How to get the Hylian Shield in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Hylian Shield — (Image credit: Nintendo)

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Hylian Shield location
Does the Hylian Shield break?
How to get more Hylian Shields

The Hylian Shield in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom can be found underneath Hyrule Castle itself, specifically on the North side of the moat behind a secret puzzle and optional boss fight. No, you don't need to get up to the levitating structure itself, but instead head to the surrounding water and find your way into the docks... but we get ahead of ourselves. The Hylian Shield is unquestionably the best shield in TOTK, with unrivalled protection and durability. With that in mind, here's how to get the Hylian Shield in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, the classic Zelda shield - and how you can get more than one!

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Hylian Shield location

The Hylian Shield in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is found in the docks of Hyrule Castle, on the map indicated above. This is not in the floating section of the castle, but the moat to the North side, in the gap in the wall. The process is as follows:

Use a boat, glider or Zonai device to approach the Hyrule Castle moat from the North.
Head to the opening on the map indicated above to enter the watery cave with a ring of green plants floating in the opening.
There'll be some Docks inside. Going up the stairs triggers an optional boss fight with the Gloom Hands, then Phantom Ganon.
You don't have to kill these bosses, so either kill or avoid them.
Make your way up the stairs to the huge unlit brazier at the top overlooking the water, shown below.
Ignite the Brazier with any fire weapon or material.
A chest will appear on the pedestal behind you with the Hylian Shield inside.

This puzzle only works once - you won't be able to get another Hylian Shield by coming back and reigniting the thing again. At this point you'll be better equipped to fight the bosses, if you were scooting around them, or you can just fast travel out of there.

Does the Hylian Shield break?

Sadly yes, the Hylian Shield is not indestructible and will break after being hit too many times, or if you keep using it for some Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shield surfing extreme sports. Still, this will take a long time, and you don't have any better options - there are no indestructible shields in Tears of the Kingdom at time of writing that we know of.

How to get more Hylian Shields

Yes, there is a way to replace the Hylian Shield if it breaks. You can either use any of the functioning Zelda Tears of the Kingdom duplication glitches, which we did to fill our inventory with the things, or you can use the legitimate method. Once you've found the Hylian Shield, you can buy another one from Cece in Hateno Village, but you'll need to have played the whole Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Team Cece or Team Reede election questline through to the end first.

After that point, Cece will work in her clothes and armor shop, and will sell armor - and if you've found the Hylian Shield and broken it, she'll sell you another one… for an eye-watering 3000 Rupees. Quality has its price, but if you're not sure how to make that kind of money, our guide to farming Rupees in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom will help you get there.

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.