Barbarians at the Gate

As discussed in an earlier post, armor in BOTW plays an important role in Link’s success and in some cases, his survival.  Certain sets provide specific protections against cold, flames, or shock; others provide stealth or swimming ability, et cetera.  We will not repeat ourselves here.  (Although we are in recent years prone to do just that.) (Although we are in recent years prone to do just that.) 

In addition to any other effects, all armor provides some degree of protection against damage – ranging from a base level of 1 (such things as the Old Shirt or the Warm Doublet) to 5 (Champion’s Tunic).   Most other armor pieces debut at a defense level of 3, moving on up to 20.  That includes the subject of today’s post, the Barbarian Armor. 

If the Barbarian set has a defense level equal to the Zora gear, for example, or the climbing set, or any other, what’s the deal with it?  Why do we want it?

First, it’s rather fierce looking, and Itzal likes to swagger about adorned with a skull on his head.  Second, its added effect is Attack Up, which is helpful if you’re torn between Attack Up or Defense Up when confronting a formidable foe: don the Barbarian armor and eat up a defense meal to cover both bases.  Third, its set bonus is Charge Attack Stamina Up (here Itzal’s eyes glaze over). 

And finally, it’s – strangely – fun to acquire.

The pieces of the set are found in shrines in three different labyrinths.  You can take them in any order; we chose the order below, as Demelza was whining about a certain piece of jewelry.

Lomei Labyrinth Island

Lomei Labyrinth Island is located off the Akkala coast, as far north and east as one can go on the map.  To get there, you may take a raft (we are not fans, but to each his own) or paraglide from a high spot behind the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab.  We used Revali’s Gale, although reportedly the island is reachable without that Rito gift, provided Link has enough temporary or actual stamina.  

As is our wont, we had previously reviewed the available goodies in the maze to see what was worthy of the effort – aka danger – and what was better left uncollected.  We marked our map with two possibilities, an Ancient Core on the outer portion of the maze and a Giant Ancient Core (here Demelza swoons) in the middle.  The true prize, however, was to be found in the basement – a Diamond Circlet providing a measure of protection against Guardians.  True, we already had the Ancient Armor Set, but who can resist a diamond?  

As we entered the maze, in the left corridor in the middle, we saw a glowing red dot showing ahead on our map.  What is that dot, we wondered?  Perhaps it was the Giant Ancient Core on walkabout or some other delightful prize!  It was, erm, neither.  It was, in fact, a Guardian.  

Is this the fun part?  Is this where we’re having fun?

We returned to an earlier save point.

Now armed with the Ancient Shield and a clever cheat map,^[1] we skirted the red dot; retrieved the Giant Ancient Core; found the Tu Ka’Loh shrine; and retrieved the first piece of Barbarian attire – the helm.  Once we did so, an air geyser opened up in a hole in front of the shrine.  Link needs that geyser to get up from the maze basement, but to get down, well – just get thee down. 

Zelder Tip #1:  There’s a torch next to the wind geyser.  Don’t be tempted to drop a piece of your arsenal, thinking you’ll need the torch; you won’t.  You’re going in for a strike operation and you’ll be in and out in a jiffy, needing no torch but only your quick wits.

The basement of the maze is littered with lots of dead and decaying (so they would have you believe!) Guardians.  Many of them are searchable for ancient parts.  A couple of others come alive as you approach them – here’s where we loved the automatic parry feature of the Ancient Shield.

After Itzal-as-Link had dispatched two of the still-lively Guardians, we figured the path was clear to the treasure chest containing the Diamond Circlet.  

Here’s the thing:  Once you open that chest, many OSTENSIBLY DEAD Guardians suddenly awaken, and they have all their sights trained on Link.  The poor Ancient Shield, let alone Link, didn’t stand a chance.  

We returned to an earlier save point.

Thus – get the damned circlet and very, very quickly make for the wind geyser.  Some temporary hearts wouldn’t hurt, either.

North Lomei Labyrinth

If you’ve opened the Sha Gehma shrine in Hebra, start your journey toward the North Lomei Labyrinth from there.  If not, check out a horse at the Snowfield Stable and make your way around the mountains between you and the labyrinth, stopping to activate Sha Gehma along the way.  Beware!  This is Lynel country.

Once again, we consulted our favorite reference tool, the Internet, to find a cheaty way to avoid most of the maze – landing on the top and dropping down at a strategic point – and then activate the Qaza Tokki shrine within. We picked up the Barbarian Leg Wraps, had our head blessed by the monk, and went on to the next labyrinth.

South Lomei Labyrinth

The southern maze is, go figure, in the south.  It’s in the Wasteland Tower region, but close to the Lake Tower region border.  Unless you’ve opened a nearby shrine, paraglide from Wasteland Tower south and east; stop at plateaus along the way, as you won’t make the entire trip on one glide.

Ah-MAZE-ing

After our prodigious effort (here Itzal makes a snarky comment about Who Does All the Work, to which Demelza offers a reply about Who Makes it all Possible with maze-cheating research), we went to a Great Fairy Fountain to see what we needed to upgrade our fancy new armor.  The list was not, shall we say, right up Itzal’s alley:  Lynel hooves, Lynel horns, Lynel guts… That’s a lot of Lynel. 

Hey!  What about that Hebra region around the northern maze, asks Demelza helpfully.  Lots of Lynels there!

You can draw your own conclusions about Itzal’s response. 

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^[1] Available on Internet sites near you; zeldadungeon.net is perhaps our favorite, but others are also helpful.