Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Lynel Defeat Strategies and Location Guide

Few enemies strike fear into players like the Lynel in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. With its brutal strength, unpredictable attacks, and dangerously quick reflexes, this beast tests every skill you’ve learned across Hyrule. Here’s how to survive the encounter-and claim victory.

That, or if you fancy, use our little trick that allowed us to reliably kill a Lynel in around 45 seconds, without taking any damage.

Lynel locations in Tears of the Kingdom

Lynels can be found across several regions of Hyrule, often guarding remote or high-level areas. Common locations include the Coliseum Ruins, the North Akkala Valley, and the Hebra Mountains. Some variants also appear in the Depths, mirroring surface locations but presenting tougher challenges. Their presence usually marks dangerous zones meant for well-prepared players with strong weapons, armor, and plenty of healing items.

There are several Lynels across the surface and the Depths in Tears of the Kingdom. We’ve found 15 Lynel locations, so far, on the surface level of Hyrule. Check out the map below to see their locations:

In the Depths, there are many locations to find Lynels, but there does happen to be one location with multiple Lynels. Be warned though, you will have to fight multiple gloom afflicted Lynels in a row if you decide to take part of the challenge in the Floating Coliseum.

The Floating Coliseum can be found in the Depths directly under the Coliseum Ruins, which is located in the Hyrule Fields region. You can also find an armored White-maned Lynel near the Mu-ustust Lightroot, which can be found to the southwest of the Floating Coliseum.

How to defeat Lynel in Tears of the Kingdom

Shoot arrows at the Lynel’s head from a height to trigger bullet time and stun it, then mount its back for free damage hits that ignore weapon wear. Dodge charges for flurry rush openings or parry at the last second to expose weak points again. Toss puffshrooms repeatedly to blind it in smoke, allowing safe melee strikes until its health drops.​

There are at least two ways to defeat Lynel in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. One is the traditional, skill-intensive way; the other is an absolute cakewalk. Let’s cover the “proper” way first.

The traditional way to beat a Lynel

When fighting a Lynel traditionally, you’ll want to play it cool and keep up the defensive. A strong shield (possibly with a Beam Emitter attached if you fancy doing some extra damage), a firm grip on ZL, and a hair trigger on the X button, ready to Flurry Rush the Lynel to within an inch of its life.

First, you want to approach Lynel from behind, being as sneaky as you can.

Once you get close enough, you can mount it like any horse in the game. However, rather than trying to soothe it and make a centaur friend, you want to mash the attack button like your life depends on it. Your stamina wheel will deplete very quickly and you will eventually be thrown off.

You’ll now have a very annoyed Lynel who will run away – and an exercise in dodging arrows and waiting for it to charge. If it stays upright, just keep sprinting away. But once it hunkers down and tries to rush you, get ready to dodge and Flurry Rush.

While it’s upright, you can try to land a headshot, like in the screenshot below, but you see that big shield it carries? It uses it, and those blades will damage you as it runs past you.

Keep dodging and flurry rushing and you might eventually beat it, but you will likely lose a lot of hearts in the process – unless you’re very deft at the game.

Instead, we present to you a second option that requires a little prep, but significantly less skill, time, effort. Y’know, all that good stuff.

The easy way to kill Lynel in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Thanks to the invention – or at least rediscovery – of Zonai devices, Hyrule has a new string in its bow when it comes to taking down baddies. It may seem a little strange and unconventional, but bear with us.

For this method, you will need:

• Around a dozen arrows
• Bomb flowers
• Gibdo bones (or something similarly strong)
• A spring (as inthe Zonai device)
• Any melee weapon (even a torch will do)
• A strong bow (we recommend a mighty Lynel bow, as it shoots three arrows at once. You can find one at the map location below, and you should track it down, as it’s key when fighting Gleeok as well).

First, head to the Lynel’s location and save (in case everything goes wrong). Once it notices you, stop and place the spring, then jump on top of it. Once you grab your weapon, the Lynel will begin its attack (likely with an arrow). Quickly ground-pound and get airborne.

You don’t want to get too high, just high enough that you can glide close enough to see its health bar. When that happens, quickly draw your bow to slow down time. Send some bomb arrow(s) at the Lynel (plural if you’re using the mighty Lynel bow, single if you’re not).

The reason for the bomb is twofold: first, it deals a chunk of damage, but second (and more importantly), it sets fire to the grass and creates an updraft that you’ll need to use. Ready another arrow, but this time Fuse a Gibdo bone ( 40 attack) or something similarly. If you’ve done the Gerudo part of the story, you should have dozens of these.

Pay attention to your stamina wheel – when it’s almost empty, you’ll want to drop to the ground and open your paraglider just before you hit the ground so you don’t take damage.

This part is clutch; recover as much stamina as you think you can get away with – half a wheel to a wheel was enough for us. Quickly catch the updraft to get airborne again.

While in the air, fire off another salvo of Gibdo arrows. It took two rounds for us before landing on the ground entirely unharmed.

This is, admittedly, a fairly granular tactic, but it works. The only damage we took was from the fire, running in to get a cool finishing shot for posterity’s sake. Hubris hurts, as they say.

What rewards do you get from a Lynel?

Defeating a Lynel rewards you with powerful materials and weapons that make the battle worthwhile. You can obtain Lynel Hoofs, Guts, and Maces, which are useful for upgrading armor or fusing to weapons for higher damage. Depending on the Lynel’s type, you might also earn rare bows, shields, and elemental weapons that have unique properties. These drops are some of the strongest gear enhancements you can find, making each victory a valuable boost to your arsenal.

This boss drops a selection of Lynel riches, almost all of which you will be interested in. First and foremost are the Lynel bow and the Lynel shield. The bow is 3×10 attack power, and the shield offers 30 defense, with counterattack.

As to the monster bits, you’re looking at a Lynel saber horn, which gives a whopping 22 Fuse attack, along with a slightly less powerful Lynel mace horn ( 18) and Lynel hoof ( 10 Fuse attack power).

Best weapons and armor for fighting Lynels in TotK

Top weapons for Lynels fuse high-damage bases with strong attachments for massive output during stuns and mounts. Royal Guard’s Claymore (especially +10 pristine from Hyrule Castle or Octoroks) fused with Silver Lynel Saber Horn (55 fuse power) or Molduga Jaw excels, hitting 174-188 damage when near-breaking due to its Breaking Point modifier doubling output. Scimitar of the Seven pairs well for one-handed speed with doubled fuse bonuses, while Gloom weapons like Gloom Club add raw power despite Gloom Toll health drain.​

Best Armor Sets

Barbarian Set or Fierce Deity Set boosts attack power significantly when upgraded. These provide Attack Up tiers (up to +3 with four-piece set), ideal for DPS-focused Lynel fights, and pair with bone fusions for Bone Proficiency multiplier. Radiant or Evil Spirit Sets (Phantom Ganon Armor) maximize bone damage without Great Fairy upgrades, offering stealth for approaches.​​

Additional Gear Tips

• Bows: Multi-shot (e.g., 5-shot) Lynel or Great Eagle bows for headshots in bullet time; aim slightly high for reliable stuns.​

• Shields: Rocket or Zonai Spring shields for height/mobility to negate charges and enable Flurry Rushes.​

• Support: Attack Up 3 food/elixirs (e.g., Mighty Bananas), Sidon’s water bubble for Zora Weapons spin-to-win, and Luminous Armor for bone fusions. Farm in Floating Coliseum for Silver Lynel drops to upgrade gear iteratively.​​

Which Lynel types are hardest and which weapons beat each

Silver Lynels rank as the hardest in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, followed closely by White-Maned Lynels, due to their massive health pools, aggressive attacks, and superior Savage Lynel gear. Red and Blue-Maned Lynels serve as easier entry points, while rarer Armored Silver variants in the Floating Coliseum add defensive challenges. All types follow similar patterns but scale in speed, damage, and movesets like shockwaves or fire roars.​

Lynel Difficulty Ranking

• Red-Maned Lynel: Weakest at ~2000 HP; basic attacks. Farm early for starter Lynel drops.​

• Blue-Maned Lynel: Mid-tier (~3000 HP); Mighty Lynel weapons. Appears post-Divine Beast progress.​

• White-Maned Lynel: Tough (~4000 HP); Savage gear, new shockwaves. Rare outside key areas.​

• Silver Lynel: Hardest standard (~5000+ HP); fastest, highest damage. Rarest, top-tier bows/shields.​

• Golden Lynel: Absolute peak (7500 HP, DLC-like); lightning-enhanced Silver transformations.​

Weapons by Lynel Type