Lynel Mini-Boss Guide [The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]

This page contains a mini-boss guide on how to defeat Lynel in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including attacks, patterns and strategy. We will be updating this as we go along.

March 20, 2017 Rin Tohsaka The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 4

A giant centaur-looking creature with limbs resembling part horse, abdomen similar to a man, and a cranium with that of a lion. It is a recurring enemy in the Legend of Zelda games. In Breath of the Wild, it is considered a mini-boss. It wields a lance as a weapon to defend itself. The color of the Lynel’s mane will vary depending on the location it appears in.

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Lynel Mini-boss Guide

Breakdown

Name	HP	Location
Lynel	2000	?
Blue-Maned Lynel	3000	?
White-Maned Lynel	4000	?
Silver Lynel	6000	?

Attacks

Melee

Attack	Description
Bull charge	Runs head-on at full speed.
Lateral sweep	?
Overhead strike	?
Spinning Attack	?

Ranged

Attack	Description
Straight arrow shot	A linear launched arrow.
Trick-shot	Employs a trajectory.
Fire Ball**	Hurls a large and fast fireball.
Fire Explosion**	Emits an earsplitting roar then follows up with a ground slam to cause an explosive Area of Effect.

** means that only the high ranking Lynels have this special ability.

Weaknesses

Face Shot

Drops

Item	Function
Lynel Horn	?
Lynel Hoof	?
Lynel Guts	?
Amber	Dropped only by the Silver Lynel
Opal
Topaz
Ruby
Sapphire
Diamond

Strategy

If you need to hunt for Lynel drops, the bulk of the herd guard the Hyrule Castle.

For a mini-boss, Lynels pack a terrifying punch as these seem to surpass the strengths of Bosses themselves. The White-Maned Lynel and Silver Lynel will surely put you to the ultimate test of endurance.

Do not attempt to face them with Ranged Weapons as their own Bows have unlimited ammunition, with their marksmanship being unparalleled.

There are two different ways to deal with their Fireball attacks. For long ranged projectiles, employ a perpendicular sprint to evade it; whereas for close-ranged ones, perform a diagonal sprint. After a successful dodge, you should be in range to strike the Lynel with a two-handed sword charged attack on its vulnerable spot while it’s preoccupied with unleashing the rest of its attacks.

Dealing with the High-Ranking Lynels would require being cautious of their special move, the Fire Explosion, since they expel a huge AoE. Although it is suggested not to use Ranged Weapons, the window for which they attempt to release the devastating attack is enough to land some Ranged hits as you keep distance or prepare for a Shield guard to avoid damage.

When in a bind, Urbosa’s Fury which can be acquired from finishing the Main Quest Divine Beast Vah Naboris dungeon, would make the fight much easier. To trigger this, deliver the finishing blow of a charged attack. After causing lightning to hurl down, it not only makes the Lynel stagger but also deals tremendous amounts of damage. It is advised to have all three charges when struggling to defeat the Lynels.

Alternatives

Although initially not a recommended tactic, more experienced players may opt to arm themselves with the Ranged bow specifically the multiple-shot ones in certain scenarios. The best time to execute this is either: while the Lynel is about to summon a Fire Explosion attack, or as a follow-up after performing a perfect guard.

To place a shot, focus the camera on the Lynel’s head, then attack with ‘hip fires.’ With the aid of the gyroscope-motion controls, you could put some slight adjustments when aiming.

After making the Lynel stagger, you can perform a couple of strikes unharmed, then follow-up by mounting it using the A button. This grants you to inflict even more strikes, while preventing the weapon from suffering any durability drawbacks. As you get shook out of the mount, quickly draw the Paraglider to perform an additional Arrow shot to the face, while at slow motion.

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