Weapons in Breath of the Wild

features several melee weapons, allowing for Link to deviate from the standard Sword and Shield dynamic. Many of these weapons follow a simple series of archetypes, such as "Boko," "Soldier's," and "Traveler's." "Rusty" weapons deal more damage than the basic Traveler's archetype, though are much more fragile and prone to breaking with little use. Depending on their weight, certain weapons may be able to knock an opponent's Shield out of their hand, opening their defenses.

Link can carry up to eight weapons at a time in his Inventory. If Link takes another weapon while already carrying eight, he will drop the weapon or put it back if it came from a chest. Although he does not actually take the weapon, it will still be identified if it was the first time Link had taken that type of weapon. Each weapon (even duplicate weapons of the same type) occupy its own weapon slot.

Like Shields, weapons can also have modifiers, denoted by descriptors such as "Enhanced" and "Strengthened." These modified weapons may be obtained via dropped loot from enemies or by crafting the base weapon with materials.