One of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Hia Miu Shrine, or “A Major Strength Test.” As the title of the shrine suggests, this shrine requires Link to prove his strength by defeating a Guardian Scout and completing the shrine.
This shrine may seem intimidating, but it is the same as the other test of strength shrine with just the difference of a stronger Guardian Scout. In this guide, you will learn how to defeat the Guardian Scout, complete the Hia Miu Shrine, get the chest, and claim the Spirit Orb!
Link will be rewarded with Spirit Orbs for completing Shrines. You can exchange the Spirit Orbs for more Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. There are 120 Shrines all over Hyrule, so Link can get 120 Spirit Orbs. You can decide whether you want Link to have more Hearts or Stamina.
Hia Miu Shrine Location
The Hia Miu Shrine can be found near the edge of a cliff northwest of the Icefall Foothills on the northwestern-most part of Hyrule (the shrine is northwest of the Hebra North Summit and Hebra Great Skeleton or way up north of the Hebra West Summit.) The Hia Miu Shrine is one of 13 shrines in the Hebra Tower region.
It is worth mentioning that the climate in the area is very cold, so make sure to wear cold-resistant armor.
Hia Miu Shrine, or A Major Test of Strength
Before descending to the Hia Miu Shrine, make sure Link has enough weapons (especially Guardian weapons, as they are very effective against Guardians), shields, bows, arrows, and food for health (cooked or not) to use.
Upon entering the Hia Miu Shrine, you will see an entrance to a big room just ahead of Link. Several huge metal cubes that can only move vertically are embedded in the floor. To complete this shrine, this is what Link must do:
- Proceed to the entrance. After going through the door, a Guardian Scout will emerge on the ground after the gate closes behind Link. This Guardian Scout is armed with a sword, a spear, and a battle ax.
- Now, you must kill the Guardian Scout. At the beginning of the battle, the Guardian Scout will come towards Link with stabs with its spear, slices with its battle-ax, and attacks with its sword, which you’ll know because it will wind up. You can dodge this attack or dodge at the perfect time to perform a Flurry Rush to inflict major damage. The Guardian Scout may also shoot lasers, but this can be evaded by dodging away or deflected using the shield.
- After taking enough damage, the Guardian Scout will eventually jump back and start spinning rapidly towards Link. Before it charges towards Link, press the up directional button, select the Magnesis Rune ability, press the L button to aim, aim at a huge metal cube on the floor, press the A button to activate, and pull it up to set up a small pillar.
- Ensure the huge metal cube is in the middle of Link and the Guardian Scout. Do not deactivate the Magnesis Rune ability. If you deactivate it, it will result in the huge metal cube dropping back down. Then, when it spins towards Link and hits the huge metal cube, the cube will stun the Guardian. This will then be an opportunity to deal damage.
- After depleting its health to around half, the Guardian Scout will fire a constant laser around it. Fortunately, the spinning laser will also cause an updraft.
- You can jump towards the updraft and use the Paraglider to go high up. Once Link is up in the air, aim the bow and arrow to slow down time and fire an arrow on its eye to stun it and deal damage. If you do not want to do that, you can stand out of the laser’s range, aim, and fire an arrow at the right time to hit the Guardian Scout’s eye, stun it, and deal damage.
- The Guardian Scout will turn blue and absorb energy you almost fully deplete its health. During this time, it will target Link with a red laser (like Guardian Stalkers and Decayed Guardians). After absorbing enough energy, it will fire several blasts toward its target, which can inflict major damage.
- To evade this, sprint or close the distance by running towards it and dodging the blasts. Alternatively, you can fire arrows at its eyes and deal some damage. It is worth mentioning that you can also attack it while the Guardian Scout is still absorbing energy.
- After defeating it, the Guardian Scout will drop its Guardian Sword++, Guardian Spear++, Ancient Battle Axe++ for the taking, and some Ancient Shafts and Screws.
- Continue towards the altar, where you will see a chest just before the altar. Open the chest to obtain a Sapphire.
- Finally, continue up the stairs and talk to the monk to claim your Spirit Orb!
Other Tears of the Kingdom Shrines
The Hia Miu Shrine, or A Major Test of Strength, is one of 13 shrines in the Hebra Tower region. The other shrines are the Rin Oyaa Shrine, or “The Directing the Wind;” the Sha Gehma Shrine, or “The Shift and Lock;” the Goma Asaagh Shrine, or “A Major Test of Strength;” the Mozo Shenno Shrine, or “A Major Test of Strength;” the Shada Naw Shrine, or “The Red Giveaway;” the To Quomo Shrine, or “Quomo’s Blessing;” the Rok Uwog Shrine, or “The Power of Reach;” the Maka Rah Shrine, or “The Steady Thy Heart;” the Lanno Kooh Shrine, or “Lanno Kooh’s Blessing;” the Dunba Taag Shrine, or “The Build and Release;” the Gee Ha’rah Shrine, or “The Tandem;” and the Qaza Tokki Shrine, or “Qaza Tokki’s Blessing.”
Related: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild: Qua Raym Shrine Guide
