Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild completely reinvented the typical Zelda format through its vast open-world that allowed players to explore at their leisure. Similarly, Nintendo changed the franchise's storytelling in various ways, including the use of voice actors. Link using the power of the Tri-Force is the backbone of almost every game in the franchise.
Where Breath of the Wild separates itself is the care given to the arcs of its secondary characters. Many Zelda games possess well-realized storylines for their characters, but Breath of the Wild has both the quality and the quantity. This list ranks the main characters on their arcs in the game.
Urbosa
The chieftain of the Gerudo people possesses many admirable qualities. She is a strong leader, a good friend to Zelda, and a champion for one of the Divine Beasts. However, she has one of the weakest arcs of the main characters in the game.
In her flashbacks and meeting with Link following Thunderblight Ganon's defeat, players see little change from beginning to end. Urbosa is undoubtedly a strong character, and her weapons are some of the strongest, but she had little to do in the game itself.
Daruk
Like the previous entry, the Goron champion's arc in the story lacks compared to other characters. Goron's may not be common in 2-D Zelda adventures, but they always serve an important part in the games they appear in. In the few memories where Daruk appears, he is presented as a strong, boisterous fellow who can become easily excited.
His defeat by Fireblight Ganon and Link's eventual rescue do not show any real changes in his character or story. Daruk and Urbosa fit into their roles as strong warriors and leaders, but they have little character development when compared to their peers.
Revali
The Rito champion has a strong arc throughout the course of the game. Before his eventual defeat, Revali is extremely boastful and arrogant, especially when around Link.
The reason for this hostility is Revali's contempt for only being a helper rather than defeating Ganon himself. Once Link defeats the Windblight Ganon, players learn that Revali has come to accept his position and Link's destiny. This lesson in humility is one of the lesser arcs in the game but still forms a core piece of the story.
Link
Link's arc is admittedly difficult to place because so much of the game's story is dependent upon how players chose to progress through the game. Breath of the Wild gives players complete control in how they explore the world and experience the story and even Link's design.
As a result, players can miss a great deal in the story by simply not doing missions. For instance, Link has the ability to challenge Ganon at the beginning of the game, thus sidestepping the majority of the story. While highly unrecommended, this example shows how much the individual experience and arc and vary in each playthrough. Placing Link at the mid-point of this list fairest assessment because of how much a player's experience can vary.
Mipha
The Zora hero has perhaps the most tragic arc of the Champions. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Mipha and Link were childhood friends and her feelings developed into something more as the two grew older.
She crafted the Zora armor for Link, which acts as a betrothal gift in Zora culture. Unfortunately, Mipha is slain along with the other Champions when Calamity Ganon takes control of the Divine Beasts. Being freed from the Divine Beast is a bitter-sweet moment because though Mipha's spirit is free, but she cannot be with Link.
King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
The King of Hyrule's arc is also a tragic one. Following his wife's death, King Rhoam had a strenuous relationship with his daughter, Zelda, because of her prophecied ability to seal Ganon. At first, he was unwilling to accept that Zelda's research of ancient artifacts would be of use to the people of Hyrule. Instead, pushing her to try and awaken her powers.
Their relationship remained strained until he decided to accept Zelda's ideas about using the Guardians and other technology. Unfortunately, King Rhoam's decision came just as Ganon reawoke and brought devastation to the land with Guardians and Divine Beasts. The King perished as a result and was never able to reconcile with his daughter. As a spirit, he was able to guide Link in the early stage of his journey, which allowed him to begin the process of Ganon's downfall. King Rhoam's heroic yet tragic arc gives him the penultimate spot on this list.
Zelda
Princess Zelda easily possesses the most compelling arc in the game. Starting as a somewhat rebellious daughter who would rather catalog plants, players see her growth into a hero. At first, she is outright hostile with her father and Link because she sees them as smothering her. She is also scared about her role in the coming battle with Ganon because she is unable to access her powers in most of the memories.
With the Champions' defeat and the fall of Hyrule Castle, players see the princess at her lowest. Thanks to the budding friendship between Link and Zelda, the princess can awaken her powers to save Link and hold back Ganon from destroying the world. Zelda's journey and her friendships make her arc the best in Breath of the Wild because the players witness an immense amount of character growth.