How to get the Hylian Shield in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Hylian Shield is one of the most recognizable and powerful items in The Legend of Zelda, and luckily for you, you can get your hands on it very early in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. With a defense of 90, it’s the strongest shield in the game.

It’s possible to grab it as soon as you dive from the Great Sky Island to the surface of Hyrule, but you’ll still run into some powerful adversaries (like Gloom Hands) on the way, if you’re not careful. Read on to find out where to find the Hylian Shield and how to get there.

Hylian Shield location in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

The Hylian Shield can be found at the docks under Hyrule Castle at the coordinates (-0161, 1159, 0037).

Before setting off on your journey, you’ll also need some method of starting a fire. It can be a fire fruit, a Red Chuchu jelly, a torch, or any fire-starting method you know of — just make sure to bring at least one.

We also recommend you prepare a few materials if you intend on fighting. If you don’t intend on defeating any enemies and beelining it to the Hylian Shield, feel free to skip to the next section. Here are a few recommended materials to bring along the trek:

• 8 to 10 bomb flowers (or AOE Fuse materials such as Chuchu jellies and Like Like materials)
• 8 to 10 arrows
• Powerful Fuse weapons and shields
• Sundelion dishes or gloom resistance equipment

How to get the Hylian Shield in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

To enter the docks under Hyrule Castle, you’ll need a boat of some sort. If you have Autobuild, you can create a boat you have saved or use your Zonai devices to build one from scratch. You’ll need a steering stick to properly control your vehicle because the current will push you away from the dock’s entrance.

Photo Illustration: Johnny Yu/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

If you don’t have any materials, there is a prefabricated boat on the western side of the Hyrule Castle Moat. This premade boat isn’t equipped with a steering stick or any fans, by the way, so you’ll need to control it the old fashioned way: using the boat’s sail and a Korok-Frond guster. (If you don’t have a Korok-Frond guster, you can create one by Fusing a Korok-Frond and a tree branch together. And if you dont have a Korok-Frond or a tree branch, you can find a few by chopping down trees to the southwest of the boat’s starting location.)

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Steer your boat around the northwest portion of the Hyrule Castle Moat to find a dock and an opening in the wall. Ignore the outer docks, and drive your boat into the opening to find the docks under Hyrule Castle. Veer off to the left and hop onto the stone docks. Head up the stairs to find five Gloom Hands.

Photo Illustration: Johnny Yu/Polygon | Source images: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

If you’re intending on fighting the enemies ahead, prepare yourself for battle. If not, then get ready to sprint! Before the five Gloom Hands begin to hunt you down, ready your bomb flower arrows and shoot it into the center of the five hands. We’ve found that it takes around six arrows to defeat all five Gloom Hands if you precisely hit the middle of all of them, but if they’re still alive, keep going until they’re all dead.

Afterward, a Phantom Ganon wielding a spear will appear. We recommend that you stick close to Phantom Ganon and strafe around him in a circle to avoid all of his attacks. Though, always remember, don’t get too greedy trying to get that extra hit in, and keep your shield up to block his damage.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

After you’ve defeated Phantom Ganon (or run away to safety), continue up the stairs to find five lit braziers surrounding one large brazier. Light the center brazier on fire with any fire starting method you can think of. If you have leftover arrows, you can light one on fire by nocking an arrow and hovering it over one of the lit braziers. Then, shoot it into the center brazier to light it on fire and spawn a chest which has the Hylian Shield inside.

Can the Hylian Shield break?

Just like all of your gear in Tears of the Kingdom, the Hylian Shield will eventually break. Luckily, though, it’s easy to replace — if a little expensive.

How to replace the Hylian Shield

Yes, you can get the Hylian Shield again in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but you’ll need to complete a few quests before getting it back. Head over to Hateno Village and complete “The Mayoral Election” side adventure to unlock Cece’s shop. Cece will sell pieces of armor that you may have lost during your adventures around Hyrule. The only problem? To get the Hylian Shield back, you’ll need to pay 3,000 rupees.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon