The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues to dominate headlines several weeks after its release. The massive open-world action-adventure game is packed to the brim with content, from its epic main campaign to dozens of side quests and hidden collectibles to find. Just like in its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features both the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield, Link's famous optimal offensive and defensive weapons. However, due to the game's controversial weapon-break mechanics and despite its incredible durability compared to other shields, the Hylian Shield can eventually break if the player is not careful.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's incredible review scores have made it an early contender for Game of the Year. It offers levels of creativity and freedom the likes of which have rarely, if ever, been seen in a video game. Taking everything that made Breath of the Wild so great, and adding new mechanics and abilities which perfectly complement the existing ones, Nintendo has once again shown that lightning can, in fact, strike twice. Tears of the Kingdom sees Link embark on another epic quest to save Hyrule, and along the way, he will be able to acquire some strong weapons and armor, none more so than the Hylian Shield.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Hylian Shield is Legendary, But Not Unbreakable
Link's famous Hylian Shield is instantly recognizable thanks to its vivid color pattern and sharp design. In other media, he is almost always seen with it, but due to the Hylian Shield's status as the strongest defensive tool in Tears of the Kingdom, the player has a bit of work to do in order to get their hands on it. That being said, it's actually accessible extremely early in the game, as long as the player knows where to find it. Like in Breath of the Wild, the shield can be found within the bowels of Hyrule Castle, but this time, the journey through the castle is far less dangerous.
Successful retrieval of the shield will reward the player with one-half of Tears of the Kingdom's best weaponry, and players will obviously be keen to test it out in battle. The Hylian Shield is significantly more durable than any other shield in the game, and it is able to withstand some serious punishment, but eventually, it will break. For this reason, some players may decide not to retrieve the shield too early, in case it breaks before the game's climax, which is right when it will be needed the most. Thankfully though, Tears of the Kingdom offers players a couple of solutions to this problem.
In the event of the Hylian Shield breaking, players can either purchase another copy of it from a specific vendor located in Hateno Village, or for those looking for a cheaper, more unconventional option, they can also choose to have the shield repaired. One of the game's monsters, the Rock Octorok, will actually eat the broken shield if the player drops it in their vicinity, before spitting out a fresh one. This can be done once for each cycle of the enemy's life, so after performing the trick, the player has to kill the Rock Octorok before waiting for the Blood Moon to respawn it.
Much like FromSoftware's sprawling action-RPG Elden Ring, players will likely continue to discover new things about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for a long time yet. The game's robust physics engine coupled with the innovative new mechanics are providing players with a densely-packed playground to explore. Arming Link with the Hylian Shield as early as possible ensures he is well-prepared for the arduous journey ahead.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.