What Armor Should I Wear Against Ganon in Breath of the Wild?

If you‘re looking to take down Calamity Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Ancient Armor set is your top choice for protection and damage capability. With its Guardian resistance and ancient/Guardian weapon damage boost, you‘ll have the best defense and offense against Ganon‘s deadly high-tech attacks. Read on below for more details on the Ancient Armor, other good options, battle strategies for each phase, and exactly how to prepare to defeat Ganon and save Hyrule!

Ancient Armor – The Clear Winner

Let‘s start by taking a closer look at why the Ancient Armor is so effective against Calamity Ganon:

• Provides resistance specifically to Guardian attacks – Ganon uses similar ancient Sheikah technology in his moveset, so you take less damage
• A whopping 80% damage bonus when paired with Ancient and Guardian weapons – excellent for maximizing your DPS
• Solid 36 base defense when fully upgraded – the ancient proficiency makes up for the lower base defense compared to other sets

Here‘s how to get your hands on this vital armor:

• Located in the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab region
• Purchase each piece (helmet, cuirass, greaves) for a total of 6000 rupees
• Upgrade each piece twice using Ancient Materials found across Hyrule – increases both defense and damage bonus

Check out this guide for specifics on where to find the full Ancient Armor set and how to upgrade it to max level.

With the Ancient Proficiency set bonus stacked with a powerful Ancient weapon like the Ancient Bladesaw or Guardian Sword++, you‘ll be dishing out 220 damage per hit against Ganon. Absolutely massive!

Solid Alternatives For Offense & Defense

While the Ancient Armor is your best bet overall, here are a few other good armor options and when you may want to use them:

The Barbarian Armor can be great if you want to focus on brute force damage. Pair it with some mighty triple Attack Up dishes for the hardest hits! However, it lacks any specific damage resistances.

Situationally, the elemental protection sets like the Rubber Armor can be very handy for phases with lots of fire, ice or electric attacks. But their lower defense ratings may leave you too vulnerable.

And while not particularly protective, the Champion‘s Tunic allows you to see enemy HP bars – very useful for gauging Ganon‘s remaining health during the lengthy fight!

No matter what armor you pick, upgrading it fully will provide the best defense. Don‘t forget to use armor modifiers like the Ancient Proficiency bonus too!

Meals & Elixirs To Boost Health and Endurance

Your armor can only mitigate so much damage. Cooking up some hearty and enduring meals is strongly advised to give you extra hearts and stamina during the demanding Ganon showdown.

Try cooking 5 Hearty ingredients together for full heal +20 bonus hearts:

• Hearty Salmon
• Hearty Radish
• Hearty Blueshell Snail
• Hearty Durian
• Hearty Truffle

For triple stamina recovery, whip up 5 Enduring ingredients like Staminoka Bass, Tireless Frog, or Bright-Eyed Crab. Having extra stamina to dash, flurry rush, and bullet time really helps!

Ideally take both a triple heart and stamina dish right before entering the sanctum. These will replenish health and endurance during the intense fight.

Gear Checklist For Ganon

Make sure you gear up properly before the big showdown:

• Master Sword – if you‘ve completed the trials, it will have a lasting powered-up state against Ganon. Plus bonus damage to Ganon specifically.
• Ancient & Guardian Weapons – axe, sword, spear, bladesaw. Their damage bonus to Ganon is huge.
• Bows – Bomb, Ancient, Golden and Lynel bows are your hardest hitters.
• Shields – Hylian Shield and Ancient Shields recommended for defense.
• Ancient Arrows – useful for destroying Ganon‘s Phase 2 shield and stunning him. But arrows in general are important.
• Champion Abilities – Daruk‘s Protection, Urbosa‘s Fury, Mipha‘s Grace and Revali‘s Gale can really help in a pinch.

I‘d recommend collecting Guardian parts and some Ancient weapons before even attempting Ganon. Their extra damage versus his ancient tech is just too useful.

Stock up on your most powerful weapons, bows, shields and arrows before heading to the sanctum. You‘ll need everything you‘ve got!

Free The Divine Beasts First (Optional)

Before challenging Calamity Ganon directly, consider freeing the 4 Divine Beasts across Hyrule. Here‘s how they can help you:

• Each freed Divine Beast will damage Ganon up to 1/8 of his total HP right off the bat in Phase 1.
• Their champion pilot will temporarily distract him at key moments in the fight, creating openings to attack.
• You‘ll gain special abilities from each champion like Urbosa‘s Fury and Daruk‘s Protection to use against Ganon.

So freeing all 4 Divine Beasts weakens Ganon substantially right away by up to 50% HP. That‘s huge! Their champion abilities are extremely handy too.

However, this step is optional – skilled players have proven Ganon can be defeated without freeing any Divine Beasts at all if you prefer to skip it. But they do make the fight much easier.

Obtaining The Master Sword

The legendary Master Sword is Link‘s iconic weapon. While not essential, it‘s very useful against Calamity Ganon:

• Deals double damage against Ganon specifically
• Never breaks against Ganon – stays powered up
• Has base power of 30 which is higher than most weapons

To obtain it before facing Ganon:

• You‘ll need at least 13 hearts
• Travel to the Lost Woods and make it through (follow the torch lights)
• Find the sword in the Korok Forest and pull it from its pedestal

With the Master Sword in hand, you‘ll have a dependable heavy hitter that won‘t ever break during the demanding battle. But again, it‘s not required if you missed it.

Battle Strategies For Each Phase

Ganon has multiple forms across 3 phases. Here are tips for each:

Phase 1:

• Target and spin attack his feet and use openings wisely
• Climb up when he‘s stunned and axe slash the glowing target on his back
• Use arrows when he‘s floating in the air out of reach
• Cryonis can help you reach his back by making ice pillars to stand on

Phase 2:

• Use Ancient Arrows to break his shield and stun him, exposing the glowing target
• Create cryonis blocks to flurry rush and mount him, then strike the target
• Headshots with the bow when he‘s charging his laser are effective

Final Phase:

• Shoot the glowing targets around the room with Bomb Arrows or your Divine Beast‘s Light Bow
• Keep mobile using the pillars for cover and look for openings
• Attack any exposed eye or glowing point with your strongest weapons

The key throughout is targeting and exploiting Ganon‘s weak points during every brief opening. Timed dodges, parries and Ancient Arrows will help stagger him so you can get hits in. Stay patient and don‘t get greedy!

In Conclusion

No doubt, Calamity Ganon presents a serious challenge. But with the proper preparations – namely equipping the formidable Ancient Armor set and weapons – you‘ll have the damage and protection needed to take him down. Cook up some hearty and enduring meals to keep your health and stamina topped up during the demanding battle. Commit his attack patterns to memory and strike when you see an opening rather than wasting hits. Don‘t lose hope if you die a few times learning Ganon‘s moves – with practice and the right gear, you‘ll be victorious!

Let me know in the comments if this guide was helpful for you, or if you have any other tips for defeating the Scourge of Hyrule. Together we can restore peace to this beautiful land of Hyrule!