Not all bosses in Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom get a fancy health bar. Some transcend that formality and strike fear in the hearts of Hylians everywhere. Whilst Gleeoks, Hinox, and Talus may be larger, the quadrupedal Lynel is the king of the wild. Most players will find themselves dead long before they get a chance to defeat their first Lynel.
Of course, these monsters are not indestructible, they just have a lot of HP and hit like a bus. With a bit of preparation and practice, however, you will be taking these guys out in no time. This guide will walk you through taking down Lynels and what rewards await those who can pull it off.
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What Are Lynels
Lynels are a returning enemy from Breath Of The Wild, and they are just as brutal as they were in that game. Basically, a monstrous centaur kitted out with some of the best weapons Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom has to offer, and health bars to match. These guys are easily the most powerful non-boss enemy in the game. Heck, they are harder to defeat than most bosses.
How To Find Lynels In Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Lynels are comparatively rare in Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom sadly. With the increase in Overworld Bosses, the Lynel population took a bit of a hit. They are not all gone, however, and you can still find them loitering around the place. Like with all bosses, Lynels are found in more open areas (although forests are a popular destination too). You can spot them for quite a distance as they nearly always operate alone and are quite large.
Lynels also have incredible senses. If you can see one, there is a pretty high chance they can see you too. This can quickly lead to a battle breaking out when you aren’t prepared. The best thing to do when spotting one is to break line of sight until you are ready for the brawl.
How To Avoid Lynel Attacks
Lynels being horse-like enemies use their speed and momentum to overwhelm you. Unfortunately, that’s not all as they also have access to the mighty Lynel Bow. This thing fires multiple arrows and is lethal at close range. Oh, and lightning arrows – don’t forget about them.
These are the Lynel’s main forms of attack.
- Six-Limbed Charge – The Lynel will use its arms as an extra set of legs and charge at you like a rampaging beast. On contact, you will be launched into the air and take massive damage. This attack can be dodged by jumping to the side. If timed perfectly, you can counter with a Flurry Rush.
- Charging Weapon Slash – This attack is not as fast as the previous attack, but it does do more damage. We recommend dodging backwards (backflip) to avoid the attack. If timed perfectly, you can counter with a Flurry Rush for massive damage.
- Jumping Attack – The Lynel will occasionally jump into the air and then crash down on top of Link. On impact, this attack deals AOE damage. We recommend you keep moving and keep your shield up.
- Fire Breath – The Lynel will charge up a fiery ball of energy before unleashing a barrage of 3 fireballs at Link. This attack has very poor tracking, so run circles around the Lyen to avoid the attack.
- Bow – If Link is too far away, the Lynel will pull out his bow and start launching barrages. Close the gap with the Lynel to force it to use melee attacks.
How To Defeat Lynels In Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
The best way to defeat Lynels is to learn the dodge timing on both of their charging attacks. This will keep you safe from harm and deal large amounts of damage. However, there are other ways to make this fight a bit easier. Namely, using your bow and mounting.
Lynels are very vulnerable to being shot in the face. Not only does this deal more damage than a body shot, but it also staggers and puts the Lynel into a stunned state. Once in this state, you can run around to the back of the Lynel and mount them like a horse. Rapidly pressing ‘Attack’ will result in the Lynel taking damage.
The best part about Mounting is that your damage is based on the power of the weapon you have equipped at the time. Not only that, the weapons don’t lose durability. Considering Lynel’s have massive health bars, Mounting can be an excellent way to deal easy damage.
In either case, be sure to have a shield ready to pull up. Lynels deal a lot of damage, and it’s best to just block a hit than to get one shot (in the early and mid-game).
Be sure to buff yourself too. Using powerful Elixirs, Meals, and Armour can increase your Defence and Attack making this fight far easier.
Rewards For Defeating Lynels
Once you have taken out a Lynel you are rewarded handsomely. Not only do you get access to their bow (which deals high damage and fires 3-5 arrows per shot), but you also get to pick up a lot of valuable items. These monster parts are fantastic for Fusing and offer some of the highest stats in Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom. Everything becomes substantially better when you stick some Lynel bits onto it.
More powerful Lynels will drop better loot too. These Lynels have more HP and deal more damage, but they are well worth fighting for their excellent rewards.
That’s all we have for Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom for now. Be sure to check out our other content for more tips, tricks, guides, and lists.
