- "These greaves have been passed down among the Zora for generations. It's been said they're crafted using dragon scales. Equip them to swim faster."
- — In-game description
The Zora Greaves is an item from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is a leg armor made by skilled Zora craftsmen under orders from an ancient King Zora as a token of friendship for Hylians. Link will receive a pair by completing the side quest "Lynel Safari" given by Laflat.
Along with the Zora Helm and Armor, the Greaves cannot be sold as the Zora Armor Shop that sold them went out of business due to lack of Hylian customers and the ones he receives are a reward from Laflat who requests he take good care of them.
History[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
- "These Zora greaves were once made by skilled craftsmen by order of an ancient Zora King. Now they're fairly common. As you may know, East Reservoir Lake was created in collaboration between Hylians and the Zora. After East Reservoir Lake was finished, we made Zora greaves as a token of friendship for Hylians who came to visit. But over time, the number of Hylians visiting the domain dwindled, and my father had to close his armor shop. These Zora greaves here were the last pair left in the stock room when he closed up shop. Wearing these, even a Hylian can swim as well as a Zora. That said, these would be wasted on me. They are only useful for a Hylian like you. Please take good care of them!"
- — Laflat
10,000 years prior to Breath of the Wild, following the completion of the East Reservoir Lake and Rutala Dam the ancient King Zora at that time commissioned highly skilled Zora craftsmen to create Zora Greaves as a token of friendship to Hylians that visited Zora's Domain in recognition for the Hylians work in assisting in the construction of the reservoir and the dam. Over time the Zora opened an Armor Shop in Zora's Domain where they sold Zora Greaves to Hylian tourists. Laflat's father ran the shop which in the years after the Great Calamity was forced to close down after the number of Hylian visitors dwindled as Zora's Domain was difficult to reach for non-Zora and the Council of Elders began to discriminate against Hylians blaming them and their Champion for the Great Calamity.
While clearing out the shop's storeroom Laflat found the last remaining pair they had in stock and despite recognizing a Zora like her has little use for them she kept them as a memento of her father's old Armor Shop.
A century after the Great Calamity, Laflat was the Chief Secretary of the Zora Royal Family when Vah Ruta appeared and threatened to flood the Reservoir with torrential rainfall. Prince Sidon sought Hylian assistance to combat the corrupted Divine Beast. Meanwhile the amnesiac Hylian Champion Link whom had befriended Princess Mipha and various Zora more than a century earlier came to Zora's Domain to free Vah Ruta reunitimg with King Dorephan and many of his Zora friends as well as the Council of Elders who blamed him for Mipha's death. Laflat however apparently had been either to young to remember him or was born after the Great Calamity as she does not recognize him. After Link meets with King Dorephan and receives the Zora Armor made for him by Princess Mipha a century prior, Link can find Laflat in need of his assistance. Laflat reveals that there is a male Zora who goads people to dive off Shatterback Point on Ploymus Mountain and is worried that its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. Wanting to discourage Zora from going to Ploymus Mountain she requests a picture of a Red-Maned Lynel like the one that lives on Ploymus Mountain to show to other Zora in the hopes of scaring them away from even thinking of going there. After acquiring an album picture of any Red-Maned Lynel in Hyrule, Link must show it to Laflat who after overcoming her terror upon seeing the picture remembers to reward Link for his efforts and decides to give him the Zora Greaves as thanks for his hard and dangerous work getting a decent picture of a Lynel. After explaining their history and how she came into possession of that specific pair she asks Link to take good care of them as they are token of gratitude and a memento of her father's business which she only parts with as she recognizes they are wasted on her and awould be of more use to a Hylian like him. Though not made by Princess Mipha they are part of the Zora Armor set as Mipha presumably studied the existing Zora Helm and Zora Greaves when she was working on creating Link's Zora Armor as they are born Zora made armor designed for Hylians. The Zora Greaves simply increase Link's swimming speed and do not grant additional effects such as the Zora Helm's Spin Attack or the Zora Armor's power to swim up waterfalls, though when upgraded to at least two stars along with the rest of the set they gain the Swim Dash Stamina Up set bonus which reduces the amount of stamina consumed by Swim Dashing. Thus the Greaves are required to acquire the set bonus. Additionally each piece of the set increases Link's Swim Speed by default.
Upgrades[]
It can be enhanced by the Great Fairies.
| Level | Armor | Effect | Materials | Set Bonus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 3 | Swim Speed Up | |||
| ★ | 5 | Swim Speed Up |
|
||
| ★★ | 8 | Swim Speed Up |
|
Swim Dash Stamina Up | |
| ★★★ | 12 | Swim Speed Up |
|
Swim Dash Stamina Up |