On this page you’ll find a run down of all the combat controls in Breath of the Wild, and once you know the basics, you’ll be able to perform different types of attacks and counter-attacks using various movements and combos. This page will also include information on the Champion abilities and the effects of elemental weapons.

Basic Combat Controls¶

Special Attacks¶

With the above controls, you can do a few extra attack moves that deal extra damage:

Spin attack¶

As mentioned above, spin attacks are performed by holding down Y and the longer you hold it the more powerful the attack. However, the attack absorbs a lot of stamina so you’ll want to be careful not to drain your stamina wheels completely or you’ll be left vulnerable.

Flurry Attack¶

When you’re targeting an enemy, and perfectly dodge an attack with sidehop or backflip, you’ll trigger a Flurry Attack. Spam the Y button when you’ve triggered the attack and you’ll do a bunch of damage during a slowed time period!

Headshot/eyeshot¶

If you hit an enemy in the head (or more specifically their eye in the case of Hinox and Guardian enemies) with your bow, you’ll perform an extra damaging attack that will also stun the enemy.

Jump/Flying attack¶

Whilst jumping or paragliding, perform an attack on an enemy on the ground to slam into them, causing extra damage and even stunning them a little.

Shooting in the air¶

You can also shoot your bow whilst in the air! Whilst paragliding, equip your bow and it’ll slow down time. During this period you can shoot your bow as much as you like, however the length of time you have in this slowed period is dependent on your stamina.

Deflect Guardian Laser Beams¶

If you equip an Ancient Shield, or your Master Sword, you can deflect Guardians laser beams by parrying them at the perfect moment!

Elemental Weapons¶

There are three types of elemental weapon. You’ll find elemental weapons fairly easily, and they’re quite commonly found within hidden chests in shrines. You can get elemental arrows, melee weapons and rods.

Fire Weapons¶

Flame weapons, as you can guess, do fire damage and can be used to set fire to lanterns, campfires and burnable leaves, as well as enemies. You can get fire arrows and a variety of flame weapons. You can also be set on fire by flame weapons, and during this time you’ll take burn damage over a few seconds.

Ice Weapons¶

Ice weapons, including ice arrows can temporarily freeze your enemy, effectively stunning them and allowing you to hit them freely. However, you can also be frozen by ice weapons or ice attacks, so make sure you avoid them!

Lightning Weapons¶

Lightning weapons, sometimes called shock or thunder weapons do extra electric damage that stuns the enemy temporarily. The duration of the shock is greater if the enemy is in water or on a metal surface. If they are holding metal weapons, they’ll be disarmed! Again, you can also be subject to shock damage, so watch out!