Like most Legend of Zelda games, you'll need to find the 
Master Sword before it can be added to the inventory in Tears of the Kingdom. While Link starts off with the blade of evil's bane in the prologue, it's deterioted by gloom from the decayed Ganondorf in The Depths below Hyrule Castle. A series of story events will lead to Link sending the Master Sword to Princess Zelda, and it may take some time before it finds its way back to Link.
As most Tears of the Kingdom players already know, there are multiple weapons that have a stronger base power than the Master Sword. Stack on the Fusion Ability, and a weapon's power can go from 60-something to well over 100. With this, you may be wondering if it's worth getting the Master Sword and if it's required for defeating Ganondorf. The answer is rather complicated.
Major end-game spoilers for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Where To Find All The Geoglyphs (Impa and the Geoglyphs Main Quest)
Finding all 11 Geoglyphs for Impa in Tears of the Kingdom is rough. These Memories are spread all across Hyrule, so here's where to find them all.
Where is the Master Sword
How to Track the Master Sword
The Master Sword isn't in the Lost Woods like it was in Breath of the Wild. In Tears of the Kingdom, you'll find the Master Sword on the head of the Light Dragon. Unlike Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, the Light Dragon only flies over Hyrule and never enters The Depths. Her flight path goes by each of the geoglyphs found on The Surface.
You'll need two full stamina wheels to be able to retrieve the Master Sword.
It can be hard to pinpoint the Light Dragon's whereabouts. Fortunately, you can "track" the Master Sword through the "Recovering the Hero's Sword" quest from the Great Deku Tree. This quest can be obtained by getting into the Lost Woods (via The Depths) and defeating the Phantom Ganon in the Great Deku Tree's belly. After you've spoken to the Great Deku Tree, you'll see a yellow marker on the map whenever you have the "Recovering the Hero's Sword" quest marked.
What Happens If You Don't Have the Master Sword?
Can You Beat Ganondorf with Regular Weapons?
If you wish to brave the Hyrule Castle Depths without the legendary blade, you can do so. You can defeat Ganondorf with regular weapons, but only in Phase 1 and Phase 2.
While you don't need the Master Sword for Ganondorf's first and second boss fights, it's recommended you have it, anyway. The Master Sword won't break when battling Ganondorf, and it will deal double damage against him. The Master Sword's base power is 30, and it can be fused with other weapons to make it stronger.
When Ganondorf is defeated for the second time, he'll swallow the secret stone to turn into the Demon Dragon. For this fight, you will need the Master Sword in order to destroy the gloom spots on Ganondorf's back and break the secret stone in his forehead. In fact, you'll unlock a cutscene where Link pulls the Master Sword from the Light Dragon's head if you didn't have it before you can start the third phase of Ganondorf's boss fight.
Thus, the answer to whether you need the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf is yes, and no. You can fight Ganondorf just fine without it Phase 1 and Phase 2, but you'll need it for Phase 3.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
