Zelda fans were understandably excited when Ganondorf was revealed as the main villain of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduced some great new concepts into the Zelda universe, it's final boss fight was notably lackluster. Thus, bringing Ganondorf back in the sequel signified the potential for the kind of epic boss fight Zelda fans know and love. Ganondorf definitely delivers on that promise with a multi-stage battle that is both narratively interesting and challenging gameplay-wise.
There are a total of five phases to the fight with Ganondorf, beginning with a multi-round brawl with his minions, and concluding with a cinematic battle in the sky. At the very least, players should cook plenty of sundelion meals and equip their strongest Gloom-resistant armor because the final boss deals plenty of Gloom damage. After initiating the confrontation with the Demon King's army, Link won't be able to turn back until he either defeats Ganondorf or dies trying.
The Demon King's Army is Full of Monsters Link has Fought Before
Before fighting Ganondorf, Link will first need to endure four rounds of basic enemies who comprise the Demon King's army. With the sages at his side, Link's easiest path to victory in all these battles is to keep his distance and fire elemental arrows while the sages distract his enemies.
The first wave of enemies consists of Bokoblins and a Boss Bokoblin, and is a pretty straightforward fight. The same can be said of the second wave of the Demon King's army which will be a group of Lizalfos. However, for the third wave, Link will be faced with several Gibdos, who can be tricky if players don't utilize the right weapons. Because of the Gibdo's hard armor body, they are entirely impervious to regular melee weapons. Thus, only elementally charged melee weapons, or a well-placed arrow to the head, will deal damage to them.
The fourth and final wave of enemies in the Demon King's Army is a group of Moblins. These beasts can do massive Gloom damage with just one hit, and they won't be the least bit fazed by a single strike with a normal weapon -- despite taking damage. If Link has to get up close and personal, flurry rushing, shield parrying or getting a headshot on a Moblin are the most foolproof ways to ensure the damage gets through to them. After defeating this last wave of enemies, Link will be left alone to head down the empty corridor toward the final battle against Ganondorf.
Demon King Ganondorf Takes on Three Forms
Ganondorf's most basic form fights an awful lot like the Phantom Ganon spawns players will most certainly have come into contact with by this point in the game. The method for defeating him is much the same as them: wait until he charges to strike and then flurry rush to do big damage. He will use a one-handed Sword at first, then switch over to a spear or mace. The one attack to look out for is his spreading range attack, which can be identified by him raising his weapon into the air. This causes the air around the arena to rise. Link can avoid this by jumping and gliding to ride the rising airflow. Doing this also gives him a chance to fire off some arrows in bullet time.
Ganondorf's second form is a bit more complicated, but luckily for Link, his sage companions will rejoin him for this battle. The Demon King will release multiple clones of himself, and have considerably more health than any other enemy in the game (as signified by his ridiculously long health bar). The sages should help distract Ganondorf's clones, giving Link space to focus on his opponent directly. Other than that, this fight follows the same basic pattern as the previous one.
After Ganondorf releases his full power in a rage that puts the sages out of commission, the third round of the fight will commence in a one-on-one battle. His melee attacks are largely the same as his previous form, though he will also fire Gloom projectiles before every attack he conducts. Just like his physical attacks, though, these projectiles follow a predictable pattern. This can be exploited if players pay attention to which weapon he's wielding.
The truly tricky thing about this stage of the duel is that Ganondorf can flurry rush Link's attacks. This causes a potential loop of flurry rushes where Link dodges Ganondorf, then Ganondorf dodges Link, leaving Link to then dodge Ganondorf again. If Link does dodge again after Ganondorf's flurry rush, he will have an opening to deal damage. Players should make sure to bring a few tough shields with them to this fight as Ganondorf can even shatter a Hylian Shield after multiple direct attacks.
Ganondorf's Demon Dragon Form is a Glorified Victory Lap
After defeating Ganondorf at his full power, the Demon King will swallow his Secret Stone out of desperation, causing him to become the collosal Demon Dragon. As intimidating as he appears, his attacks aren’t as scary as he looks. Not only that, but Zelda in her Light Dragon form will be there to aid the hero, so this fight is truly Link's to win.
The main way to defeat Ganondorf's Dragon form is to allow Zelda to carry Link high in the air above Ganon, and then dive off her head towards the Demon Dragon while avoiding his Gloom projectiles. Link's destination will be the glowing purple growths on the Demon King's back, each of which can be attacked to do big damage. After dealing a few blows however, the Demon Dragon will shake Link off his back, causing him to fall and eventually be picked up by the Light Dragon once again. The entirety of the fight will pan out this way until the Demon Dragon's health is nearly depleted, leaving Link to deal the final blow in epic cinematic fashion and free the Kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon's clutches once and for all.