Breath of the Wild speedrunner is the first to reach "impossible arrow" stuck in Hyrule's stratosphere

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And all it took was blowing themselves up about a thousand times

Breath of the Wild
(Image credit: Nintendo)

An intrepid Breath of the Wild speedrunner has become the first to obtain an impossibly rare arrow that's been stuck in the game's upper atmosphere for years, and all it took was nine months and about a thousand bomb arrows.

As first reported by Kotaku, self-styled Breath of the Wild "glitch hunter" going by LegendofLinkk on Twitter has been experimenting with different ways to reach the "impossible" arrow stuck in the sky. The Breath of the Wild community refers to misplaced development assets that exist outside of the game's intended boundaries as "impossible" items, one of which is a shock arrow hovering way, wayyy above Hyrule's surface.

Breath of the Wild

The view from the "impossible" shock arrow's location near the Daqo Chisay Shrine in Gerudo Town (Image credit: Nintendo)

After the shock arrow was discovered roughly nine months ago, folks tried moon-jumping their way up there using a technique that exploits a horse-related glitch to get infinite jumps, but speedrunners found this method too inconsistent. 

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In the months since the arrow's initial discovery, LegendofLinkk's fascination with it only grew stronger. Just this month, they shared an in-depth YouTube video titled 'Getting the Impossible Shock Arrow Theory', which described a potential new way to reach the arrow that combined moon-jumping with another fairly complex glitch. Ultimately though, the successful mission was "much simpler" than earlier iterations.

To reach the arrow, LegendofLinkk used a few exploits: one that allowed them to equip over a thousand arrow bombs (they say you only need a few hundred), another that makes Link invincible, and then of course the moon-jumping glitch. After teleporting to the right location on the ground and then moon-jumping up to the arrow's approximate airspace, they used the power of exploding bombs to propel themselves even higher, but with a little more control. Then, using the Sheikah Slate to ping its precise location, they passed by the so-called "impossible" arrow and unceremoniously scooped it up, making Breath of the Wild history.

If you've spent enough time in Hyrule, check out this Breath of the Wild-inspired MMO coming out this week.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.