One of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Tena Ko’sah Shrine or A Major Test of Strength. This shrine requires Link to, as the title suggests, 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. This guide will teach you how to defeat the Guardian Scout, complete the Tena Ko’sah 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 120 Spirit Orbs. You can decide whether you want Link to have more Hearts or Stamina.
Location
The Tena Ko’sah Shrine can be found near the edge of the top of a cliff near the Ancient Columns, which can be found south of the Tabantha Tower (the shrine can be found west of the Tabantha Great Bridge near the southern part of Tanagar Canyon or east of south of the Tabantha Frontier). The Tena Ko’sah is one of six shrines in the Tabantha Tower region.
A Major Test of Strength
Before descending to the Tena Ko’sah Shrine, ensure that Link has enough weapons (especially Guardian weapons as they are very effective against Guardians), shields, bows, arrows, and health food (cooked or not) to use.
Upon entering Tena Ko’sah Shrine, you will see an entrance to a 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 an ax, a sword, and a shield.
- Now you must kill the Guardian Scout. At the beginning of the battle, the Guardian Scout will come towards Link with slices with its sword and attacks with its ax, which you will know because it will wind up. You can dodge this attack or, at the perfect time, perform a Flurry Rush to inflict major damage. The Guardian Scout may also shoot lasers, which 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 toward 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 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 in the air. Once Link is up in the air, aim the bow and arrow to slow down time and fire a hand 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 will start absorbing energy while targeting Link with a red laser (just 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++, Guardian Sword++, and Guardian Shield++ for the taking, along with a couple of Ancient Shafts, Gears, and Screws.
- Continue towards the altar, where you will see a chest just before the altar. Open the chest to obtain a Knight’s Halberd.
- Finally, continue up the stairs and talk to the monk to claim your Spirit Orb!
As mentioned above, the Tena Ko’sah Shrine is one of six shrines in the Tabantha Tower region. The other shrines are the Akh Va’quot Shrine or the Windmills, the Kah Okeo Shrine or the Wind Guide, the Sha Warvo Shrine or the Path of Hidden Winds, the Bareeda Naag Shrine or the Cannon, and the Voo Lota Shrine or The Winding Route.
