Master Sword Location in BOTW: How to Get It Step by Step

The Master Sword is the one weapon in Breath of the Wild that never shatters. Every other blade in Hyrule is on a countdown; this one just runs out of energy, takes a nap and comes back. That alone makes it worth the trip.

The game never hands it to you, though. You need enough heart containers, a working sense of direction in the Lost Woods and a bit of patience with fog that literally throws you out. Here’s what actually happens under the hood, step by step.

Master Sword Requirements

The Tech: you start with 3 hearts, so you need 10 more. Every 4 Spirit Orbs from shrines buys one heart container at a Goddess Statue, and each Divine Beast you free gives one more. Food buffs and yellow bonus hearts are ignored by the pedestal check.

Short on orbs? The Akkala region is packed with shrines; our Akkala shrines guide lists every one.

How to Get the Master Sword: Step by Step

1. Get to 13 heart containers. Trade Spirit Orbs at any Goddess Statue until you are there.
2. Head to Woodland. Activating Woodland Tower is optional, but it fills in the map and gives you a fast travel point. The tower stands in a bog with a monster camp, so bring Cryonis.
3. Enter the Lost Woods. Follow the road north from the tower area into Great Hyrule Forest. Fog creeps in and you reach a stone arch with a lantern: this is your checkpoint.
4. Follow the lanterns. Stand next to each lit lantern and watch which way the embers drift. Walk in that direction until the next lantern comes into view.
5. Grab and light the torch. Deeper in, two lanterns stand side by side with a torch nearby. Pick it up and light it.
6. Navigate by flame. From here there are no lanterns. Stop often, hold the torch still and walk wherever the embers blow.
7. Reach the valley. The trees thin out and the fog lifts. Cross the large log and you are in Korok Forest.
8. Activate Keo Ruug Shrine. It sits right at the entrance of Korok Forest and gives you a fast travel point next to the sword.
9. Pull the sword. Walk up to the pedestal in front of the Great Deku Tree and hold A.

How the Lost Woods Fog Works

• Wrong turn: the fog thickens, the music changes and if you keep going you are sent back to the arch checkpoint. Nothing is lost except time.
• Save yourself: if you hear the music shift, turn around fast. Getting back to where you were in time can stop the reset.
• Wind, not the map: the embers are the real guide. Compass directions people post online vary, so trust the flame over memorized turns.
• Torch tip: if your torch goes out, relight it at the nearest lantern before moving on.

The devs clearly didn’t want you to cheese this with the map, and honestly, it works. It is one of the few places where Breath of the Wild makes you read the environment instead of the HUD.

What Happens When You Pull It

Holding A drains your hearts while Link strains to pull the blade. With 13 or more containers, you finish before you hit zero.

Test Results: try it with fewer hearts and the drain keeps going. On your first attempt the Great Deku Tree stops you just before you die and restores your health. That safety net only happens once, so do not keep trying with 12 hearts.

Master Sword Stats Explained

• It never breaks: when its energy runs out, the sword goes dormant and comes back after about 10 real-time minutes.
• Awakened state: the blade glows and doubles its attack around Ganon’s corruption, which is why it shines in Hyrule Castle.
• Sword beam: at full health, attacks fire a beam of light. Handy, but short-ranged compared to a bow.
• No throwing: it is the one sword Link refuses to throw.

Make It Permanently Awakened

The Master Trials DLC (part of the Expansion Pass) adds the Trial of the Sword. It has three parts, and each one you clear permanently adds 10 attack. Finish the final set and the sword stays awakened everywhere at 60 attack, with durability jumping from 40 to 188.

The numbers are wild: it goes from a solid early weapon to the strongest one-handed sword in the game, and you still never lose it. The only catch is the trial itself, which strips your gear on every set.

Tips Before You Go

• Stock healing food: the Lost Woods is quiet, but the area around Woodland has monster camps.
• Manual save at Keo Ruug: one save before the pull costs nothing.
• Talk to the Koroks: Korok Forest is also home to Hestu, who expands your weapon slots for Korok Seeds.
• Plan your route: our Breath of the Wild interactive map shows Woodland Tower, the Lost Woods and Korok Forest.

Still deciding between games? The Master Sword plays a very different role in the sequel; our BOTW or TOTK guide explains which to play first, and the Breath of the Wild hub has the rest of our guides.

Master Sword FAQ

Exploit Alert: there is no exploit here, and that is the point. Get your 13 hearts, follow the embers, and you walk out of Korok Forest with a sword that never breaks. Science time is over. Go pull it.

Stefan

Stefan Angelevski is the kind of gamer who never really left the golden age behind. He's still leveling the slow way in WoW Classic, still counting utility rounds in Counter-Strike, still flanking with vehicles in Battlefield 4, and still micromanaging his economy while defending his base in StarCraft. If a game rewards patience, precision, and a few thousand hours of muscle memory, Stefan's probably already mastered it. He writes with the mindset of someone who respects the fundamentals: no shortcuts, no fluff, just what actually works. Whether he's breaking down a Classic dungeon strat, a CS angle, or a build order, expect guides built on mechanics he's tested himself, not theorycrafted from a spreadsheet.

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