The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took the world by storm with its impressive storyline, incredible graphics, beautiful musical scores, and straightforward controls. It even owns the 4th spot in the top 10 bestselling Nintendo Switch games!
Breath of Wild brings new, difficult enemies such as Lynels and Guardians. All enemies drop useful items. Guardians, in particular, drop valuable objects called Giant Ancient Cores, which come in handy for making special ancient equipment and armor. You can also find these items in Shrines scattered across Hyrule. However, Giant Ancient Cores are a challenge to obtain. That’s why we’ve created this giant ancient core guide on how to collect them!
Key Details Upfront
Giant Ancient Core Locations
- Found in treasure chests in Dah Hesho Shrine, Ritaag Zumo Shrine, Shora Hah Shrine, Kuhn Sidajj Shrine, Maag Halan Shrine, and Mirro Shaz Shrine.
- Found in Guardians in Hyrule Field, the Hyrule Castle Town Ruins, and near Hyrule Castle
Giant Ancient Core Cost
- 200 Rupees when sold at a regular shop
- 100 Mon when sold at Kilton’s Fang and Bone shop
Key Features: It’s a large, glowing sphere with two rings surrounding it
Rarity: Extremely rare
Overview
Luck is on your side if you come across a Giant Ancient Core because they’re an infrequent discovery. Ancient Cores are power sources used to energize various Guardians, mechanical warriors whose primary mission is to eliminate Link. Giant Ancient Cores are bigger and rarer than regular ones. Another significant difference between the two objects is that the latter has two glowing rings around it.
Recommended Uses
Armor Upgrades
Giant Ancient Cores are most prized for armor upgrades in Breath of the Wild. Armor upgrades reward Link with unique abilities and improved defense. More specifically, Ancient Armor provides increased protection against Guardians, so your combat with them won’t be as brutal.
Seek one of the Great Faries to upgrade your armor to its fullest potential. You can find all four at these locations:
- Great Fairy Kayasa is located at the bottom of Piper Ridge in the Tabantha Tower Region.
- Great Fairy Mija is located at a small pool of water surrounded by trees just southeast of Lake Akkala in the Akkala Tower Region.
- Great Fairy Cotera is located northeast of Kakariko Village in a small forested area.
- Great Fairy Tera is located in the Dragon’s Exile near the end of the skeleton’s tail in the Gerudo Wasteland Tower Region.
Giant Ancient Cores aren’t required to upgrade any armor up to level 3. But, the Great Faries will ask for Giant Ancient Cores if you’d like to upgrade the following armor pieces any further:
| Armor Piece | Tier | Giant Ancient Cores Required For Upgrade | Other Items Needed for Upgrade |
| Ancient Helm | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Ancient Cuirass | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Ancient Greaves | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Vah Medoh Devine Helm | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Vah Rudania Devine Helm | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Vah Naboris Devine Helm | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
| Vah Ruta Devine Helm | 4 | 2 | 1 x Star Fragment |
Ancient Weapons
You can also use Giant Ancient Cores to buy excellent ancient weaponry at the Akkala Ancient Tech Laboratory! Thankfully, the Ancient Shield and Ancient Bow are the only items that require Giant Ancient Cores.
You must part with 2,000 rupees, 2 Giant Ancient Cores, 20 Ancient Gears, and 30 Ancient Springs to own the Ancient Shield and Bow. They will greatly aid you in a battle against Guardians since these enemies are susceptible to such weapons. That sounds like a bargain to me!
Alternative Uses
I recommend using Giant Ancient Cores for armor upgrades and buying ancient gear, but there are other ways to utilize these items.
Selling
As mentioned before, you can sell a Giant Ancient Core for 200 Rupees at a shop or 100 Mon at Kilton’s Fang and Bone shop. These prices aren’t worth the sacrifice.
Instead of blowing Giant Ancient Cores on low amounts of currency, try these activities:
For Rupee Collection
- Sell gourmet food.
- Sell stones that you don’t need.
- Play the Snowball Bowling minigame at Pondo’s Lodge.
For Mon Collection
- Harvest as many monster parts as you can to earn Mon.
Cooking
Cooking a Giant Ancient Core is the worst way to use this item. Avoid this action like the plague since you’ll only receive dubious food in return!
Dying
If you travel to the Kochi Dye Shop located in Hateno Village, you can use the Giant Ancient Core to dye Link’s clothes gray. Dying clothing with this item is also a waste since there are several other materials you can use for gray dye. It’s best to use more common things like Bokoblin horns, Moblin fangs, and Lizalfos Talons for gray coloring.
Item Location Details
Giant Ancient Cores are hidden in treasure chests and Guardians scattered throughout Hyrule. Finding them can be a hassle, given their irregular drop rate and obscure locations. Here are some essential details for locating these precious objects:
Treasure Chest Shrine Locations
- Maag Halan Shrine in the Woodland Region
- Mirro Shaz Shrine in the Woodland Region
- Kuhn Sidajj Shrine in the Woodland Region
- Shora Hah Shrine in the Eldin Region
- Dah Hesho Shrine in the Akkala Region
- Ritaag Zumo Shrine in the Akkala Region
Guardian Locations
Giant Ancient Cores lie in 3 types of Guardians: Guardian Stalkers, Guardian Skywatchers, and Guardian Turrets.
Although Guardian Stalkers are in Gerudo Heights and Eldon Canyon, they are mainly found in the northern part of Hyrule Field and the Hyrule Castle Town Ruins. Meanwhile, Guardian Skywatchers patrol Hyrule Castle, Lomei Labyrinth Island, and Akkala Citadel Ruins. On the contrary, Guardian Turrets only surround Hyrule Castle.
Guardian Details
Guardians are formidable robots whose primary mission is to eliminate Link. What’s worse is that they can wipe Link out in one hit with their laser! My heart races when these machines start glowing purple and enter berserk mode.
Knowing Guardians well before attacking them is in your best interest. Take a look at the information below to learn more about these enemies.
Guardian Stalker
Guardian Stalkers are one of the most intimidating foes in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. These 6-legged monsters boast a health bar of 1500. They’re also fast for enemies of their size!
If you try to attack a Guardian Stalker head-on, they will quickly distance themselves from you. In my opinion, the agility of Guardian Stalkers makes them the hardest Guardian to escape.
Guardian Skywatcher
Skywatchers are Guardians that hover using three propellers. They also search the area for Link by continuously scanning a red light along their path. These Guardians can be annoying to defeat since they are airborne and have a health bar of 1500 too.
Guardian Turret
Unlike the previous Guardians, Turrets have no legs or propellers; therefore, they cannot move. Additionally, Turrets elevate their heads once they’ve spotted Link. They also have extensions on either side of their heads, similar to Skywatchers. Turrets have a maximum health of 1500, making them as resilient as the other Guardians.
How To Fight Guardians
One of the smartest decisions is to bring the right items into battle with you. These include good elixirs, food, armor, weapons, bows, and arrows to make the combat go smoothly. You’ll also need an effective strategy to take down Guardians. Once you have all this down, they won’t stand a chance!
Helpful Items For Battle
1. Elixirs
Elixirs grant Link special abilities for some time, which can change the outcome of a fight for the better. All you have to do is cook monster parts with creatures, and you’ve got a life-altering potion!
There are several types of mixtures that you can make, but I found mighty and tough elixirs the most beneficial for fighting Guardians. The former gives Link an attack boost, while the latter offers a defense boost.
I suggest combining a few Bladed Rhino Beetles with non-elemental monster parts for a powerful mighty elixir. You can also mix Rugged Rhino Beetles with non-elemental monster parts for a tough elixir.
2. Food
Food boosts Link’s abilities and replenishes his health, so unleash your inner master chef before fighting those Guardians! In my opinion, foods with hearty, mighty, or tough effects are the best for fighting Guardians.
I’ve already mentioned how mighty and tough effects work on Link, but you may not know about hearty effects. Hearty food restores all of Link’s hearts and gives him extra temporary hearts. You’ll be able to take a few more hits if you have this type of food with you!
Make dishes with Mighty Porgies and Mighty Carps to increase your attack power. You can also bring cooked Armored Porgies or Ironshell Crabs to increase Link’s defense. Five cooked Hearty Durians will make an incredible source of extra temporary hearts too.
3. Armor
Having a good armor set will come in handy when fighting Guardians! Of course, the Ancient Helm, Ancient Cuirass, and Ancient Greaves are best for defending yourself against Guardians.
You can find this armor set at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, but you’ll need a lot of Rupees and Guardian parts to get them.
Suppose you can’t afford the Ancient Set. In that case, the Soldier’s Set is another wise choice of defense that consists of the Soldier’s Helm, the Soldier’s Armor, and the Soldier’s Greaves.
Head to the shop in Hateno Village to purchase all three armor parts. You can gain a maximum defense of 84 if you upgrade all three to their highest potential!
4. Weapons
The best weapons for Guardian slaying are Ancient Weapons. Guardian Scouts usually drop them after their defeat in Tests of Strength Shrines. You may also purchase some at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab if you have enough Rupees and Guardian parts to spare.
Bring several strong, two-handed weapons into battle if you can’t get your hands on Ancient Weapons. Two-handed weapons generally have a higher attack power than one-handed ones, so I prefer the former. Some examples include Lynel Crushers, Edge of Duality Swords, and Knight’s Claymores.
5. Bows and Arrows
Bows and arrows are essential when dueling against Guardians. They’ve saved me numerous times when taking these monsters down.
Ancient arrows are best since they can instantly kill a Guardian with a direct hit in the eye. Like other ancient equipment, these impressive arrows are found at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. A few treasure chests are strewn across Hyrule with a bundle of these arrows inside as well. You can use regular arrows to defeat Guardians, but you won’t be able to kill them in one hit.
You don’t need a powerful bow to fight Guardians. Something like a Strengthened Lizal Bow or Dragonbone Boko Bow should get the job done.
A Helpful Strategy
This strategy made fighting Guardians less stressful for me. It’s easier said than done, but practice makes perfect. Killing Guardians will be a piece of cake once you master this advice!
I hunt Guardian Stalkers for Giant Ancient Cores since they seem to drop more cores than Skywatchers and Turrets. Therefore, this strategy focuses on how to eliminate Stalkers rather than other Guardians.
Once you’ve caught the attention of a Guardian Stalker, you’ll want to use your bow and arrow to shoot it in its eye. This hit will stun the Guardian for a few seconds making its head spin.
After that, you can use a two-handed weapon to perform a charged attack on the enemy. Hold down the “Y” button to unleash Link’s Great Spin Attack while moving around the Guardian. Try to hit the machine’s legs to limit its movement. You’ll have to do this a few times to chop off all legs.
The fight will be easier once the foe is immobilized since you won’t be stressed about being chased! You can finish the Guardian off by continuously shooting it in the eye and using charged attacks.
Tips
- Are you not good at aiming? Don’t worry, just activate slow-motion mode! You can do this while gliding and aiming with your bow and arrow.
- Practice parrying laser attacks with your shield. Hold “ZL” while the Guardian is about to unleash its laser, then press “A” right after the laser is released. This will deal tons of damage!
- Dodge lasers by sprinting out of the way when the laser is shot.
- Use Stasis+ to momentarily freeze Guardians and get a few hits in before they spot you.
FAQ
Question: Is The Giant Ancient Core In Other Zelda Games?
Answer: Yes, Giant Ancient Cores are also in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. They are rare in this game too!
Question: Can you Buy Giant Ancient Cores?
Answer: You cannot buy Giant Ancient Cores in Breath of the Wild. However, you can buy them in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Question: Can You Get An Giant Ancient Core With An Amiibo?
Answer: Yes! If you scan the Guardian Amiibo, you may get a treasure chest with a Giant Ancient Core.
Final Thoughts
If you want some of the coolest gear in Breath of the Wild, Giant Ancient Cores are essential. Few Shrines have these cores, so you may feel inclined to destroy Guardians to get some.
Facing Guardians seems frightening, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Just be mindful of what you need when fighting, and use an effective strategy to emerge victorious!