So, you’re standing on a cliffside in Akkala, looking out at that giant mechanical salamander crawling all over Death Mountain, and you’re probably thinking one of two things. Either "That looks incredibly cool and I can’t wait to climb it," or "Oh great, another one of those."
Honestly, the Breath of the Wild Divine Beast is a weird beast in itself. Pun intended. For decades, The Legend of Zelda was defined by its dungeons. You know the drill: find a key, find a map, get a special item, kill a boss. Then 2017 happened. Nintendo decided to toss that entire template into the trash and replaced the sprawling, themed temples of old with four giant, clockwork animals. It was a massive gamble.
Vah Ruta, Vah Rudania, Vah Medoh, and Vah Naboris aren't just levels. They are moving pieces of the overworld. They are tragic tombs. They are also, according to a lot of disgruntled fans on Reddit and ResetEra, way too short. But if you look closer at the lore and the actual mechanical design, there’s a lot more going on than just "hit five terminals and leave."
The Tragedy Behind the Machines
Most people forget that the Divine Beasts were actually the heroes' greatest failure. They weren't built by the Sheikah to be puzzles for Link; they were weapons of war. When King Rhoam and the researchers dug them up, they thought they had found a cheat code for defeating Calamity Ganon. Instead, they unknowingly delivered four of Hyrule’s best warriors—Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa—directly to their deaths.
The atmosphere inside these things is heavy. Have you ever just stopped and listened to the music? It starts with erratic, confused notes. As you activate more terminals, the theme becomes more confident, weaving in the musical motifs of the fallen Pilot. By the time you reach the boss, the music is basically screaming at you that the Champions are still there, trapped in the circuitry. It's haunting.
Vah Ruta (the elephant) is usually the one players tackle first. It’s arguably the most iconic because of that emotional gut-punch involving Mipha. The mechanics of the elephant—using the Cryonis tool to climb waterfalls and manipulating the trunk to douse fires—feel like a natural extension of the game's physics. But then you get to Vah Naboris in the desert, and the difficulty curve doesn't just spike; it jumps off a cliff.
Vah Naboris and the Problem with Thunderblight
If there is one Breath of the Wild Divine Beast that haunts players’ nightmares, it’s Vah Naboris. The camel. Specifically, the boss at the end: Thunderblight Ganon.
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Let's be real. Thunderblight is harder than the final boss of the game. He moves at a speed that feels like it belongs in Sekiro or Dark Souls, not a colorful Nintendo adventure. You’re stuck in a cramped, circular room trying to parry a lightning-fast blur while magnetic pillars fall from the ceiling. It’s brutal.
But the actual puzzle design of Naboris is genius. Unlike the other beasts, Naboris requires you to rotate three different segments of its torso to align electrical circuits. It’s a 3D logic puzzle. You aren't just moving through a building; you are rearranging the building's anatomy. It’s frustrating, sure, but it’s also the peak of what Nintendo was trying to do with the "3D puzzle box" concept.
Compare that to Vah Medoh, the giant bird. Most players can clear Medoh in about twenty minutes. You tilt the wings. You glide. You shoot some fans. It’s over. It’s beautiful to look at—flying high above the Hebra Mountains is a top-tier gaming moment—but it lacks the mechanical "oomph" that makes the other beasts feel like a struggle for survival.
Why the "Samey" Aesthetic Actually Matters
The biggest complaint people have is that all the Divine Beasts look the same. They all have that brown, Sheikah-tech aesthetic. No forest temple, no fire temple, no ice temple. Just ancient gears and blue lights.
I get it. It can feel repetitive.
However, from a narrative standpoint, it makes sense. These were mass-produced (sorta) ancient weapons. They were part of a unified defense system. If they all looked different, it would undermine the idea that this was a cohesive civilization that vanished 10,000 years ago. They are sterile because they are machines. They are empty because everyone who lived in them is dead.
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The Mechanics of Control
The Map Screen is the real star of the show. In every other Zelda game, the map is just a reference. In Breath of the Wild, the map is a controller.
- You move the elephant's trunk to change where water falls.
- You tilt the bird to slide platforms across the room.
- You rotate the camel to connect power lines.
- You tilt the salamander to walk on the walls.
This "macro-level" manipulation is something we haven't really seen since. It makes the Divine Beasts feel like they have scale. You aren't just inside a room; you are inside a 100-foot-tall mechanical god that you are slowly wrestling back from Ganon’s control.
The DLC Elephant in the Room
If you felt the original four beasts were too light on content, the Champions' Ballad DLC actually fixed a lot of these grievances. The "Fifth Divine Beast"—the Final Trial—is basically a greatest hits album of the game's mechanics. It’s a subterranean complex that combines fire, water, electricity, and wind into one massive gauntlet.
And the reward? The Master Cycle Zero. Basically a motorcycle fueled by apples and monster parts. It’s ridiculous. It’s awesome. It’s the most "Nintendo" thing ever.
Breaking Down the Beasts
If you're planning your route through Hyrule, you shouldn't just run at the nearest one. Each Breath of the Wild Divine Beast gives you a specific power-up that fundamentally changes how you play the rest of the game.
Vah Ruta (Zora's Domain)
This gives you Mipha’s Grace. It's essentially a free life. If you die, you come back with extra hearts. Honestly, if you're struggling with the game's difficulty, go here first. The boss, Waterblight Ganon, is fairly predictable if you have a decent supply of arrows.
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Vah Medoh (Rito Village)
Revali’s Gale is the game-changer. It lets you create an updraft to fly into the sky. It makes exploration ten times easier. Many veteran players argue you should go here first because it trivializes the climbing mechanics in the rest of the world.
Vah Rudania (Death Mountain)
Daruk’s Protection is a shield that automatically parries attacks. It’s great for Guardian hunting. The beast itself is unique because it starts in pitch black. You have to use torches and glowing blue flames to find your way through the internals of the lizard.
Vah Naboris (Gerudo Desert)
Urbosa’s Fury. This is a massive AOE lightning strike that deletes enemies. It's the most powerful offensive tool in the game. But you have to earn it by beating the hardest dungeon and the hardest boss. Save this for last unless you're a glutton for punishment.
The Legacy of the Divine Beasts
Looking back, especially after Tears of the Kingdom reintroduced more traditional-feeling temples, the Divine Beasts feel like a strange, experimental era for Zelda. They were a rejection of "the way things have always been." They weren't perfect—the bosses all looked like variants of the same sludge monster—but they tried something bold.
They asked the player to think about space and geometry in a way that most games don't. They forced you to look at the "big picture" of a level rather than just the room you were standing in.
If you’re revisiting the game or playing for the first time, don't rush through them. Listen to the way the music changes. Look out the windows at the Hylian landscape moving as the Beast shifts. There’s a quiet, tragic beauty in these mechanical giants that is easy to miss if you’re just checking boxes on a quest log.
Actionable Next Steps for Mastering the Divine Beasts
To get the most out of these encounters, you need to prepare beyond just bringing a sword and a shield.
- Farm Ancient Arrows: Before entering any beast, visit the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. These arrows do massive damage to the Blight bosses and can one-shot the "Sentry" drones inside the beasts.
- Upgrade Your Armor: Do not go into Vah Naboris without at least level-two Rubber Armor or the Thunder Helm (if you've finished the Gerudo side quests). The lightning damage will end your run instantly.
- Cook for Stamina: Especially for Vah Medoh and Vah Ruta, having extra stamina wheels allows you to bypass complex climbing puzzles by simply "brute-forcing" your way up the side of the mechanical structures.
- Watch the Movement: If you get stuck on a puzzle, go to the map screen and move the Beast. Watch how the environment reacts in real-time. Most solutions aren't found in your inventory; they are found by changing the Beast's physical orientation.