Zelda: Breath of the Wild fan makes stained glass Guardian Sword++

Jan 01, 2024

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Its durability is probably just as good as the one in-game

Fans are waiting patiently for the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to launch, while spinning up fan theories and making impressive works of art in the meantime. One such work is a stained glass take on the Guardian Sword++, the most upgraded version of the weapon from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild is packed with weapons of all kinds, of course, but this one translates particularly well to being recreated in stained glass, thanks to the vibrancy of its design. The stained glass version of the sword shimmers beautifully in the sun, refracting light in the backdrop. Creator apiercedotter "fell in love" with Breath of the Wild after "buying my Switch Lite when the lockdown started, with the little savings I had," he told Polygon via email. "I was hesitant because it was already a couple of years old, but I decided to give it a try, and I couldn't be happier with my choice."

He embarked on this project while waiting for the game's sequel to launch. "Obviously, I was really excited when I heard about the release of Tears of the Kingdom, and l couldn't think about anything else," he said. "So while I was working on my last stained glass project, the bow from Genshin Impact, this weapon came to mind. I thought the stained glass aesthetic would work really well with it."

When he shared his creation on Reddit, it quickly went viral. A number of commenters also cracked weapon durability jokes — maybe a stained glass sword would be more durable, even, than the in-game version of the weapon?

It took apiercedotter about a week to create the stained glass sword, from the days it took "designing the pattern" — making sure it was sturdy enough to actually hold up once created — and "choosing the colors, making sure I had the right glass sheets," as well as all of the cutting, grinding, and soldering work. Cutting the most curved sections also proved a challenge. "Some of them can take three to four attempts before you get it right!" he said. He's worked with stained glass for less than a year now, and aims to recreate other weapons from video games and anime.

In Breath of the Wild, Link can get the Guardian Sword after defeating a Guardian Scout. But to get the Guardian Sword++ Link must beat "A Major Test of Strength" trial in a Shrine, which means defeating a Guardian Scout IV — one of the more lethal enemies you can find in these types of dungeons.

Just don't try to fight with the stained glass one, even if it looks tempting. "I didn't even think about how fragile it was while I was crafting it," apiercedotter said. "If anyone buys it, please don't swing it around fighting invisible Bokoblins."

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