How to Beat Ganondorf

Master the Ganondorf fight in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Learn strategies for his sword, spear, club, and bow attacks across all phases to defeat the Demon King.

Stats / Weaknesses:

• Gloom Damage: All attacks inflict Gloom, significantly reducing hearts. Use Warding foods (Dark Clump) or Depths Armor for resistance.
• Hearty Foods: Foods made with Hearty Salmon or similar ingredients provide temporary extra hearts, useful for absorbing heavy hits.
• Master Sword: Effective, especially with a good fuse, for both basic attacks and Flurry Rushes.
• Hylian Shield: Recommended for blocking and parrying.

Phases:

1. Phase 1: Weapon Variety

   Ganondorf wields a sword, spear, club, and rarely a bow. Focus on aggressive offense after successful blocks or parries. Aim to finish this phase quickly as he is less agile here.

   • Sword Attacks: Similar to Phantom Ganon, fast and agile. Parry or block. Charge attack is best dodged by running away.
   • Spear Attacks: Long reach, difficult patterns. Running around him and attacking is often safer than parrying. Dodge his charge by running forward and behind him.
   • Club Attacks: Slow but powerful. Easy to dodge. His jumping slam attack leaves him vulnerable afterward. Gloom goop on the ground can be ignored if using Sunny Foods.
   • Bow Attacks: Rare in this phase. Shoots three Gloom arrows at once. Easy to dodge, but getting hit permanently reduces hearts for the fight duration.
2. Phase 2: Phantom Ganons

   Ganondorf appears with 5 Phantom Ganons. (Details on how to deal with this phase are cut off in the source text).

Strategy:

• Phase 1 Aggression: Stay close, block/parry, and attack. Deal damage quickly to get through this phase efficiently.
• Resource Management: Conserve Sunny Foods and other healing items for later, more punishing phases.
• Flurry Rush vs. Basic Attack: If Flurry Rushes are difficult, focus on blocking and using basic attacks with the Master Sword. Fused weapons significantly boost damage.
• Defense: Always be prepared to block or dodge, especially against the spear and charge attacks.