Update:
The DLC is now live, enjoy!
Original Article:
During today's festivities for The Game Awards Eiji Aonuma showed off DLC Pack 2 for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Champions' Ballad. It looks fantastic, and it's out 'tonight', which means within hours of this post.
The content seems to put you in the shoes of the Champions to complete "The Divine Beast Tamer’s trials", before Link goes into his sleep 100 years ago. There was also a lot of footage playing as Link, while the story will show us more of all the heroes (including Zelda) prior to the world-changing events on Hyrule. The trailer shows new dungeons and some interesting ideas.

Also, when you clear the challenges you can get the Master Cycle Zero for Link to ride.
We'll keep an eye out for the DLC going live; are you excited about this?
Comments 113
So excited to start playing this, really happy to hear it's coming out tonight! The trailer was awesome!
And they ACTUALLY gave him the bike XD
I cannot believe it. I knew the DLC would be announced, but I would have never guessed it would be released tonight.
What! Master cycle! I can't wait. Sounds amazing!
Edit: Looks amazing! Just watched the trailer.
Motorcycle ??
Mario Kart 8 : Breath of the Wild confirmed !
He has a what now? O_o
Link on a motorbike was a sore point for some when it appeared in MK8D.How are they going to cope with this?Ouch!
Myself,I love it.I'm going to have an incredible time exploring those vast lands all over again without a care in the world about timelines and lore.
Link really has some horse power now doesn't he?
Wow, that is sudden!
Honestly I have never been concerned about the BOTW DLC, because I'm nowhere near finished with the original game and have too many other games to finish. And all it took to change my mind about this was one single picture of Link on an insanely cool Guardian-style motorcycle.
Buying this as soon as I have the money.
Totally expected this; great news!
I'm wondering if I should finish the game before I play The Champions' Ballad?
@Kalmaro As Aonuma said at The Game Awards, his own "divine beast".
WOW. There is a bombshell for tonight I didn't expect. I didn't care one bit for the previous DLC pack but this one pretty much has me convinced!
Nintendo! PLEASE STOP. MY BODY WAS NOT READY FOR 2017.
What's the point of horses then?
Master Cycle called Ehonda
Kind of unclear on if this is a separate adventure with its own file or if its implemented into the main game as a quest like The Trial of the Sword.
@Freek Ehonda Yamahahaha
Awesome trailer? Master Cycle? Available tonight? Why am I watching this awards show? I have things to do in Hyrule!
Ugh. I hate that I have to put down Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to play this. I just started Chapter 3.
@Freek
"Master Cycle called Ehonda"
E.Honda ??

Tonight? The video says now? Either way its freaking 3am I can't start it now D:
Glad I bought the DLC and hoping that Nintendo releases another Zelda on Switch with this engine or announces a second DLC pack. Easily my favorite game of all time, bar none.
So they got to use one of the concept ideas in BotW after all. Master cycle, lol.
Looks amazing. Played BotW on the Wii U but this gives me reason to jump back in now that I have it on the Switch.
well i guess im gonna be tired at work tomorrow
I'm at work right now but I get to go home early. Zelda DLC is waiting for me? I love you Nintendo.
That trailer was amazing! I did not think I would be this excited to play BOTW again. Wow
A bit of a treat to.get from.Nintendo so.suddenly. Though my head is still wrapped around Odyssey right now. So I'm not sure when I'll be able to properly get to it. But it is exciting to have new content.
is it tonight yet
@BornInNorway81 Yes. It feels much more full and complete.
Same. Although I’m glad I’ve only cleared 2 chapters. If I was 6 or 7 in, it might have been a little more difficult to put down. @abbyhitter
Motorcycle seems odd but I’m excited and will gladly cruise around Hyrule on it.
Everyone: But the DLC content doesnt match the pri...
Adds a Bike
JUST TAKE MY MONEYS NINTENDO!!!! <3
XD
Nice tie-in to Mario Kart.
The Game of the Year got more Game of the Year-ier.
Nice. Feeling pretty pleased with DLC out soon. I said to myself. Don't start playing Xenoblade until after playing Zelda second DLC. Although I haven't actually bothered with major part of the first DLC anyway. I guess I will complete it together.
@BornInNorway81 I have been holding off on beating Ganon, but I have a feeling it will be fine either way. It's GOTY. It's good. A Wii U game won GOTY!!
Already bought the dlc pack months ago. Just waiting for the second dlc and now I have a chance to play it.
Wow, just wow.
...YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSESS!!!
Thank Christ! I can chill now. Nintendo are so damn cool...
I'm afraid to read the article past the title and tagline (still haven't played BotW lol), but kudos to those who get to play it! Judging from the reactions, this is hotly anticipated by many.
Holy crap! Yessssss!!!!!
Downloading it right now. It should be live at the moment. Visit the eshop and update the game.
ITS LIVE PEOPLE
Dammit! Just when I thought I was out... they go and pull me back in again!
I'm incredibly excited... but I have to wake up to go to work in 6 hours... Guess I'll wait until tomorrow after work.
Also I never knew I wanted a Motorcycle in Breath of the Wild until now!
Downloading on my Wii U right now :3
@Freek
hahahah Ehonda, genius!
Wow....this is H....A.....R.....D
I'll let you all tell me how it is because nothing in the trailer has me excited for the DLC. Especially when there are other games I haven't played yet.
GOTY
The DLC is live, folk!
Awesome I want one .
Love it
Looks like they real nailed the DLC. But I won’t be getting it. The backlog is increasingly and time is short. Mario, Horizon and Persona 5, all game of the year nominees, need my attention.
Edit: I forgot Nier Autamata, Mario & Rabbids, Skyrim, Metroid, Nier, Xenoblade (possibly) and RE7 Gold Edition. 2017 is surely the best year of gaming in recent times. If not ever. But also the most challenging with all the EA and destiny crap.
Uhh..... not that the DLC doesn't look great or anything but earlier this year I thought it was confirmed to be set after the game. This really excited me because it's something we haven't really seen properly done in a Zelda game before. I was interested in a world post-ganon as opposed to pre-ganon (If it is pre-ganon could still be current ganon I'm not sure) Like I said the DLC will be great but I am a tad disappointed. Here's a link to an article which says it's after the main game https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.eurogamer.net/amp/2017-07-07-in-breath-of-the-wilds-the-champions-ballad-you-will-be-playing-as-link
What would be the best way to enjoy the DLC? I just bought BotW for the Switch.
Buy the DLC and start a new game?
Finish the game first, then get the DLC?
Not feeling it as much as I hoped I would. Looks like more Shrines and Divine Beast 'dungeons' rather than the dungeons of old. Not that I was expecting anything different really. I'll still be buying it and playing it over Xmas though. The bike looks weird.
Nice move, Nintendo! Their really on a winning streak these days. Hot system. Awesome library of games amassed in less than a year (has a past Nintendo console ever had it so good so soon?). Dropping the DLC this way. It’s like Beyoncé dropping Lemonade out of nowhere after lots of teasers. Their brand is relevant to the masses again. The press has been good to them. Sony realizes the Switch could be a threat (on the tablet add on for 2019? 😄). 2017 belongs to Nintendo. Surprises like this makes me excited for 2018!
I only bought the DLC pack on Monday. Perfect timing!
I'm on the last knockings of the main game, got about 6 shrines to go and then I'll fight Ganon, then straight into the DLC...will this game ever release me from its grip? I didn't want to buy any other games until I got through this!
Woooahhh! This has come as a massive surprise, I was thinking a 31/12/17 release date at the earliest. Can’t wait to get back into this truely amazing game. Wasn’t sure on the guardian bike at first but having watch the trailer the third and fourth times I’m sold on it. Awesome!
there goes my weekend! can't decide whether to play this or splatfest or party crash…
@SeniorDingDong If you're definitely going to buy the DLC then get it now. Stuff like the Hero's Path is useful right away. If you're not sure how much you'll want it then wait until you've finished the main quest and see if you still want more.
Really exciting news as it feels like we've been waiting forever. Tried to download for wii u. Just getting an error code in e shop 105-1041!!
WHYYYYYYYYY???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This looks pretty cool! Maybe I have to buy a new e-shop card next week after all (next week I am at the shops again)!
"The content seems to put you in the shoes of the Champions"
A assumption. The trailer doesn't show playable segments of Daruk, Mipha, etc.
@DoctorOverbuild I'm slightly annoyed about that. But I just saw a certain tiny someone grin in a cutscene and now I don't care anymore because my life is complete.
Hard indeed.
How dare a Bokoblin kill me in one lucky hit.
May also be something to do with completely forgetting the control system since March.
@OorWullie @Freek Kawasaki play this without competing the main game?
Does anyone know if The Champions Ballad DLC purchased on the NA eShop, would it work with an EU copy of the main game?
@chardir Thank you. In this case, I am going to get the DLC right away.
So... they had motorcycle a hundred years ago? How did they devolved into riding horses?
@abbyhitter I'm trying to finish Skyrim quickly so I can play XC2, which is looking at me with its puppy eyes, and I'm thinking the exact same thing: Skyrim and XC2 will have to wait until I'm done with Zelda.
Just updated so that i can play it at lunch, cant wait!
How long before someone makes a custom IRL version of that motorcycle?
Saving this as my festive wind-down treat.
@Nincompoop taking this a bit literally?
@Savino also he’ll start salvaging powers from the ancient shrines of a technologically advanced civilisation that disappeared centuries earlier.
Oh and Link will turn out to be a girl when you finish the game.
Then the next game will be a 4 player co-op...
Legend of Zelda: Born to Be Wild
BOTW DLC and Monster Hunter World beta tomorrow. Its too much. I might explode. I’ll never get anything done in the real world.
I will admit that the motorcycle is jumping the shark a little bit
@Savino Conidering this game takes place thousands of years post Ocarina, it's not unbelievable at all. Just because the world is in disarray doesn't mean technology is at a complete standstill. What's weirder to me is why no one else in the entirety of Hyrule has anything like this for themselves. lol
So the final swan song of the Wii U for me has arrived. I will have to try to find some time this weekend to play it. From there it is on to the SNES Classic (and maybe a NES classic if I can locate it) for the next year or so for me.
@Freek if they have done it properly it will be very different on the bike since you have to drive it and perhaps can use the bow only on an unmounting jump. With the horse you can fight and it avoids stuff. Motorbike should be literally fun fast travel
Guess we all now know what Link's ride will be in the next Mario/Nintendo Kart.
Wow, I missed a lot last night lol.
@MoonKnight7 Yes you did, it was actually a really good night for Nintendo. And you missed some raving lunatic named Josef go off on who knows what. Not good enough for you to go and watch it, it's over 2 1/2 hours long, but Nintendo dominated I think. And Wii U won GOTY and got DLC so there's that.
Why so much hate for the bike, I don't get it?
There are 3 ginormous divine beasts walking around powered eternally by I don't know what, 1 flying beast, hundreds if not thousands of robotic Guardians running around shooting lasers out of their eye, Link gets fins that let him swim up waterfalls, he controls giants shrine levels with a magnet that he carries around in his pocket, can glide for hours with a little bit of vlith. But heaven forbid somebody puts two wheels together and that's completely unrealistic. If a world with giant walking flying Divine Beasts.
Yeah the bike kills the reality.
Did you people even play the game? Link travels around by putting bombs in minecarts that propels them over tracks. So, take the cart off the tracks, take off 2 wheels, insert bomb, motorcycle. It really isn't that much of a stretch.
@rjejr
Haha, yeah award nights aren't really my jam. I'm the same way about the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. I usually just read the recaps the day after. But wow, I wasn't expecting Nintendo to use it as an opportunity to announce new games/content. I wasn't expecting to hear about anything new until at least January next year.
@rjejr
Haha, I think the bike is awesome. I don't get what the deal is either. If it's a way to get around faster, I'm all for it.
Rip Xenoblade, gotta play this first.
They made the Epona-bike a real thing. The absolute madmen.
bangs on keyboard in excitement
Why did I have to come to work today? Going to check this out at lunch.
What even are these cutscenes?! I'm falling in love with this game all over again T_T <3
argh Started the game, took 10 minutes to download, then another 10 minutes to install. Then the game tells me to go into the eShop where it says I already purchased it. Then it tells me I gave to restart the game. Then it tells me it's going to take another 20 minutes to download. So much argh.
I think this is Nintendos way of torturing Wii U owners into buying a Switch. Which I already did October 27th, but after paying $60 for Zelda and $20 for the season pass and playing Zelda for 155 hours I didn't feel the need to buy it all again for another $80.
Oh, I'm pretty sure the long download and installs this morning are b/c I played Zelda on internal memory but since then I've installed a thumb drive so now the Wii U is redown loading everything to the thumb drive even though I have most of it already on the Wii U, b/c that's the way Wii U works, external storage gets priority even if you don't want it too.
1GB down, 1GB to go. So much argh.
The really annoying part is this all should have happened automatically overnight. And it probably would have if not for Wii Us handling of internal and external storage. Now I'm worried my save files will have somehow disappeared. I may literally kill somebody today in an act of road rage if that's the case.
This is why I try to wait for complete editions on disc. Or cart. Too much downloading. 4 more minutes, then the long install. I started this after breakfast but I won't be playing until after lunch at this rate.
Wow. So after all of that waiting I die in 1 hit from an electric blob of jello.
Who thought this was a good idea? We already have a hard mode, can't I just play the $19.99 DLC with my 27 hearts and very expensive ancient armor and weapons? If I wanted to die repeatedly I'd go back to playing trial of the sword, or start hard mode, I just want to have some fun and play the game DLC I spent $20 on. sheesh
Maybe I'll just watch a Let's Play on Youtube.
@Savino There have always been lasers in the Zelda series though. Remember those one-eyed laser pillar guys in Dodongo's Cavern?
@Nincompoop Looks like the bike is made from Guardian Technology to me. the "100 years later" mob don't know how that works as they've lost the know-how. Assuming that's why there aren't any others to be seen around Hyrule in present-day. The "100 years earlier" crowd must have had iPhone's, microwaves, internet, the lot.
Joking, but the existence of the bike is pretty easy to explain away, and allows you to ride around Hyrule on a bike. No complaints here.
@frabbit If it's Guardian Technology, you will get a Robo-Epona not a motorcycle. I don't mind a steampunk mechanical horse, a motorcycle is just too modern to me.
Hey you never know, maybe Nintendo is planning to put Link in the modern world through a time machine for future games. If putting Mario in New York is not weird then they can push the boundary even more with Zelda in Los Angeles. This could be them testing water.
@Nincompoop Link in LA... with breast implants and a facelift.
@frabbit
Link with botox:
Is the dungeon a big, classic dungeon, another divine beast, or something smaller?
Does it include a Dutch dub for this game too? No? Ok. Off to Mario Odyssey I go then. At least that game has a valid excuse for not having a dub of any language in it.
So good
What do the champions amiibo do I’m getting them for Christmas
Pretty disappointing dlc honestly, the bike is cool but I was expecting something different gameplay or story wise.
do we know how many hours takes to finish on your own pace the second DLC?
@OorWullie Ehonda , yamahahaha , what a triumph
@OorWullie Ehonda , yamahahaha , what a triumph
@Nincompoop to quote William Gibson, ‘the future is here it just isn’t evenly distributed.”
@Nincompoop I was thinking along similar lines. A space adventure would be cool and could still keep with the steampunk / anime aesthetic...
@rjejr A tip: I’ve been using electric arrows, and it makes the battles much easier. If you’re struggling with them, you can either wear the Majora’s Mask, or you can always travel to another area to brush up on your skills. Hope this helps!
Be sure to save up luminous stones for fuel.
@OnBeingHuman Thanks for the tip. Is that specifically for the flocks of keese or just in general? I'm more of a bomb arrow guy usually but I never think of using bombs against what are basically bats.
I try to leave the Keese for last. Or you can even use the Stasis to freeze them till you can take them out. Stock up on bomb and electric arrows. You can just stay at a high point and pick them all off. I promise it’s possible! You can do it!
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...