Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity DLC - How To Unlock The Master Cycle Zero

Part 1 of the DLC Expansion Pass for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the hack-and-slash Legend of Zelda spin-off, contains a variety of new weapons to test out as you clear legions of bokoblins and other enemies from the kingdom of Hyrule. However, while Link's flails might be fun to wield, it's the Master Cycle Zero that everyone's looking to get their hands on.

Although it's included in the DLC Expansion Pass, you'll have to do some work before you unlock the motorbike as a weapon in the game. In this guide we'll take you through the steps to unlock the Master Cycle Zero in Age of Calamity.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Master Cycle Zero Guide

How to unlock the Master Cycle Zero

To unlock the Zelda motorcycle you'll have to complete requests and challenges at the EX Royal Ancient Lab.

This is a 'destination' in Central Hyrule that comes with the Expansion Pass (all Expansion Pass-related quests are labelled with 'EX'). Robbie and Purah will request certain items and the completion of challenges out in the field which unlock a network of nodes and rewards in return, including expanded weapon slots, improved stats for runes, and new weapons such as Link's flails or Zelda's Master Cycle Zero.

As with the rest of the game, the process itself is straightforward. Simply follow the instructions and collect the appropriate resources to unlock new nodes on Robbie and Purah's network.

Assuming you've completed the base game, you'll likely have many of the required materials already. You can get the rest either by purchasing them or whooping the appropriate amount of monster butt to fulfill requirements and move forward.

Once you've got the gear, simply follow the branching path along to the 'Top Secret Request', and you'll eventually unlock not only the Master Cycle Zero, but also two different variants of the bike.

A 'loop' coming off the Top Secret Request node will unlock those variants, and will also increase the base attack power of the Master Cycle weapons.

How are the three versions of the Master Cycle different?

There are three versions of the Master Cycle in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity:

EX Research Challenge and Quest Tips

As you unlock new nodes, new EX Challenges and Quests will become available. Completing challenges will give more rewards from Robbie and Purah while fulfilling quests will get you new combos for the Master Cycle.

EX Quests function just as Quests in the base game and all require offering a certain number of items to gain new combos. Through playing the game to completion, we had all but one of the new Quest's required items without having to farm for extra items (we were missing half a dozen Sizzlefin Trout).

If you're short on Challenge requirements (for example, you have to kill 1000 enemies using the Master Cycle Zero), remember that you can replay early chapters of the game — The Battle of Hyrule Field, for instance — and clean up hundreds of easy grunts, earning your reward much quicker than concentrating on harder late-game enemies.

Also remember that by hitting the 'L' and 'R' buttons on the map screen, you can cycle between Challenge and Quest lists and quickly find the ones you haven't completed. Handy for when the map is jam-packed with icons and you can't see the wood for the trees.

Master Cycle Zero Attacks, Runes and Overdrive

So, what can this hog really do on the battlefield?

Well, controls-wise the Master Cycle Zero is no different to controlling any character, albeit a little more cumbersome in close quarters. You push the left stick in the direction you want to go and use a mixture of attacks on the 'Y' and 'X' buttons, along with dodge on 'B' and the super move on 'A' that you build up through defeating enemies.

The bike has its own bespoke rune abilities (for Remote Bombs, Stasis, Cryonis, and Magnesis). They all perform a spectacular function along the lines of others you'll see throughout the game, with the ice staircase created using the Cryonis rune being the most interesting of this new set.

All the others are just variations on the familiar over-the-top theme. We won't elaborate further because there's no need to. They're good, though, check them out for yourself.

By far the most interesting Master Cycle ability is Overdrive, which you activate by pressing 'ZR'. This gives Zelda a temporary burst of speed and increases her attack, although it's prone to overheating so you'll have to use it sparingly if you want to avoid a long cooldown period.

You can also upgrade the Overdrive ability to unleash a blast when activated by completing Zelda's new EX Quests.

Hang on, what is the Master Cycle Zero exactly?

In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's DLC Expansion Pass, the final reward for completing it was an incredibly cool Divine Beast / motorcycle / horse hybrid vehicle that Link can summon at will and ride across Hyrule like a boss.

Can I ride the Master Cycle Zero as Link?

Unfortunately, no. In Age of Calamity the Master Cycle Zero (and its variants) are classified as weapons for Zelda only. The in-game description text for the weapon reads as follows:

A vehicular weapon created by the Royal Ancient Lab, based on a Divine Beast destined for a hero, as described in an ancient text. As per Princess Zelda's wishes, she is the pilot of this creation.

If you're new to the game, you might want to check out our Age Of Calamity Tips and Beginner's Guide. You can also discover where all the Koroks are hiding in our Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Korok Locations guide, find out about the playable character roster in our Age of Calamity unlockable character guide and discover how amiibo work in Age of Calamity.