It wouldn’t really be a Legend of Zelda game if you didn’t acquire the Master Sword. Despite the legendary weapon’s shocking disappearance in the beginning of the game, there is a way to reobtain the Hero’s Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It takes a bit of work, but it can actually be done fairly early in the game.
First, you’re going to want to make sure you have at least two full wheels of stamina before attempting to retrieve Link’s beloved sword. No, those temporary, yellow stamina wheels don’t count. You need two green, persistent stamina wheels. You start the game with one (halfway there), but an additional one will cost you twenty Lights of Blessing which are earned from completing the shrines scattered throughout Hyrule. Why do you need the two stamina wheels? We’ll get to that a bit later.
If you’d like to earn the Master Sword without being spoiled by this guide, your best course of action is to make your way into Korok Forest. To do so, you’ll have to break in from the Depths beneath the woods. The quickest way to get there is by diving into the Minshi Woods Chasm (coordinates 1038, 1663, 0159) just north of the Woodland Stable (coordinates 1058, 1157, 0022).
After ascending your way into Korok Forest and helping the Great Deku Tree with a bad stomach ache, speaking with the giant tree guy one more time will give you the quest “Recovering the Hero’s Sword.” Tracking this quest within your Adventure Log will highlight the exact location of the Master Sword on your map. Neat! If you have your two stamina wheels, you can head straight there and reunite with the legendary blade. If you don’t care about spoilers and want to forgo all of the Korok Forest stuff, keep on reading.
It turns out that the Master Sword has been with the mysterious Light Dragon all along. In fact, it’s embedded in the poor creature’s forehead. To retrieve it, you’ll need to land on the dragon, make your way to the head and pull it out. This is where those two stamina wheels come in. Pulling the sword from the dragon is a test of endurance, and if you have less than two full stamina wheels that sword isn’t going anywhere. Except for wherever the Light Dragon goes, of course.
Once you do have the weapon in your possession, however, you’ll not only be able to wield it in battle but you can use it just like any other weapon. Yes, that means you can fuse items to the Master Sword! Whatever you decide to fuse to the weapon won’t appear on the end all the time, but when something is fused the sword will have glowing, green lettering appear along the blade. If you’re dissatisfied with any fusion you create, you can always jump into your weapon inventory to destroy fused materials.