Day 41: Waterblight Ganon

Kicking off the top 10 we have my favorite first boss from the Legend of Zelda series, as well as my favorite Nintendo exclusive first boss, it's Waterblight Ganon form Breath of the Wild.

Being the Blight Ganon in control of the Zora Champion's Divine Beast, Vah Ruta, Waterblight Ganon has control over...what else, water. Also, since he's the one who killed Mipha, his main weapon comes in the form of his spear which is meant to represent Mipha's Trident.

In the first phase of the battle, Waterblight Ganon mainly attack with his spear. He can use it to stab at Link, use its long distance to swing it at him, use it as a throwing weapon, or use it to create shockwaves if Link gets too close to it. You'll want to keep your distance from Waterblight Ganon as, like I said, the spear he possesses has a long reach.

There are many ways to take on Waterblight Ganon in this phase. You can get close to him and slash away at him with whatever weapons you have at your disposal, but be aware of his previously mentioned shockwave attack. You can shoot at its eye with your bow and arrow. You can execute a perfect dodge so you can perform a flurry rush on him. You can block his spear throw with your shield to stun it giving you time to attack. You can even use the water covering the floor to your advantage by creating ice blocks with Cryonis so when Waterblight Ganon swings at them it'll temporarily break his spear giving you time to attack.

The first phase is basically another 'choose your own adventure' scenario with how you want to beat him down and I really like that.

Once Waterblight Ganon reaches half health though, the second phase begins.

Waterblight Ganon will raise the water level so the only ground Link has to stand on are four small platforms in the corners of the arena, and the only other platforms that Link gets beyond that are the ice blocks that he creates with Cryonis.

Speaking of Cryonis, Waterblight Ganon gains this ability too in this phase. He'll create ice blocks to throw at Link, he'll start by throwing one and then work his way up to throwing three, and to avoid this attack you must shoot at them with your arrows. On top of that attack, Waterblight Ganon will teleport around the arena and try and hit you with his spear like before. Your best course of action is to use your bow and arrow to hit Waterblight Ganon's eye to stun him, then get to him as fast as you can so you can slash away at him.

After taking enough damage, Waterblight Ganon will be defeated and you'll have successfully freed the spirit of Mipha and the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, and Mipha will gift Link with Mipha's Grace, which basically acts as a 1-Up if Link falls during battle. Very helpful!

So yeah, with a variety of ways to take him down in Phase 1, overall fun battle, and useful reward upon defeating him, Waterblight Ganon is an excellent way to start off the Top 10.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to Mipha's Theme and cry.

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WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Why did you have to die, fish waifu!