Royal Claymore
The Royal Claymore is a large, decayed sword once issued to the royal family's guard, with a combat design that rewards skilled perfect-dodge timing.
Key Takeaways
The Royal Claymore is a decayed two-handed royal weapon whose defining advantage is tied to perfect-dodge combat rather than a permanently active damage bonus.
Royal weapon with a Flurry Rush focus
Its special trait rewards a successful perfect dodge by improving the resulting Flurry Rush, making timing and close-range commitment central to its use.
Usually found as a decayed weapon
Royal Claymores appear among the kingdom’s scattered decayed weapons, including sources associated with Hinox and Stalnox.
Pristine hunting is a separate route
A pristine counterpart must be sought in The Depths from shadow soldiers rather than treated as the same surface weapon state.
Its main limitation is condition
The decayed form is the less durable state, so its practical value depends on whether the player is using it temporarily or seeking a pristine replacement.
Do not confuse it with the Royal Guard’s Claymore
The Royal Claymore and Royal Guard’s Claymore are distinct weapons; the latter is the separate choice associated with break-point damage strategies.
Overview
The Royal Claymore is a decayed large sword in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, originally issued to the royal family’s guard. Its defining combat identity is a powerful flurry rush after a perfect dodge, rewarding players who can read enemy attacks rather than simply trade blows. It is a standard weapon rather than a unique or legendary item, and its ordinary decayed form is distinct from the more specialized Royal Guard’s Claymore.
The Royal Claymore occupies the large-sword side of Tears of the Kingdom’s melee roster. Its size gives it a committed close-range role, while its royal-guard design and flurry-rush property make precise evasive play central to its appeal. The weapon is therefore more than a generic heavy blade: it is aimed at players who are comfortable waiting for an opening, performing a perfect dodge, and converting that defensive timing into an extended counterattack.
This page treats the Royal Claymore as the standard decayed weapon found during normal play. It should not be confused with the Royal Guard’s Claymore, a separate royal weapon with its own high-risk damage identity and different break-related use cases. The distinction matters when comparing the two: the Royal Claymore is defined by its perfect-dodge flurry-rush behaviour, whereas the Royal Guard’s Claymore is commonly selected for damage potential near its breaking point.
Decayed Royal Claymores can appear in several ordinary exploration and combat contexts across Hyrule, including on Hinox necklaces and among Stalnox drops. That distribution makes the weapon an obtainable part of the broader royal weapon pool rather than a single quest-exclusive reward. Its role can consequently change during a playthrough: an early find may serve as a strong heavy weapon, while later discoveries are more useful as candidates for Fuse experimentation or replacement when durability is exhausted.
The weapon also belongs to the royal-weapon group whose pristine counterparts can be encountered in The Depths, where shadow soldiers hold intact versions. The decayed and pristine states should be considered separate forms rather than interchangeable entries, because their condition affects how the weapon is evaluated and acquired. Neither form is a DLC-only variant; both are part of the base Tears of the Kingdom weapon system, with the pristine route tied to Depths exploration.
Statistics
Attack and durability are the game’s own published values, not a 0–100 scale. Taken from the project’s verified weapons database, not from generated text.
- Attack14
- Durability20
- ClassTwo-Handed
- TraitImproved Flurry Rush
- ConditionDecayed
- Compendium#381
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar melee weapons
| Weapon | Attack | Durability | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Claymore | 14 | 20 | Two-Handed |
| Gnarled Wooden Stick | 14 | 14 | One-Handed |
| Royal Guard's Spear | 15 | 14 | Spear |
| Mighty Zonaite Longsword | 15 | 18 | Two-Handed |
| Sea-Breeze Boomerang | 16 | 20 | One-Handed |
Attack and durability are the game’s own published values. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- No DLC, New Game Plus, vendor, currency, or quest requirement is needed. The Hinox and Stalnox routes are available in the standard game, subject to reaching the relevant enemy locations.
- The weapon is not established here as a guaranteed fixed drop, missable reward, or one-per-playthrough item; enemy loot can vary.
- 01Search the overworld for Hinox carrying a weapon necklace. Royal Claymores can appear among the weapons attached to Hinox, but the specific weapon is not guaranteed; defeat the Hinox and collect the weapon if it appears.
- 02Defeat Stalnox across Hyrule and check the weapons left by the defeated enemy. Royal Claymore is part of the possible Stalnox loot, so this is a repeatable enemy-drop route rather than a fixed chest pickup.
- 03These are decayed Royal Claymores. A pristine Royal Claymore is a separate Depths variant obtained from a shadow soldier, not from repairing or upgrading a decayed one.
Mechanics and Handling
The Royal Claymore is a two-handed claymore, so its handling favours deliberate spacing and committed swings rather than rapid interruption. Its broad blade gives the normal attack sequence a wide arc that can catch nearby targets, while the weapon’s weight makes positioning important: whiffed attacks leave Link exposed longer than a one-handed weapon would. It is primarily a close-range crowd-control weapon, but its reach also helps maintain a safer distance from many grounded enemies.
As a decayed weapon, the Royal Claymore has limited durability and is best treated as a replaceable base for combat or Fuse combinations rather than a permanent investment. Fuse can extend a weapon’s practical lifespan and add the fused material’s properties, but the result still inherits the claymore’s two-handed handling. A pristine Royal Claymore is a separate condition with its own base durability and attack state; do not treat its behaviour or lifespan as interchangeable with the decayed version.
Improved Flurry Rush
The Royal Claymore’s defining combat trait is Improved Flurry Rush. A successful perfect dodge creates the opening for a Flurry Rush, and this weapon is designed to make that response especially valuable. The attack sequence remains a close-range burst, so the trait rewards players who can read an enemy’s timing and stay within striking distance rather than simply trading blows.
This advantage is conditional: it does not make every normal swing stronger, and it does not activate merely because the weapon is equipped. Against enemies with readable melee attacks, deliberate backflips or side hops can turn the claymore’s slower handling into a high-damage counterattack. The trait is less useful when an enemy cannot be safely dodged at close range or when the player cannot maintain the required spacing.
Heavy swings and spacing
The claymore’s charged attack is a spinning heavy attack that covers a broad area around Link. Holding the attack button consumes stamina while the spin continues, making it useful for surrounding enemies but costly if started without a clear opening. The standard and charged attacks both benefit from attacking after an enemy is staggered, trapped, or otherwise unable to punish the commitment.
Because it occupies both hands, the Royal Claymore is not a weapon for simultaneous shield use. Players who need to block or parry must switch to a shield-compatible weapon before doing so. Its strongest handling pattern is therefore proactive: create distance, wait for a punishable attack, or use a crowd-control opening before committing to the blade’s longer animations.
Break state and Fuse handling
The weapon follows Tears of the Kingdom’s normal break-state behaviour. Repeated use eventually wears it out, and a Fuse combination does not remove the need to monitor its condition. Fusing a durable or useful material can make a Royal Claymore more practical, but the material’s effect should be considered separately from the claymore’s Improved Flurry Rush trait; the trait remains tied to the weapon rather than being a general property of every fused result.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Its Royal weapon trait rewards a successful perfect dodge with an improved Flurry Rush, giving skilled players a reliable punish window against attacks they can read.
- As a claymore, it delivers broad two-handed swings that can pressure nearby enemies and make it useful when several targets are within melee reach.
- Its Royal Claymore identity distinguishes it from the Royal Guard's Claymore: it is the flurry-rush-focused option rather than the weapon associated with extreme damage near breaking point.
Weaknesses
- The improved Flurry Rush depends on precise perfect-dodge timing; players who rarely trigger Flurry Rush do not gain much from its defining trait.
- Its two-handed format prevents simultaneous shield use, reducing defensive flexibility during exploration and fights that demand frequent blocking or parrying.
- Claymore attacks commit Link to larger swings than one-handed weapons, making missed attacks more costly against fast enemies or in cramped spaces.
Best uses
- Use it against enemies with readable attack patterns when you can consistently convert perfect dodges into Flurry Rushes.
- Keep it as a dedicated punish weapon for close-range duels rather than relying on it as the only weapon in a mixed encounter.
- Choose it when broad two-handed swings and offensive timing matter more than carrying a shield at the same time.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and handling | Distinctive mechanic | Practical comparison | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Guard's Claymore | Desperate Strength: gains its notable damage potential as durability nears breaking | More specialized for deliberate near-break attacks; the Royal Claymore is the less break-focused option | Players building around controlled weapon break timing | — |
| Royal Broadsword | Royal-series Improved Flurry Rush trait | More flexible with a shield, while the Royal Claymore commits to two-handed attacks | Shield users who still want Royal-series flurry-rush synergy | — |
| Royal Halberd | Royal-series Improved Flurry Rush trait | Uses spear spacing and handling rather than the Royal Claymore’s heavy-sword moveset | Players who prefer safer spacing while retaining a Royal weapon’s dodge-counter identity | — |
Lore and Design
The Royal Claymore is presented as a large, decayed sword that was once issued to the royal family’s guard. Its identity is therefore tied to Hyrule’s former royal military rather than to a named character or a specific quest. The weapon’s description also frames it as equipment intended for skilled users, distinguishing it through handling and technique as well as its two-handed form.
Its defining documented combat association is the powerful flurry rush available after a perfect dodge. This links the weapon thematically to disciplined defensive timing: its royal-guard heritage is reflected not only in its military provenance but also in the expectation that the wielder can exploit precise evasive play. The Royal Claymore should not be confused with the distinct Royal Guard’s Claymore, whose lore and combat role are separate. No additional developer commentary or documented real-world design reference is established here.
Trivia
- Royal Claymore and Royal Guard's Claymore are separate weapons. Their similar names refer to different royal weapon lines, so the Royal Clayore should not be treated as the near-break weapon associated with Royal Guard's Claymore builds.