BotW Lynel Farming: Best Lynels to Farm and How to Beat Them

Lynels are the toughest regular monster in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the best paid: their guts sell for 200 rupees, their weapons are among the strongest in the game, and the Silver ones drop gems. This page picks the Lynels worth farming, sums up the fight, and shows what each kill gives you. All 22 locations with a map are on the Lynel locations page.

Which Lynels should you farm?

Pick Lynels that rank up with your world level, so they turn Silver late in the game, and that stand close to a shrine you can warp to. Distances below are from the game’s placement data.

All of these rank up. The Lynels on Ploymus Mountain and in Hyrule Castle’s First and Second Gatehouses stay at their grade for good, so they never become Silver.

The Sha Gehma group is the strongest choice once you can handle a White-Maned Lynel: warp to Sha Gehma Shrine, clear all three, and warp back after the next Blood Moon. It is snowfield, so bring cold protection. Earlier in the game, start with the red pair near Ishto Soh Shrine.

How do you beat a Lynel quickly?

1. Shoot it in the head. A headshot stuns it and it kneels.
2. Mount it. Run round while it is down and climb on its back. Hits you land while riding it cost no weapon durability, so use your strongest weapon here.
3. Parry what it swings. Up close, a Perfect Guard blocks its sword or crusher, its head charge, its fireballs and its fire blast. A well-timed dodge opens a Flurry Rush instead.
4. Repeat until it falls.

More on each attack is on the Lynel page.

What does each kill give you?

These are the game’s drop tables. On top of these, a Lynel leaves the weapons it carries and its arrows. In the placement data, red Lynels carry Lynel weapons and the Lynel Bow, Blue-Maned ones the Mighty Lynel set and White-Maned ones the Savage Lynel set; Silver Lynels reportedly carry Savage Lynel weapons too. See the best weapons and the Savage Lynel Crusher.

What are Lynel parts for?

Since White-Maned and Silver Lynels always drop one guts, 24 kills cover every upgrade. The Barbarian set takes the most; see the Barbarian set and upgrade materials.

For gems from Silver Lynels and other monsters, see gem farming. The sequel’s Lynels, most of them in the Depths, are on Tears of the Kingdom Lynel locations.