Weapons in Breath of the Wild

features several melee Weapons, allowing 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 they are much more fragile and are prone to break with little use. Heavy Weapons, such as axes, are able to knock an opponent's Shields out of their hand, opening their defenses.

Initially, Link can carry up to eight Weapons at a time in his Inventory; however, he can obtain additional slots by giving Korok Seeds to Hestu. Hestu will upgrade Link's slots up to a full page, or 20 slots, of weapons. If Link takes another Weapon while his inventory is full, he will drop the Weapon or put it back if it came from a Treasure Chest. Although he does not actually take the Weapon, it will still be identified if it was the first time Link had taken that Weapon. Each Weapon, including duplicates, occupies its own slot in the Inventory.

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. Some Weapons can randomly have extra abilities, such as increased durability or attack. These weapons do a shimmering sound and have a golden sparkling when laying on the ground.