Breath of the Wild: How to Beat Thunderblight Ganon
Thunderblight Ganon just might be one of the more fearsome bosses plaguing the Divine Beasts – he's fast and deadly, rivalling creatures from the likes of Dark Souls – but after tackling Vah Naboris you're ready for this... and if you're not, this guide to beating Thunderblight Ganon in Breath of the Wild should bring you up to speed. We can only do so much with a guide, so if you're simply not good enough at games you might have trouble here. Follow our advice and you should be good, though. Thunderblight Ganon awaits!
How to Beat Thunderblight Gaonon in Breath of the Wild
Activating the main terminal will awaken Thunderblight Ganon. His first of two phases is pretty straightforward. Initially he'll be sending lightning attacks your way, which are slow moving and easily avoided. At this point just peck away at his health with elemental and bomb arrows while avoiding his attacks and you shouldn't struggle too much.
A much scarier attack, however, is a speedy teleportation attack Thunderblight Ganon uses to strike at Link. It'll be obvious when he uses this, as the wind up for it makes him dash about the arena several times before striking Link. When he strikes, simply hold up your shield and you'll block. Do this a few times to get used to the timing of this attack. It's intimidating, to be sure, but can be handled easily enough.
We recommend wielding a one-handed weapon for this Thunderblight Ganon fight allowing you to hold your shield up, but if you don't happen to have one, a spear is good because of the range and speed, though you'll need to adjust to putting your weapon away regularly so you can hold your shield up.
Once you've adjusted to the timing you can back flip Thunderblight Ganon's strike to cause a Flurry Rush, which is your best bet for doing damage. After this he'll collapse, giving you plenty of time to do damage. A two-handed spin attack should do plenty.
Generally though, two-handed weapons aren't really recommended here, as Thunderblight Ganon moves fast and doesn't give much time for you to wind up your attacks. It's possible to defeat him with only heavy weapons – we did it – but it certainly requires a much greater struggle.
Once you've taken off half Thunderblight Ganon's health, Thunderblight Ganon will enter his second phase.
This phase can initially be confusing. Thunderblight Ganon will bring down pillars of metal, and send electric currents through them to attack Link. Head towards the path that leads to the main terminal – which is suspended in the middle of the arena. This'll bring you much closer to Thunderblight Ganon, allowing you to use Magnesis to take one of his metal pillars and bring it close to him, electrocuting him in the process. At this point, nothing else will do damage.
At this point Thunderblight Ganon reverts to a pattern more similar to its first phase, using the zig-zagging teleport attack regularly, but now his weapon is infused with electricity, meaning only a non-metal shield will work if you want to block. Try your best to execute a perfect dodge and Flurry Rush, or alternatively wait until you see his weapon stop pulsing with electricity to do damage. A Flurry Rush will bring him to the ground again, giving you plenty of time to do as much damage as possible, eventually bringing down Thunderblight Ganon and liberating Vah Naboris.
For more help on beating Thunderblight Ganon, take a look at our gameplay video guide below.
Thunderblight Ganon is tough, just as are the other bosses in Breath of the Wild. Make sure to check our guides and walkthroughs if you struggle with any of them!
The arena can make it difficult to fight Thunderblight Ganon, but with perseverance (and some cooked meals) you'll succeed.
We have a lot more on Breath of the Wild for you to take a look at. There's Mat's writeup on how you can use whistling to fish. Next up is Hirun's piece on how to launch Guardians into the area using the Cryonis Rune.