Summary
- Tears of the Kingdom introduces a wide range of enemies, with over twenty unique foes that vary in form and difficulty depending on the climate and location in the game world.
- While some players find certain monsters repetitive, the game offers a balance of common enemies for material gathering and rarer, more challenging foes that provide a fun and engaging battle experience.
- Players can expect to encounter familiar enemies like Hinox, Gibdos, Lynels, Molduga, and Gleeoks, each with their own unique abilities and weaknesses that require different strategies to defeat. Additionally, boss battles with Queen Gibdo, Phantom Ganon, Master Kohga, and the Seized Construct add variety and challenge to the gameplay experience.
With over twenty unique enemies, Tears of the Kingdom is not short of interesting and challenging battles. Its expansive world sees enemies vary in form depending on climate, and with the introduction of the depths, many common monsters have the added advantage of gloom damage. The game teaches players a broad range of mechanics to employ when battling enemies, such as dodging, flurry rushing, and allowing gameplay to slow down when Link is shooting an arrow from midair. Some Zelda fans felt that Tears of the Kingdom's predecessor Breath of the Wild lacked enemy range, but its sequel has fixed that issue by keeping familiar faces and introducing brand-new monsters for Link to defeat.
Although many players are thrilled with the updates to enemies, there are certain monsters that some gamers find frustrating or repetitive. Tears of the Kingdom has a certain amount of foes who are essentially around to provide monster parts for cooking, fusing with weapons, and armor upgrades, so after a while, the hundreds of Bokoblins and Moblins can begin to seem annoying. However, the game provides more than enough enemies who are a bit rarer and far more fun to battle.
10 Hinox
Hinox are instantly recognizable to anybody who played Breath of the Wild. These snoring giants will attack Link if they wake up from their slumber. Hinox vary in difficulty depending on their color, and players can even take their chances with the rarer Stalnox, which are undead and only roam around in the night (or all the time in the depths).
The best way to defeat a Hinox is to shoot an arrow in its eye and run closer to attack, once it falls to the floor. Stocking up on dazzle fruit and throwing them constantly will keep the Hinox blind, allowing players to quickly dispatch it.
9 Gibdos
Gibdos are a new addition to Tears of the Kingdom for recent players, but longtime Zelda fans will most likely recognize these creepy foes from Ocarina of Time, even though they've been around as early as the very first game in the franchise.
Gibdos are an interesting enemy because they cannot be defeated just by hitting them. These rambling, zombie-like creatures need to be hit with some form of fire or lightning damage before they become vulnerable to physical attacks, making them more challenging to fight. Additionally, Gibdos are heavily featured in a popular sequence in the game, where players have to protect Gerudo Town from hordes of walking and flying Gibdos, with the help of the Gerudo and Riju.
8 Gloom Spawn
Gloom Spawn are a dangerous new addition to Tears of the Kingdom. These spooky hands spawn from puddles of gloom found throughout Hyrule, meaning it's very difficult for players to predict when they will be ambushed by them. They will grab Link if he gets too close, and players will have to frantically wiggle the joystick to escape.
The best way to defeat Gloom Hands is to get to high ground since they cannot climb up vertical surfaces. Despite their difficulty, Gloom Spawn are a fun enemy to fight since they test Link's ranged abilities and ask players to strategize well, since individual Gloom Hands will respawn if all five of them aren't defeated quickly enough.
7 Lynels
Lynels are a frightening enemy that most players will recognize from Breath of the Wild. These angry creatures race at Link quickly and mercilessly, but can also be even more dangerous from a distance since they can shoot a volley of arrows at him.
Despite how intimidating they can be, the best way to defeat a Lynel is up close, using the fighting mechanics the game teaches players. Jumping out of the way of a Lynel charge will allow players to flurry-rush it. Using a strong weapon will make short work of the Lynel and finish it off with minimal damage sustained.
6 Molduga
Molduga are another returning enemy and can be found exclusively in the desert areas of Hyrule. Luckily there are few Molduga around, but players will have to defeat at least one to complete the side quest "WANTED: Molduga."
The main quality of a Molduga is its alarming ability to tunnel through the sand and launch up from underneath Link, meaning players can often end up in a fight with one without even realizing it. Players will want to use bombs to lure a Molduga to the surface while standing on solid ground. Once the Molduga is out of the sand, hitting it with another bomb should cause it to flop onto the ground where it can be damaged at close range.
5 Gleeok
Tears of the Kingdom's iteration of Gleeoks are truly terrifying, with four different kinds found scattered around Hyrule. Frost, Thunder, and Flame Gleeoks can be found above ground, while the infamous King Gleeok can be found in the Gleeok Den in the depths.
Gleeoks provide a fun fight pattern, and as long as players are equipped with plenty of arrows and elemental Keese eyes they won't have a tough time defeating them. Gleeoks need to be hit with enough damage to knock them to the ground, so they can be hit in melee. After a while, the Gleeok will fly up high in the air and Link will need to hitch a ride up before aiming more arrows at them to once again knock them to the ground.
4 Queen Gibdo
Most players will encounter a Queen Gibdo for the first time at The Lightning Temple. One of the most challenging aspects of this boss battle is the hordes of Gibdos that come with it, meaning Link will have to have some serious crowd control skills.
Players can defeat Gibdos the usual way, and aim lightning strikes at the hives when they're lit up purple to explode them, all while dodging tornado and charging attacks from the boss. Queen Gibdo also needs to be hit with elemental damage, most effectively Riju's lightning strike, then hit again to knock it to the floor. Once on the ground, Link can deal damage with a weapon.
3 Phantom Ganon
Phantom Ganon is a typically unexpected, difficult enemy to fight, and it will often appear after players defeat Gloom Spawn. Phantom Ganon is quick and can launch at players to deal gloom damage.
Like Lynels, the best way for players to defeat Phantom Ganon is to use the fighting mechanics; blindly trying to hit it won't work. Link will need to defend with his shield, parry, and dodge to flurry rush, and deal damage. Phantom Ganon brings with it pools of gloom that will hurt Link if he stands in them, so having lots of gloom-healing dishes handy is a must.
2 Master Kohga
Players will have to fight Master Kohga four separate times in the game. Each time he will have a different Zonai construct that allows him to move around quickly and attack Link. This gives variety to the fights and challenges players to think outside the box to defeat him.
Players who want to beat Master Kohga quickly are better off launching arrows with eyeballs attached to them, knocking Kohga off his vehicle and allowing players to get some melee attacks in.
1 Seized Construct
Players will only have the opportunity to fight the Seized Construct once, at the Spirit Temple, one of the more difficult dungeons. Although players can battle constructs throughout the game, this boss is unlike any other fight.
The Seized Construct is the only boss that must be fought with Mineru's Construct. The fight requires Link to block attacks and use those openings to strike using weapons attached to the left and right arms. The construct will then be knocked back into the fence, which will damage it substantially. This battle is a throwback to classic Zelda mechanics and asks players to be creative and attentive to the fight to pick up on patterns.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available to play on Nintendo Switch.