'Zelda: Breath of the Wild' Waterblight Ganon Guide: How to beat the Vah Ruta boss

Zelda games live or die by their dungeons and boss battles, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is no different. As part of Link's quest, you'll have to free all four Divine Beasts from Ganon's corruption, and one of those is Vah Ruta, who's hanging out near Zora's Domain. It's always good to stock up on Spirit Orbs for heart containers if you're planning on fighting a boss, but if you need a little help on how to beat Waterblight Ganon in Vah Ruta, we've got you covered with a few tips and tricks. 

Zelda: Breath of the Wild Waterblight Ganon guide: How to beat phase one

SwitchForce recently posted a video walkthrough showing Waterblight Ganon's various attacks so you can be familiar with those patterns before engaging the boss yourself. 

In its first form, Waterblight Ganon will mainly stick to using its giant spear to sweep back and forth across the arena or, in some cases, lunging directly at you. It will also chuck its spear at you, which is particularly deadly. So watch out. 

If you're not confident in your ability to flurry rush, wait for moments where you can shoot Waterblight Ganon with arrows. After he does his forward thrust is a great time to unload on him if you're trying this tactic. Aim for the blue portion of his head, where the arrow is pointing, for maximum damage potential.

If you hit Waterblight Ganon enough it will fall over in pain. At that point you should run up to it and attack with your most powerful weapon. You'll have a few moments before it gets back up. So don't hold back.

Once you take off about half of his health this way, Ganon will change up his tactics and you'll enter into phase two.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild guide: How to beat Waterblight Ganon's second phase

For this phase, Waterblight Ganon raises the water level on you, forcing you to hang out on one of four elevated platforms situated around the room. In this phase, Waterblight Ganon will hang back and summon ice blocks to fire at you. Use your Cryonis ability to shatter them or shoot them down with arrows — it's up to you. Then, when you have a chance, fire a few arrows at enemy's eye.

Deal enough damage he'll fall onto the platform he's hovering over, leaving you free to close the distance and wail on him with a melee weapon or continue pelting him with magic arrows.

Eventually, Waterblight Ganon will start summoning five separate ice blocks to throw at you. You can skip this part entirely if you're quick on the draw and accurate with your arrows, because direct hits will knock him out of the animation. Other than that, just keep breaking them as they approach and then quickly switch to your bow to knock him down and finish the job.

It's worth noting that he doesn't always land on one of the platforms, so a spear-type weapon will be super-helpful for the second half of the fight. Just keep up a sustained assault and Waterblight Ganon should go down with little trouble. Now help yourself to the heart container, the adoration of the Zora people and a few other rewards. You earned it.

More Zelda: Breath of the Wild tips, tricks and guides

Find out all there is to know about Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including what to expect from the Wii U version, how to preserve your items, how to beat bosses like the Stone Talus and Lynel, the best recipes for Link and how to take on the game's shrines. You'll also want to find out where all the great fairies in the game and how to use amiibo with your version of Zelda.