How to beat Link in Suthorn Ruins in Zelda Echoes of Wisdom

It’s up to Zelda to save Hyrule as mysterious rifts appear throughout the land in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Those pulled into the rifts return as imposters, and one of the boss imposters you have to face off against is Link, who appears in the Suthern Ruins.

This is the first battle you have against Link in Echoes of Wisdom, and as you might expect, there are going to be several more. What makes the first encounter particularly tough is you don’t have any weapons to fight him. Instead, you have to rely on the magic of the Tri Wand and procure the correct items to defeat him. It’s not immediately intuitive what items you should use to defeat Link. Here’s what you need to know about how to beat Link at the Suthern Ruins in Echoes of Wisdom.

How to defeat Link at Suthorn Ruins in Echoes of Wisdom

Link will be focused on chasing you throughout this encounter in Suthorn Ruins, but he moves slightly slower than you because he has his shield up the entire time. However, that also means he’s protected the whole time. You won’t be able to hit him from the front to do any damage. Instead, it would be best if you found ways to get around the shield, and hit him from behind, bypassing his shield. You can do this in a few ways, and it all comes down to distracting him using the many powers you’ve gathered up in Echoes of Wisdom. You might find a different solution than us, but that’s the fun of playing Echoes of Wisdom.

You can use multiple echo combinations to attack Link during this battle. I was using the Caromadillo and the Rock. I would place the rock down and then race around the arena, placing the Caromadillo on the other side. Link would be distracted by the Caromadillo and start moving toward it. While Link was distracted, I’d grab and pick up the rock, tossing it at his back to do a pip of damage. I’d bounce around the arena in Echoes of Wisdom, steadily bringing down his health and using this strategy.

When you’re battling against Link, you don’t have to use the Caromadillo to distract him. You can use other creatures, such as the Spear Moblin, the Ignizol, the Sea Urchin, the Rope Snake, or the Keese. These are all viable choices, so long as they draw his attention away from you, giving you a clear shot at Link’s back during this battle. It’s the only way to damage him while his shield is up in Echoes of Wisdom.

After you’ve damaged Link enough times, the camera focuses on him, and he receives a large amount of dark energy entering a second phase. He becomes more aggressive in his attacks and runs toward you to defeat you. Not only is Link running at you, but he’s going to use more attacks against you. Thankfully, the strategy remains the same as how you’ve already been fighting him, and you can continue to do everything the same as you’ve done up to this point.

However, you can also use more dangerous monsters against Link, as he sometimes has his shield lowered while running at you. For example, I used the Peahat against Link during the second half of this encounter in Echoes of Wisdom. Previously, Link’s shield made it difficult to hit him, but because he used it less often, the Peahat could get it in several hits against him. It made defeating him during this part of the fight much more accessible.

After defeating Link during the second half of this fight, you’ll complete your first encounter against him. He will drop his sword on the ground you can now take it with you and continue your journey through Echoes of Wisdom with Zelda. Be on the lookout for Smoothie recipes you can learn along the way.