Weapon Modifier Guide — Tears of the Kingdom

Every weapon in Tears of the Kingdom can have modifiers — bonus stats that appear at the end of the weapon name. Understanding modifiers is the difference between a weapon that lasts one fight and one that carries you through an entire dungeon.

All Weapon Modifiers Explained

Attack Up (+)

The most valuable offensive modifier. Adds flat attack damage to every swing. Attack Up modifiers range from +1 to +10 on standard weapons, and up to +25 on Lynel-class equipment.

Examples:

• "Soldier's Claymore+ Attack Up" — base 36 + modifier bonus
• "Royal Claymore+ Attack Up" — endgame tier, easily 50+ total damage

The + symbol in a weapon name indicates it has at least one modifier. Multiple modifiers are possible.

Durability Up

Increases the number of swings before the weapon breaks. The modifier value is not shown explicitly — it is applied as a percentage increase to the weapon's base durability pool.

Best use case: Apply Durability Up to weapons with low base durability but high attack (e.g., Knight's Broadsword variants). This extends their effective lifetime significantly.

Note: Durability Up does NOT stack multiplicatively with Fuse — the Fuse material adds a separate damage component but does not interact with the modifier's durability pool.

Long Throw

Increases the distance and velocity of thrown weapons. Particularly useful for throwable spears and boomerangs. Does not affect the instant-kill mechanic of Ancient Blades — that triggers on any throw regardless of distance.

Quick Charge

Reduces the charge time for charged attacks. Best on two-handed weapons (Claymores, Bludgeons) where the standard charge attack is slow enough to be interrupted. With Quick Charge, the charged spin attack becomes fast enough to use mid-combat reliably.

Fuse Recycling

When a weapon breaks, the Fused material detaches and can be picked up from the ground. Normally, Fused materials are lost when the weapon breaks. Fuse Recycling ensures the attached material drops intact — critical for expensive Fuse attachments like Dragon Parts, Giant Brightbloom Seeds, or Silver Lynel materials.

Critical Hit Chance

Increases the probability of a critical hit (1.5x damage multiplier). The activation chance is not explicitly shown but is meaningfully higher than base. Best on high-swing-rate weapons (one-handed swords) where the extra hits increase the statistical chance of triggering a crit.

Zoom

Exclusive to bows. Increases zoom level while aiming — provides a sniper-scope level of magnification for long-range shots. The most underrated bow modifier for distant aerial targets and Dragon part farming.

Gloom Resistance

Reduces the Gloom damage penalty from wielding Gloom weapons (found in the Depths). Normally, Gloom weapons gradually drain hearts as you use them. Gloom Resistance on the weapon reduces this drain rate, making Gloom weapons viable for sustained combat.

How to Find Modified Weapons

1. Random Drops from Silver Enemies

Silver Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos consistently drop weapons with 1–2 modifiers. Silver enemies are the primary source of modified weapons mid-to-late game. Farm Silver camps in the Depths (post-Blood Moon) for the highest density.

2. Treasure Chests in Shrines and Dungeons

Many shrine chests specifically contain modified weapons. The Hyrule Castle treasure rooms and Gerudo Town underground vaults contain modified Royal weapons with multiple bonuses.

3. Drops from Lynel Combat

Lynels drop heavily modified weapons as a reward for defeating them. Silver Lynels drop weapons with Attack Up +5 or higher plus secondary modifiers. The sword drops from a Silver Lynel average 60+ damage before any Fuse attachment.

4. Zonai Treasure Chests on Sky Islands

High Sky Islands (1,000m+) often contain treasure chests with modified weapons appropriate for endgame content. The Hyrule Sky Archipelago above Hyrule Castle is the richest source.

Fuse + Modifier Stacking — Maximum Damage Build

The formula for weapon damage is approximately:

Total Damage = (Base Damage + Attack Up Modifier) + Fuse Material Damage

A critical insight: the Attack Up modifier and Fuse material damage are additive. This means maximizing both gives disproportionate returns.

Optimal endgame melee weapon example:

• Base weapon: Royal Guard's Claymore (Attack Up +10 modifier) — base 72 damage
• Fuse material: Shard of Light Dragon's Horn (+26 attack)
• Total: 72 + 26 = 98 damage per hit — among the highest achievable

For boss fights vs. Gloom enemies:

• Master Sword (base 30) + Attack Up modifier fuse = 30 × 2 (bonus vs. Gloom enemies) + modifier
• With Gloom enemy multiplier active, Master Sword hits Ganondorf for 60 base — higher than most Fused weapons

Modifier Preservation — Weapon Duplication Note

Unlike Breath of the Wild, there is no weapon duplication glitch in unpatched TotK for retaining modifiers. Once a weapon breaks, its modifiers are gone. Fuse Recycling is the closest mechanic — preserve your highest-modifier weapons by fusing them with Recycling-capable attachments.

Bow Modifier Priority

For bows, modifier priority is different from melee:

1. Multishot (fires 3 arrows simultaneously) — highest DPS multiplier, especially with Fused arrow tips
2. Zoom — essential for Dragon part farming and aerial targets
3. Quick Charge — reduces the aim-and-shoot cycle significantly
4. Attack Up — useful but less impactful than multishot since arrows share the bonus across all shots

Best bow setup: A 3x Multishot Lynel Bow with Zoom modifier + Keese Eyeball arrow tips (homing) = auto-aim multi-hit on flying enemies including Aerocudas and Dragon parts.

Quick Reference — Modifier Priority Tier List

| Tier | Modifier | Best For | |------|----------|----------| | S | Attack Up + | All combat | | S | Multishot (bows) | Arrow DPS, Dragon farming | | A | Durability Up | Low-durability high-damage weapons | | A | Zoom (bows) | Long-range precision | | B | Fuse Recycling | Dragon part or rare material attachments | | B | Quick Charge | Two-handed charged attacks | | C | Long Throw | Spear builds, Ancient Blade synergy | | C | Critical Hit | High-frequency attack builds | | D | Gloom Resistance | Depths Gloom weapon builds only |