One of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Ke’nai Shakah Shrine or A Modest Test of Strength. 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 a little 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 Ke’nai Shakah Shrine, get the chest, and claim the Spirit Orb.
Link will be rewarded with Spirit Orbs for completing Shrines. The Spirit Orbs obtained can be exchanged for more Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. As there are 120 Shrines all over Hyrule, Link can get 0120 Spirit Orbs. You get to decide whether you want Link to have more Hearts or more Stamina.
Location
The Ke’nai Shakah Shrine can be found inside a hidden chamber on the side of the cliff on the north side of Ulria Grotto, which is southeast of Ukuku Plains, and Akkala Falls on the southeast side of Akkala Tower (the shrine is northeast of Ploymus Mountain or north of Tal Tal Peak which is both on the east of Zora’s Domain).
Before going to Ulria Grotto, make sure that Link has Bomb Arrows, as this will help make the Ke’nai Shakah Shrine easier to access.
Upon arriving in Ulria Grotto, face the cliff in the northern part of the area, and you will see a large sort of pocket on the cliff with a breakable rock wall. Jump, then use the paraglide to glide towards it, and there will be a draft to help push Link towards the breakable rock wall.
When Link is close enough, quickly press and hold the ZR button to aim Link’s bow to start the slow-motion, press the left directional button and select the Bomb Arrow, aim and fire on the breakable rock wall, then, once the breakable rock wall has been, well, broken, quickly press the X button again to use the paraglider and glide towards the new opening. Then, just like that, Link can now access the Ke’nai Shakah Shrine!
A Modest Test of Strength
Before descending to the Ke’nai Shakah Shrine, Link has enough weapons (especially Guardian weapons, or the Master Sword, as they are very effective against Guardians), shields, bows, arrows, and food for health (cooked or not) to use.
Upon entering Ke’nai Shakah Shrine, you will see an entrance to a very big room just ahead of Link. In this big room are big concrete pillars. To complete this shrine, this is what Link must do:
- Proceed to the entrance, and 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 battle-ax and a sword.
- Now you must kill the Guardian Scout. At the beginning of the battle, the Guardian Scout will come towards Link with slow attacks with its battle-ax and slow slices with its sword, which you will 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, hide behind a pillar so that when it does spin towards Link, it will hit the pillar, which will cause the Guardian Scout to be stunned and will then be an opportunity to deal damage.
- After depleting its health to around half, the Guardian Scout will start to jump back and fire a constant laser in a large arc around it which will inflict damage if Link is hit. Fortunately, the spinning laser will also cause an updraft. You can jump towards the updraft and quickly 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, then aim and fire an arrow at the right time to hit the Guardian Scout’s eye and stun it and deal damage (but, come on, that first method is just cooler to do).
- When its health is nearly depleted, the Guardian Scout will turn blue and start absorbing energy while targeting 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, or 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 Ancient Battle Axe+ and Guardian Sword+ for the taking and a couple of Ancient Shafts and Screws.
- Continue up ahead 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.
The Ke’nai Shakah shrine, or A Modest Test of Strength, is one of eight shrines in the Akkala Tower region. The other shrines are the Katosa Aug Shrine or the Katosa Aug Apparatus, the Ze Kasho Shrine or the Ze Kasho Apparatus, the Tutsuwa Nima Shrine or A Major Test of Strength, the Dah Hesho Shrine or A Minor Test of Strength, the Zuna Kai Shrine or Zuna Kai’s Blessing, the Tu Ka’loh shrine or Tu Ka’loh’s Blessing, and the Ritaag Zumo shrine or Ritaag Zumo’s Blessing.
