TotK Final Battle Walkthrough: Hyrule Castle Chasm to Demon Dragon

Destroy Ganondorf is the last main quest in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Once the five sages have awakened, the quest tells you to head to the deepest area of the Depths beneath Hyrule Castle and defeat Demon King Ganondorf. This page follows that route in order: what to bring, which enemies wait in each room, how the army fight works, and the final string of battles. Boss health and move details live on the Ganondorf boss page; this page covers the route.

What should you prepare before the final battle?

The quest text says Purah suspects the Depths and suggests working with Josha. You can skip that: even without the quest or the investigation, you can dive into Hyrule Castle Chasm and fight your way to the end.

What to bring:

• Sunny meals. Gloom eats away at your hearts on the way, and normal healing does not fix it. Sunny dishes (Sundelion, Sun Pumpkin) do. This matters most, so bring several.
• Gloom resistance. Warding dishes (Dark Clump is the only ingredient with the effect) or the Depths set from the Bargainer Statues reduce how many hearts gloom takes.
• Defense and extra hearts. The game sets no heart requirement. Ganondorf’s heavy weapon attacks reportedly deal seven to nine hearts to Link without armor, so high-defense armor helps. Temporary hearts from Hearty food are reportedly lost first, which soaks up some gloom damage.
• Spare weapons and shields. The route and the army fight burn through a lot of gear.
• Crowd control. Muddle Buds turn enemies on each other and Bomb Flowers blast a whole group, both handy in the army fight.
• Stronger sages. Upgrade each sage’s avatar with Sage’s Wills at a Goddess Statue.

To add hearts or stamina first, see hearts or stamina. If you still need the Master Sword, see the Master Sword step in the main quest order.

Can you fight Ganondorf without finishing the temples?

Yes, but it gets much harder:

• Uncleared temples: after the army fight, the boss of each temple you skipped appears and you fight it yourself (Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo, Seized Construct). Reportedly your health and gloom-damaged hearts do not recover between them.
• Sages you have not awakened do not help in the army fight or against Ganondorf.
• If you skipped the Phantom Ganon fight in Crisis at Hyrule Castle, you fight it here too.
• Without the Master Sword, you can reportedly still finish; Link picks it up from the Light Dragon’s head before the Demon Dragon fight.

How do you get from Hyrule Castle Chasm to Gloom’s Lair?

Video walkthrough

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom - Destroy Ganondorf Quest Walkthrough (Ganon Location) — YouTube

1. Dive into Hyrule Castle Chasm. It sits on the ground directly below the castle’s Sanctum. On the way down you can see Camobatures Lightroot to the north; activate it when you land.

2. Head south past the Shock Likes. You land in Gloom’s Approach. Walk south: three Shock Likes cling to the walls, so clear them before you go further down.
3. The Horriblin room. Five Black Horriblins hang from the walls in the next room. Clear them, then climb the south wall.
4. Electric Keese and a White-Maned Lynel. Five Electric Keese wait at the top. Further south, a White-Maned Lynel prowls a pit; fight it or skip it and head for the next room.
5. The collapsing floor. The floor in the next corridor gives way. That is fine: in the room below, stand on one of the falling blocks and use Recall to ride it back up.
6. The Ice Like tunnel. Three Ice Likes and some Ice Keese guard the way. Get past them and the floor drops again, all the way to the bottom.
7. The sages leave. At the bottom the message “The power of a sage cannot reach you.” appears. From here until the army fight you are on your own. Lizalfos wait at the bottom, including a Silver Lizalfos.
8. Fly over the broken bridge. A Silver Moblin patrols the far side of a broken bridge to the north. The floor ahead crumbles and spawns Gloom Spawn (the hands that reach out of gloom), so do not walk across. Take a Wing from the side room and fly over; a Fan or a Rocket on it helps.
9. The Forgotten Foundation. The path leads down into the Forgotten Foundation, where the game began. A Silver Bokoblin waits at the bottom of the stairs, and four Gibdos fill the corridor beyond: hit them with fire or electricity first so ordinary weapons can hurt them.
10. Break the rock wall. Rocks block the doorway at the end of the corridor. Smash them with a hammer-type weapon or bombs to reach the mural room from the opening.

11. On to the Imprisoning Chamber. On the right (east) side of the mural room another passage is blocked by rocks. Open it and follow it to the Imprisoning Chamber, then jump down into Gloom’s Lair.
12. Save before you drop. Follow the path through Gloom’s Lair to the ledge at its end; dropping off it starts the fight. If you have the Travel Medallion, place it on this ledge so you can warp out to restock.

How do you beat the Demon King’s Army?

After you drop, the sages you have awakened arrive and fight the Demon King’s Army with you. The bar at the top of the screen is shared by the whole army, and the next group only appears once the current one is down. There are four waves:

The game’s placement data also puts a Black Boss Bokoblin and four Moth Gibdos in the arena. Open on the Gibdo wave with fire or electricity as usual. Muddle Bud arrows into the crowd make enemies fight each other, and Bomb Flowers hit a whole group at once.

After the army, the temple bosses appear together. For temples you cleared, the sages hold the bosses back; for the rest, you fight them yourself. Then follow the passage to Gloom’s Origin, where Ganondorf waits at the end.

How do you beat Demon King Ganondorf?

This is a three-phase fight. Moves and counters for each phase are on the Ganondorf boss page.

• When this fight begins, the Master Sword is restored, and it does not run out against Ganondorf or the Phantom Ganons.
• His gloom attacks take a heart away that does not come back during the fight, and Sunny food cannot restore it either. Dodging is what matters: when a ring of gloom fire appears, run out through the gap.
• Beam Emitters deal only 20% damage to him, so do not rely on them.

How do you beat the Demon Dragon?

When Ganondorf falls, he swallows his Secret Stone, becomes the Demon Dragon and bursts into the sky, and the Light Dragon comes to your aid. The fight takes place in the air; if you fall too low, the Light Dragon catches you and carries you back up.

1. Hit the weak points on its back. Glide down from the Light Dragon’s head, land on a glowing eye cluster on the Demon Dragon’s back and strike it with the Master Sword until it bursts. There are four on its back. Standing on the dragon too long causes gloom damage.
2. Hit the Secret Stone on its head. Once all four are gone, the Secret Stone glows on its head. Land on it, attack it, and follow the on-screen prompt for the final blow.
3. Catch Zelda. After the final blow, hold the button the prompt shows to dive and catch the falling Zelda. The ending begins.

The Demon Dragon has 6,000 health. Health per weak point and the Master Sword’s damage multiplier are on the Ganondorf boss page.

Can you miss anything, and what happens after?

No. The game does not save after the ending: when the credits finish you return to your last save before the final battle, now marked with a star, with all your items, and you can fight the final battle again. So use your best meals and weapons freely.

To see the extra scene after the credits, finish every other main quest, including the Dragon’s Tears, before you defeat Ganondorf. For what happens to your save and what is left to do, see the post-game page; temple boss strategies are on the temple bosses page.