If you’ve spent any time wandering the ruins of Hyrule, you know the feeling of hitting a wall. Maybe it’s a Lynel that keeps kicking your teeth in, or maybe it’s just the realization that you’ve explored every inch of the map and still want more. This is where the breath of the wild upgrade pack—more formally known as the Expansion Pass—comes into play. It’s been out for a while now, but people are still stumbling into it for the first time, especially with the surge of players jumping back in after finishing Tears of the Kingdom.
Honestly, calling it an "upgrade pack" is a bit of a misnomer, though that’s how many people search for it. It’s actually two distinct chunks of content: The Master Trials and The Champions' Ballad.
You can’t buy them separately. You’re either all in or you’re out. And for twenty bucks, the value proposition is actually kinda weird when you look at the raw data versus how it actually feels to play.
The Master Sword Dilemma
Let’s talk about the Master Sword. In the base game, it’s... fine? It glows around Malice, it has decent durability, but it’s not exactly the "Blade of Evil's Bane" you’d expect. The breath of the wild upgrade pack fixes this, but it makes you bleed for it.
The Trial of the Sword is essentially a 45-room gauntlet of misery. You start with nothing. No clothes, no weapons, just your wits and whatever tree branches you can scrounge up. If you die, you start the entire set of floors over. It’s brutal. It’s frustrating. It’s also probably the best combat challenge Nintendo has ever designed for a Zelda game. Once you finish all three tiers—Beginning, Middle, and Final—your Master Sword stays in its powered-up state permanently. We’re talking a base attack of 60 and durability that actually feels legendary.
But here’s the thing: most people give up on the Final Trials. It’s not just about hitting things; it’s about resource management. You have to cook wood to survive. Seriously. If you’re low on food, you blow up trees, take the wood, and cook it one by one for a quarter-heart of health. It’s a grind, but it’s a rewarding one.
Hero’s Path and the "Where Was I?" Factor
One of the most underrated features of the breath of the wild upgrade pack isn't even a mission. It’s the Hero’s Path mode.
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Once you install the pack, your map can track your exact movements for the last 200 hours of gameplay. It’s a mess of green lines that shows exactly where you’ve been and, more importantly, where you haven’t. I remember looking at my map after 100 hours and realizing there was a massive chunk of the Hebra Mountains I had never even touched. If you’re a completionist trying to find all 900 Korok seeds, this isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Is The Champions’ Ballad Actually Worth the Hype?
The second half of the breath of the wild upgrade pack is The Champions' Ballad. This is the "story" content.
You get more backstory on Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa. It starts with the One-Hit Obliterator challenge on the Great Plateau, which is exactly what it sounds like. You can kill anything in one hit, but a single bee sting will kill you. It’s high-stakes and changes the rhythm of the game entirely.
After that, you’re sent on a scavenger hunt across Hyrule to unlock new shrines. These aren't the copy-paste combat shrines from the base game. They’re complex, mechanical puzzles that feel like miniature versions of traditional Zelda dungeons.
The Reward Everyone Wants
Let’s be real. Most people buy the breath of the wild upgrade pack for the motorcycle.
The Master Cycle Zero is the final reward for completing the Ballad. It’s a divine beast in bike form. It runs on materials—basically, you shove apples or monster parts into the fuel tank. Does it break the immersion of a fantasy world? Maybe. Is it incredibly fun to launch off the top of Twin Peaks on a dirt bike? Absolutely.
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However, there’s a catch. You can’t use it in the desert, and you can’t use it in the volcano region. It’s a late-game toy that feels like a victory lap. If you’ve already done everything in the game, getting a bike feels a little like getting a car when you’ve already reached your destination.
Hard Mode: Master Mode’s Love-Hate Relationship
The breath of the wild upgrade pack introduces Master Mode. This isn't just "enemies have more health." It’s a fundamental shift in how you play.
- Enemies regenerate health if you stop attacking.
- All enemies are leveled up by one tier (Red Bokoblins become Blue, etc.).
- There are floating platforms with high-tier loot.
- Guardians have delayed shots to mess up your parry timing.
In the beginning, Master Mode is a stealth game. You can’t win direct fights because your weapons will break before the enemy dies. You have to use the environment—boulders, fire, lightning—just to survive a walk to the next stable. It forces you to actually use the mechanics Nintendo built, rather than just mashing the attack button.
But by the mid-game? It levels out. Once you get decent gear, the health regeneration becomes more of an annoyance than a challenge. It’s a polarizing addition. Some people refuse to play any other way; others find it tedious.
Quality of Life or Paid Cheat Codes?
There is a bunch of armor scattered around in the breath of the wild upgrade pack. Majora’s Mask, Midna’s Helmet, the Phantom Ganon set.
Majora’s Mask is essentially a "don't fight me" button. Most common enemies will just sniff you and walk away. It’s great for when you just want to explore without being harassed by a pack of wolves or a stray Lizalfos every ten seconds. But some players feel it devalues the survival aspect of the game.
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Then there’s the Travel Medallion. It lets you place a fast-travel point anywhere on the map. It’s incredibly useful for farming specific dragon parts or Lyenls, but again, it feels like something that perhaps should have been in the base game.
Why Some Fans Feel Let Down
Not everyone loves the breath of the wild upgrade pack. A common criticism is that the "new" story content is mostly just reused assets. You fight the same Blight Ganons again, albeit with limited equipment. The "new" dungeon is great, but it’s only one.
If you’re expecting a whole new region like Blood and Wine for The Witcher 3, you’re going to be disappointed. This is an expansion of the existing world, not an addition of a new one. It deepens the experience rather than widening it.
The Verdict on the Breath of the Wild Upgrade Pack
If you love the world of Hyrule and you aren't ready to leave yet, the pack is a no-brainer. The Master Sword upgrade alone changes the late-game loop significantly. The Master Cycle Zero is the coolest "horse" in the game. And the extra shrines provide some of the best puzzles in the entire Zelda franchise.
But if you’re someone who felt the base game was already too long or got bored with the shrine-hunting loop, this isn't going to change your mind. It’s more Breath of the Wild. It’s harder, denser, and a bit more mechanical.
Actionable Next Steps for New Players
If you’ve just downloaded the breath of the wild upgrade pack, don't try to do everything at once.
- Find the Travel Medallion immediately. It’s located in a chest in the Lomei Labyrinth Island (northeast corner of the map). It will save you hours of backtracking.
- Grab Majora’s Mask early. It’s in the Kolomo Garrison Ruins. Use it when you’re low on weapons and just need to get from point A to point B without dying.
- Don't start the Trial of the Sword until you have at least two full stamina wheels. You’ll need the mobility more than the extra hearts.
- Use the Hero’s Path to find "holes" in your map. Look for the big gaps where no green lines exist; that’s usually where the coolest secrets are hiding.
Ultimately, this pack is about mastery. It takes a game that was already about freedom and gives you the tools to dominate it. Just don't expect it to be easy. Hyrule is still a dangerous place, and now, it's a little bit more dangerous than it was before.