How to get the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The sword that seals darkness.
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Link might begin his journey in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane, in hand - but it doesn’t last long. Pretty soon the story rips that legendary blade from you - but in a game this open-ended, when you retrieve it is up to you.
Be warned that this page contains MILD BUT UNAVOIDABLE SPOILERS for certain elements of the storyline of Tears of the Kingdom. You have been warned.
As a secondary warning to the one above, I want to say straight-up here that some of the descriptions in this page might feel a little vague. This is by necessity, as I want to tell you where the Master Sword is and how to get it without revealing any of the story surrounding it (just in case you're not that far into the game yet).
That is difficult, as the mystery surrounding the Master Sword location is a key component of the story of Tears of the Kingdom. But we’ll do our best.
For some easier to obtain equipment, check our Tears of the Kingdom best weapons page!
How to get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom
With that being said - here’s a step-by-step guide on what you need to do to retrieve the sword that seals the darkness.
Step 1 - Build up your stamina
First, know that you’ll need two full stamina wheels in order to ‘pull’ the sword from its location. In Breath of the Wild, the Master Sword tested Link through his heart count. In Tears of the Kingdom, it’s stamina for reasons that’ll become obvious when you get to the sword.
Step 2 - Complete the Impa and the Geoglyphs quest
Next, you should go about completing the Impa and the Geoglyphs quest line before going after the sword. This is mainly for story reasons - pursuing the sword will reveal certain story elements that are best first experienced by tracking all 11 Geoglyphs and their associated cutscenes first.
We also attempted to get the Master Sword without having all the Geoglyphs to no success, so it appears you need to collect all of these first.
Step 3 - Enter Korok Forest
Third, the ‘natural’ way to get the sword involves entering Korok Forest. The sword isn’t there, but if you make your way past the Lost Woods and into Korok Forest, you can have its location revealed.
You'll want to go into the Minshi Chasm marked on the below map to reach the Depths. From here, follow the surface map over towards Korok Forest, and then Ascend into the forest from The Depths beneath it.
Once you’re in the forest, you'll need to head back into The Depths from a chasm inside of the Deku Tree. Down here, you'll then have to defeat a boss to restore the area and rid it of gloom. Once that’s done, the Deku Tree will ‘sense’ the Master Sword and place a marker on your map revealing its location.
If this is at all confusing to you, use our guide on how to get through the Lost Woods and reach Korok Forest in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This guide also details how to beat the boss in Korok Forest, too.
On the other hand, Tears of the Kingdom is as open-ended as its predecessor - which means that if you know where the Master Sword already is, you can go there without all this knowledge.
Tears of the Kingdom Master Sword location
Okay, so - spoilers, here it is.
Where is the Master Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? The Master Sword is embedded right in the forehead of the Light Dragon, the majestic golden and white dragon that snakes its way across the Hyrule skyline.
There were a trio of dragons (red, blue, and yellow) back in Breath of the Wild, but in Tears of the Kingdom they’re joined by a mysterious fourth dragon. You’ll learn more about this beast in the Geoglyph story scenes, but the upshot is that this is the dragon that you keep seeing all game, right from when you first wake up on the Great Sky Island.
In order to retrieve the sword, you’ll need to wait for the dragon to be in close enough range that you can launch from a tower or jump from a sky island and glide to land on it. The dragon won’t hurt you; at this point you can begin to pull the sword.
As mentioned above, you’ll need two full rings of Stamina Meter in order to pull the sword, or else the Light Dragon will buck you off into the skies. Once obtained, you’ll have a fully-charged, fully-repaired, fully-featured Master Sword in hand again. Ganondorf won’t know what hit him.
Where to go next?
Once you have the Master Sword in your possession, you'll want to return to Lookout Landing and speak with Purah. This will conclude the 'Crisis at Hyrule Castle' and 'Find the Fifth Sage' quests, and kick off the 'Destroy Ganondorf' quest.
Continue our walkthrough of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with how to beat Ganondorf.
For more on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, don't forget to check out all the Yiga hideout and base locations. We've also got guides on the Sahasra Slope Skyview Tower location as well as all of Misko's Treasure locations.