Stalmaster

Stalmasters are recurring Sub-Bosses and Enemies in The Legend of Zelda series.^[1]^{[name references needed]}

Characteristics

Skyward Sword

Target lock: Stalmaster

This is an elite captain of the undead soldiers. When provoked, it has the ability to strike with all four of its sword-wielding arms.

I recommend inflicting damage when the slight gap presents itself as it readies its swords to attack.

Initially, Stalmasters only use two of their arms in combat, wielding two swords, similarly to regular Stalfos. After taking a certain amount of damage, they unfold their two other arms, which also hold Weapons. The full arsenal of the Stalmaster is three swords and an Axe. In this four-armed phase, Stalmasters will generally position their sword so that they can only be struck from one direction at a time. Stalmasters are very aggressive while in their four-armed phase, often striking with all four arms in quick succession. They have a strong charging attack where they first guard themselves with all four Weapons, then lunge forward and swing them outward. Like the regular Stalfos, Stalmasters gradually lose portions of their rib cages as they take damage. When they are close to defeat, their helmets fall off, spawning Hearts.

Another Stalmaster is fought as a Sub-Boss in the Sky Keep. This Stalmaster is accompanied by Cursed Bokoblins.

Other Appearances

Hyrule Warriors

Non-Canon Information

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

Stalmasters appear in Hyrule Warriors as Captains, rather than as Sub-Bosses. Their attack patterns are similar to those of Darknuts, as their eyes will glow red before lunging forward to strike with their swords. Doing so also leaves them vulnerable and exposes their Weak Point Gauge. As with Darknuts, they are also weak to the Boomerang when charging their flurry attack, as well as having their Weak Point Gauge revealed if the Warrior fighting them dodges behind them. When defeated, they may drop Stalmaster Wrist Bones or Stalmaster's Skulls. Due to being based on Darknuts, Stalmasters use a Shield in place in place of their second sword and have their secondary pair of arms tucked in.

Trivia

When the Stalmaster's helmet falls off, it is revealed to have a third eye. This feature, in addition to its four arms, may be a reference to Hindu deities such as Shiva and Kali. The Ancient Cistern in which the Stalmaster first appears in makes many references to Indian religious themes.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names	Meanings
Japanese	スタルマスター (Sutarumasutā) ^{(SSSkyward Sword)}^[3]
German	Stalmeister ^{(HWDEHyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)}	Stalmaster
Spanish^{LALatin American}	Stalfos supremo ^{(HWDEHyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition)}^[2]
This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery

A Stalmaster from Hyrule Warriors
Stalmaster render from Hyrule Warriors
Stalmaster icon from Hyrule Warriors
Stalmaster Mini Map icon from Hyrule Warriors
Stalmaster Adventure Mode icon from Hyrule Warriors
Stalmaster Mini Map icon from Hyrule Warriors Legends
Stalmaster Adventure Mode icon from Hyrule Warriors Legends
Stalmaster icon from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Stalmaster Mini Map icon from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

References

↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 207 ^{(SSSkyward Sword)}
↑ Stalfos supremo — Battlefield Info (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Latin American Spanish version)
↑ Hyrule Encyclopedia, Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd., pg. 180