Weapon Strength

All weapons in The Legend of Zelda series have a predefined amount of damage they cause to enemies. Each weapon's strength appears to be a simple multiple in strength of each game's weakest, basic weapon, which is usually the starting sword.

Attack Modifiers
There are various items and actions Link can take that can modify the damage he deals with weapons.

Spin Attack
The spin attack doubles Link's attack strength with whichever sword he is using.

Jump Attack
The jump attack has twice the damage with a sword as a normal attack.

Ocarina of Time
Unlike in Majora's Mask, there is no enemy in Ocarina of Time that is universally affected by most weapons, has a low threat level, and that takes a lot of hits to defeat. Instead to determine the strength of various weapons, the amount of hits they each take to beat various enemies must be compared. The strengths of various swords and weapons found in Ocarina of Time, with the Kokiri Sword set at one, is as follows:

Majora's Mask
The strength of the swords of Majora's Mask may best be measured by the amount of normal strikes it takes to kill a full-sized Dodongo. This method can be used to find the strength of almost anything that can be used as a weapon in Majora's Mask. Here is a table of the weapons, the number of hits required, and the weapons' strengths with the Kokiri Sword's being set at one:

* Determining this value takes logic. If both the sword and the disk cause the same amount of damage, then both of them together will cause twice the damage. AND contrary to what many people assume, it is indeed possible to do this. And it is easier with other enemies than it is with a Dodongo. ** These are the spikes that Goron Link has when he is using magic while rolling. *** Determining this value takes logic. First drop a Powder Keg on a Dodongo. It will then take eight hits with the Zora Fins to kill it. This means that the Powder Keg took off four hits worth, meaning that three Powder Kegs would have killed it.

The Wind Waker
There are a large variety of items that may be used as weapons in The Wind Waker. It has more items that Link can pick up and use as weapons. Pigs and Moblins are good ways to test the strength of various weapons as they both take many hits, are not particularly dangerous, and are affected by nearly every weapon. Unlike the other games, The Wind Waker includes a feature to see an enemy's remaining life energy, through the use of the Hero's Charm. This can be used to aid in the judgement of the relative strengths. The Wind Waker's' weapons also have the unique property of damaging anyone it hits, no matter who that is or who is wielding it, whether that is Link or an enemy. The strengths of the various weapons, relative to the Hero's Sword, are as follows:


 * The Light Arrow has no fixed amount of damage. It simply destroys normal foes, and merely stuns bosses.