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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom introduces several large, imposing, and difficult bosses, and few have such nostalgic backgrounds and terrifying difficulty as the Gleeoks. With four in total in find and defeat, you'll have your work cut out for you in terms of preparation and combat.
Given their difficulty, it isn't recommended to try any of these fights until you've progressed far into the game. Stock up on your arrows, covet your elemental fused materials, turn in those Blessings of Light, and pray to the Goddess Hylia that you come out of these fights with at least a little air left in your lungs.
How To Defeat Gleeoks - Battle Preparation And Strategy
Before you go searching for these draconic monstrosities, you'll need to keep in mind a few things:
- Gleeoks deal high amounts of damage, and most will one-shot you until the later game. Don't attempt them until you have a sufficient number of hearts.
- You'll need to stock up on arrows. They're key to these fights, and you cannot do them reliably without them. Bring at least 40 per fight, just in case.
- Keep in mind the elemental type of your target. Each Gleeok has a weakness, so come prepared with the appropriate fused materials.
- Bring stamina-replenishing and attack-increasing meals.
- Do not attempt this fight without high-level weapons exceeding a base power of 30.
- Bring Zonaite materials like Rockets and Fans.
- Bring fusing materials like Keese and Aerocuda eyes for accuracy.
If you don't have it, it may be worth questing to find the Fierce Deity armor set. This will further increase your outgoing attack damage.
In every fight with Gleeok, you'll want to have the high ground as much as possible. Your goal is always to strike the eyes on their heads, and you must do this with bows and arrows.
Gleeoks also spend most of their time in the air, and when they're on the ground, they create a gust of wind around them that makes them impossible to approach. Gliding with your bow drawn will allow you to fire arrows accurately and with enough time to spare.
If you need to get some air time, equip a rocket to your shield and use it to propel yourself upward.
Each head of the Gleeok has its own small health pool. When it is depleted, that head will stop making attacks for a short time. However, if all three heads are not defeated fast enough, the defeated heads will regenerate and continue attacking.
Once all three heads are knocked out, the Gleeok will fall, allowing for you to attack with melee attacks. Play aggressive and deal as much damage as possible before they fly up again. Rinse and repeat until they're defeated, but take care with their second phase.
Flame Gleeok
The first Gleeok you'll probably find is the Flame Gleeok located on the Bridge Hylia, he's the obstacle you'll have to face if you want to cross into the Faron Grasslands without going all the way around the lake and over the mountains. Unfortunately, those might be easier.
This Gleeok also appears in:
- Ancient Columns - Tabantha Frontier
- Spectacle Rock - Gerudo Desert
As you may suspect, they're weak to ice damage. Therefore, you'll want to stock up on your arrows and these fused materials:
- Ice Fruit
- White Chu-Chu Jelly
Bringing Sidon can also be helpful here. His water attack can deal increased damage at melee range when the Gleeok is brought down by your arrows.
The Flame Gleeok generally attacks with only fire lasers and a barrage of large fireballs. Like all Gleeoks, it fights aggressively and prefers aerial combat.
When it reaches around 40 percent, it will move into Stage Two where it will fly extremely high and fire giant meteoric fireballs down at you. When these fireballs hit the ground, they will create an updraft for you that you can use, flying up to their level to fire even more deadly arrows.
Frost Gleeok
In the frozen snowfields of Tabantha and at the peak of Gerudo Mountain, this Gleeok prowls.
The one in Tabantha guards the route on the way to the Golden Horse, and there aren't many ways to get the drop on him in this flat landscape of poor visibility.
In terms of preparation, you'll need fire-related fused options like:
- Fire Fruit
- Spicy Peppers
- Red Chu-Chu Jelly
However, you'll also need to ensure you've either packed cold-resistant armor or warming meals to combat the freezing temperatures around these Gleeoks.
Like the Fire Gleeok, the Frost Gleeok fires lasers (and rarely a blasting attack) of its elemental type. However, it also can create giant snowballs with its bursting wind attack on the ground (making it difficult to aim at ground level).
When it reaches its Stage Two, it will fly up and create a storm above that rains giant pillars of ice. While avoiding their fall, climb onto one of them and use Recall to reach the Gleeok's level where you can take it down a notch.
Thunder Gleeok
Unlike the other two Gleeoks, the Thunder Gleeok is sturdier and perhaps a little harder to deal with thanks to the lightning storm it generates, making it a risk to use steel weapons.
You can find the Thunder Gleeok in a total of three locations:
- The Akkala Citadel
- South of Lake Herin - Faron Grasslands
- Colosseum Ruins - Hyrule Field
He has no obvious weaknesses, but it's recommended to bring the following materials for fusing:
- Splash Fruit
- Dazzle Fruit
Riju's ability can come in handy here, adding extra damage to your arrow strikes.
Although he packs the standard elemental laser, the Thunder Gleeok's main concern lies in the balls of electricity he fires. There are two forms of this attack:
- Firing long range balls at a moderate rate
- Firing short range balls rapidly and broadly
All lightning balls explode in an area of effect wherever they land, so even if you dodge the initial strike, you may still be struck by their area of effect.
Once he reaches the Second Stage, he'll begin summoning lightning bolts on the ground. These bolts are so strong that they break the ground wherever they make contact, and they'll create an updraft you can use to glide up to the Gleeok's heads.
King Gleeok
Hidden in the far corners of the map, King Gleeoks rest in their hidden arenas in the sky, and yes, you read that right: plural King Gleeoks. There are four known King Gleeoks in different locations.
- Southwestern corner of Gerudo Desert (above the Lightning Temple)
- Hebra Sky (northwest of Rito Village)
- Necluda Sky (above Fort Hateno)
- Great Hyrule Forests Depths ("The Gleeok Den")
They're each very difficult to reach. For those that are in the sky, it is recommended to travel to one of the nearby sky islands and craft a flying vehicle of some sort. It is not possible to glide from any of the islands to one with a King Gleeok.
This boss, meant to be one of the latest game challenges, is no joke to reach or challenge.
With three heads of each elemental type, you'll have to take all you've learned from the previous three Gleeoks and apply them. That means packing all the required fused items and even more arrows.
King Gleeok will put to use all the attacks you've learned from all other Gleeoks. The lasers, the balls of elemental attacks — almost all attacks you've seen before will make their reappearance in King Gleeok's arena.
And like the previous fights, King Gleeok has an entire second phase, but this one is far more terrifying..
King Gleeok combines all three Stage Two attacks from the single-element Gleeoks and deploys them all at once. You'll have to dodge a giant fireball, a barrage of lightning, and the rain of icy spears one after the other.
It's unlikely that you'll manage all of these without getting hit, but focus primarily on getting up to King Gleeok's level to end this fight as quickly as possible.
The longer this fight drags on, the more at risk you'll be, so play aggressive. Use Rockets if available, and use the updrafts created by his lightning.
Once you're high enough in the air, unleash your arrows and provide no mercy. Hopefully, you'll be able to put King Gleeok into his grave quickly, and you'll soon be off to the next.