Stone Talus
Games | ||
Location | Breath of the Wild | |
Rewards | ||
Threat |   | |
Attacks | Damage to Link wearing no armor | |
Effective | ||
Health | 380 HP | |
Related | ||
Stone Talus are sub-bosses in Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity, and Tears of the Kingdom.
Breath of the Wild
The Stone Talus is one of the three main overworld sub-bosses found in Breath of the Wild. It disguises itself in the ground as a collection of rocks, and the boss forms as Link draws near. The Stone Talus is the first overworld boss Link can encounter in the game, situated in the Forest of Spirits on the Great Plateau.
There are 40 of these bosses spread throughout all of Hyrule. Along with the standard Stone Talus, Link can also encounter the Frost Talus and Igneo Talus, among others. Defeating all 40 and reporting to Kilton at the Fang and Bone rewards Link with the Medal of Honor: Talus.
Strategy
There is only one phase of this boss fight, so the strategy is very simple. Exposed on the top, or on the side, or on rare occasions on the back, of all Talus beasts is an Ore Deposit of some variety, which is the only place the Stone Talus can be damaged. The Stone Talus is otherwise unaffected when attacked, except by Remote Bombs, which can be used to destroy its arms, or by using Urbosa's Fury. This does not deal any damage, however, so Link must attack the Ore Deposit to defeat it.
The Stone Talus has simple but strong melee attacks, easy to avoid due to their obvious telegraph and the Talus' generally slow speed. It rears back to swing hard with its left arm or pounds Link into the ground with its right arm (Melee punch 
). At range, the Stone Talus will throw one of its arms (Boulder throw 
-), towards Link, losing the arm in the process. Once it loses both arms, it will slam one side down to replenish its arm, then the other. At this point, and at any time when the Stone Talus' body is at ground level, Link has a window of opportunity to climb atop the Stone Talus.
Two methods are available to topple the Stone Talus through direct combat. Link may choose to strike the Ore Deposit directly with a ranged attack (such as with a bow), which will stun the Stone Talus and cause it to fall forward, providing a few precious seconds to rush forward and climb up the beast. Alternatively, the Remote Bomb Rune can be used to destroy each arm. Destroying one arm with a bomb knocks the Stone Talus down briefly; removing its only remaining arm with a bomb will cause it to drop for a few moments longer before it attempts to pick itself up again.
When atop the Stone Talus, Link should equip a strong two-handed weapon and use his charged spin attack to deal maximum damage. Link should be careful not to fall from the Stone Talus during his attack, as it will continue to move around for a few moments and Link may slip off due to the changing slopes. The Stone Talus will only put up with the player's mounted presence for a few strikes before shuddering and throwing Link off, damaging him in the process (Thrown from top of body 
).
All Taluses are weak to weapons designed for mining (Iron Sledgehammer, Cobble Crusher, Drillshaft, Stone Smasher, Boulder Breaker), and take double damage from them, except the Iron Sledgehammer, which deals x4 damage. As such, they tend to outstrip other weapons in terms of damage output against Taluses, and should be the go-to method of attack. Like all Talus variations, it's markedly vulnerable to Urbosa's Fury strikes, which deal significant damage to it when knocked down. However, the strikes may fail when the Talus is upright.
Rewards
The Ore Deposit situated on the Stone Talus' body will occasionally drop some of its loot when struck. This includes gemstones such as Amber or Opal, or basic stones such as Flint. Upon death, the Stone Talus will drop many gemstones, including the aforementioned, as well as more rare gems, including Ruby.
Locations
The Talus beasts are scattered far and wide throughout Hyrule. Frigid, snowy regions are home to the Frost Talus variant, while the Eldin region features the Igneo Talus. Be sure to check out our Breath of the Wild Interactive Map for all the different locations the Stone Talus and its variants can be found.
Stone Talus
- Great Plateau - Just east of the Hopper Pond within the Forest of Spirits.
- West Nabi Lake - In the open area between the Batrea Lake and South Nabi Lake.
- North Dueling Peaks - Northwest of the northern peak, northeast of the Dueling Peaks Tower. Known as Stone Talus (Senior).
- Dueling Peaks South - South of the peak of the mountain. Known as Stone Talus (Junior).
- Mable Ridge - North of the Dueling Peaks and just west of Lake Siela and the Kakariko Bridge.
- Cliffs of Quince - At the very top of the cliff, northwest of the Hateno Tower.
Stone Talus (Luminous)
- Lake Hylia North - just southeast of the Outpost Ruins and east of the Great Plateau Tower, in the Dueling Peaks region.
Age of Calamity
In Age of Calamity, Stone Talus take on a similar appearance as their Breath of the Wild counterparts, appearing in normal, Luminous, and Rare variants. The gems that are on top of the talus once again serve as the enemies weak point and hits to these gems will cause their energy gauge to deplete. Normal attacks will deal more minimal damage, but a special attack can leave a Stone Talus stunned momentarily. This can allow the warrior to leap up onto the Talus body and deliver direct strikes to its gems.
An Igneo Talus is actually the first talus encountered in the game, appearing during the Daruk, the Goron Hero. A pair of traditional Stone Talus appear as the final boss during The Road Home, Besieged scenario.
Other elemental variants of the Stone Talus appear, including a Frost Talus reappear. Additionally, even stronger variants of these Stone Talus appear in the form of a Malice Igneo Talus and Malice Frost Talus.
Stone Talus often drop rare gems as rewards, including Flint, Amber, Opal, and Ruby. After each Stone Talus is defeated, the player will receive a Stone Talus Trophy. These can be used to complete quests or upgrade weapons of the various warriors.
Tears of the Kingdom
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Trivia
- As estimated in this video, in terms of physical strength alone, Taluses are the strongest enemies in Breath of the Wild due to their ability to hurl hundred-ton boulders spanning great distances, even if their own resistance is not great. It also estimates that Link is extremely resilient as a result, as he's able to be pelted with said boulders and remain in one piece even if he's killed by those (especially considering that boulders that size would squish a real-life person beyond recognition), notwithstanding the fact that Link can swat said boulders with a shield shove.
- Taluses in general (including Pebblits) are the only enemies in the game that make no sounds or vocalizations; they also are the only sub-bosses in the game that have elemental variations, as the other sub-bosses (Moldugas and Hinoxes) have none, and are the only enemies that appear to be non-organic in nature.
Gallery
Stone Talus from Age of Calamity
