While out to save Hyrule once again, Link will have to fight a lot of different enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, ranging from lowly Bokoblin to the mighty Scourges of the Temples and even the Demon King himself.
With weapon durability still being a thing, it can be difficult to know which weapon is best used against weak enemies and which ones are best reserved for the most powerful enemies in the game. Thanks to the new Fuse ability, however, even weapons that don’t look particularly powerful can still be quite useful.
Best Weapons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Depending on where you are in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you will get different mileage out of any weapon in the game. Due to how open-ended the experience is, however, you may find some use for weapons that are, at least on paper, not particularly useful but that are actually something more than what appearances may suggest.
This is definitely the case with shields, thanks to Link’s unique Fuse ability. While fusing random objects into shields isn’t a really good idea, fusing Zonai Devices into them can turn them into proper offensive weapons. If you fuse a Flame Emitter to any shield, even the ones offering limited defensive power, you will have a deadly flamethrower at your disposal. If you fuse them with a Zonai Rocket, to make another example, you will get a portable transportation device that will launch you in the air as soon as you whip your shield out, allowing you to pick at enemies from the safety of the skies with your bow.
Using unconventional weapon fusions is the way to go to produce some surprisingly powerful weapons during the entirety of the game. Bokoblin Arms, for example, make for some very fragile weapons, but if you fuse any other weapon with them, you will get a +20 damage bonus. Sure, the Bokoblin Arm will still break easily, but the damage you will deal will be high enough to deal with most regular enemies in a couple of hits.
If having something more reliable is your thing, then Fused Zonaite weapons are the ones to get. Not only are they generally quite sturdy, but they also power up any Zonai Device that is fused to it, so you can have powerful fire or beam-emitting weapons even at the start of your adventure. Their base attack power isn’t the best around, so it’s better to use them as the base for unique weapons powered by Zonai Devices unless you have items dropped by Constructs, such as Soldier and Captain Construct Horns, which make for some fine weapons with great damaging power.
While Zonai Devices grant easy access to elemental properties, you may not have a lot of them on hand, so there may be times when you will need to get creative to get weapons capable of setting enemies on fire, shocking them, or freezing them. Many items you can find all over The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s world, or even monster parts, can grant such properties to weapons via fusion. Electric Lizalfos Horns, for example, can grant electrical properties to any weapon they are fused to. Icicles found on Hebra Mountains, to make another example, grant ice properties capable of freezing any enemy. If you like exploring caves, you can also use the precious gems you can find inside them to grant elemental properties to any weapon. Rubies, for example, are a great way to get a fire-elemental weapon without setting it on fire, and thus damaging it. If you want to fight enemies from a safe distance but still enjoy the benefits of elemental properties, fuse these items with spears. Their charged attacks will make short work of most regular enemies.
All of these items can also be attached to arrows in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for added elemental effects, but it’s generally better to attach one-use items to them to achieve the same results. Fire Seeds, for example, are a great way to turn your arrows into fire arrows without a fire blazing in the vicinities. Chuchu Jellies, dropped by Chuchu enemies, are great items to attach to arrows, as they are fairly easy to get and can turn Link into a ranged death machine. Attach a regular Chuchu Jelly to apply a water element to enemies, and then fire an arrow with a Yellow Chuchu Jelly attach to it to shock all enemies in the vicinity. If you’re more into piercing enemies with your arrows rather than playing with the elements, you should get your hands on the Royal Guard’s Bow. With a 50 attack power, it is the strongest bow in the game. One of them can be found in Zelda’s study in Hyrule Castle.
While this may be stating the obvious, the Master Sword is undoubtedly one of the best weapons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, if not the very best. It is the only weapon that will not break, the only melee weapon that has a ranged attack, but only if Link is at full health, and you can fuse it with any item like you can with any other weapon to get better damage or elemental properties. The only downside is that you cannot use the weapon too much, as its energy may get depleted, and you will have to wait 10 minutes for it to get restored. The Master Sword can be found by finding all Geoglyphs in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and passing a Stamina test, so you’d better start searching for Shrines of Light if you neglected enhancing Link’s stats.