Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — How to Find and Beat Lynels in TotK

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Lynels are fierce centaurs that are extremely tenacious and dangerous in battle. They’re often considered the toughest non-boss enemies in the game, and I tend to agree. Here’s our guide to help you find and beat Lynels in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Please note that one of the screenshots used in this article contains a late-game spoiler.

How to Find and Beat Lynels in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Lynel Locations and Using the Sensor+ Upgrade

To make searching for TotK Lynels easier, you’ll want to acquire the Purah Pad Sensor+ upgrade. With this tool, all you need to do is discover a single beast during your travels and take a photo of it so the info gets saved in your Hyrule Compendium.

With the Sensor+ upgrade, you can open your map and press the X button to select a target. When you pick the Lynel (or other variants), a radar and a ping will notify you if you’re close enough.

We should also mention that there are different variants of Lynels in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and they can be found in certain zones:

• Lynel: Hyrule Field and Central Hyrule Depths.
• Blue-Maned Lynel: Lanayru Great Spring and Eldin Canyon Depths.
• White-Maned Lynel: Central Hyrule Depths and Faron Grasslands Depths.
• Silver Lynel: Extremely rare, to the point that you’ll probably encounter just a couple of these throughout your adventure.

TotK Lynels: Weaknesses and Attacks

The Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Lynels can be quite tough if you’re unprepared. For this, I recommend a strong melee weapon and a couple of shields (you’ll find out why soon enough). Lynels tend to have certain offensive abilities that are similar regardless of variant:

• Sniper Shot: If you’re too far away or if it can’t hit you with its melee weapon, it will draw out its bow. Three shots will fly out, and these will be extremely accurate. They’ll even pass through textures to hit Link.
• Weapon Rush: It will charge at you with its weapon drawn. For this, you’ll want to hold ZL and do a jump backward, causing you to dodge. If you time it perfectly, you can follow up with a Flurry Rush.
• Stampede: When it’s further away, it will charge you with its head down. You can sidestep this, then immediately run up to it to press the A button. Doing so will let you mount it, so just spam your attack until you’re thrown off.
• Fireball: Your foe will periodically toss up to three Fireballs. You’ll want to sprint sideways to avoid getting hit.

I recommend focusing on dodging and countering when fighting TotK Lynels. Parrying is also possible, though a Flurry Rush tends to be more viable for extra DPS. Try to find at least one of these opponents so you can master the dodge timing for future bouts.

Lynels tend to drop their own types of weaponry, including bows that fire three arrows simultaneously. Moreover, their materials include Saber Horns and Mace Horns, which can be Fused onto melee weapons for extra damage.

Hopefully, these tips will help you find and beat the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Lynels. Don’t forget that Lynels, like most creatures, will also spawn after a Bloodmoon Cycle. For other boss tips, walkthroughs, and more, visit our Zelda TotK guides hub.