Ancient Soldier Gear Farming Guide
This section contains information on how to farm for Ancient Materials in order to craft Ancient Soldier Gear starting with Ancient Arrows, Ancient Armor Set and finally the Ancient Bow. It will focus on locations of Guardian Vehicles and how to defeat them by employing strategies which primarily focus on using decent Bows and include some tips on parrying.
Requirements
- Prerequisite: Robbie’s Research
- Arrows, Ancient Arrows, Shock, Ice Arrows
- A selection of Bows
- Access to Akala Citadel Ruins
- Alternatively you can bring a Shield and perform the Perfect Guard.
Rupee Farming
Since having the Ancient Gears and Weapons require labor to craft, it might be deplete you of Rupees. Please refer to the following Farming Guides first in order obtain more Rupees.
Related articles:
Ancient Arrow Farming
This summarizes the requirements to craft Ancient Arrows.
| Ancient Soldier Gear | Necessary Materials | Need | Price (Labor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Arrow | Ancient Screw | 2 | 90 |
| Ancient Shaft | 1 | ||
| Arrow | 1 | ||
| Ancient Arrow x3 | Ancient Screw | 6 | 250 |
| Ancient Shaft | 3 | ||
| Arrow | 3 | ||
| Ancient Arrow x5 | Ancient Spring | 5 | 400 |
| Ancient Shaft | 5 | ||
| Arrow | 5 |
As you can see most of these are dropped by Ancient Vehicles apart from the Giant Ancient Core which is exclusive only to Guardian Stalkers, Skywalkers and Turrets. It might seem daunting at first given their high HP of 1,500 each, however with decent Bows and Ancient Arrows, and enemy pattern familiarity, it will not take too long until you manage to take them out.
Ash Swamp
The first suitable area for farming arrows since the location is inhabited by Guardian remains. There is an additional one roaming so be wary. This area should provide you with a decent haul of Ancient Shafts which are staple materials for crafting Ancient Arrows in the Tech Lab.
Alternative Option: Fort Hateno
Related article: Locked Mementos
Akkala Region
Related article: Divine Beast Vah Medoh
Refer to the table for a selection of bows and where to find them.
Generally, the surrounding area of the Tech Lab should provide you with several enemies to farm for strong Bows as you prepare for farming Guardian Vehicles. Search the area for enemy outposts and loot the bows from them.
Quarry Ruins
Before starting out, prepare all your bows and arrows, specifically regular Arrows and Shock and Ice Arrows for the hunt. Record your progress since this ensures that in case you feel like you’ve wasted more arrows than actually placing Ocular shots, you could simply restore your file. Saving frequently will help you save more resources.
You would want to have access to the Shrine near Quarry Ruins as this area warps you immediately to the farming site for Guardian Turrets to start.
The bulk of the Guardian Vehicles reside in Hyrule Areas such as: Hyrule Field and the area surrounding Hyrule Castle. When starting out, practice shooting the Guardian Turrets first as these pose the least threat due to their immobility. A good way to handle them is to stay low or behind a pillar for cover, then armed with a regular arrow, practice shooting the ocular while it’s glowing red. This should get them to spin, wait for them to face you again then immediately inflict another arrow shot. Repeat until it blows up then loot the Ancient Materials.
Ancient Soldier Gear Set and Ancient Bow
| Ancient Soldier Gear | Necessary Materials | Need | Price (Labor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Bow | Ancient Gear | 10 | 1000 |
| Ancient Spring | 15 | ||
| Giant Ancient Core | 1 | ||
| Ancient Helm | Ancient Gear | 20 | 2000 |
| Ancient Shaft | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 3 | ||
| Ancient Cuirass | Ancient Gear | 20 | 2000 |
| Ancient Screw | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 3 | ||
| Ancient Greaves | Ancient Gear | 20 | 2000 |
| Ancient Spring | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 3 |
Taking off from here, the Ancient Soldier Armor set allows you to farm Guardians more efficiently to obtain the rest of the Ancient Soldier Gear since these grant Guardian Resist Buffs. If you have not accessed any of the Great Fairy Fountains yet, now is the time to partake of the Side Quest to acquaint with the upgrade mechanics.
Hyrule Field
Since Guardian Stalkers pose a higher threat because they pursue you once detected unlike the Turrets, it is better to leave this for when you have accumulated a decent amount of Ancient Arrows so that you can get the chance to land a one-shot kill before they damage you severely. Due to how threatening the added mobility grants them, make sure to have some cover before attracting their attention, then strafe to the side to maintain a clean view. It is best to hunt them later for their Ancient Cores.
Guardian Skywatchers seem to drop Ancient Core and Giant Ancient Core more frequently than others, however this means that you have to deal with them hovering above. Once you gain access to Akkala Citadel Ruins, target the propellers to incapacitate them.
Ancient Soldier Armor Set Farming
Related article: Ancient Armor Set Guide
Akkala Citadel Ruins
After obtaining the Armor Set, head to this area to encounter 3 more Guardian Skywatchers since they seem to offer higher rates for dropping Ancient Core and the Great Ancient Core.
Ancient Bow Farming
Related article: Ancient Bow
In case you haven’t gotten much luck from farming Guardians, Ritaag Zumo Shrine should reward you with a Giant Ancient Core to help you craft the most sought after Ancient Bow. With the Ancient Bow armed with Ancient Arrows, this enables you to easily farm more Guardians to craft the rest of the Ancient Soldier Gears.
The table summarizes the other Ancient Soldier Gears.
| Ancient Soldier Gear | Necessary Materials | Need | Price (Labor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Short Sword | Ancient Spring | 15 | 1000 |
| Ancient Shaft | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 2 | ||
| Ancient Shield | Ancient Gear | 10 | 1000 |
| Ancient Spring | 15 | ||
| Giant Ancient Core | 1 | ||
| Ancient Bladesaw | Ancient Screw | 15 | 1000 |
| Ancient Shaft | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 2 | ||
| Ancient Spear | Ancient Gear | 15 | 1000 |
| Ancient Shaft | 5 | ||
| Ancient Core | 2 |
Alternative: Perfect Guard
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The combat training Shrine should refresh your memory or if you haven’t done it yet, should orient you on the basics on how to perform a Perfect Guard. Mastery of the Perfect Guard paired with familiarity on how Guardian Vehicles battle are essential to farming Ancient Soldier Gear crafting materials efficiently.
Before trying this out on actual guardians, record your progress to avoid losing your valuable shield. Once you encounter a Guardian, stay at a moderately far distance, bring up the shield then as soon as its ocular glows blue, perform the Perfect Guard to deflect the energy beam.
Here’s a trick they forgot to mention: use a horse! Guardian Stalkers tend to be pretty spread out across Hyrule Field, but a good farming run can get you a ton of materials if you bring enough Ancient Arrows. A direct (or even nearly-direct) hit with an ancient arrow to a Guardian Stalker’s “Eye” is an instant kill. Getting a clean shot can be hard sooo… horse! Use the “X” button to do a jumping dismount, then zoom in with “R-Trigger” while in mid air. If you’ve got decent stamina, it’s actually pretty hard to fail. Use a Lynael Bow, or the Korok Bow you get from the Trial of Wood for multi-shot if you want to be extra sure.
For close range battles with guardians (Hyrule Castle grounds), use your bow that shoots 3 arrows at a time coupled with ancient arrows. It only docks your inventory for one ancient arrow each shot, yet takes out the walking guardians with one hit as it fires three arrows at once (make sure and aim for the eye). I haven’t tried this from far away. I used it from necessity during a lightning storm and my ancient bow broke and the others were metal, except my 3-shot wooden bow. It’s my favorite bow for walking guardians now.