How to find (and beat) Lynels in Breath of the Wild

Lynels are some of the toughest opponents in Breath of the Wild, but they drop some of the best gear, and you'll need to collect plenty of their body parts to upgrade your Barbarian armor - so here's our guide to finding and beating them.

Where to find Lynels

Your first encounter with a Lynel is likely going to be on Mount Ploymus, collecting the Shock Arrows for your assault on Divine Beast Vah Ruta – but you probably won't be able to take it on at this stage. If you've forgotten how to get there, travel to Zora's Domain and swim up the waterfalls to the north east.

There are multiple white-maned Lynels on the Tabantha Tundra. One is west of Qaza Tokki Shrine (in the North Lomei Labyrinth) and another is south of Sha Gehma Shrine. White-maned Lynels are tougher than their red and blue counterparts, but drop better gear – like the Savage Lynel Sword, which packs a whopping 58 attack.

We've also found a red-maned Lynel on Oseria Plains, east of Ishto Soh Shrine (south west of Lake Tower), and a blue-maned Lynel south of Rok Woods (west of the Akkala Tech Lab).

This list is by no means exhaustive – we'll be adding to this as we find them. If you've found one, feel free to help us out in the comments.

Our recommended load-out

• 12+ hearts
• Stasis+
• Shock or Fire Arrows
• Armor upgraded at least twice, preferably three times
• Multiple swords with at least 30 damage
• Great Eagle Bow (obtained after capturing Vah Medoh) – or better
• Mipha's Grace spell (obtained after capturing Vah Ruta) – this isn't necessary, but it's a nice to have if you make a mistake
• Hearty Fried Wild Greens (obtained by cooking a Hearty Truffle or Hearty Radish) – this will replenish all your hearts, and grant 3 to 5 extra temporary hearts – its wise to keep plenty of these on hand even when you're not hunting Lynels

The easiest way to beat a Lynel

1. Use Stasis+
2. Shoot an arrow into the Lynel's face, which should stun it once Stasis wears off
3. Sprint up to the Lynel and mount it (by pressing A), then attack until you get bucked off
4. Repeat

Stasis+ doesn't last as long as you might expect, but gives you more than enough time to aim your bow.
Once you get into the rhythm here, you should be able to take down a white-maned Lynel without needing to use any healing items.

More tips

• You can use the Camera rune to identify which color the Lynel is, before you get up close
• Backflip dodging the Lynel's swipe attack will trigger a Flurry Rush
• If the Lynel is charging without its weapon drawn, the easiest thing to do is use your shield (hold ZL), and it will back off – buying you more time for your Stasis to recharge
• An alternative to the shield counter is timing a sidestep correctly, which will trigger a Flurry Rush
• When the Lynel starts charging its stomp attack (while stationary), sprint out of the area of effect, or shoot arrows in its face to stun it

What a Lynel can drop

• Lynel Horn, Lynel Hoof, and Lynel Guts (which you'll need to upgrade your Barbarian armor)
• Up to 20 Shock Arrows or Fire Arrows

Blue-maned Lynel

• Mighty Lynel Crusher (54 attack)
• Mighty Lynel Sword (30 attack)

White-maned Lynel

• Savage Lynel Bow (3 x 32 attack)
• Savage Lynel Crusher (78 attack)
• Savage Lynel Shield (62 defense)
• Savage Lynel Spear (30 attack)
• Savage Lynel Sword (58 attack)

Again, this list is by no means exhaustive - just what we've seen so far.