Molduga

Molduga

Games	Breath of the Wild Age of Calamity Tears of the Kingdom
Location	Breath of the Wild Arbiter's Grounds North Dragon's Exile Southern Oasis Toruma Dunes Tears of the Kingdom Palu Wasteland South Toruma Dunes East Barrens North Gerudo Ruins
Rewards	Two Chests Molduga Fins Molduga Guts Molduga Trophy
Threat
Effective Weapons	Remote Bombs Two-Handed Weapons Urbosa's Fury
Related	Molduking

"This massive monster swims beneath the desert's sand. It spends most of its time submerged, but if it senses sound, it will breach the surface to feast on whatever it can grab. Running around carelessly can be dangerous if you suspect there may be one in the area."

— Breath of the Wild in-game description

The Molduga is one of the three main overworld sub-bosses found in Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity, and one of the six main overworld sub-bosses found in Tears of the Kingdom.

Breath of the Wild

Found in the Gerudo Desert, there are only four known Moldugas. As part of the Champions' Ballad DLC, a Molduking can also be found.

Defeating all four Molduga and speaking with Kilton will reward Link with the Medal of Honor for this enemy.

Physiology

Moldugas are massive monsters, exceeding 15m in length and about 4m in height. Moldugas are whale-sized fish-like creatures with vestigial limbs (making them also look salamander-like). They present a characteristic jawbone resembling a shovel or a steam locomotive's cowcatcher front part. Their heads also present a bony hood and a whale-like blowhole, and their tails and spinal fins are made of bone protrusions. Their cries are screech-like and surprisingly high-pitched for a beast of their size.

Moldugas swim beneath the desert sands, presenting sand displacement on the surface that indicates their position. Their massive size, swift movements and spectacular breaches from the ground indicate their great strength, and also indicate that the sands of the Gerudo Desert have a considerably low density for it to move that way.

Strategy

This boss swims underneath the sand, and has extremely good hearing, so if you move quickly it will be alerted and begin to swim to you. The best thing to do here is to stand on land which isn't sand, such as a broken pillar or a rock. You can use its hearing to your advantage though, by standing on a rock and tossing out a Bomb in its direction. It should notice it, and begin swimming toward it. Once it reaches it, the Molduga will jump out of the sand, swallowing the bomb. At this point, you should detonate the bomb and the boss will fall to the ground, vulnerable to hits. Run up to it and use a powerful two-handed weapon such as a Royal Claymore to deal great damage. Repeating this a few times will eliminate it quickly. Three uses of Urbosa's Fury should kill it as well.

Reward

Upon death, the Molduga will make a mortal coil on the surface and explode spectacularly, and drop a large amount of items. These include an array of Fins and Guts, as well as two chests, which tend to contain powerful weapons such as a Royal Broadsword or a Royal Halberd.

Locations

• The Molduga of the Southern Oasis is located south of Gerudo Town.
• The Molduga of the Toruma Dunes blocks access to the four torches which must be list to access the Tho Kayu Shrine. It's located in the far west of the Gerudo Desert, noGerudo Town.
• The Molduga of the Arbiter's Grounds is located south-southwest of Gerudo Town.
• Directly between the previous two, there's another Molduga, north-east of Dragon's Exile, south-east of Toruma Dunes.

Trivia

• Moldugas are the only enemies in the game that drop treasure chests upon being defeated. Albeit Master Kohga's defeat yields a chest containing the Thunder Helm, Moldugas actually contain chests inside their bodies.
• The locations of the four Moldugas form a tilted "L" shape covering the southwest corner of the Wastelands, and it's implied that they form a line guarding the Gerudo Great Skeleton, and under it, the Great Fairy Tera and Hawa Koth Shrine.
• Moldugas are the least common of the base game's 3 sub-bosses, with only four extant individuals. They are also the only sub-boss confined to a single region, and the only sub-bosses present in the Gerudo Desert. Due to their scarcity, they present no variations like other sub-bosses in the base game, the only exception being the DLC-exclusive Molduking.
• Due to their confinement to desert sands, Moldugas are the only enemies in the game whose attacks can be rendered useless solely by Link's position. Even the Molduga's tail whip can be rendered harmless by standing on top of a 2-meter-tall rock.
• Similar to the Zoras, Moldugas may credit their vulnerability to electric attacks to their possible aquatic origin. This is paradoxical to their environment, however, as most monsters in the Gerudo Desert are electrical in nature.
• Due to their presence, and the existence of the Gerudo Great Skeleton, it's possible that the Gerudo Desert used to be underwater in ancient times.

Tears of the Kingdom

In Tears of the Kingdom, there are four Molduga found in the Gerudo Desert.

Strategy

Link does not have the luxury of infinite bombs, but bombs are still a very effective way of defeating the boss. Link should stand on a safe rock or ruins, so he doesn't get gobbled up by the Molduga. From there, he can shoot an Arrow into the sand nearby. This will cause the Molduga to come on over and jump up from underground. While the Molduga is in the air, Link can shoot an Arrow fused with a Bomb. This will cause the Molduga to come tumbling down. Link can then run over and slash away, dealing some damage. Quickly run back before the Molduga is able to awaken. Repeat this process until the Molduga is defeated.

Molduga will leave behind Molduga Jaws, Molduga Fins, and Molduga Gutss as rewards, as well as a treasure chest.