Zelda?

[Risen Demon]

Hey guys. So I was messing around on the forums, and I see that there are a LOT of builds for Link, but not a SINGLE build for Zelda. Anyone have any tips to make Zelda in pathfinder?

[Kthulhu]

Well, it kinda depends on which Zelda. Some of them are pretty passive...a level or two of Aristocrat at best. Some are a bit feistier....Tetra would probably be a few levels of rogue or swashbuckler. One or two have even been helpful fighting against Ganon(dorf), usually using magic....sorcerer or cleric seems most likely. OoT Zelda even displayed a decent amount of fighting ability as Sheik.

[lemeres]

.....first, it might help to define what Zelda actually IS.

We all know Link. Sword, shield, whirlwind attack, bombs, arrows, boomerangs, various useful tools, etc. Even though he has gone through a ton of different iterations, he keeps something of a consistent style we can latch onto. Heck, he even usually looks the same (elf/half elf, young, wears green, blue eyes, etc).

But Zelda..... She is less consistent. And often, she is less of a direct presence, especially when it comes to combat. So I have little idea of what she IS. Oracle, since she often holds 1/3 of the mcguffin?

Sorry if there is some well regarded source that people generally think of when they say 'Zelda'. I was always more of a mario/pokemon guy.... Still, having people voice out loud an idea of what we are aiming for seems like it would help the discussion.

[FrodoOf9Fingers]

Zelda: Queen of Hyrule, Holder of the Triforce of Wisdom

Wears no armor, can use a bow proficiently (And uses light arrows with it), casts spells, and is not useless in hand to hand combat (in fact, as seen as shiek, is quite proficient).

Perhaps a monk that later goes Arcane Archer?
Wis > Cha > Int > Dex > Con > Str
Sorcerer 4
Monk 6
Arcane Archer 10

Uses either a shortbow (Or longbow?), unarmed strikes, or rapier(?).

[Torchlyte]

Look at her SSB4 incarnation and you'll find a very proficient caster. She can use Dimension Door (Farore's Wind), Toppling Fireball (Din's Fire), Spell Turning (Nayru's Love) , and Animate Objects (Phantom Slash). She also makes use of Telekinesis when grappling.

[Bob Bob Bob]

The only part of that I can answer is Arrows of Light(ning). You can even change the restriction to "won't attack Good or Neutral characters". Otherwise yeah, way too many different reincarnations/versions of Zelda.

[Steelfiredragon]

I have not looked at it, but the hyrule warrior version looked like it had wearing armor...

zelda

yeah its armor, breast plate at best fanservice armor at its worst. It is armor though.

Bard, Magus, eldritch knight , or WArpriest. War priest might do best.

Gear I have seen her with:
Rapier and long bow.
Misc: Ocarina

you must also remember that the Zelda universe is not the PAthfinder or any edition DnD universe, and while she and Link are elvish in appearance the Hylians that they are do not exist in dnd/pathfinder and so Elf/halfelf is mostly used. Though in pathfinder you could use the muse touched Aasimar. Also being that the character is also Japanese in origin , the armor is not going to look like your standard European armor style and thus not your standard pathfinder gear.

Standard reoccurring weapons: boomerang, bow.
(LOZ)started out with Link in a green tunic( likely to have been Leather jerkin) with 2 forcefield rings, a blue one and a red one. sword and shield. Zelda was in a pink dress( or was it lavender or purple????)
(Loz II) had link in a green tunic again could have been a leather jerkin, one ring iirc, sword and shield and a few spells and combat moves the upper and lower jabs and various magic gear. Zelda was asleep and in some pink dress

( LoZIII) Link was in green yada yada yada, sword and board, blue and red armors,hookshot( aka magic grapple hook) bombs. Zelda and other females in the game various dresses of separate colors and Zelda is again pink.

(LoZ IV) much of the same for both. Save link and Zelda both had a ocarina.

(LoZ V Majora's mask) have not played this one

(LoZ VI) windwaker.... musch of the same, save The Zelda girl in it is not in a pink dress but adventuring on the high sea gear.

(LoZVII) The WII game, I would imagine much of the same as I didn't play it much...

and that is not saying anything on the Gameboy LoZ games.

That said imo

Zelda in the first one, noble/aristocrat
Zelda in the second, same.
Zelda in the 3rd one, caster
Zelda in the 4th one, warrior princess
Zelda in the 5th one: Again haven't played tht one
Zelda in the 6th one: Pirate girl, swashbuckler for all I know
Zelda in the 7th one, again didn't play it much

now this is all out of memory so I might have forgotten one or not, or be out of order or not. That still as also said depends on which Zelda you are using.

[Reynard_the_fox]

She definitely hurls a few fireballs in Smash. I would probably go Elvish Wizard, and use the elvish proficiency with longbow to do some damage in the early levels. Alternately, Zen Archer -> Sorcerer (wis-based archetype) -> Arcane Archer works well too for a bigger archery focus.

[Steelfiredragon]

Reynard_the_fox wrote:

She definitely hurls a few fireballs in Smash. I would probably go Elvish Wizard, and use the elvish proficiency with longbow to do some damage in the early levels. Alternately, Zen Archer -> Sorcerer (wis-based archetype) -> Arcane Archer works well too for a bigger archery focus.

arcane archer is overrated and depending on what level you want her as, and the various other issues that may or may not show up in any one campaign, Taking AA may be like the EK, too costly to use.

Even The warpriest look that I suggested might be overrated.

Magus has fireball too and still would be the best bet.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Zelda = Magus. Plain and Simple.

She's got a Rapier, though it wouldn't hurt to grab something better, and she certainly uses spells in combination in the games where she actually fights. Magus/Bard may be a good combination, but it's hard to say since you'd be losing spell levels on both ends.

Sheik(Zelda's alter ego/alias) is obviously a Ninja. I would think a Ninja/Bard honestly.

[TheAntiElite]

As for me, I'd like more of a look at the Hyrule Warriors iteration. She seems to be a magus with a rapier.

What I'd REALLY like to see is HW version of Impa.

[Risen Demon]

Woah, thanks for all the responses!

I was definitely thinking more along the lines of Zelda from Hyrule Warriors, but a Smash build or a Tetra style build would be more than welcome...Also a Sheik...err so many choices, but priority is:

1. Hyrule Warriors
2. As Sheik
3. As Tetra

[Reynard_the_fox]

Risen Demon wrote:

Woah, thanks for all the responses!

I was definitely thinking more along the lines of Zelda from Hyrule Warriors, but a Smash build or a Tetra style build would be more than welcome...Also a Sheik...err so many choices, but priority is:

1. Hyrule Warriors
2. As Sheik
3. As Tetra

Hyrule Warriors Zelda certainly feels like a Magus, most likely with the Arcane Accuracy and Devoted Blade arcana. Sheik feels like Ninja or perhaps Slayer, and Tetra is definitely Swashbuckler.

[Kthulhu]

I can't really speak to Hyrule Warriors, as I don't have that game (thinking about it, though). Just from the looks of that picture, she seems to be the same as Twilight Princess Zelda (with a wee bit of extra added fanservice).

[DominusMegadeus]

Kthulhu wrote:

she seems to be the same as Twilight Princess Zelda (with a wee bit of extra added fanservice).

To be fair, TP Zelda was covered from her neck to her toes for most of the game. Almost any change in wardrobe counts as "extra fanservice".

[Orthos]

I have wanted this game for forever. FINALLY get to play Zelda herself? YES PLEASE. Sold.

[DominusMegadeus]

Orthos wrote:

I have wanted this game for forever. FINALLY get to play Zelda herself? YES PLEASE. Sold.

Do I have a game for you...

[Edward the Necromancer]

Part of the problem is that Zelda is usually more of a plot device in the games, so we see her do very little. But there are a few things that we can figure out.

Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, Hyrule Warriors, and Breath of the Wild all show Zelda to have formidable magic powers. Her powers are implied to be inherited and/or a blessing from the Gods, so that would imply an Oracle, maybe Sorcerer. I am leaning more towards Oracle because her magic does seem to be more divine in nature.

So Zelda would most likely be an Oracle, with a level depending one how you want to actually use her.

[HenshinFanatic]

It should be pointed out that Zelda is the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia, so I would definitely focus on a divine caster base for Zelda herself. Most likely Oracle as she's not beholden to a deity because she used to be one in her original incarnation. That just leaves what kind of Oracle archetype, Mystery, and Curse.

For archetype I propose Seer, either Lore or Time as the mystery, and Powerless Prophecy for the Curse.

[Pentacost]

In a lot of ways, in a bigger picture without favoring one game or the other, she seems to be a Sorc/Oracle / Mystic Theurg. She casts from both Divine and Arcane equally proficiently, but also isn't a super powerful caster.

But then again, unlike Link, her loadout changes from game to game.
It would be fair to say while Link's "player" is in love with Ranger and plays Ranger steadily from Campaign to Campaign, Zelda's player likes to switch it up and try different classes and combinations each time there's a new campaign

[Cavall]

Make a witch with slumber hex. Now everyone you meet is a zelda.

[The Sideromancer]

Pentacost wrote:

In a lot of ways, in a bigger picture without favoring one game or the other, she seems to be a Sorc/Oracle / Mystic Theurg. She casts from both Divine and Arcane equally proficiently, but also isn't a super powerful caster.

But then again, unlike Link, her loadout changes from game to game.
It would be fair to say while Link's "player" is in love with Ranger and plays Ranger steadily from Campaign to Campaign, Zelda's player likes to switch it up and try different classes and combinations each time there's a new campaign

I disagree. Zelda is almost always some variety of Divine caster (current favourite: Cold Iron Warden Inquisitor), But I've thought of Link as an

• Eldritch knight (ALttP)
  
• Archaeologist Bard (MC, WW)
  
• Lore Warden fighter (TP, SSB)
  
• Destined bloodrager->Arcane Archer (OOT)
  
• Haunt Collector Occultist (MM)
  
• Order of the Star Cavalier/Paladin (SS)
  
• Champion-primary Medium (general)
  
• Vanguard Slayer (PH, ST)
  
• Martial master 20/champion 10 (HW)
  
• Trap breaker Alchemist (BotW)

But, more on topic, I like the CIW inquisitor for most Zeldas as it can reasonably go any of stealthy (sheik), casting, or martial. The specialization against demons is primarily flavour.

[HenshinFanatic]

While I can see the Cold Iron Warden Inquisitor archetype working relatively well for some versions of Zelda; I still prefer going with the full casting of Oracle.

As far as Link goes, I actually have a full build for him as a vanilla Slayer that is a switch-hitter, except going sword-and-board for melee instead of two-handed weapon. Even gave him some mad boomerang skills towards the end of the build, because of it being one of the most commonly appearing items in one shape or another in the Zelda franchise. The build's only assumption is for 15 point buy in order to get the most needed stats, though higher point buys will make him just that much stronger.

[Pentacost]

The Sideromancer wrote:

Pentacost wrote:

In a lot of ways, in a bigger picture without favoring one game or the other, she seems to be a Sorc/Oracle / Mystic Theurg. She casts from both Divine and Arcane equally proficiently, but also isn't a super powerful caster.

But then again, unlike Link, her loadout changes from game to game.
It would be fair to say while Link's "player" is in love with Ranger and plays Ranger steadily from Campaign to Campaign, Zelda's player likes to switch it up and try different classes and combinations each time there's a new campaign

I disagree. Zelda is almost always some variety of Divine caster (current favourite: Cold Iron Warden Inquisitor), But I've thought of Link as an

• Eldritch knight (ALttP)
  
• Archaeologist Bard (MC, WW)
  
• Lore Warden fighter (TP, SSB)
  
• Destined bloodrager->Arcane Archer (OOT)
  
• Haunt Collector Occultist (MM)
  
• Order of the Star Cavalier/Paladin (SS)
  
• Champion-primary Medium (general)
  
• Vanguard Slayer (PH, ST)
  
• Martial master 20/champion 10 (HW)
  
• Trap breaker Alchemist (BotW)

But, more on topic, I like the CIW inquisitor for most Zeldas as it can reasonably go any of stealthy (sheik), casting, or martial. The specialization against demons is primarily flavour.

I absolutely agree with your assessment