Boss Rush Guide: How to Unlock the Thunder Dragon Challenges and Rewards

This is a guide to Lanayru's Boss Rush minigame in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for the Nintendo Switch. Read on to learn how to unlock the Thunder Dragon's challenges, rewards, as well as tips and tricks on how to succeed!

What are the Thunder Dragon's Challenges?

After helping the Thunder Dragon Lanayru recover from his illness, he will offer you sets of challenges in exchange for different rewards.

He offers two different types of challenges: One pits you against consecutive battles against bosses you've fought in the game, and the other gives you a chance to replay Silent Realm Challenges.

Thunder Dragon's Boss Rush Challenge

The Boss Rush is an optional minigame where you have to have consecutive wins on boss fights without using items from the Adventure Pouch. However, you can equip one shield before starting the minigame.

Defeating bosses in the Boss Rush earns you rewards depending on the number of battles you have won. These rewards include treasures, a Piece of Heart and the Hylian Shield, the best shield in the game.

Hylian Shield Guide: How to Get the Hylian Shield

Boss Rush Bosses

Lanayru lets you choose the first boss you'll face, while the rest will be randomized. He categroizes the bosses based on when you've fought them.

Below are the bosses you can choose from. Note that Ghirahim's 3rd Form, the Bokoblin Horde, and Demise can only be selected in Hero Mode.

Boss Rush Bosses
The Beginning	The Middle	Later On
Ghirahim	Koloktos	The Imprisoned
Scaldera	Tentalus	Bokoblin Horde*
Moldarach	Ghirahim	Ghirahim*
The Imprisoned	The Imprisoned	Demise*

List of All Bosses and Minibosses

Boss Rush Rewards

Below is a list of rewards for each battle you've successfully completed. You also get 50 Rupees if you set a new record or complete a battle for the first time.

Keep in mind that when you lose to a boss, you will not receive the rewards you've accumulated up to that point. You can only claim your reward in between boss battles. Note that the last three rewards are only available when playing in Hero Mode.

	Rewards
1	20 Rupees
2	Small Treasure (Eldin Ore or an Ornamental Skull)
3	100 Rupees
4	Piece of Heart (200 Rupees after beating for the 2nd time)
5	300 Rupees
6	Rare Treasure (Blue Bird Feather or Golden Skull)
7	500 Rupees
8	Hylian Shield (1,000 Rupees after beating for the 2nd time)
9	2,000 Rupees
10	3 Rare Treasures (Hero Mode only)
11	3,000 Rupees (Hero Mode only)
12	9,900 Rupees. Make sure to get your wallet expansions and Tycoon Wallet to be able to carry all the loot. (Hero Mode only)

How to Upgrade Your Wallet

Boss Rush Tips and Tricks

Check the Area to Find Hearts

Since you cannot use potions, it is important to know how to replenish your health while in the Boss Rush.

See the table below to learn where to find hearts during the boss fights. Note that this does not apply in Hero Mode, as hearts will not appear even if you have Heart Medals equipped.

Boss	Tips and Tricks
Ghirahim	Break pots around the arena.
Scaldera	Look at the top of the arena and you should find hearts.
The Imprisoned	Cut the grass around the area to find hearts. There are also plenty of hearts near the entrance to the Sacred Temple.
Koloktos	Try to lure the Koloktos to the pillars to get hearts. Once you steal his sword, you can destroy the pillars yourself.
Bokoblin Horde	Keep fighting Bokoblins to replenish your health, and only advance once your heart meter is full.

Use Guardian Potion +

Before starting the Boss Rush, drink a Guardian Potion + to become immune to damage for 3 minutes. This allows you the face the first boss with the potion's effect still in place.

If you have a Potion Medal, you can equip it and extend the potion's duration to 9 minutes!

Potions Guide: How to Use Potions

Choose the Hardest Boss First

When starting the Boss Rush, you have the option to choose which boss to fight first. It is recommended to face a boss you have trouble with first as you are able to battle it at full health and with a shield in perfect condition.

List of All Bosses

Have At Least 16 Hearts

We recommend starting the Boss Rush with at least 16 hearts to ensure survivability. You can pick up additional heart pieces from various locations to form a Heart Container and increase the maximum number of hearts.

How to Get All Pieces of Heart

Use the Goddess Shield

Make sure to get your Goddess Shield before starting the Boss Rush. This is extremely handy since the Goddess Shield self repairs and is resistant to fire and electricity.

How to Get the Goddess Shield

Thunder Dragon's Silent Realm Challenge

Alternatively, Lanayru also offers a chance for you to revisit the Silent Realm and replay the different trials. This also offers you a chance to collect more Dusk Relics you may need to upgrade your materials.

Read more about our Silent Realm Guide

Silent Realm Challenge Rules

Getting Hit by a Guardian Ends the Challenge

The Thunder Dragon's Silent Realm challenge ends if you get hit by a guardian. You will also be left with a single heart as you return to the Lanayru Gorge.

Be sure to avoid watchers and check the map to learn where to find the nearest Sacred Tear.

Silent Realm Challenges Tips and Tricks

Manage Your Stamina

In order to clear the Silent Realm challenges as fast as possible, it is important to manage your stamina gauge. You can pick up stamina flowers to recover the gauge fully, even when being chased by a guardian.

Find the Best Route

When starting the challenge, you can check the map to see the locations of all the Sacred Tears of the realm. From there, you need to find the best route to collect all the tears as fast as possible.

All Silent Realm Guides
Farore's Silent Realm	Nayru's Silent Realm
Din's Silent Realm	The Goddess's Silent Realm

Silent Realm Challenge Rewards

After collecting all the Sacred Tears, you will be evaluated based on the clear time. There are four categories in total and shorter times earn you more valuable rewards.

Evaluation Based on Clear Time

Silent Realm	Very Good	Good	Okay
Farore	180 seconds	225 seconds	285 seconds
Nayru	255 seconds	330 seconds	405 seconds
Din	360 seconds	450 seconds	540 seconds
The Goddess	240 seconds	315 seconds	390 seconds

Rewards for Each Evaluation

Evaluation	Reward
Very Good	・Blue Bird Feather ・Ornamental Skull ・Goddess Plume
Good	100 Rupees
Okay	20 Rupees
Not Good	5 Rupees

Skyward Sword HD Related Guides

List of Mini Games

All Mini Games
Clean Cut Challenge	Thrill Digger
Skydiving Roulette	Bug Heaven
Pumpkin Pull	Rickety Coaster
Boss Rush	-