Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - How to get the Master Sword back
The sword that seals darkness.
Link might begin his journey in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane, in hand - but it doesn’t last long. Pretty soon the story rips that legendary blade from you - but in a game this open-ended, when you retrieve it is up to you.
Be warned that this page contains MILD BUT UNAVOIDABLE SPOILERS for certain elements of the storyline of Tears of the Kingdom. You have been warned.
As a secondary warning to the one above, I want to say straight-up here that some of the descriptions in this page might feel a little vague. This is by necessity, as I want to tell you where the Master Sword is and how to get it without revealing any of the story surrounding it.
That is difficult, as the mystery of the Master Sword’s whereabouts is a key component of the story of Tears of the Kingdom. But we’ll do our best.
For some easier to obtain equipment, check our Tears of the Kingdom best weapons page!
Unlocking the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom
With that being said - here’s what you need to know about retrieving the sword that seals the darkness.
First, know that you’ll need two full stamina wheels in order to ‘pull’ the sword from its location. In Breath of the Wild, the Master Sword tested Link through his heart count. In Tears of the Kingdom, it’s stamina for reasons that’ll become obvious when you get to the sword.
Next - we recommend completing the Impa and the Geoglyphs quest line before going after the sword. This is for story reasons - pursuing the sword will reveal certain story elements that for our money are best first experienced by tracking all 11 Geoglyphs and their associated cutscenes first. Though given how open-ended the game is, the choice is yours.
Third, the ‘natural’ way to get the sword involves entering Korok Forest. The sword isn’t there, but if you find your way past the Lost Woods and into the forest - which has to be entered via Ascending from the Depths of Hyrule.
Once you’re in the forest, you can defeat a boss to restore it. Once that’s done, the Deku Tree will ‘sense’ the Master Sword and place a marker on your map revealing its location.
However, Tears of the Kingdom is as open-ended as its predecessor - which means that if you know where to go, you can go there without all this knowledge.
Tears of the Kingdom Master Sword Location
Okay, so - spoilers, here it is. Where is the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
Well, it’s embedded right in the forehead of the Light Dragon, the majestic golden and white dragon that snakes its way across the Hyrule skyline.
There were a trio of dragons (red, blue, and yellow) back in Breath of the Wild, but in Tears of the Kingdom they’re joined by a mysterious fourth dragon. You’ll learn more about this beast in the Geoglyph story scenes, but the upshot is that this is the dragon that you keep seeing all game, right from when you first wake up on the Great Sky Island.
In order to retrieve the sword, you’ll need to wait for the dragon to be in close enough range that you can launch from a tower or jump from a sky island and glide to land on it. The dragon won’t hurt you; at this point you can begin to pull the sword.
As mentioned above, you’ll need two full rings of Stamina Meter in order to pull the sword, or else the Light Dragon will buck you off into the skies. Once obtained, you’ll have a fully-charged, fully-repaired, fully-featured Master Sword in hand again. Ganondorf won’t know what hit him.
For more on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, don't forget to check out all the Yiga hideout and base locations.
