How Many Hours of Gameplay Does the Breath of the Wild DLC Add?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild offers a massive open world already, but the downloadable content (DLC) included in the Expansion Pass adds a considerable number of extra gameplay hours. As someone who has completed everything in both the main game and DLC, I‘m going to break down exactly how much playtime the additional content provides.

Overview of the Expansion Pass DLC

Let‘s first recap what is included in the Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass, which contains two separate DLC packs:

The Master Trials (DLC Pack 1)

Released in June 2017, the Master Trials focuses more on adding new features and game modes, including:

• Trial of the Sword – A multi-level challenge with 45 rooms to defeat enemies and power up the Master Sword.

• Master Mode – A new harder difficulty where enemies regenerate health and are upgraded a tier (red become blue, blue become black, etc). Floating platforms with powerful enemies are also added.

• Hero‘s Path Mode – Displays the last 200 hours of Link‘s path traveled on the map. Helpful for keeping track of where you‘ve explored.

• Travel Medallion – Creates a custom fast travel point anywhere in the world. Extremely convenient.

• Extra Treasure Chests – Adds chests containing useful equipment like Majora‘s Mask, Midna‘s Helmet, and Korok Mask.

The Champions‘ Ballad (DLC Pack 2)

Released in December 2017, the Champions‘ Ballad offers more traditional DLC content:

• New Story Quests – Additional main story acts focusing on Princess Zelda and the fallen Champions. Over 3 hours of added story content and cutscenes.

• 16 New Shrines – Traditional puzzle shrines similar to the 120 in the base game. Includes 1 modest test of strength.

• New Divine Beast – Divine Beast Tamer Trials with unique challenges and bosses.

• Master Cycle Zero Mount – A motorcycle that can be summoned as Link‘s personal mount after completing the Divine Beasts.

• Extra Equipment – New treasure chests containing armor, such as the Ancient Horse Gear which boosts mount speed.

How Much Gameplay Time Does Each DLC Pack Add?

Here‘s a breakdown of how many hours I clocked completing everything in each DLC pack, compared to a regular playthrough:

So if you just rushed the critical path, The Master Trials adds only about 1 extra hour, while The Champions‘ Ballad tacks on 3 more hours.

But for players like myself aiming to complete all side content, The Master Trials adds around 5 more hours, while The Champions‘ Ballad contributes a hefty 18 additional hours!

Adding up both DLC packs, they provide approximately 23 more hours of gameplay for a 100% completionist run. That‘s almost an entire extra day‘s worth of playtime!

The Most Worthwhile DLC Additions in My Opinion

While the full Expansion Pass is absolutely worthwhile, these are the parts I found added the most value overall:

• The Champions‘ Ballad Story – Learning more backstory about Zelda, the Champions, and the ancient technology was incredibly rewarding as a fan of the lore. The emotional cutscenes made the climax even more impactful.

• Master Cycle Zero – Roaming Hyrule on a motorcycle is an absolute blast and makes traversing faster and more fun. I enjoy summoning it just to ride around.

• Trial of the Sword – This intense challenge really tests your combat skills. Working up from modest beginnings to earn the powered-up Master Sword is hugely satisfying.

• Hero‘s Path Mode – The ability to visualize where I‘ve been helped me clean up the map and find areas I may have missed. Plus seeing the path Link has traveled is cool.

When Should You Play the DLC?

While the DLC can be accessed pretty much anytime after leaving the Great Plateau, here are my recommendations:

• Play the Champions‘ Ballad story content after completing the 4 Divine Beasts, so the extra context makes the most sense.
• Complete the 16 new shrines whenever you want added puzzles. I found a few provided creatively fun challenges.
• Take on Trial of the Sword midway through or after you‘ve upgraded armor and collected some health boosts. It‘s extremely tough!
• Explore in Master Mode on a second playthrough when you want more intense combat.

Either way, I highly recommend the Expansion Pass if you liked Breath of the Wild!