The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a game with many different resources and items to manage. You will constantly have to monitor your health, stamina, temperature, armor level, and weapon degradation, among many other things.
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One of the most complex aspects of this breathtakingly long RPG is the material and food component, where you can cook food and craft items. And, among all the materials in the game, the Guardian components, such as the screws, springs, and shafts, are some of the rarest. But the Core is even rarer and should be used very carefully. Here are the best ways to use these unique items.
Updated on April 19, 2023, by Branden Lizardi: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is nearly here, and we've been diving deep into all of our Breath of the Wild content with excitement and anticipation. And in the wisdom of the years, we've learned more things that can be applied to lists like this. We've given this list some updated information, along with a fresh coat of polish, to ensure that everything stays nice and easy to read.
10 They Can Be Used As An Elixir Component
Let's start off with one of the worst ways to use these machine cores. Guardian Cores technically count as a "Monster Spoil," so they can be used to craft elixirs for Link used to craft elixirs for Link to use for some temporary extra hearts/stamina, a speed boost, or just a pure attack buff.
But, all of these elixirs are made from a combination of a specific insect and any Monster Parts. So there's not much of a reason to use the core of an ancient and powerful machine over some Bokoblin Fangs instead. Still, the option is there.
9 Traded For "Mon" At The Fang And Bone
Next, we have the second-worst way to spend these elusive items: at the traveling shop the Fang and Bone! Kilton doesn't take Rupees; he only takes Monster Parts in exchange for his own currency called Mon.
You can then use these fake points to buy various items from his shop. Some are useful, some are purely cosmetic, and some are just plain silly. Different Monster Parts sell for different amounts of Mon; Ancient Cores sell for 40, while Giant Cores sell for 100, which is pretty high. Still, not at all worth using for this purpose, as you could get the same amount just by clearing out a few extra Bokoblin camps to sell the fangs instead.
8 Pawn Them Off For Quick Rupees
Similar to selling these things for Mon, you can also just toss them to Beedle. There really isn't much reason for that, since they only sell for 80 Rupees. If a player already has the Ancient Set upgraded and just needs a few extra bucks for something else, sure, maybe sell a core or two.
But, otherwise, it's just smart to hold onto any and all Guardian Drops rather than pawning them off. But we want to tell people about everything they can do with Ancient Cores, so yes, the option to sell them is there.
7 The Ancient Spear, Strong And Tough
The next couple of parts will all be about specific Weapons Link can craft at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab using these Ancient Cores. Link can trade various things that are absolutely worth giving up a few cores for.
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First and foremost is the Ancient Spear, a Spear that's even stronger than the Guardian Spear++ that can drop from defeating the combat Guardians. This thing is also surprisingly durable. While the Royal Guard Spear is a tad bit stronger, it doesn't last as long, and durability is sort of the end-all-be-all stat in Breath of the Wild.
6 An Ancient Shield The Automatic Deflector
Next is the Ancient Shield, one of the most expensive snowboards Link can buy. But please, please don't actually use it to surf on; keep that to Pot Lids and the like. This Shield is both too useful and too expensive to be broken by Link surfing down a small slope.
The Ancient Shield is one of the best shields in the game, boasting an absurdly high defense and durability rating. But the best thing about it by far is that it deflects Guardian beams by default just by blocking. That's right, no more frame-perfect parries with a Pot Lid (though we still try just for style points). It's a great way to make some of the toughest enemies in the game just a tad bit easier.
5 Make An Ancient Bladesaw For Tearing Enemies To Shreds
Moving on to the Bladesaw, one of the most metal-looking weapons in the entire game. Honestly, it might just be better to buy two of these things to put one on display in Link's House and the other for combat.
The Bladesaw is a heavier weapon, meaning that link can spin in a circle while the pure-energy chain spins enemies to tatters. Like the Spear, this weapon is a few points below the Royal Guard Claymore (one of the strongest weapons in the game) in damage while beating it by a mile in terms of durability. This weapon may not scream "relaxing" like a lot of other aspects of the game do, but boy, is it useful.
4 Buy An Ancient Bow To One-Shot Guardians
Then there's the Ancient Bow, a sort of standard bow with great range and damage but no super special extra powerful skill. However, if the player is wearing the full Ancient Set, this bow does 80 percent more damage; if they're fighting a guardian, it does 30 percent more on top of that. Shooting a Guardian in its eye with the Ancient Bow wearing the Ancient Set is like dropping a nuke on a Guardian.
The Ancient Bow also makes a great decoration and even appears during Link's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which is all the more reason to sacrifice one Giant Ancient Core for it.
3 Throw Some Away For Stasis+
Stasis+ adds a ton of variety to an already hilarious ability by allowing Link to freeze both enemies and moving objects in time. To unlock it, you have to go through the "Slated For Upgrades" side quest, where they'll deliver certain Guardian Resources to Purah. In exchange, she'll upgrade Link's Runes.
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The first two upgrades only require a few screws and shafts, but the Stasis+ upgrade requires three cores. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Never mind how fun it is to freeze an item a Bokoblin is about to throw, so they just chuck empty air. You can even use this ability to freeze Lynels for a split second and make their tough fights a tad bit easier.
2 Commit To Making The Ancient Armor Set
Now we finally get to talk about the Ancient Armor Set. This is likely the best set in the game if the player plans to use Ancient Weapons a fair amount. To unlock it, you have to unlock the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab like they would've had to do to make any of the weapons we mentioned earlier.
Building all three pieces costs a whopping eight Cores, but believe us when we say it's worth it. The Set Bonus alone causes Ancient Weapons to do 80 percent more damage, which is absurd. But the defense on this set is nothing to scoff at, either. Too bad it looks a little lame, but that's a small price to pay.
1 Upgrade That Set For Quite The Powerful Bonus
And finally, let's talk about upgrading Armor at the Great Fairies spread throughout Hyrule. To upgrade any piece of armor to the max level, you have to unlock all four Great Fairies. And, the set bonus for an armor set is only unlocked if all three pieces are at least level two. So, getting that big buff on the Ancient Set will cost a good chunk of Guardian Resources and Rupees.
Luckily none of the three pieces require Cores to get to level two, but if a player wanted to upgrade them to Level four, it would cost a total of 15 Ancient Cores and six Giant Ancient Cores, which is insanely expensive, but at that point, the player is likely already at the end of the game and has no other uses for the Cores at this point.
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