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The first DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity seems to revolve around a new service called the EX Royal Ancient Lab - a place where Robbie and Purah have a chance to perfect their research and provide brand new tools for our favorite heroes. That includes a new playable ally, two new weapons, and a ton of quality of life improvements.
The first wave of content dropped in late June, 2021 and ever since fans have been clamoring to get a piece of the action. This guide details everything you need to know about the brand new menu and challenges - plus, it offers some useful tips for completing them painlessly.
Updated August 8, 2021 by Gabrielle Huston: It's been some time since the first wave of DLC was released for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity but players around the world are still enjoying everything it has to offer! This guide has been updated to include new information uncovered by fans so that you have everything you need to know in order to finish the DLC in a snap.
General Tips For EX Royal Ancient Lab Challenges
- Some of the resources you need to complete the challenges in the EX Royal Ancient Lab can only be obtained through EX (DLC) quests. For example, Robbie's Maintenance Oil, Robbie's Machine Lubricant, Guardian Claws, etc.
- Some challenges don't just require resources - you'll also need to perform an action a certain number of times. For example, killing 1,000 opponents with Zelda's Master Cycle or freezing 100 enemies in water with Cryonis.
- For a challenge to unlock, all challenges that have strands leading to it from the left must be completed. For example, to unlock the challenge "An Apple a Day" in the upper web, both challenges leading to it - "An Abundance of Apples" and "Hungry Hunches" - must be completed.
New Content Unlocked Through The EX Royal Ancient Lab
The challenges become more difficult as you go down the web. Many are easy to complete a require few resources, especially in the upper web, but others are more complex. Here's what to expect.
The Guardian Flail
The main feature of interest for the middle section of the challenges is unlocking one of the new weapons, the Flail. If you'd like to learn more about the process of unlocking Link's flail and the new abilities that come with it, check out our walkthrough on the subject.
Any challenge marked with that zig-zagging symbol will provide you with an upgraded version of the flail or an improvement to the flail's attack power.
The Master Cycle
Completing challenges on the far right of the web, towards the bottom, will give you access to the other new weapon: The Master Cycle. Many players are familiar with it from Breath of the Wild but it's in Zelda's capable hands now.
Investing in each of these challenges will provide more attack power for the Master Cycle, or a newer version of it. For more details about the Master Cycle weapon for Zelda or its new abilities, check out our guide about it.
The Battle-Tested Guardian
- Age of Calamity DLC: How To Unlock The Battle-Tested Guardian Playable Hero
- Age of Calamity DLC: Pro Tips For Playing As The Battle-Tested Guardian
On the very farthest right of this web of challenges are the quests that will allow you to unlock the Battle-Tested Guardian.
You need to work through both the middle and lower challenges to gain access to the new hero, so it'll be one of the very last things you do in this first wave of DLC.
Vicious Monsters
One of the very first quests you get access to - entitled "The Menace of Vicious Monsters" - towards the lower section of the web allows you to take on the new, extra-dangerous fights added as part of the DLC: Vicious Monsters. These are extra-tough (often elementally charged) enemies that call other opponents to fight alongside them as you do more damage.
You can recognize them because a goofy little title will be included alongside their name, like "Health Advocate" or " Stronger Than Strong."
Several of the challenges across the entire web will ask for an item called "Report: Vicious Monsters," which is essentially a trophy you get for each Vicious Monster you defeat. So, you'll need to complete this one early.
Just to the right of this challenge, there's another entitled "Analyzing Vicious Behaviour" which allows you to check what kind of monster you'll be facing in these tough fights.
Apocalyptic Difficulty Setting
There's no grand announcement of this addition when you install the DLC, but it is added nonetheless. If you go to the settings, there's one difficulty extra, now: Apocalyptic! This mode makes it harder than ever to work your way through the content and beat your opponents before you and/or your forces are overwhelmed.
Tips For Completing The Royal Ancient Lab Challenges
Now you know what to expect, here are some hints and tips for completing these new challenges.
New Resources Added In The DLC
The game now includes several new resources that didn't exist before the DLC. You can only get them by completing quests that were also added in the DLC - you'll be able to tell which those are by looking for the little "EX" in the corner of the quest's symbol on the world map. The quest should detail which exact resource it'll give you, but some you can predict for yourself. For example, the "Report: Vicious Monsters" is only provided by doing the new Vicious Monster fights. Double-check which of these resources you need before you waste your time on meaningless quests - the Sensor can help with this endeavor!
Here's a list of all the new resources and a few ways to get them:
Robbie's Maintenance Oil
- Random Drop
- Vicious Monster Fights
- EX Battle Research: Items
- EX Link: Flails
- EX Zelda: Master Cycle
Robbie's Machine Lubricant
- Random Drop
- Vicious Monster Fights
- EX Battle Research: Skills
- EX Battle Research: Items
- EX Link: Flails
- EX Zelda: Master Cycle
Robbie's Curing Agent
- Random Drop
- Vicious Monster Fights
- EX Battle Research: Items
- EX Purah & Robbie's Study
- EX Link: Flails
- EX Zelda: Master Cycle
Guardian Claw
- Random Drop
- Vicious Monster Fights
- EX Purah & Robbie's Study
- EX Link: Flails
- EX Alert: Forgotten Temple
High-Yield Ancient Furnace
- Random Drop
- Vicious Monster Fights
- EX Zelda: Master Cycle
- EX Alert: Forgotten Temple
Report: Battle Records
- Awarded For Killing 100 Enemies In A Battle
Report: Material Properties
- Awarded For Collecting 50 Of Any Resource In A Battle
Report: Vicious Monsters
- Awarded For Each Vicious Monster Defeated
Report: Relic Analysis
- Awarded For Defeating Guardian Opponents (Sentries, Guardian Turret, Malice Guardian, etc.)
Report: Monster Ecology
- Awarded For Defeating Minibosses (Lynels, Hinoxes, Taluses, etc.)
Sheikah Rune Improvements You Can Earn Through The Royal Ancient Lab
There are four challenges in the middle part of the web that are marked with familiar symbols: a remote bomb, a lock, a magnet, and a snowflake. These are challenges that, once completed, will increase the amount of damage enemies take from the associated Sheikah Rune.
Each of these challenges will require you to use that Sheikah Rune in a particular way for a particular number of times before you'll be able to unlock it. If you're confused about what you need to do, return to the lab and reread the challenge description for a hint.
These Sheikah Rune quests in which you need to use the Rune in missions a certain number of times can be particularly annoying.
For most of them, you should repeat the quests you were given at the beginning of the game to learn how to use the Rune (i.e. "Mastering Magnesis") because they are built with the intention of giving you opportunities to use it.
This is true for all except the Cryonis challenge, which asks you not only to use the Rune but to freeze your opponents with it. This means you need to use Cryonis on a body of water while enemies are nearby and the "Mastering Cryonis" challenge doesn't include water. Instead, check for quests in Zora's Domain, where there are usually pools of water to use.
How To Kill Lots Of Opponents To Complete Challenges
There are challenges in the lab that ask you to kill a large number of enemies with the new weapons for Zelda and Link. There are a few quests with huge swaths of enemies that are perfect for these quests, including (but not limited to):
- Destroy the Yiga Clan!
- EX Rupee Rescue
- EX Handle the Horde
- The Battle of Hyrule Field
- Reclaim the Land
Since Zelda's Master Cycle can be a bit hard to maneuver at times, if you're working towards her kill count, we recommend quests with lots of open spaces for her to attack in.
Don't Waste Your Resources Outside The Royal Ancient Lab
If you're looking to complete the new quests and challenges quickly, don't spend your resources on normal content on the Hyrule map that you haven't completed yet.
It can be tempting when you see that icon pulsing but if you give away too many trophies for a particular enemy (or any of the other resources you need) it will be a pain to farm them.
Improve Your Weapons By Completing Ancient Lab Challenges
Towards the bottom of the Royal Ancient Lab web, you'll find several challenges in two rows, all marked with blacksmith hammers. Completing them will provide quality of life improvements for your weapons, including:
- Increased weapon capacity
- Weapons found on missions will be of better quality
- The blacksmith can remove hidden seals on your weapons
Better weapons will help you complete the last few challenges.
Quality Of Life Improvements Acquired Through The EX Royal Ancient Lab
When you complete the challenges on the upper section of the web, as well as the rewards previously mentioned, you'll also gain quality of life improvements for the game. These include:
- If an item is needed for a quest that you've registered with your sensor, it will drop more often
- You need fewer ingredients when cooking meals before battles
- You can buy apples, instead of only being able to find them on missions (note that you still cannot buy rods; the energy must be taken from elemental enemies)
- You get a discount when buying apples
- You recover more hearts per baked apple
- The effects of elemental rods last longer
- Merchants in Hyrule have a larger and more diversified stock