If there’s one thing you can count on in a Zelda game, it’s the beloved (and usually pretty strong) Hylian Shield – and that hasn’t changed in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In fact, you can get the Hylian Shield pretty early in the game if you’re brave and smart enough. If that sounds like something you like, we’ll tell you below.
Where to get Hylian Shield
Before you head out to get the Hylian Shield, you’ll want to complete a few main story missions in Hyrule first. In particular, you’ll want to make sure you get a paraglider, as this will make climbing up to the shield much easier. When you’re ready, make sure you have your bow and arrows, then head to the foreboding Hyrule Castle.

When you arrive, choose to go around the rocks on the sides of the massive castle, heading northeast of the perimeter until you see a spot that will allow you to enter under the castle into an area that looks like an old dock . Now you’ll need to make a decision here, either build a boat to swim into the cave here, or find a spot that will allow you to slide down into this section.
Once inside, follow the ramp to the room with the huge torch. Pull out your bow and fire the arrow (Fire Fruit will do the trick). shoot the torch to light it. Alternatively, you can use a melee weapon and light it on fire with one of the smaller torches in the cave. Regardless of which option you choose, lighting the torch will give you a chest containing Hylian’s Shield.

The Hylian Shield provides an absolutely stunning level of protection, making it undoubtedly the best option for protecting yourself in difficult situations. Unfortunately, like other shields in the game, it can break. As of this writing, it’s unknown if the Hylian Shield can be repaired anywhere in Hyrule or if you can buy extra copies, but we’ll be sure to update this if we find out.
Find all our guides in one place. Here is ours Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guide.
The products discussed here were independently selected by our editors. GameSpot may receive a share of the revenue if you purchase anything featured on our site.