The Talus is a recurring monster in the Legend of Zelda series, and Tears of the Kingdom brings them back in style. Whether it’s the Battle Talus with its Bokoblin friends, or the simple but deadly Stone Talus, these enemies pack quite the punch.

If you’ve taken any of these titans down, you may think that you can run in and do the same thing for all, but there are subtle differences that you will want to know about. The Stone Talus, for example, can kill you as you bring it to the ground.

Additionally, the Stone Talus has an annoying habit of trying to be a Basarios and burying itself in the ground, ready to pancake unexpected heroes of Hyrule.

Where to find the Stone Talus in Tears of the Kingdom

The first Stone Talus you will stumble across is likely the one in the Crenel Hill Cave. This is directly north of the Battle Talus you’ll find on Orstedd Bridge, but it’s a fair bit more difficult.

Head into the cave and do a ring around the outside, breaking all of the mining points you can, but be careful you don’t go into the water. That way Talus lies…

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to defeat the Stone Talus in Tears of the Kingdom

As with the other Talus, a bow and good few arrows is vital to your success. We tried this with bombs and all manner of thrown items, but that route is a quick way to Game Over. Check to ensure you have a solid supply of arrows before going in.

At the start, make a mad rush to jump on top of the Talus’s head as it wakes up.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

This is a great way to “cheat” the first chunk of damage out of this boss. With a one-handed weapon equipped, you have time for exactly 12 hits before you need to run and glide off its back. If you hang about it will throw you from its back, taking a quarter of a heart. This may not seem like much, but it’s important if you have five or fewer hearts.

Sprint away, making sure you dodge whichever projectile it lobs at you, and then turn and shoot the blue glowing rock on its back. Get ready for another mad dash, but be careful because, when it hits the dirt (that’s when it’s ready for you to climb on top), the impact of its head hitting you if you jump the gun can eliminate more than four of your hearts if you’re wearing low-level armor.

Again, sprint, jump, and climb on its head. This Talus stands up faster than its Battle Talus cousin — if you’re familiar with that fight — so make sure you’re quick. Again, you have time for 12 hits.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Depending on your weapon, repeat this another once or twice before another one bites the dust.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to use the Luminous Stone Talus Heart

Along with a whole bunch of precious stones (Luminous Stone, amber, ruby, and opal), the Stone Talus drops a Luminous Stone Talus Heart. Like the Flux Construct 1 Core and the Stone Talus Heart, you can’t pick this up — what you can do is attach it to a weapon to give it a massive damage spike.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Simply put, equip a weapon that hasn’t been fused yet (we used a Zonaite Sword), use the Fuse ability and create a Luminous Stone Talus Hammer. The attack power jumped from 6 to 21, granting a whopping +21 attack.

That is huge, and given that you’re about to wallop some poor unsuspecting Bokoblin with it, it really gives a whole new twist to the phrase “kill them with love”…

Note: You can fuse the Talus Heart to your shield, but it doesn’t give you any stats, making it a waste of a super-rare item.