Breath of the Wild Champions Ballad Reveal and Discussion

[Ninja]

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The much-anticipated second DLC expansion for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finally has a release date. As part of The Game Awards, Nintendo revealed that The Champions' Ballad releases tonight for Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

The presentation began with producer Eiji Aonuma wearing a Champion's Tunic on stage, swinging the Master Sword. From there, a trailer ran that showcased each of the titular champions, a variety of new shrines, and new gear. You'll still play as Link, but he has a new tool at his disposal--and it's a really cool one.

The trailer ends with a look at the Master Cycle Zero, essentially a motorcycle that he can ride around Hyrule. You'll get your hands on it once you complete the new challenges that await in this DLC. Aonuma described it as essentially being Link's Divine Beast.

We'd previously gotten some brief looks at The Champions' Ballad and learned that you would still play as Link, despite the focus on the titular Champions. It will feature a brand-new dungeon, gear, and an original story.

Holy mother of all that is Zelda, the Champions Ballad looks AWESOME, and guess what? Will be released tonight!

Feel free to discuss your experiences with the Champions Ballad here. Please note that of course, there will be spoilers, so proceed with caution.

The cutscenes looked great, as well as the Link's new cycle, that will make traveling and climbing much easier. I can't wait for this to officially release! My Switch is on and ready to accept the download. Has anyone been able to get it yet?

Also, baby Sidon!

Update 1: In order to start the sequence, all four Divine Beasts must be freed. Bummer.

http://www.zelda.com/breath-of-the-wild/news/the-champions-ballad-new-trailer/

Update 2: After you beat each fight with the blights again, you get a different dialogue each time. Here's a YT video showing all of the extra dialogue in case you guys don't want to repeat the fights again:

 

[Spirit]

The horse bridle and saddle should have been in the game from the start since not being able to insta-summon is a big reason I didnt use them. It seems pointless to give you that option now when they add a damn motorbike.

I wanna be positive but the new armours dont thrill me and the insta kill trial isn't what I wanted. I hope the bike is worth it.

I'm looking forward to the actual story content though and seeing what the new beast is and what the boss is.

 

[Jirohnagi]

I can't even download it til i can fix my wiiu ^^.

 

[YIGAhim]

The trailer looks great. I haven't played it yet, but will in a few hours, hopefully, so I can give actual thoughts

 

[Azure Sage]

Ok now that I've beaten it I can say... THAT WAS AMAZING! I loved every minute of it. The One Hit Obliterator trial was artificially difficult, but the shrines were very creative, as were the Champion Trials. The new memories were amazing and everything I was hoping for. I have a new appreciation for all four of them, especially Daruk, not just from the new memories but also from their diaries.

The dungeon was not was I was hoping for-- I wanted a big labyrinth like Hyrule Castle or the Lomei Labyrinths-- but it was still creative and fun. I enjoyed it, and the music was a nice, epic remix of the shrine themes. And the boss was also not what I was expecting, but it was super fun. Giant aerial arena battle against a Sheikah Sage??? Holy cow that was cool. The atmosphere for that battle was awesome and the music was fantastic.

And that final memory? EVERYTHING IVE EVER WANTED OUT OF THIS DLC. ALL THE CHAMPIONS TOGETHER AND HAVING FUN??? THAT FINAL PICTURE??? I LOVE IT SO MUCH I ALMOST CRIED I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY ABOUT THIS GUYS ITS PERFECT

The Master Cycle Zero is fun, too. It controls really well and you can use your sword and bow on it just like a horse. Plus, it negates fall damage (of course the first thing I did with it was drive it off the Great Plateau's cliff). I was actually really surprised by how smooth it feels. It's pretty fun to use.

All in all, fantastic DLC. It wasn't everything I was hoping for, but the things I didn't expect were still enjoyable. Breath of the Wild continues to be my favorite game ever.

 

[RuMbLePaKk]

It was great I enjoyed the new memories and items and shrinee and what not. The motorcycles cool, but we should have been given the ancient bridle and saddle in the first DLC because now its like we dont need a horse anymore.

Overall it was good I'm disappointed that there was nothing for post game. I thought the new DLC was going to take place after you beat calamity Gannon when link and Zelda are on the field after the credits planning to go to Zora's domain. We never find out what happened

Also what about Hetsus gift? Whats the point?

And the classified envelope??

 

[YIGAhim]

So now I've played enough of the second pack to give some initial thoughts:

The fights with blights again was cool

The new shrines are a step up from the originals

The obliterator is neat

The Great Plateau tests were fun

The new memories were alright so far (I'm not done yet)

 

[the8thark]

The One Hit Obliterator trial was artificially difficult

How long is that section? It is easy enough to complete, unlike the 3rd master sword trial which is much harder than it ever should have been. If this one hit section is an artificial bottleneck preventing further progress, I will not be pleased at all.

 

[Spirit]

How long is that section? It is easy enough to complete, unlike the 3rd master sword trial which is much harder than it ever should have been. If this one hit section is an artificial bottleneck preventing further progress, I will not be pleased at all.

That's exactly what it is. Length depends on your skill level I guess but you have to take out 4 enemy camps and complete 4 new shrines all with 1/4 of a heart. I did it in just under an hour.

Be careful there's a Major strength shrine with more than one Guardian. Save your one-hit weapon.

 

[YIGAhim]

I thought it was alright. If the Obliterator took any longer to charge, I would be mad though, and you do get new Spirit Orbs

 

[Azure Sage]

How long is that section? It is easy enough to complete, unlike the 3rd master sword trial which is much harder than it ever should have been. If this one hit section is an artificial bottleneck preventing further progress, I will not be pleased at all.

The third trial was satisfyingly hard, not unbeatable. This isnt nearly that hard, anyway. You just need to be sneaky and good at dodging when necessary.

 

[YIGAhim]

You just need to be sneaky and good at dodging when necessary.

Pssh I just used arrows

 

[Spirit]

Can i just mention how tacky and horrible looking the maps on the spires were that told you where to go.

Ugh.

 

[Vanessa28]

Be careful there's a Major strength shrine with more than one Guardian. Save your one-hit weapon.

That one was extremely easy and funny as well plus I got a lot of ancient parts!

I just finished and completed revali's song. Fighting the endboss was certainly a trip down memory lane for me because I forgot about him since march. I love that you can rebattle the bosses!

 

[SinkingBadges]

How long is that section? It is easy enough to complete, unlike the 3rd master sword trial which is much harder than it ever should have been. If this one hit section is an artificial bottleneck preventing further progress, I will not be pleased at all.

I might be late answering but I'll reply because I don't think any reply so far goes in-depth enough. I think my reasons are relatively spoiler-free but I'll put them in a tag just in case. I think this one is at least much less annoying than the sword trials because:

Spoiler

• This one saves your progress about as regularly as normal gameplay. If you die in one of the camps, you don't have to redo the whole trial, or any significant amount of gameplay for that matter. As spirit said, it also doesn't take as long as a whole, unlike the final trials which for the record I also found annoying to have to spend ~2 hours per try in.
• You die in one hit, but the weapon you're given also kills any enemy in one hit. You still can use your runes and bows, so if you have a good bow some enemies can still be reliably one hit killed even if you use up the Obliterator's two hits.
• While the Obliterator is the only melee weapon you're allowed to use and it loses energy after two hits, it recharges fairly fast. I don't think it even took a minute, it takes long enough that you can't have it as a crutch, but short enough that you'll have your two hits by the time you reach the next camp.
• You can actually use stealth in this one, unlike last few floors in the final trials were enemies were automatically alerted as soon as you started.

There are also shrines, particularly the one with the mini-guardians, but that one gives you plenty of cover and the challenge is in moving fast, not to mention the one hit per enemy thing applies there too.

Overall I'd say it was fair. If you don't like the idea of a one-hit challenge though this one is unlikely to change your opinion.