Breath of the Wild: How to Beat Waterblight Ganon
Now that you've conquered the fortress that is Divine Beast Vah Ruta, it's time to take on the scourge of the Divine Beast, Waterblight Ganon. The demonic creature Waterblight Ganon is like a fusion of the Twili creatures from Twilight Princess and the Guardians – a twisted form and intimidating stance. Don't be afraid though – follow this guide to beating Waterblight Ganon in Breath of the Wild and you'll topple the beast before long. If you don't, we're sorry, but we've done our part in this relationship.
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Breath of the Wild: How to Beat the Waterblight Ganon Boss
Waterblight Ganon shows up after you activate the main terminal inside of Vah Ruta – you get a wide arena to fight him in, so you don't have to worry too much about where you position yourself. Waterblight Ganon has two phases, the second triggers once he hits 50% health. In the first phase, he has several attacks.
When up close Waterblight Ganon will thrust with his spear. This can be dodged with a side hop, and perfect timing will reward you with a flurry attack. Sometimes when close, he'll also thrust his spear into the ground, causing a shockwave. Run away should you see him raise the spear with the tip pointing down.
At mid-range, he's more likely to sweep his spear, which will be signified by him pulling his arm out to his side with his spear in hand. It's best to back flip to dodge this, and once again perfect timing will get you a flurry attack.
At long range the beast will throw his spear like a javelin. To avoid, just run to the side and he'll miss you each time. If you stay close so he doesn't use the move at all.
Once you do a fair bit of damage he'll collapse to the ground, giving you an opportunity to let loose. We recommend equipping a two-handed weapon and charging up a mighty spin attack to do big damage.
Once you've taken off half of Waterblight Ganon's health, phase two begins, and things get much harder. The water level suddenly raises, and all Link will have to stand on are four platforms, significantly harming mobility. On top of that, Waterblight Ganon will decide to focus on ranged attacks.
In this phase Waterblight Ganon will hurl ice blocks at you, just as Vah Ruta did upon entrance. You can break them the same way, either with the Cyronis rune of a well-aimed arrow.
Getting in and doing damage with melee weaponry is difficult, but possible. You can rush over to the pillar he's floating near, and use ranged weaponry such as spears to do damage. Jump attacking with weapons also works, but makes it difficult to hit him multiple times.
Overall, arrows are the best way to do damage to Waterblight Ganon, especially if you aim for his blue eye. If you have any Shock Arrows left, this is the time to use them. Bomb Arrows, or even any other elemental arrows you have will also a decent amount of damage.
As his health lowers he'll increase the number of ice blocks he'll throw at you, so watch out for that. Crossing onto different platforms can be a struggle too as the water will slow you down. The best way to get across is to jump and paraglide the short distance it allows, and then dash to the next platform.
Eventually, Waterblight Ganon will decide to swap to those Guardian-like laser beams. When this happens, we recommend avoiding them, but performing a perfect block and parrying just as the beam is about to hit you will send it right back at them. It's your call.
Waterblight Ganon Rewards
Keep your wits about you and Waterblight Ganon will eventually fall, leaving behind a heart container. Use the Sheikah Slate on the main terminal and you'll have finally conquered Vah Ruta. You'll also receive a blesisng power. This one acts as a second life if you die, filling your heart containers and then some.
For more help in beating Waterblight Ganon, follow this helpful video which will show you how to do exactly that.
If you're still stuck inside Vah Ruta, or even getting inside the dungeon, be sure to see the rest of our guides and walkthroughs on our hub.
Waterblight Ganon is a tough opponent, but it might just be the easiest of the creatures plaguing the Divine Beasts...
For more on Breath of the Wild be sure to check out Mike's review. Elsewhere there's our look at why we think Zelda may be the protagonist of the next game.