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Zelda: Breath of the Wild - How To Start Champions' Ballad DLC
Here's how to set Link down his path to conquering new shrines and collecting new equipment in the Champions' Ballad DLC pack.
Kevin Tucker
Champions' Ballad, the second DLC pack in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Expansion Pass, has finally arrived. Within the expansion, adventurers will find a host of new content primarily in the form of new gear and some tough new challenges to face. Assuming players are up to snuff, they'll be rewarded with some of the most useful items in the game, including new armor, new equipment, new weapons, and what modern ride-or-die types refer to as a steel horse — a fully-functional motorcycle based on Hyrulean Ancient technology.
Granted, all of this loot is locked behind several challenging quests new to the Champion's Ballad DLC pack, so the first step toward earning those rewards is to kick off the new quests. Here's how to get started with the new content from the Breath of the Wild Champions' Ballad DLC and a brief look at what sort of challenges to expect.
How To Start The Champions' Ballad DLC in Breath of the Wild
One of the prerequisites for starting the Champions' Ballad DLC quests is taking down the main game's four Divine Beasts. By now, most players will have already done this at least once, but if you haven't, check out some of our Breath of the Wild guides to help regain control of the Beasts and use their power to take down Calamity Ganon.
Assuming all of that is out of the way, and that the Expansion Pass data has been downloaded and properly updated, the next step is to simply start up the game. After doing so, Hyrulean heroes will hear the disembodied voice of Zelda pointing them in the proper direction.
"Link... I have witnessed your journey. You have overcome every challenge laid before you. All of the Divine Beasts are now free. With the strength you have attained I am certain you can unlock the powerful force hidden within you. Go to the Shrine of Resurrection and return the Sheikah Slate to its terminal."
After this bit of exposition, players will find a number of new quests in their quest log, including the EX Ancient Horse Rumors quest at Highland Stable and the EX Royal Guard Rumors quest at Riverside Stable. Ignore those for now and head back to the Shrine of Resurrection. Place the Sheikah Slate into the terminal to activate the Divine Beast Tamer's Trial. Doing so will activate four different Bokoblin camps on the map — these will be player's primary destinations.
After this, Link will be granted access to the new Obliterator weapon, which is capable of destroying any enemy in a single hit. There's a trade-off, though: when picking up the weapon, Link's health is reduced to just one quarter of a heart. Facing the challenges ahead means that enemies are now just as vulnerable as Link himself is, and players will be putting their prowess in combat to the ultimate test. It likely goes without saying that high-level armor won't do the Hero any good in this situation, so ditch any armor that increases overall defense and equip some that provides any other preferable bonus, like the Stealth Armor for quieter movement and increased movement speed at night.
From here, the game allows players to choose from any of the new markers where Bokoblins have set up camp, and the Hero of Time will be tasked with taking them all down in order to reveal the hidden Shrines. This won't be easy, so it's recommended that players take a stealthy approach and remember that the Obliterator can only take out two enemies before being recharged. The Shrines, of course, house even tougher challenges than this, but it's beyond their sheer walls that players can expect to earn some of the biggest new rewards featured in the Champions' Ballad DLC.
Stay tuned for further updates as we dive futher into the Champions' Ballad DLC, including specific breakdowns of each of the new shrines as well as where to find all of the expansion's best new items and gear.
Guides Editor
Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Champions' Ballad
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