Coming just a few weeks after its previous update, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is set to receive a new update later this week that will add a new “Forbidden” difficulty mode, some extra weapons and challenges, and a new “Phantom” mode that adds additional enemies to different levels. Scheduled for release on December 18th, 2025, version 1.0.3 will probably be the final update this year, but it’s surprisingly meaty for a free update.
The biggest change, for me personally, is the “Forbidden” difficulty option. Having finished the campaign on “Very Hard,” there comes a point where the difficulty stops mattering because your characters simply outpace the natural difficulty curve. “Forbidden” (which roughly translates to Taboo from Japanese) ups the difficulty beyond Very Hard and rewards players with new items for completing levels. One promised addition is “Increased carry limit for special rations,” which would certainly become useful on a harder setting.
“Phantom” mode, on the other hand, is a type of battle that will randomly occur as you’re playing through different levels. Likely happening alongside those territory battles, “Phantom” mode will introduce stronger enemies and gloom-afflicted ones alongside the chance of a Phantom Ganon spawning in the level. It could be a good way to knock out some of those Aside Quests that require you to fell Phantom Ganon (looking at you, Mineru).
As for the rest of the update, it mostly pertains to new challenges, some unique skills, and a new weapon. The challenges are just some additional skirmishes on the map that include “dangerous” variants of Lizalfos and Chuchu’s. The new skills are for the Mysterious Construct, which includes a shield charge attack that is likely copied from Link’s similar move in Age of Calamity. You can also unlock the “Forbidden Sword” for the Construct and other characters who can wield one-handed swords.
The rest of the update is broken down into bullet points and mostly revolves around bug fixes. You can read them below (excuse some shaky translation from Japanese):
- In addition to the above, the following new battles will be added:
- “Battles focused on warriors”
- “A deadly battle with a certain formidable enemy”
◆ Functionality improvements
- The “Tweet Challenge” that requires a Sync Strike has been changed so that it can be completed by the character not in control when the Sync Strike is activated.
- You can now exit the “Special Conversation” in the gallery by pressing the [B] button.
- Adjusted the conditions and frequency for displaying tutorials for evasion and guarding
- When Zonanite Steel is at its possession limit, the following weapon strengthening functions can now be used at the end of battle.
- “Max Blacksmith”
- “Erase engraving”
◆Bug fixes
Fixed several issues, including:
- When setting the material for “Electric Lizalfos” in the material sensor, the battle “Desert Desert Demon” in which “Electric Lizalfos” does not appear also reacts.
- After clearing all the battles displayed, you may need to clear several more battles before the battle challenge “Sword Flashing in the Desert” appears.
- When playing split-screen 2P, attack sounds from the 2P side may not be heard.
- If you register the materials required for “Secret Ability Release” in the “Sensor,” you can only unregister them from the “Material Items” screen in the menu.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
