The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Weapons

There are four categories of weapons, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses.

One-Handed Weapons
One-handed weapons are excellent all-round tools. Though they aren't as powerful as two-handed weapons, they can attack faster and you can use your shield quickly in battle. This is very important. If you are up against an enemy that you are not very familiar with, having a shield close at hand can be useful if they do something unexpected.

Two-Handed Weapons
Two-handed weapons are the exact opposite of one-handed blades. Instead of attacking fast with small damage, they attack slowly with massive damage. Another difference is that with a two-handed weapon, you can't hold a shield. If an enemy is about to attack, you must sheathe your blade with before you can block, which requires practice in the middle of an intense battle. However, the two-handed weapons charged attacks make up for its faults as they do devastating amounts of damage and can change the course of a battle in a second.

Spears
Spears combine both of the other weapon types. They do little damage but attack fast; and they are incompatible with a shield. However, the one thing they bring to the table is their reach. These weapons are best used in combat with elemental enemies such as Chuchus or Wizzrobes, or in combat with enemies with hard to hit weak spots, such as the crystal on the back of a Talus. They are also very effective at keeping away agile enemies, like Lizalfos.

Elemental Weapons
Though they do less damage and have less durability, elemental weapons cause effects that will make you want to keep at least one of each type in your inventory at all times. Spears are the most useful of all elemental weapons, as their reach allows you to strike from a distance and stay safe from monster attacks.
 * Flame weapons set your target on fire, causing a panic. They immediately defeat any ice-type creature, such as the Ice-Breath Lizalfos.
 * Frost weapons freeze your target, completely immobilizing them for a short period of time, leading to a 3x damage modifier from your next attack while they are still immobilized. A good strategy is to freeze your opponent, and then switch to your best weapon to do a huge amount of damage These weapons do tremendous damage against any fire-type creature, such as Fire Wizzrobes.
 * Lightning weapons electrocute the targets they hit, stunning them and causing them to drop any weapons or shields they have equipped.

Damage Calculation
By default, your weapons reduce the enemy's HP by the weapons attack power. A sword with a power of 10 will reduce your enemy's HP by 10. The Champion's Tunic reveals the total HP points for every enemy you encounter. With Link, his armor-induced defense stat is subtracted from the total attack value of the enemy. Each of his hearts is equivalent to 4 HP. If Link has five hearts (5x4=20 HP), a defense value of 2, and he sustains a blow with a value of 12 damage, he ends up with two-and-a-half hearts: 20-(12-2)=10 HP=2.5 hearts. Certain attacks inflict extra damage, as listed here:
 * Critical hits: damage x2.
 * Thrown weapons: damage x2.
 * Sneakstrikes: damage x8.
 * Shock attacks: damage +20.
 * Freezing attacks: damage +10 (instant death on fire-imbued creatures).
 * Ice-shattering attacks: damage x3.
 * Fire attacks: damage +10 (instant death on ice-imbued creatures).
 * Upgraded bombs: damage x2 (24 instead of 12 per explosion).

Weapon Bonuses & Stats
As you progress in the adventure and cause enemies to "rank up" (leading to the monsters upgrading in color), you will start to regularly obtain better weapons and weapons with unique bonuses. This applies to both enemy drops and weapons found in treasure chests. The stats below reveal the base stats of every weapon and their possible perks.

Attack Power

 * Base: The base damage you inflict with a weapon.
 * Bonus: A flat value added to the weapon's base attack power. Each bonus is randomly determined in a minimum-maximum range. For example, a royal broadsword (base power 36) with a rank 1 bonus (6 to 12) will have an attack value anywhere between 42 (36+6) and 48 (36+12).

Durability

 * Base: The base durability of a weapon. Every hit against a target or solid object lowers this value. When it reaches 0, the weapon will break.
 * Bonus: A flat value added to the weapon's base durability. As with attack power, each bonus is randomly determined in a minimum-maximum range.

Throw Distance

 * Base: The distance in meters over which a weapon can be thrown.
 * Bonus: A multiplier randomly determined in a minimum-maximum range that increases the distance over which the weapon can be hurled. For the few weapons that cannot be thrown (such as the Master Sword), the stats below reveal which alternative effect they offer instead.

Availability
A list of locations where each weapon is most commonly encountered. Keep in mind that these are not exhaustive: you may also find them in other locations.