The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Guide – All Sword Upgrades and How to Get the Hylian Shield

Here are all the upgrades needed to obtain the True Master Sword, along with tips on earning one of the best shields in the game.

Posted By | On 27th, Jul. 2021

The Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword HD

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD offers a myriad of upgrades for nearly every item (check out our guide here for more details). So it only makes sense that the Goddess Sword can be upgraded as well, making it stronger and opening up new avenues. Let’s take a look at the different upgrades for the weapon, how to get them and what their effects are.

You receive the Goddess Sword by default.It can be used to slice Goddess Cubes, thus allowing you to open Goddess Chests. To upgrade it to the Goddess Longsword, you’ll need Farore’s Flame. It’s obtained by defeating Koloktos in Farore’s Flame Chamber located in the Ancient Cistern. Along with longer reach, it deals eight points of damage with a regular slash, 12 points with a Spin Slash and four points of damage with a Skyward Strike.

To upgrade the Goddess Longsword to the Goddess White Sword, Nayru’s Flame is needed. It’s obtained by defeating Tentalus in the Sandship. The Goddess Longsword provides improved Dowsing, which means locating Treasure, Rupees and so on becomes easier.

Upgrading the Goddess White Sword to the Master Sword requires Din’s Flame. It can be obtained by defeating Ghirahim in the Fire Sanctuary. The Master Sword deals even more damage – regular slashes output 16 points of damage while the Spin Slash deals 24 points and the Skyward Strike deals eight points of damage.

To obtain the True Master Sword, you’ll need the Master Sword and Hylia’s Blessing. This is obtained in the Temple of Hylia and bestows the power to defeat Demise.

How to Get the Hylian Shield

The Hylian Shield is one of the best shields in the game simply because it can’t lose durability. Obtaining it can be tough though – you need to defeat eight bosses in the Lightning Round. Head to Lanayru Gorge and speak to the Thunder Dragon Lanayru to participate in the mini-game.

Only the tools available at the time of fighting the boss in the main story are available for each Lightning Round fight. You can’t use bottled items but if you consume a Guardian Potion, Air Potion and Stamina Potion before beginning, their effects will persist between fights. Any damage done to your shield or health will also carry over between fights.

You can choose the first boss battle to tackle before beginning the Lightning Round but depending on your performance, the Lanayru will choose the next fight. Go in prepared and try to practice each boss beforehand to ultimately complete the challenge.


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