Monk Maz Koshia

“	You have proven to possess the power of a true hero. In the name of the Goddess Hylia… I offer this final trial!	„
	~ Maz Koshia preparing to battle Link.

“	You faced that challenge with great courage. You have erased all doubt from my mind. You are a true hero. As such, you were destined to take hold of this ancient masterpiece... That which you have obtained...is a masterpiece of innovation, created for the one true hero. Hero of Hyrule... May the Goddess smile upon you.	„
	~ Monk Maz Koshia

Monk Maz Koshia is the main antagonist of The Champions' Ballad DLC in the 2017 action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

He is an ancient Sheikah Monk who serves as Link's spiritual guide on the latter's quest for the final Divine Beast. To this end, Maz Koshia puts Link through a series of deadly tests, before personally battling the young hero to gauge his worthiness.

Biography[]

After Link frees all four Divine Beasts and the spirits of their Champion Pilots and the Expansion Pass is purchased, Princess Zelda will tell Link to head to the Shrine of Resurrection where he first awoke. When he does so, Maz Koshia will bestow the One-Hit Obliterator, a weapon that will kill even the toughest enemies with one strike, but Link's life gauge will be reduced to a quarter of a heart and cannot regain them, even with food, so he must take great care not to take any damage at all throughout the first trial or he will fail the test. Link is to take out bands of enemies at four locations on the Great Plateau and complete the shrines.

Once Link completes the first test unscathed, Maz Koshia then splits the One-Hit Obliterator into four colored orbs which the blue orb will reside near Zora's Domain, the red orb close to Goron City, the green orb at the outskirts of Rito Village, and the yellow orb close to Gerudo Town. He then instructs Link to head to those locations to take the tests there. If Link defeats the Blight Ganons the second time, Kass will play the corresponding Champion's song and Link will receive a vision of each Champion's personal life and interactions with Princess Zelda, each showing a different side to them not seen in the main campaign.

Link is able to complete all of the trials relating to the Champions and Maz Koshia instructs Link to return to the Shrine of Resurrection where his final trial awaits him. Upon arrival, Link is told to return the Sheikah Slate to the pedestal where he first acquired it. Link is teleported to a mysterious dungeon where he must solve the puzzles at the four corners, each with four elements: water, fire, wind, and electricity to access the room where Monk Maz Koshia resides. Upon doing so, Maz Koshia comes to life and teleports him to a giant platform in the sky where Link will conclude his divine trial, by taking on the ultimate battle against Maz Koshia.

After a grueling battle, Maz Koshia is defeated, and he congratulates Link for accomplishing all of the trials that he threw at him and awards him with the Master Cycle Zero, made with the same material as the four Divine Beasts, and he explains that he intends to bestow it upon the "one true hero" and he deems Link worthy of utilizing it to its full potential and he wishes him well before returning him back to the Great Plateau where Kass awaited him and gives him the "Picture of the Champions" after playing the Champions' Ballad.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity[]

Monk Maz Koshia does not serve much of a role in the game's main campaign, but he is a secret unlockable character that the player can add to their roster of warriors. Chapter 4 must be completed first, then there are three additional missions that must be accomplished: "The Trial of Monsters", "The Trial of Stones", and "The Trial of the Mighty Foe". Once they are completed, "Trial of the Ancients" will become available, and it is there where the player must battle Maz Koshia. Completing the mission will unlock Monk Maz Koshia as a playable character.

Once unlocked, Maz Koshia's move set consists of summoning various Sheikah artifacts, including the same spiked metal balls that can be summoned by Master Kohga, showing that his ninja abilities stemmed from that of the Sheikah as the Yiga Clan were a split-off faction of the Sheikah. If Maz Koshia can destroy them, it will grant him the ability to use Sheikah runes to temporarily enlarge himself to power up his strong attacks. His special has him unleash a laser blast from his face covering, and his Weak Point Smashes consist of either slamming two large Sheikah hammers on the target, or enlarging himself to unleash a stomp with his foot to take them out. Regular attacks have him summon shadow clones of himself to attack, though unlike Impa's, his are full, solidified versions of himself instead of more spiritual versions like Impa's shadow clones, showing Maz Koshia's millennia of honing his skills in the Sheikah arts to become as good as he is now.