. If you stop attacking for two seconds, all that progress vanishes.
Room 10. If you know, you know.
It’s the room with the two Silver Lizalfos on a wooden pier. If they fall into the water, they’ll just sit there, spitting water at you while their health bars fill back up. It has broken more controllers than probably any other encounter in Zelda history.
How to Actually Beat the BotW Trial of the Sword
You don't win by being the best at combat. You win by being the cheapest.
Before you even touch the pedestal in Korok Forest, you need to prep. This isn't cheating; it's survival. Cook four Ironshrooms and a shard of Farosh’s Horn. This gives you a Level 3 Defense buff that lasts for 30 minutes. Or, if you’re confident, go for a Level 3 Attack buff with Mighty Bananas. That buff carries into the trial.
Eat a meal with "Hearty" ingredients to max out your yellow hearts. Fill your stamina wheels with Enduring carrots. You enter that room as a buffed-up powerhouse, even if you are technically in your underwear.
Use the Environment (and the Wood)
Seriously. Set your Sheikah Sensor to "Treasure Chest." There are hidden items in almost every room that can save your run.
And here is the weirdest tip you'll ever hear: Eat wood. In every rest area, use a bomb to chop down all the trees. Take the wood bundles to the cooking pot and cook them one by one. Each "Rock-Hard Meal" gives you a quarter of a heart. It sounds pathetic, but when you're at 14 floors deep and out of food, eating thirty bundles of wood can literally save your life.
Floor 10: The Sneakstrike Loop
If you're stuck on the Lizalfos room in the Beginning Trials (especially on Master Mode), stop trying to fight them normally.
- Stasis the scout in the middle and headshot him immediately before he blows the horn.
- Crouch and creep up behind one of the Silver Lizalfos.
- Use your strongest weapon to Sneakstrike.
- Here’s the trick: when they fall down, walk around to their front.
- When they stand up, they will immediately turn 180 degrees to look where they were hit. Since you’re now behind them again, you can Sneakstrike them again.
Repeat until dead. It’s cheesy. It’s glorious.
The Reward: Is a Glowing Master Sword Worth It?
Once you clear all three sets of trials, the Master Sword stays in its "awakened" state permanently. It jumps to 60 damage and gains a massive durability boost (around 188 hits before it needs to recharge).
But it's more than just the numbers.
The Master Sword becomes a tool you can actually rely on for the rest of your playthrough. You can mine ore with it. You can chop trees. You can take out a Stalker Guardian without feeling like you're wasting your "good" weapons.
The BotW Trial of the Sword transforms Link from a hero who relies on his gear into a hero who is dangerous because of his skill. You stop panicking when a weapon breaks. You start looking at a room full of enemies and seeing physics puzzles instead of threats.
Your Next Steps for Success
If you're ready to dive back into the woods, don't just rush the pedestal. Do these three things first:
- Farm Dragon Horns: Go to Riola Spring in Faron and farm a horn from Farosh. It's the only way to get that 30-minute buff duration.
- Expand Your Inventory: Turn in your Korok seeds. Even though you start the trials empty, your available weapon slots carry over. Having more space for the mid-tier weapons you find is vital.
- Practice Perfect Parries: Go to the Forgotten Temple and practice parrying the Guardian lasers. By the time you reach the Final Trials, you’ll need to be able to do this in your sleep to save your Ancient Arrows for the Lynels.
The trials are hard, but they aren't impossible. Just remember: when in doubt, cook the wood.
