Look at the sky over the Tabantha Frontier and you'll see it. That massive, mechanical bird circling Rito Village like a vulture made of ancient gears and blue flame. It’s Divine Beast Vah Medoh. Most players tackle this one early because, honestly, the reward is basically a "skip climbing" button. But there is a lot of nuance to this mechanical titan that gets glossed over in quick walkthroughs.
You’ve probably heard people call Vah Medoh the "easiest" Divine Beast. That’s kinda true if you’re just looking at the boss fight, but the actual dungeon design and the lore behind Revali’s failure are much deeper than just a bird-shaped puzzle box.
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Getting On Board Vah Medoh
Before you even step foot inside, you have to deal with Teba. He’s at the Flight Range, which is north of Rito Village at Dronoc’s Pass. If you haven’t been there yet, make sure you have cold resistance. You need at least level two protection because it gets freezing up there.
Teba makes you do a little target practice. Use the updrafts to hit five targets in three minutes. Pro tip: use the Falcon Bow he gives you or a Swallow Bow. They have a faster draw speed, which is crucial for mid-air archery. Once you pass, you’re off to the actual assault. You'll be riding on Teba's back while trying to shoot the four cannons protecting the beast with Bomb Arrows.
Stay calm here.
If you run out of stamina while paragliding between shots, you're toast. Teba will catch you, but it's annoying. Just aim for the glowing blue parts of the cannons. Once they’re down, the barrier drops, and you can finally land on the tail.
The Puzzles and That Annoying Map
Inside Divine Beast Vah Medoh, the first thing you need is the map. It's right at the head of the bird. Once you get it, you gain the ability to tilt the entire beast. This is the "gimmick" of this dungeon. You can tilt it up, level, or down.
Terminal 1: The Right Wing
In the main hall, there are these giant stone blocks on rails. Tilt the beast to make them slide. You’re trying to get into the right wing. There’s a switch that opens a window, letting a massive gust of wind in. You need to use Magnesis to hold a windmill in place while the wind spins another one. It sounds complicated, but it’s basically just physics.
Terminal 2: The Sliding Hammer
This one is in the same wing but involves a giant stone battering ram. You need to tilt the beast so the ram slides and hits a switch with enough force to open the gate. Honestly, sometimes it takes two tries to get the momentum right.
Terminal 3: The Left Wing
Now tilt the bird the opposite way. You’ll find a room with a hole in the ceiling and some breakable rocks. Drop a bomb through the hole, let it roll toward the rocks, and boom. Then, drop another bomb, but this time use the wind from the open shutters to blow the bomb across the room to a different set of rocks. This reveals a metal ball. Use Magnesis to position the ball, tilt the beast again, and let gravity do the work to hit the switch.
Terminals 4 and 5: The Underside
These are the ones people miss because they forget the bird has an "outside" that isn't just the top. There’s a gondola underneath the right wing. You have to ride it across by tilting the beast. On the left side, there isn't a gondola; you just have to paraglide across the gap. It’s a long drop, so don't mess up your flight.
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Why Windblight Ganon is a Pushover (Usually)
Once all terminals are active, head to the main control unit on the back of the bird. This triggers the fight with Windblight Ganon.
People joke about this boss being weak.
Compared to Thunderblight Ganon in the desert, Windblight is a cakewalk. In the first phase, he just fires a laser gun and occasionally summons a tornado. If you stay in the updrafts and use slow-motion archery (bullet time), you can just spam arrows into his eye. Triple-shot bows like the Great Eagle Bow (which you get later) or a Duplex Bow make this even faster.
In the second phase, he summons these little drone things. They bounce his lasers around like a pinball machine. It looks scary, but it’s really not. Just keep using the updrafts. If you stay in the air, most of his attacks can't even touch you. If you've got Ancient Arrows, you can end this fight in about sixty seconds.
What Really Happened to Revali?
There is a huge debate in the Zelda community about how Revali actually lost. He was the best archer in Hyrule. He had the high ground. He literally owned the sky. So how did Windblight Ganon kill him 100 years ago?
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Some fans point to the Age of Calamity lore, which suggests Windblight was supported by Guardian Skywatchers, essentially 2-on-1ing him. Others think it was the time of day. Rito have notoriously bad night vision, and the battle likely happened at night. There's also a theory that Revali's ego was his undoing. He was so convinced of his own perfection that he didn't account for Ganon's ability to corrupt the very machinery he was standing on.
When you beat the boss, Revali's spirit is finally freed. He’s still a bit of a jerk to Link, but he gives you Revali’s Gale. This is arguably the most useful ability in the game. It lets you create an updraft anywhere, which makes exploring the rest of Hyrule a thousand times easier.
Things You Probably Missed
Most people finish the beast and never look back. Don't do that. There are some hidden chests that are actually worth getting.
- The Beak Chest: If you go to the very tip of the bird's beak, there is a chest hidden there. You have to tilt the beast up and glide down to it. It usually contains a Giant Ancient Core, which you absolutely need for upgrading the Ancient Armor set.
- The Tail Chest: Right at the start, if you turn around and look at the tail feathers, there’s a chest tucked away behind some Malice.
- The Hanging Chest: In one of the wings, there is a chest hanging by a rope. Shoot the rope and use Magnesis to catch it before it falls into the abyss.
Once you leave the Divine Beast, you can't go back. If you care about 100% completion or just want those Ancient Materials, grab them before you activate the main control unit.
To get the most out of your victory, head back to Rito Village and talk to Kaneli, the elder. He'll give you the Great Eagle Bow, which belonged to Revali. It's one of the best bows in the game because it fires three arrows at the cost of one and has an incredible range. If it breaks, you can always have it rebuilt by Harth in the village, provided you have a Swallow Bow, five bundles of wood, and a diamond.
Go ahead and use that new Gale to reach the top of the pillars around Rito Village. There are a few Korok seeds and chests up there that were a pain to reach before.