Daily Debate: Test of Strength Versus Proving Grounds Shrines, Which Do You Prefer?

Posted on August 04 2024 by Julia Wilson

Amongst the many Shrines that recent open-world Legend of Zelda games have given us, they broadly split into puzzles, blessings, training, and combat challenges. As far as said combat challenges, Breath of the Wild gave us the Test of Strength Shrines, while Tears of the Kingdom offered the Proving Grounds Shrines. Of the two, which did you enjoy the most?

I have to say that while I preferred the weapon drops that the Test of Strength Shrines offered, I enjoyed the Proving Grounds Shrines more. I liked the variety that they offered, calling for diverse approaches to each unique type of challenge. My favorite was the Flow Challenge at Sifumim Shrine. This involved lots of pushing Constructs into water, which was great fun!

As you progress through Breath of the Wild, you can see your gameplay and techniques improve as you continue to do the Test of Strength Shrines. The Major Test eventually becomes as straightforward as the Minor Test. However, because there are only the three variations of the Test of Strength, they do become repetitive. On the other hand, it is mildly disappointing that you did not keep any drops from the Proving Grounds Shrines.

Having crunched the numbers, I was quite surprised when I looked at the overall statistics: there were 20 Test of Strength shrines, compared to 15 Proving Grounds – I thought there was more of both! Obviously they both made quite the impact when it came to my gameplay experience!

What do you think? Did you prefer the Test of Strength Shrines to the Proving Grounds challenges? Do you have a favorite Proving Grounds challenge? And most importantly, should you have been able to keep the spoils from the Proving Grounds Shrines? Let us know in the comments below!