How to kill monsters without a sword in The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom

Princess Zelda can do many things in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, but one thing the princess of Hyrule doesn’t get to do right off the bat is swing a sword. This can make dealing with the many monsters that skulk around the Overworld tricky.

Anything can be a weapon if you know how to use it.

After you’ve snuck out of the dungeons of Hyrule Castle, you’ll find yourself on a monster-infested beach on Hyrule’s southern fringe. If you’re anything like me, you’ll learn quickly that Zelda’s pot-and-box-smashing spin move does nothing to enemies. Luckily, you’ve just picked up the ability to create Echoes, so you already have everything you need to slay most of the beasts you’ll come across on your journey through Hyrule.

If you’ve played other The Legend of Zelda games, you know one of the best ways to dispatch weaker monsters is by throwing things at them. If you grabbed the Pot Echo back in Hyrule Castle, you already have a reliable projectable. However, you can also get the Rock Echo off the beach if you missed the Pot Echo or feel Neanderthal-like today.

After you’ve spawned in a Pot or Rock Echo, you can pick it up with a click of the “A” button. Zelda’s got quite the throwing arm on her, so you can clock most enemies from a safe distance with projectiles. You won’t miss most of the time if you use the ZL trigger to lock on to your target. Even better, Pots and Rocks will keep going after they hit an enemy and still do damage to anything behind them, so you can kill two monsters with one projectile if you light things up right.

Monster Echoes can help even the odds

Of course, chinaware and stones can only accomplish so much. Eventually, you’ll have to fight monsters with monsters. Fortunately, it shouldn’t take too long for you to build an impressive bestiary of Echoes to fight on your behalf.

Swinging by the first cave you see on your way to Suthorn Village will allow you to pick up the Ignizol Echo, one of my favorites. This little spitfire does good damage and can light enemies on fire, so you can use it to clear out enemies hiding in the grass. The Peahat Echo, hidden in the cave east of Suthorn, is an even better crowd-cleaner, and it can travel over water and hit flying enemies.

Once you’ve learned to use the Echoes for combat, you’ll be safe to explore Hyrule to your heart’s content. Whether you’re delving into a dungeon or solving a side-quest, you’ll be able to handle anything as long as use your Echoes wisely.