There’s plenty to see and do in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Along your journey, you might’ve encountered a deadly Lynel, a creature that resembles a mix between a lion and a centaur. These foes are extremely dangerous and, if you're unprepared, can take you down in just a couple of swipes. There are over 30 of them in the game and each of them yields useful materials that can be Fused to create powerful weapons. But where can you find these creatures and what are the best ways to defeat them? Here’s what you need to know about Lynels in Tears of the Kingdom.
Tears of the Kingdom Lynel Locations
Hyrule
Lynels spawn in mostly fixed locations around the map. Since they’re living, breathing creatures, they do move around a bit, but their general locations are highlighted above (thanks, Zelda Dungeon).
The Depths
The Depths are home to even more Lynels, with 19 of them scattered throughout this area. You’ll find five of them in the Colosseum area in the middle section, just slightly to the west. This is a gauntlet that throws Lynels at you back-to-back, so it’s good to come prepared when tackling this challenge.
How to Defeat Lynels
If you plan on fighting these creatures head-on, we recommend coming equipped with powerful weapons, armor, and plenty of healing items/buffs.
The main strategy is to utilize a bow to stun the creatures before jumping on their backs and unloading on them. Specifically, we recommend jumping from a tall structure to enter slow-mo while aiming your bow. Then, shoot the Lynel in the head, which will stun them, temporarily. You can then run over to their back and mount them, allowing you to attack without getting hit. Keep in mind, you can only mount them for a short time, so you’ll need to repeat this process as many times as it takes.
Once the Lynel is upright, you’ll want to bait them into running at you, and at the last moment, you should parry them. Then, quickly whip out your bow and shoot them in the head with another arrow to stun them once more. Rinse and repeat. This method is fairly consistent but leaves a lot of opportunities for error.
Cheese Method
Thankfully, there’s an extremely easy way to defeat Lynels and it requires the use of the Puffshroom. Throw the Puffshroom down to create a smoke cloud around you, stopping the Lynel in its tracks for a while. While the Puffshroom is active, the Lynel will not target you. In fact, it will put its weapon away completely, freeing it up for attacks. The smoke will eventually disappear, so make sure you’ve got plenty of Puffshrooms on hand to finish the fight. Repeat the process until the Lynel is defeated.
Puffshrooms are found all around trees in The Depths below. We recommend activating Lightroots in The Depths so you can see while exploring. Depending on your weapons and their power, it’s recommended to grab a hefty number of Puffshrooms — potentially around 30 or so. Then, keep revisiting the Depths periodically before hunting Lynels again.
An alternative method is to acquire a weapon with Fuse Cycling, such as the Forest Dweller’s Spear. You can then Fuse a Puffshroom to the weapon, allowing you to continuously reap the benefits of the effects. There’s still a cooldown, but this method allows you to utilize the strategy without having to keep throwing Puffshrooms at the Lynel.
“It's dangerous to go alone!” Check out more of Inverse’s Tears of the Kingdom coverage:
- THE INVERSE REVIEW: Tears of the Kingdom Is the Best Nintendo Switch Game Ever Made
- Tears of the Kingdom’s Best New Mechanic Could Change the Series Forever
- Why Zelda Speedrunners Plan to Take It Slow With Tears of the Kingdom
- Tears of the Kingdom Doubles Down on Breath of the Wild’s Best Inspiration
