The 2017 Video Game Awards came with some upsets and surprises, but none quite so unexpected as the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s second DLC pack: The Champions’ Ballad. It contains a heap of new content, including a new dungeon and new shrines. But how do you get to it?
How to Access The Champions’ Ballad DLC
You don’t have to beat the game to unlock the new content. But you do need to free the four Divine Beasts. Once you’ve done that (assuming you’ve already bought the DLC and updated the game with it), you’ll hear from Zelda. She directs you back to the Shrine of Resurrection, and you must reactivate the pillar where you first received the Sheikah Slate. Doing so opens up several new activities to complete.
The Champions’ Ballad Shrines
The heart of the DLC is all about new Shrines and a brand-new weapon. You’ll immediately gain access to the One-Hit Obliterator when you start The Champions’ Ballad quest at the Shrine of Resurrection. The weapon does exactly what it says, but there’s a catch: your health is reduced to one-quarter of a heart for the quest’s duration.
The first set of four Shrines is scattered about the Great Plateau. To access them, you’ll have to take out different monster mobs at each location first. Once you complete these Shrines (still with just a quarter of a heart), the Obliterator shoots four beams of light out to each Divine Beast. Head to a Beast, take out the enemy mobs, and complete the associated quest tasks, and then you’ll be able to fight an Illusory version of that Beast’s boss. In the process of completing these quests, you’ll uncover the history of each Champion and their quests from the previous century, as well as more of Zelda’s story.
New Items
Alongside the main Champions’ Ballad quest, you’ll get access to several item quests. These are all much shorter in length, but each leads to one of the new pieces of equipment.
- Zant’s Helmet
- Ravio’s Hood
- Royal Guard’s Uniform
- Phantom Ganon’s Armor
- Lobster Top (from Wind Waker)
There’s also a separate quest for the new Ancient Bridle and Saddle horse gear. The Ancient Bridle increases the number of spurs in your horse’s stamina meter, while the Ancient Saddle makes it so your horse can hear your call from farther away.
Master Cycle Zero
One of the surprise features included in the new DLC is what some are calling the BotW Motorcycle, officially named the Master Cycle Zero. If you’re hoping to get this early on, you’re in for a bit of disappointment. It’s only awarded to you once you’ve finished the Champions’ Ballad quest itself.
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Let us know what you think about the new DLC in the comments, and if you’ve yet to free the Divine Beasts, check out our other BoTW guides!
Published: Dec 8, 2017 02:45 pm