Thursday, June 30, 2016

Hyrule Warriors Legends: Level 4+ Multi-Elemental Weapons

Starting with the Koholint Map, there will be a new line of Level 4+ weapons throughout the DLC. They are basically the replacement of the 8-Bit weapons from the Wii U version, though quite different.


They have a rainbow background instead of a golden one and the main difference is that each of them comes with a 2nd element, as I previously expected. Since all officers are weak to a specific element, you increase the range of easy targets significantly with this. They don't let you actually do elemental attacks of the 2nd element, unless they already had them anyway, but this means that they won't give any advantage over giant bosses. It's still a big advantage overall.

They also have prettier names. Instead of a "Triforce Harp++", you get a "Shining Harp" or the "Cutlass of Light", where both the Harp and the Cutlass now feature the Light element, which is a fitting choice. So, they are named after the additional elements in some way.

Ingame they also have an overlay effect that represents the new element with its color. You can see this in today's trailer, where the Gauntlets look red, because they now also feature the fire element. But I'm not a fan of this effect, because it looks rather ugly. The Power Gloves really looked nice in combination with a variety of costumes, e.g. the yellow tunic or Fierce Deity Link. Now it seems like it only looks good together with the new "GameBoy" color costume for Link... But unlike the 8-Bit weapons you can't just ignore them, if you don't like their looks, because the 2nd element gives a real advantage.

I'm just worried that some of the element combinations feel nonsensical. For example with Agitha you would expect to get a "Thunder Parasol", because the weapon always featured Light and Lightning element attacks, but instead they made it a Light Fire weapon. And that's just completely out of place. Koei can make some ingenious design choices, but also some really stupid and unsatisfying ones.

Anyway, the following characters seem to get upgraded weapons on the Koholint Map:

  • Link
  • Sheik
  • Lana
  • Darunia
  • Ruto
  • Agitha
  • Midna
  • Young Link
  • Skull Kid
  • Tetra
  • Daphnes

It's noticeable that Marin doesn't seem to get one. The same goes for Linkle's Boots. This probably means that all DLC weapons won't see any multi element upgrades, because they would have to be on the same map that came together with the new movesets, since the packs are still sold individually. Someone, who buys the Link's Awakening Pack, shouldn't have to buy the A Link Between Worlds Pack in order to get the "Boots of Fire".

But it was similar on the Wii U with the 8-Bit weapons. Only the original weapons got 8-Bit variants. These didn't offer any combat advantage, however, they were purely aesthetic, if you want to call them that.

Update:

Here's the full list of all the new multi elemental weapons on the Koholint Map with their elements. Source is JKiii on GameFAQs.

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