10 best weapons in Tears of the Kingdom (TotK)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offers players the chance to explore a very dangerous version of Hyrule. Fortunately, they can bring a lot of weapons, and find even more when the need arises. Less fortunately, they can only carry so many of them at once, so it’s important to prioritize. To that end, this guide lists  10 of the best weapons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Tears of the Kingdom – 10 best weapons

A list claiming to feature the best 10 of anything is bound to exclude some great options. In this particular case, it will also leave out gear you might find enormously useful, while including weapons you don’t care for at all. The choice of what to drag around with you as you explore Hyrule comes down to play style every time. With that said, I’m offering my picks for 10 of the best weapons in the game, along with reasoning to justify those picks.

You will find this list mostly prioritizes weapons that are relatively easy to obtain, because virtually any weapon you find might break. Arguably, the best weapons are the ones you can rely on for  most of your adventure. I’m also including a few less conventional picks that might not immediately occur to you.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

10. Bomb Flower

This might not seem like an obvious pick, since it is technically an item, but the Bomb Flower is enormously useful. You can find it in most caves, and it appears often in the Depths. Toss it to destroy weak rock walls, or attach it to an arrow and fire it for the same cause. It proves especially useful when you battle the Gloom hands that proceed appearances by Phantom Ganon, however. I burn through those guys in no time flat with a few Bomb Flower shots, before they can get close enough to become a problem. For that reason alone, the Bomb Flower deserves a place on this list.

9. Dusk Claymore

The Dusk Claymore is a powerful (and very cool) weapon you will want to add to your inventory. Unfortunately, you can’t get it until you’ve cleared most of the story campaign’s key objectives, so that knocks it down the list a lot in my book. If you need help finding the weapon, check out our guide explaining how to solve the Thyplo Ruins puzzles.

8. Magic wands

Magic wands are useful despite being rather weak by themselves. You can fuse precious stones and launch elemental attacks. If you break a wand, you can also obtain another one of the same type by exchanging Poes at a Bargainer Statue in the Depths. I have found three varieties of magic wand available in the game: Rod, Sceptor, and Staff.

7. Steel Lizal Bow

There are bows with better stats that allow them to fire three arrows at once, or to fire more shots in rapid succession, or to aim from a distance. I like all of those. The Steel Lizal Bow earns its place on this list by being more readily accessible. You can find it reasonably often by defeating a Lizalfos enemy. It also is fairly sturdy, allowing it to fire numerous shots before it breaks. Its attack rating is high, and it can withstand heat in lava-adjacent environments. In and around Death Mountain, or in some portions of the Depths, it becomes invaluable when you need a ranged weapon.

6. Champion weapons

There are four weapons in this group: the Boulder Breaker, the Great Eagle Bow, the Lightscale Trident, and the Scimtar of the Seven. They only become available after you clear the various temples. Once you do, you can find an NPC in the local region to forge them for you. However, the cost always includes three Diamond materials. Those are rare and/or expensive, and your exciting weapon could break. Then you’ll have to find the materials to make another one. For that reason, you probably won’t want to use them much despite their strength.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

5. Cobble Crusher

There are a lot of boulders and ore deposits in Hyrule, and you need to break through them to claim resources such as Amber and Zonaite. For that purpose, you won’t find many more suitable weapons than the Cobble Crusher. It makes short work of most rocks, and it’s fairly durable. This is important when you need to grab lots of minerals, plus you’ll find enemies such as the Stone Talus that are weak to its power.

4. Gloom weapons

You can find three varieties of Gloom weapons in Hyrule: the Gloom Club, the Gloom Spear, and the Gloom Sword. You acquire them by defeating Phantom Ganon, who spawns in various points throughout Hyrule. He’s easy to farm, if you have the nerve. When defeated, he drops whatever melee weapon he used to attack. Without exception, these weapons deal significant damage to your foes, making them great for boss encounters. Unfortunately, they also inflict doom damage that weakens you while you have them actively equipped. For that reason, they’re best used in quick bursts.

3. Ancient Arrow

The Ancient Arrow is a ludicrously powerful arrow you can fire from any bow, simply by fusing the Ancient Blade with a standard arrow. In many cases, it deals a one-shot kill, vaporizing your foe and anything it carried. You can also assemble a ready supply of the necessary items very late in the game. For more on that, check our guide on where to find and farm Ancient Arrows.

2. Elemental-infused weapons

Weapons that have been infused with one of the various elements are astonishingly effective. One of my favorite weapons in the game is Ice-Breath Lizal Reaper, which I picked up after destroying a random Ice-Breath Lizalfos. It immediately freezes most enemies with a single hit, plus it instantly kills a lot of fire-based foes and is fairly sturdy to boot. You can make one of your own by fusing a Sturdy Wooden Stick with the Ice-Breath Lizalfos Horn. There are numerous other combinations as well, depending on whether you need speed or reach. Ideally, you’ll carry around a capable weapon of each element type as you explore.

1. Master Sword

The best weapon in the game is the Master Sword. Once you acquire it (after its horrible performance in the prologue), it can’t break. You can hack away at whatever you like and eventually it will enter a cooldown period, but you’ll have it back again before long. It deals reasonable damage, making it a good option in most battles, but its uncommon durability is its greatest attribute. Although the quest directing you to acquire the Master Sword comes late in the game’s campaign, you can get earlier. Don’t be like me and wait until after you’ve cleared all the temples before you track down the Light Dragon.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for purchase from the Nintendo Store.