On the Hyrule map, open Facilities and select EX: Royal Ancient Lab. With the expansion pass, research from Pulse of the Ancients begins here. The orders bring you Link’s Flail, Zelda’s Master Cycle and finally the Battle-Tested Guardian as a playable character. In between there are permanent improvements for the weapon inventory, the Sheikah Runes and the Blacksmith.
The path to becoming a Battle-Tested Guardian branches out. Work the Flail branch and rune research in parallel instead of just following a line to a locked node. For the final two relic quests, the main story must also be completed with the The Future of Hyrule.
Start research and collect reports
Pay to Roll Out the Research first 800 Rupees. After that, you can receive research reports and the first branches of the institute will open. The taxes consume your reports. Once a report has been earned, it is therefore not automatically available for the next job after it has been used.
Report: Battle Records You collect by defeating opponents: Every 100 kills in a battle result in a report. For Reports: Material Properties the loot collected counts; 50 materials each produce one report. Reports: Monster Ecology come from large monsters such as Hinox, Stone Taluses and Lynels. For Reports: Relic Analysis you defeat Guardians. You get Reports: Vicious Monsters from Vicious Monsters in the EX sightings.
You don’t have to play exclusively DLC battles for the first four report types. Combine procurement with open tasks from the base game. Invading Terrors, for example, contains numerous guards and can therefore also be used for relic analyses. Complete a selected battle regularly before spending the received reports at the Institute.
Unlock Link’s Guardian Flail
After the first research assignment, go to The Technology of Disassembly. Turn in five each of Ancient Screws, Ancient Springs, Ancient Gears, and Ancient Shafts, as well as a Report: Battle Records. This increases the chance of finding ancient materials. At the same time the order A Helping Claw accessible.
For A Helping Claw you need a Guardian Claw, 15 Robbie’s Maintenance Oil, a Report: Monster Ecology and a Report: Battle Records. After turning it in, Link will receive the Guardian Flail. The new weapon type is now unlocked; You can then play the associated training and explore the two other variants. Guardian Claws are special DLC materials. If there is a shortage, check the reward display of your open EX challenges.
Ancient Bladed Flail and Fortified Flail
Two orders continue from the first Flail. For The Blazing-Blue Blades, you turn in one Guardian Claw, five Robbie’s Maintenance Oil, ten Robbie’s Machine Lubricant, one Report: Relic Analysis, and one Report: Monster Ecology. For this you will receive the Ancient Bladed Flail.
Magnificent Mass requires one Guardian Claw, five Robbie’s Maintenance Oil, ten Robbie’s Curing Agent, one Report: Relic Analysis, and one Report: Material Properties. The reward is the Fortified Flail. For the future Guardian veteran, both research directions are useful: the antique blade line leads to the perfect relic, the high-performance line opens magnet research on the way to Zelda’s Master Cycle.
After The Blazing-Blue Blades follows Applied Research: Clawsome Power. Defeat with the Flail 1,000 opponents and hold a guardian claw, five of each Robbie’s Maintenance Oil, Robbie’s Machine Lubricant and Robbie’s Curing Agent and a Report: Relic Analysis. After fulfilling the combat condition and surrendering, the attack power of the Flail increases by ten. After that will The Ultimate Relic accessible.
Vicious Monsters and rune research
From the beginning of the research tree, open the task The Menace of Vicious Monsters. For this you give 500 Bokoblin Trophies, 20 Moblin Trophies, 30 Chuchu Trophies and ten Wizzrobe Trophies. Duels against Vicious Monsters now appear on the map. These battles provide the Reports: Vicious Monsters for later research.
For Zelda’s Master Cycle you need three completed module orders. The following conditions are part of the research tasks; check your counters at the institute and then hand in the materials. A full meter alone does not complete a research project.
| Research | Combat condition | Material delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Power Play: Bombs Away | Defeat 100 enemies with bombs | 2 Molduga Fins, 5 Red Chuchu Jelly, 10 Bladed Rhino Beetles |
| Power Play: Nice and Icy | 60 Freeze enemies | 5 White Chuchu Jelly, 10 Cold Darners |
| Power Play: Go with the Flow | Put 100 enemies into Stasis | 3 Lynel Hooves, 10 Tireless Frogs |
| Power Play: Magnetic Mayhem | 5 Magnetism-reflective weapons | 5 Guardian Trophies, 10 Voltfin Trout |
Power Play: Bombs Away opens after Threat Research and leads to Power Play: Nice and Icy. Use bombs against close, weak enemies. For the ice condition, lure troops into shallow water and deploy the Cryonis there. With Stasis you can also capture multiple enemies in a group. For Power Play: Magnetic Mayhem, on the other hand, you wait for thrown metal weapons and throw them back. Simply using the Magnesis without a weapon thrown back does not meet this condition.
The missing accesses to Stasis and magnet
Power Play: Magnetic Mayhem opens after Magnificent Mass in the Flail branch. For Power Play: Go with the Flow you first need the two weapons inventory tasks. After threat research appears The Source of Strength: Submit three Reports: Battle Records, a Report: Monster Ecology and a Report: Vicious Monsters. This creates ten additional weapon slots.
The follow-up task The Many Sources of Strength costs ten Reports: Battle Records, five Reports: Monster Ecology and three Reports: Vicious Monsters. You get another 20 slots and open Stasis research. If one of these entrances is still closed, it will not help to just continue following the ice line that is already visible.
Zelda’s Master Cycle: Top-Secret Request
Are Power Play: Nice and Icy, Power Play: Go with the Flow and Power Play: Magnetic Mayhem completed Top-Secret Request accessible. Give a High-Yield Ancient Furnace, 15 Robbie’s Maintenance Oil, a Report: Relic Analysis, and a Report: Battle Records away. For this, Zelda gets it Master Cycle as a separate type of weapon. He is Zelda’s Combat equipment in Age of Calamity; This will not unlock Link’s motorcycle from Breath of the Wild.
After this research, in addition to the Master Cycle training, also appears The Relic of Legend. This means that the previously separate paths meet: you now have access to both missions, which together open the Trial of the Battle-Tested Guardian.
Unlock the Battle-Tested Guardian
Finish the main story first. Then close The Ultimate Relic and The Relic of Legend in the institute. Each of the two orders requires five Reports: Relic Analysis, 15 Reports: Monster Ecology, 15 Reports: Battle Records and two Reports: Vicious Monsters. For both together you need twice these quantities. A single relic order is only half of the unlock.
Afterwards EX Alert: Forgotten Temple, recommended from level 78. Prepare your strongest character with an improved weapon. There are no healing items available in this trial. Go to the marked target and defeat the Battle-Tested Guardian. Use the displayed module counterattacks, sidestep his big attacks and use strong combinations in the revealed Weak-Point Gauge. Save special attacks for safe hit windows instead of using them up during a retreat or dodge move.
After the victory, return to the institute. The final order The Battle-Tested Guardian still requires three Reports: Relic Analysis and a Report: Vicious Monsters. Only this last tax makes the veteran guard playable. Defeating him and unlocking him are therefore two separate steps. His training and other tasks for hearts, combos and special attacks then appear.
Permanent improvements for the Blacksmith
After The Source of Strength, the Working with the Blacksmith Guild becomes accessible. Turn in five Topazes, ten Giant Ancient Cores, five Reports: Vicious Monsters, and 5,000 Rupees. Research allows for a further increase in the maximum weapon level. This means that your weapon does not immediately increase to the new limit: you then do the actual reinforcement in the Blacksmith.
After that follows The Deal with Seals. You need ten Raw Gourmet Meat, 15 Razorclaw Crabs, ten Stamella Shrooms, five Reports: Material Properties and three Reports: Vicious Monsters. With the completed order you can too remove hidden seals and build your preferred weapon more specifically. The basic rules for connecting weapons and matching seal shapes are included Weapons, seals and the blacksmith.
Regardless, repairing Terrako is part of the base game. If you are still missing the little guardian, the route will take you there all 50 Terrako Components through his tasks. You get to the main battles via the Walkthrough to Age of Calamity back.