Moldarach

Moldarachs are recurring Bosses and Sub-Bosses in The Legend of Zelda series.^[2]^[1] Moldarachs go unnamed in the Skyward Sword comic by Mike Krahulik.

Characteristics

Fi

Target lock: Moldarach

An Aracha that has survived its very lengthy larval stage is known as a "Thousand-Year Arachnid," which is precisely what you see before you.

Over 90% of its body is shielded by a tough, chitinous armor that can deflect even the sharpest blade.

The weak points are its overdeveloped pincers, but you must hit each at the right angle relative to the pincer's position to be effective.

This beast has a tendency to bury itself in the sand when it feels its health is endangered.

When it is burrowed below the sand, you can expect at least an 85% chance that it will attempt to stab you with its tail.

I highly recommend removing the creature's environmental advantage by blowing away sand, thereby revealing its position.

Analysis reveals that the creature's central eye will be vulnerable to attack once its pincers have been properly disposed of.

I calculate a near 100% chance that an assault on this weak point will ultimately prove quite fatal.

However, I infer from the armor surrounding the central eye that horizontal, vertical, and diagonal slashes will be entirely ineffective.

Moldarachs are Aracha that have reached the age of one thousand years,^[3] appearing once as a Boss in the Lanayru Mining Facility Dungeon, and again as a Sub-Boss at the Lanayru Shipyard in the Lanayru Sea.

Link first battles a Moldarach in the Lanayru Mining Facility. As Link enters the Dungeon's disused room, the Moldarach springs out of the Sand filling the room, and attacks.

The Moldarach will defend itself with its claws, but once it drops its guard to attack, Link must slash the Eyes inside the claws in the opposite direction that the claws are guarding; if the claw opens vertically, Link must slash it horizontally, and vice-versa. After slashing the Eyes, one of them will turn red and the Moldarach will then attempt to grab Link. The young hero can break free by shaking both Joy-Cons,^{[note 1]} but if he takes too long to escape the Moldarach will stab Link with its stinger. The pellets of the Slingshot stun the Eyes temporarily.

After hitting a claw enough times, it will fall off, and Link must then do the same for the remaining claw. The Moldarach will then burrow under the Sand and try to attack with its stinger by jabbing it at Link, although this attack is easily avoidable with a backflip or a side jump. Link must blow away the Sand covering the arachnid with the Gust Bellows to force it out of the ground. Its Eye will turn red when it begins to charge its stinger attack, which Link must stab until it falls.

Another Moldarach is fought in the Lanayru Shipyard, and is fought using the same strategy.

Other Appearances

Skyward Sword (Krahulik)

Non-Canon Information

The following section is not part of the Zelda canon and should not be taken as such.

This section of the page is incomplete. You can help Zelda Wiki by expanding it.

Trivia

Moldarach's screeches are stock sound effects of pig squeals that are edited to include creaking sound effects.

Nomenclature

Moldarach's name seems to be a portmanteau of mold, a term used throughout The Legend of Zelda series to denote enemies with a long or noteworthy tail (e.g. Moldorm, Twinmold) and often an affinity for sand, and "arachnid".

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names	Meanings
Japanese	モルドガット (Morudogatto) ^{(SSSkyward Sword \| SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[4]
Chinese^{TRTraditional}	魔爾加特 (Móěrjiātè) ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}
Chinese^SISimplified	魔尔加特 (Móěrjiātè) ^{(SSSkyward Sword \| SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[7]
Dutch	Moldarach ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[9] Duizendjarig zandmonster ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[9]	Same as English. Millennial sand monster
French^EUEuropean	Moldgath ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[6] Arthropode millénaire ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[6]	Millennial arthropod
German	Moldoghad ^{(SSSkyward Sword \| SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[5] Dunkler Äonenskorpion ^{(SSSkyward Sword \| SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[5]	Dark Eon Scorpion
Italian	Skorpyo ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[8] Crostaceo millenario ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[8]	Millennial crustacean
Spanish^EUEuropean	Escorpión milenario ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[10] Morgrad ^{(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)}^[10]	Millennial scorpion
This table was generated from Zelda Wiki's translation data.

Gallery

A developmental model of Moldarach from the 2010 demo
Moldarach from Skyward Sword (Krahulik)

Notes

↑ In all versions of Skyward Sword prior to Skyward Sword HD, this required the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to be shaken instead.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Thousand Year-Arachnid
Moldarach — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD)
↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 193
↑ An Aracha that has survived its very lengthy larval stage is known as a "Thousand-Year Arachnid," which is precisely what you see before you. — Fi (Skyward Sword)
↑ Hyrule Encyclopedia, Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd., pg. 209
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Dunkler Äonenskorpion
Moldoghad — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD, German version)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Arthropode millénaire
Moldgath — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD, European French version)
↑ 塞尔达传说：百科全书, New Star Press, pg. 196
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Crostaceo millenario
Skorpyo — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD, Italian version)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Duizendjarig zandmonster
Moldarach — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD, Dutch version)
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 Escorpión milenario
Morgrad — Game Screen (Skyward Sword HD, European Spanish version)