Skip to main content

How to get the Hylian Shield in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Link picking up the hylian shield.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a new direction for the series that's also full of callbacks and references to the long lineage of the series. Among various armor and weapons, including the Master Sword, one other iconic piece of equipment from Link's past makes a return, though not unless you go looking for it. The classic Hylian Shield is Link's most trusted defense and is required to complete your classic set. Here's how to get the Hylian Shield in Tears of the Kingdom.

If you need more help, check out our other Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

20 minutes
A map showing hyrule castle in Tears of the Kingdom.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to get the Hylian Shield

Unlike in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Hylian Shield is no longer in the same location. Instead of being inside Hyrule Castle, it is now nearby, but still dangerous to reach.

Step 1: Travel to the northern part of Hyrule Castle Moat.

Step 2: Either sail or find a high point to drop from to land on the docks.

Step 3: Make your way inside the cave to an interior dock.

Step 4: Either fight off or avoid the dangerous enemies on your way to the highest level of the docks.

Step 5: Light the big brazier in the middle of some torches to cause a chest to appear.

Link picking up the hylian shield.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 6: Pop it open and claim your prize!

As strong as it is, the Hylian Shield is not indestructible. If it breaks, you thankfully can repair/replace it if you've got the cash. Cecec will sell rare outfits at her shop after you've done all the sidequests there, including the Hylian Shield, but at a massive cost. She will also only sell them when yours is broken, so you can't ever stack more than one.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
A new Hyrule Warriors is coming this winter that ties into Tears of the Kingdom
zelda hyrule warriors age of imprisonment prequel

 

During the April 2025 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment for Nintendo Switch 2, coming Winter 2025. It's a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom and is a follow up to 2020's Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Read more
Many of your favorite Switch games are getting a Switch 2 Edition
A list of Switch 2 edition games.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct gave us a ton of info on the console's hardware and upcoming games like Mario Kart World, but also highlighted several Switch games getting Switch 2 Editions. A few of these titles shown off include Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond which will all be getting upgrades and some new features when the Switch 2 launches on June 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmDD7JSfhcE

Read more
The best Nintendo franchises, ranked
Nintendo music key art that spotlights several different franchises.

With a stable of iconic franchises like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and more, Nintendo has proven that it knows how to make a series that can stand the test of time. With many series beginning back on the NES and still going strong to this day, it is hard to even keep track of every major Nintendo franchise, let alone rank them. Plus, with more upcoming Switch games on the way, Nintendo hasn't stopped experimenting with new franchises that could end up being huge hits. We did the difficult task of looking back through every console generation, from the launch titles to the last games released on every Nintendo system, to compare and rank every franchise.
10. Splatoon

One of the newest franchises to catch on in a big way is Nintendo's take on a third-person multiplayer shooter. That wasn't a combination of words most people ever expected from a Nintendo-developed game, but the concept of spraying ink around as transforming squid kids was fresh, fun, and totally Nintendo. It has a great style that is nothing like anything else from Nintendo, or any other company for that matter. The single player mode in the last two games were great as well. Because it is such a young series and hasn't evolved much from its core, it can't quite overtake the more long-running franchises that have had the time to branch out.
9. Kirby

Read more