What Happens if You Skip Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild?
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
Skipping the Divine Beasts in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is entirely possible, but it dramatically alters the game experience and significantly increases the difficulty of the final boss fight against Calamity Ganon. While the main quest technically doesn’t require you to free the Divine Beasts, doing so provides substantial benefits that make facing Ganon much more manageable. By skipping them, you miss out on powerful abilities, crucial story elements, and a considerable reduction in Ganon’s health and defenses. You’ll be facing the ultimate challenge in its purest, most difficult form.
The Consequences of Ignoring the Divine Beasts
Choosing to forgo the Divine Beasts is a bold decision, effectively turning Breath of the Wild into a hardcore survival challenge. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll be missing:
No Champion Abilities
Each Divine Beast you liberate grants you a unique and incredibly useful Champion Ability. These powers are cooldown-based and can significantly aid you throughout your adventure:
-
Mipha’s Grace: Automatically heals you to full health and grants you extra hearts when you take fatal damage. This ability is a lifesaver, especially during challenging encounters.
-
Daruk’s Protection: Creates a magical shield that automatically deflects enemy attacks, making you virtually invincible for a brief period. This is invaluable against Guardians and other powerful foes.
-
Revali’s Gale: Creates an upward gust of wind, allowing you to quickly ascend to higher locations. This greatly enhances exploration and combat mobility.
-
Urbosa’s Fury: Unleashes a powerful electrical attack that stuns and damages nearby enemies. This is a potent crowd control ability and can quickly turn the tide of battle.
Skipping the Divine Beasts means foregoing all of these abilities, forcing you to rely solely on your own skills, equipment, and resources.
Full Power Calamity Ganon
Perhaps the most significant consequence is facing Ganon at his full power. Each Divine Beast you liberate weakens Ganon before the final battle. By skipping them, you will face Ganon with his full health bar and no weakening of his defenses during the fight. He also keeps all of his elemental blight forms active, significantly increasing the fight’s length and complexity. This means a prolonged and arduous battle where every mistake can be fatal.
Missing Key Story Elements
While not strictly essential to completing the game, the Divine Beast quests provide crucial backstory and character development related to the Champions and the events leading up to the Great Calamity. These quests offer valuable insight into the world of Hyrule and Link’s role in it. Skipping them diminishes the overall narrative experience and leaves gaps in your understanding of the lore.
Limited Resources and Upgrades
While not directly tied to the Divine Beasts themselves, the areas surrounding them often contain valuable resources, shrines, and side quests that contribute to Link’s overall strength and abilities. By bypassing these areas, you are also potentially missing out on essential upgrades to your health, stamina, and equipment.
Increased Reliance on Skill and Preparation
If you choose to skip the Divine Beasts, you’ll need to be exceptionally skilled at combat, resource management, and exploration. You’ll need to master dodging, parrying, and utilizing the environment to your advantage. Furthermore, you’ll need to meticulously gather resources to craft powerful meals and elixirs to survive the tougher encounters. It demands a high degree of strategic planning and execution.
Preparing for a Divine Beast-less Run
If you’re determined to take on Ganon without the aid of the Divine Beasts, here are some tips to help you prepare:
-
Master Combat Techniques: Perfect your parrying, dodging, and Flurry Rush skills. These will be crucial for surviving the tougher encounters.
-
Gather Powerful Equipment: Seek out the strongest weapons and armor you can find. The Royal Guard set, Ancient Armor set, and Hylian Shield are excellent choices.
-
Upgrade Your Armor: Visit the Great Fairies to upgrade your armor, increasing your defense significantly. This will make you much more resilient to enemy attacks.
-
Stockpile Resources: Gather a large supply of ingredients to cook powerful meals and elixirs. Focus on recipes that boost your attack, defense, and health regeneration.
-
Explore and Complete Shrines: Complete as many shrines as possible to increase your maximum health and stamina.
-
Learn Enemy Weaknesses: Study the attack patterns and weaknesses of different enemies. This will help you develop effective strategies for defeating them.
-
Master Rune Abilities: Learn to effectively use your rune abilities, such as Stasis, Magnesis, and Cryonis. These can provide a significant advantage in combat and exploration.
Is Skipping Divine Beasts Worth It?
Ultimately, whether or not skipping the Divine Beasts is “worth it” depends on your personal preferences and playstyle. If you’re looking for a challenging and rewarding experience that tests your skills and knowledge of the game, then it can be a worthwhile endeavor. However, if you’re primarily interested in experiencing the story and having a more manageable final battle, then completing the Divine Beasts is highly recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding skipping the Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild:
1. Can I still complete the game if I skip the Divine Beasts?
Yes, you can absolutely complete the game by going straight to Hyrule Castle and fighting Calamity Ganon. The main quest doesn’t force you to complete any of the Divine Beast quests.
2. Does skipping the Divine Beasts affect the ending?
The ending cutscene will be slightly different depending on whether or not you complete the Divine Beasts. If you skip them, you’ll miss out on some character interactions and story resolution.
3. Is the final battle harder if I skip the Divine Beasts?
Yes, the final battle is significantly harder if you skip the Divine Beasts. Ganon will have his full health and all his elemental blight forms active.
4. Can I go back and do the Divine Beasts after fighting Ganon?
Yes, after defeating Ganon, the game returns you to before the final battle. You can then go back and complete the Divine Beasts at any time.
5. What happens if I activate a Divine Beast but don’t complete it?
If you activate a Divine Beast but don’t complete it, it will remain active and potentially cause problems in the surrounding area. You’ll need to finish the quest to fully liberate the Divine Beast.
6. Does skipping the Divine Beasts affect any side quests?
Skipping the Divine Beasts might impact certain side quests or dialogues, especially those closely related to the Champions and their respective regions.
7. Are there any advantages to skipping the Divine Beasts?
The only real “advantage” is the increased challenge and sense of accomplishment that comes with defeating Ganon at his full power. Some players also enjoy the freedom to explore the world without being tied to specific quest objectives.
8. Do I need to find all the memories before fighting Ganon without the Divine Beasts?
Finding the memories isn’t essential, but they provide valuable context and emotional depth to the story. Collecting all the memories unlocks an alternate ending scene.
9. What’s the best way to prepare for Ganon if I’m skipping the Divine Beasts?
Focus on gathering powerful equipment, upgrading your armor, and stockpiling resources for crafting meals and elixirs. Master combat techniques and learn enemy weaknesses.
10. Does difficulty mode affect the difficulty of skipping Divine Beasts?
Yes, playing on Master Mode makes skipping the Divine Beasts even harder. Enemies are stronger and regenerate health, making the final battle even more challenging.
11. Can I use glitches or exploits to make skipping the Divine Beasts easier?
You could use glitches or exploits, but that would detract from the intended challenge of a Divine Beast-less run. It’s generally considered more rewarding to overcome the difficulty through skill and preparation.
12. Is it possible to beat Ganon with only three hearts without the Divine Beasts?
Yes, it is possible, but extremely difficult. It requires near-perfect execution and a lot of luck. Many players consider this the ultimate Breath of the Wild challenge.
13. Do I still get the Master Sword if I skip the Divine Beasts?
Yes, you can still obtain the Master Sword even if you skip the Divine Beasts. However, you’ll still need the required number of hearts (or spirit orbs converted to hearts) to pull it from its pedestal.
14. Does skipping the Divine Beasts affect the availability of certain items?
Some items and resources may be more difficult to obtain if you skip the Divine Beasts, as the areas around them often contain valuable loot.
15. What happens if I try to fight Ganon too early without proper preparation after skipping the Divine Beasts?
You will likely die very quickly. Ganon at full strength is a formidable opponent, and attempting the fight without sufficient preparation is a recipe for disaster. Be prepared for a tough battle, or several, before prevailing.