One of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Kema Kosassa Shrine or A Major Test of Strength. This shrine requires Link to, as the title of the shrine suggests, complete the shrine by proving his strength and defeating a Guardian Scout. 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’ll learn how to defeat the Guardian Scout, complete the Kema Kosassa Shrine, get the chest, and claim the Spirit Orb.
Link will be rewarded with Spirit Orbs for completing Shrines, and you can exchange them for more Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. As there are 120 Shrines all over Hyrule, Link will be able to get 120 Spirit Orbs. You get to decide whether you want Link to have more Hearts or more Stamina.
Location
The Kema Kosassa Shrine can be found near the edge of the cliffs of Mount Agaat in the west of Risoka Snowfield, on the westernmost part of the Gerudo Highlands (west of Gerudo Summit or east of Mount Agaat). The Kema Kosassa Shrine is one of six shrines in the Gerudo Tower region.
It is worth mentioning that the climate in the area is frigid, so make sure that Link has cold-resistant armor.
A Major Test of Strength
Before descending to the Kema Kosassa Shrine, 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 Kema Kosassa Shrine, you will see an entrance to a huge room just ahead of Link, and the whole floor is filled with water. 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 axe, a spear, and a shield.
- 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 and attacks with its axe, 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 significant 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, quickly press the up directional button and select the Cryonis Rune ability. Press the L button to aim, aim a small distance away from Link, and press the A button to activate and create an ice block. Ensure that the ice block is in the middle of Link and the Guardian Scout. Then, when it spins towards Link and hits the ice block, there may be two possibilities: the Guardian Scout will be stunned and will be an opportunity to deal damage, or the Guardian Scout will hit and destroy the ice block but won’t be stunned. This, however, will decrease the speed that the Guardian Scout is spinning towards Link and will be an opportunity to dodge.
- 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, inflicting damage if Link is hit. Fortunately, the spinning laser will also cause an updraft. You can jump toward 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 don’t want to do that, you can stand out of the laser’s range and then aim and fire an arrow at the right time to hit the Guardian Scout’s eye. You will 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 significant 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 Spear++, and Guardian Shield++ for the taking, along with 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 Silver Rupee (100 Rupees).
- Finally, continue up the stairs and talk to the monk to claim your Spirit Orb.
The Kema Kosassa Shrine or A Major Test of Strength is one of six shrines in the Gerudo Tower region. The other shrines are the Kuh Takkar Shrine or the Melting Ice Hazard, the Sho Dantu Shrine or the Two Bombs, the Joloo Nah Shrine or the Joloo Nah Apparatus, the Sasa Kai Shrine or A Moderate Test of Strength, and the Keeha Yoog Shrine or the Keeha Yoog’s Blessing.
