More than six years on from its initial debut,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildcontinues to surprise, as one player found out recently when drawing their sword during a Stalnox fight proved to be immediately fatal. There is remarkable depth and nuance toBreath of the Wild’s many distinct systems, and that means players can find familiar elements of gameplay working in unexpected ways even after dozens, if not hundreds, of hours playing.
AlthoughThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas rightfully been given loads of praise lately for its freedom and versatility of gameplay, much of that is still thanks to whatBreath of the Wildestablished back in 2017. In expanding the classicZeldaformula into an open-world setting, Nintendo implemented several dynamic systems to help makeBreath of the Wild’s vast version of Hyrulefeel alive, such as detailed physics for characters and objects, as well as different types of weather that can have different effects on the environment. That level of detail can lead to some never-before-seen moments for players, though not all of them are guaranteed to be pleasant.
RELATED:Zelda Fans Pay Tribute to Breath of the Wild Weapons That Didn’t Make It to Tears of the Kingdom
Reddit user Lonely-Blacksmith-17 recently found this out the hard way when they tried to fight a Stalnox inBreath of the Wild’s Trial of the Sword challenge. After dislodging the giant skeleton’s eye with a precision arrow shot, they swap the wooden spear they have equipped for a stronger metal sword in order to destroy the eye and kill the Stalnox. However, the very moment they equip the sword, they are struck by a lightning bolt drawn to the metallic weapon in Link’s hand, which also kills him in the process.
This instant death from the heavens may come as unusual since the game typically warns players when something’s about to be struck. But as replies to Lonely-Blacksmith-17 point out, onceBreath of the Wild’s lightninglocks onto an object, it always strikes after a set amount of time. Additionally, lightning will always prioritize striking Link if possible, switching over to him even if it’s about to hit something else.
What appears to have happened, then, is that Lonely-Blacksmith-17 equipped a metallic weapon at the exact moment a bolt was about to hit another object in the area, causing them to be hit instead. The result is another brutal example ofZeldaplayers just having the worst timing.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomretains many of the features thatBreath of the Wildintroduced, and that includes how its weather works. While players have been busy uncovering all the secrets ofTears of the Kingdom’s new features and abilities, Lonely-Blacksmith-17 Stalnox encounter and death by lightning show that these games’ older features can continue to surprise players as well, for better or worse.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis available on Nintendo Switch.
