Every video game needs a big baddie to cement the legacy of the main character. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is no different and offers an amazing boss fight toward the very end of your journey.
The final boss that you will take on in Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Ganon. It will be a two-phase fight where in the first phase you will fight Calamity Ganon and then Dark Beast Ganon in the second.
Calamity Ganon appeared a thousand years ago to ravage Hyrule. Sheikah tribe constructed mechanical armies called guardians to stop his advances. Four mechanical constructs known as Divine Beasts were created to be piloted by champions to destroy Calamity Ganon once and for all, but it all failed.
Calamity Ganon not only managed to beat the champions a hundred years ago but also captured Princess Zelda and Hyrule Castle as spoils of war. It is now up to the Hero of time to put an end to this madness once and for all and release the princess from evil’s grasp.
Calamity Ganon location in BOTW
Calamity Ganon is the main boss of the Hyrule Castle dungeon in Zelda BOTW. He can be found in the inner sanctum of the Hyrule Castle. Calamity Ganon has taken the form of a giant scorpion with red hair around his head. The fight with Calamity Ganon takes place inside Astral Observatory after both Link and Calamity Ganon fall down through the floor of the inner sanctum.
Calamity Ganon attacks and weaknesses
Calamity Ganon has a lot of weapons in his arsenal. He uses all of the weapons and attacks of Blight Ganons. Calamity Ganon has a huge fire sword in his right hand and a massive ancient canon in his left. His left hind leg carries a spear while the rest of his limbs are fitted with various melee weapons.
Calamity Ganon also uses elemental attacks like typhoons and fireballs that have massive AoE damage. He can also summon an unbreakable shield making him impervious to any attacks.
Calamity Ganon is weak against Master Sword and ancient weapons.
How to defeat Calamity Ganon in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Due to its open-world nature, players can attempt to kill Calamity Ganon as soon as Zelda: Breath of the Wild starts. Before you can come face-to-face with Calamity Ganon, you will have to take down the four Blight Ganons (fire, water, wind, and lightning) back-to-back.
If you play the game normally from start to end, you will have to liberate the four Divine Beasts who will then help you in your fight against the Calamity Ganon. In case you opt for the unconventional route, you won’t have that luxury.
That is why it is ill-recommended because no matter how prepared you are, you will be instantly wiped off the face of the world.
You also don’t want to miss out on the true ending by hasting your journey to Hyrule Castle. We recommend the following things before you trigger the endgame for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- Craft some ancient weapons from Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, especially Ancient arrows.
- Free all four divine beasts from the claws of Blight Ganons. Vah Rudania in Goron territory to earn Daruk’s protection, Vah Ruta in Zora territory to earn Mipha’s blessing, Vah Medoh in Rito’s territory to earn Revali’s Gale and Vah Neboris in Gerudo territory to earn Urbosa’s Fury.
- Find all locked memories to unlock the true ending of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- Find Master Sword from the Korok’s Forest by solving Lost Wood’s puzzle.
- Equip Zora’s armor which you will receive after completing Vah Ruta main quest.
- Cook some meals to increase your temporary heart containers.
- Learn how to deflect and parry ancient guardians’ laser attacks (this is very important).
The fight with Calamity Ganon which can also be called phase one in Zelda BOTW starts with a cutscene with all four divine beasts attacking him in unison. The souls of the fallen champions finally have their moment of glory before departing Hyrule. This attack will reduce Calamity Ganon’s HP by half.
During this phase, Ganon will start his attacks with a sweep of his fire sword. Evade this attack and dish out some punishment with Master Sword using Flurry Rush.
You can hit Ganon when he is on the ground but beware of his sword slam attack. It can’t be parried and cause a lot of fire damage. Ganon will use an ancient canon to fire a massive laser at Link. If you don’t know how to parry it, run towards Ganon and stick close to his body or otherwise, you will end up losing all of your hearts.
Mipha’s blessing will protect Link from death restoring all of his permanent hearts in addition to granting 5 temporary ones.
Use Daruk’s protection to save Link from incoming attacks and deflect them. Ganon will then climb a wall and start throwing spears and fireballs at you in addition to wind typhoons.
The spear can be blocked but fireballs can cause massive damage if you come into their blast radius. Run far away from the point of impact. Wind Typhoons can only be evaded.
Use ancient arrows to bring Calamity Ganon back to the ground. Rinse and repeat this strategy to take down his HP to 20%.
During the second phase, Calamity Ganon will summon an unbreakable shield around his body, but his attacks will remain the same. There are two ways to hurt him while being protected. Using Urbosa’s Fury will destroy his shield instantly.
Do as much damage as you can before Calamity Ganon summons another shield. You can dodge his sweep attack to unleash Flurry rush on Calamity Ganon. This will be a fight of endurance as you won’t be able to hurt Calamity Ganon a lot in this phase. Just wait for an opening and the victory will be yours.
How to defeat Darkbeast Ganon in Zelda Breath of the Wild
The fight with the Calamity Ganon in Zelda BOTW is a long one and players will think it is the end of the game. But it is not. Defeat at the hands of Link will only enrage Calamity Ganon and he will run towards the Hyrule Field in front of Hyrule Castle.
Ganon’s anger will transform this calamity into pure malice, and he assumes his true form of a massive Boar called Darkbeast Ganon. Princess Zelda will bestow a weapon of legends, Bow of Light, unto Link. This weapon is Darkbeast Ganon’s bane and can be used to destroy his weak points.
Darkbeast Ganon will start this fight with a massive laser attack. Get on your horse and dash to the side to avoid it. This attack will kill you instantly so keep Mipha’s blessing handy.
Equip Bow of Light and run to the left side of Darkbeast Ganon. 3 weak spots will appear on his body in the shape of Tri-Force. Shoot these weak points with Bow of Light to inflict some damage to Darkbeast Ganon. No other attack will work against him. Rinse and repeat this strategy until his HP goes down to 30%.
The next weak point will appear on his belly. Go near him and shoot this point. The last weak point will appear on Darbeast Ganon’s forehead in form of an eye. You can’t shoot it from the ground. Wait for Darkbeast Ganon’s laser attack as it will create currents of air on the ground.
Ride these currents to gain some altitude and destroy Ganon once and for all with one final shot to his head. This will release Zelda from Ganon’s captivity and banish him from the land of Hyrule for good. If you have unlocked all the memories, you will be presented with True Ending of Zelda BOTW after the cutscene.
