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In both games, the Master Sword has 30 power and 60 or 45 when fighting against malice/gloom enemies (source and source). However, the entire point of the TOTK story is that the sword basked in sacred power for ages and therefore has grown much stronger. How can this be reconciled from a story perspective?

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  • 12
    It is more powerful, as it no longer breaks when attacked by Ganondorf.
    – User 23415
    Commented Jul 25, 2023 at 22:24
  • You can fuse things on the master sword making it stronger.
    – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
    Commented Jul 26, 2023 at 21:21
  • In TotK, Master Sword power it's actually x1.5 agains gloom, and not x2, so you have 45 + the fused item.
    – pinckerman
    Commented Sep 8, 2023 at 9:19
  • Ok I have edited the question
    – Riemann
    Commented Sep 8, 2023 at 15:39
  • Perhaps everything else is stronger as well.
    – User 23415
    Commented Oct 28 at 3:31

2 Answers 2

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The sword is bathed in sacred power, but that doesn't mean it's stronger against everything.

Think of it like rubbing garlic on your sword. It's a stronger weapon when you're fighting a vampire, but it has no bearing on when you're fighting humans.
There's a joke in here somewhere about it being stronger smelling though.

As to why it's not stronger against gloom (TOTK) than it was against malice (BOTW), who says that gloom and malice are equal in strength? I think your question is moot when you assume gloom is stronger than malice, which has not been disproven.

Given that the Upheaval managed to corrode weapons etc, it seems very reasonable that Ganon's gloom in TOTK is significantly stronger than his malice was in BOTW.

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From a gameplay perspective, it likely has the same strength and abilities to account for balance. However, we can't really say much else without going to much into developer intent. From a story/lore perspective, it is stronger.

Between the events of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Link & Zelda returned the Master Sword to the Deku Tree in Korok Forrest. When Link & Zelda returned to receive the Master Sword leading up to the events of Tear of the Kingdoms prologue, the Deku Tree stated that the Master Sword was returned to it's full strength. However, as seen in the prologue, this "restored strength" was easily shattered by Ganondorf.

The sword that seals the darkness. Its sacred power has been diminished after being ravaged by the gloom beneath Hyrule Castle. It is now dormant and deep in slumber."
Decayed Master Sword

During the final battle...

The Light Dragon comes to a stop as the growth holding the Master Sword retracts, allowing Link to pull it out with no difficulty. The glowing sheen covering most of the sword peels away to reveal the restored blade, its inconsistent hue marking the severe damage it sustained, but otherwise fully restored and strong enough to stand against the Demon King
Master Sword

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    Put another way, it's not stronger in the sense of more damaging, it's stronger in the sense of more durable.
    – Bobson
    Commented Jul 26, 2023 at 12:56

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