So, you’ve spent a hundred hours in Hyrule. You’ve climbed every peak, cooked enough hearty radishes to feed a small army, and finally kicked Calamity Ganon out of his living room. But then you look at that Expansion Pass and wonder: is botw the champions ballad actually worth the headache? Or is it just a glorified scavenger hunt?
Honestly, it’s a bit of both. But the "both" here is surprisingly deep.
Most people think this DLC is just about getting that divine motorcycle. You know, the Master Cycle Zero. It’s the ultimate flex. Zooming past a Guardian while pop-wheelying is a vibe, sure. But if you're only playing for the bike, you’re kinda missing the point of why Nintendo made this thing in the first place.
Why the One-Hit Obliterator is a Genius Move
The DLC starts with a slap in the face. You go back to the Shrine of Resurrection—the very spot where Link’s 100-year nap ended—and pick up the One-Hit Obliterator.
It sounds like a cheat code. It’s not.
While it lets you vaporize a Hinox in one poke, it also shrivels your health down to a quarter-heart. One bee sting? Dead. A pebble falls on your toe? Game over. It forces you to play Breath of the Wild like a stealth-horror game. You can't just barge into a camp of Bokoblins and spin-to-win. You’re forced to use the environment. You’re forced to be the "Legendary Hero" who actually uses his brain instead of just his stats.
It's humbling.
Some players found the Rohta Chigah Shrine—the one with the moving floor and the wall of spikes—to be the most frustrating experience in the entire game. I get it. I died there more than I’d like to admit. But that's the thing: it’s supposed to be a trial. It’s the Sheikah Monks basically saying, "Okay, you've got the Master Sword, but are you actually good?"
The Lore Nobody Talks About
Once you get past the Great Plateau's gauntlet, the game sends you to revisit the four Champions: Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa.
This is where the heart of botw the champions ballad lives.
We get these tiny, domestic glimpses into who these people were before they became ghosts in giant mechanical animals. You find their diaries. You hear Kass’s songs. You see Zelda recruiting them. It turns out Mipha wasn’t just a pining healer; she had a backbone. Revali wasn't just a jerk; he was a guy with a massive inferiority complex who worked himself to exhaustion.
The reward for these sections isn't just the upgraded Champion abilities—which, let’s be real, having Revali’s Gale recharge in two minutes is a literal lifesaver—it’s the emotional closure.
The Boss That Fixed the Game
The base game's boss fights? Kinda mid. The "Blight" Ganons all looked like different flavors of the same sourdough starter. They weren't exactly thrilling.
Then comes Monk Maz Koshia.
This is arguably the best boss fight in the entire Zelda franchise. Period. He’s fast, he clones himself, he turns giant, and he uses the same Sheikah technology you’ve been relying on for the whole game. It feels like a mirror match. It’s the final exam. And the fact that you can distract a literal ancient demigod with a bunch of Mighty Bananas? Peak Nintendo humor. It’s those little details that make the DLC feel like a love letter to the fans who stayed with the game for years.
Is the Master Cycle Zero Actually Useful?
Now, about that bike.
It’s a "Divine Beast" for Link. That’s the lore explanation. It runs on junk. You can literally stuff ten apples and a handful of Bokoblin guts into the tank and it’ll rip through the Akkala highlands.
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But there’s a catch.
- You can't use it in the desert (sand is the enemy of ancient gears, apparently).
- It doesn't work on the steep, fiery slopes of Death Mountain.
- A five-star speed horse is actually faster in a straight line.
So why bother? Because the bike has a "bunny hop." You can jump over obstacles. You can take it off-road in ways a horse would never tolerate. It changes how you see the map. Suddenly, the world isn't a series of paths; it's a playground.
The Actionable Truth for Your Playthrough
If you’re staring at your map wondering if you should finish botw the champions ballad, here is how to actually get through it without losing your mind:
- Don't hoard your arrows. During the One-Hit Obliterator stage, your bow is your best friend. Snipe everything from a distance. If you get into a melee, you've already lost.
- Cook for the Blight rematches. When you fight the Blights again in the "Illusionary Realm," you’re stuck with specific gear. You can't use your 100-damage Lynel bows. However, you can take a 30-minute attack or defense buff into the fight if you eat it right before you enter.
- Fuel the bike with the right stuff. Don't waste Dragon parts or high-end materials. Apples, Flint, and Wood are the most efficient fuel sources. Five apples will give you half a tank. Keep it simple.
- The final reward isn't the bike. It’s the picture. Without spoiling too much, once you finish everything, you get a physical item to hang in Link's house in Hateno Village. If you’ve played Tears of the Kingdom, you know how much weight that single frame carries.
This DLC isn't just "more content." It’s the ending the game deserved but didn't quite get in the initial release. It’s challenging, it’s sentimental, and yeah, it’s got a motorcycle.
Go back to the Shrine of Resurrection. Put the Sheikah Slate in the pedestal. The Monk is waiting for you.