TotK Enemy Scaling: How Monsters Level Up, Silver Enemies

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom keeps the system from Breath of the Wild: the game adds up a hidden point total as you defeat enemies, and past each threshold some monsters switch to a stronger color, while the weapons they carry and the horns fused to them get better too. This page uses the game’s parameter tables to explain where the points come from, at how many points each monster changes, and why some monsters in the same place change while others don’t. For the earlier game’s rules see Breath of the Wild enemy scaling.

What makes enemies get stronger?

Only the points from defeating enemies. Each kill adds points by enemy type:

• Red and blue small fry give no points. Bokoblins, Blue Bokoblins and the like are not in the point table. A Black Bokoblin is worth 15, a Silver Bokoblin 25, Lynels 50 to 120, a Gleeok 150 and the King Gleeok 180.
• Each temple boss is worth 300 for its first two defeats. That goes for Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo and the Seized Construct; their Depths rematches are worth 100 each. Demon King Ganondorf (2nd Form) is worth 800.
• Reportedly every other enemy type counts for its first 10 kills, as in the previous game.
• Reportedly your technique adds a bonus. A Perfect Guard, a Perfect Dodge or a kill without taking damage make that enemy worth extra points; the parameter table tracks these counts but doesn’t list the multipliers.

At how many points does each monster change color?

These are the thresholds at which flagged monsters change color, taken from the game’s upgrade table:

Constructs go up by grade instead:

The armored Lynels in the Depths need a little more: 3,900, 5,600 and 8,400. Armored Bokoblins use the same thresholds as ordinary ones.

Do the horns on enemy weapons change too?

Yes. Enemies often carry weapons with a monster horn fused on, and those horns also switch to a stronger color with your points, so the fused weapons you pick up from enemies late in the game hit harder:

Construct horns work the same way: the Soldier Construct Horn moves up a grade at about 1,067, 1,867 and 3,333 points, and the Captain Construct Horn at about 1,333, 2,800 and 4,267. Bonus and weapon-upgrade thresholds are on the weapon bonuses page; horn attack values are in the Fuse guide.

Why do only a few monsters in one place change?

Because only monsters with the scaling flag change. Every monster on the map has its own setting. Counting placement records on the surface (sky and caves included) and in the Depths:

Only about one Bokoblin in six scales, against roughly half of the Moblins. Most Lynels keep their placed color; three are placed as Silver from the start, all in the Depths — see Lynel locations.

Why did the monsters at a camp turn black?

1. Your points passed a threshold and the flagged monsters changed. Reportedly, as in Breath of the Wild, a monster’s color is decided by your current points when it spawns again; the Blood Moon respawns every defeated monster, so that is when the change is easiest to see.
2. It was black or Silver from the start. Many camps are placed that way, especially in the Depths: 93 of the 94 Silver Bokoblin records are in the Depths, as are 23 of the 24 Silver Moblins and every Silver Lizalfos and Silver Horriblin. Meeting Silvers as soon as you reach the Depths doesn’t mean your points are already high.

See also

• Enemies overview
• Bokoblins
• Weapon bonuses
• Temple bosses
• Breath of the Wild enemy scaling