How to get the Master Sword early in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Here is everything you need to know about getting the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as well as how to acquire it early.
The Master Sword is Link's most iconic weapon in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and getting it early on can really optimise your experience. However, after you lose it, there isn't a lot to indicate where it has gone.
Luckily, you can get the Master Sword early, but that doesn't mean it is going to be easy. Here is our complete guide on how you can get one of the game's best weapons early on.
How to get the Master Sword quickly
To get the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you need to find a particular dragon. This white and gold dragon with blue horns flies all over the map, making it particularly difficult to track it down.
There are multiple dragons flying over Hyrule, so spotting this one can be difficult, especially from the ground.
In truth, there's a fair amount of luck in finding this dragon early. There are more definitive methods that we will discuss below, but the dragon is flying around from the moment you enter Hyrule, and therefore the Master Sword is always available.
The only prerequisite you absolutely need to meet is to have two full bars of stamina. Again, the more definitive method here is to gather twenty Lights of Blessing to upgrade your stamina permanently.
That said, there are also many ways to temporarily boost your stamina, and these will work just fine for our purposes. These foods aren't the easiest to come by, so perhaps a mixture of food and upgrades is the way to go.
However you do it, you need to have two full circles of stamina, then get on that dragon. If you spot it, use a Skyview Tower or whatever means you want to get into the sky and on the back of the dragon. Then make your way to its head, and pull the Master Sword out. Doing so will drain your stamina, but so long as you have two full stamina bars, you will be fine and the Master Sword will be yours again.
The intentional method to get the Master Sword
There's a more intentional method for getting the Master Sword and a quest that leads you to it. To begin, you need to visit the Great Deku Tree in the Korok Forest.
If you go to the Lost Woods, you will not be able to traverse it. Instead, head down into the Depths through the nearest Chasm and travel beneath the forest.
Once you are under the Lost Woods, you should be able to spot a well-lit pillar with a platform area. Go there, and use Ascend to make your way up to the Korok Forest. You'll find the Great Deku Tree and the Koroks are unresponsive because they have been tainted by the Gloom. Head inside the tree to begin one of the most difficult fights in the game.
Inside the Great Deku Tree, you will first have to fight a group of those Gloom hands that drain your maximum hearts. Your best bet here is to deal with them from a distance, plenty of bombs or ruby arrows will do the trick. Once they are dealt with, Phantom Ganon will appear.
This is the real fight, and he is no joke. Not only is this Phantom Ganon tough, but he spreads the Gloom everywhere he goes, meaning standing near him will drain your health. You need to keep your distance or be very quick with your melee attacks. Ganon will charge at you with his sword, so stay on your toes.
Once Phantom Ganon is defeated, head back outside and speak to the Great Deku Tree. This will begin the Recovering the Hero's Sword main quest, which consistently marks the location of the dragon on your map. This is extremely useful and takes the guesswork out of finding the Master Sword.
Getting the Master Sword earlier is totally possible, but some luck is involved. If you've been playing for a while and gathered some decent weapons, it might be worth your while to just tackle the Phantom Ganon fight and get the map marker for the dragon.
For more info on the game, check out how to unlock the Camera and the Compendium in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. There are also loads of Shrines to complete, rune abilities to unlock, and recipes to make.
About The Author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
