There are many different weapons that players can find or craft in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but few are as powerful or as important as the ancient arrow. These arrows, built from daggers made of repurposed ancient technology, are a key factor in being able to beat Dark Beast Ganon, and have the most potency of any other arrow in the game. In fact, they are so powerful that when they hit a normal enemy, that creature is sucked into a portal, dropping no loot and vanishing from existence to an unknown location.
Players can obtain Breath of the Wild's ancient arrows in chests as well as from the traveling salesperson Beedle, who gives one to Link as a gift. They can also be crafted at the Ancient Oven at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab if the player has enough ancient materials, arrows, and rupees. The expense of their crafting is 90 Rupees, 2 ancient screws, 1 ancient shaft, and an arrow. It's good to stock up on arrows in Breath of the Wild, and spend some time rummaging through guardian bodies and shrines before going to craft up the arrows, so players are sure to have enough parts.
In BOTW, Ancient arrows are designed to kill Guardians in one shot if the player hits them in the eye. They are also critical in the player's battle with Breath of the Wild's Dark Beast Ganon, as they are one of the few weapons that can do damage to him. If the arrows are used against regular enemies however, instead of killing them, they are sucked into a portal. This only happens with ordinary monsters and minor bosses, but the result is still startling. No other weapon causes foes to vanish within Breath of the Wild. It's not that they are vaporized either, as nothing at all is left behind. They quite literally cease to exist on the same plane as the player, and it's unsure where they go when this happens.
Zelda: Ancient Arrows Make Monsters Vanish
While it's handy to be able to zap monsters out of the way, the question remains: Where do they go? While there is no defined answer in the lore for Breath of the Wild, there are some speculations that can be drawn from the rest of the game. Players know that when monsters are defeated they return on the night of a Blood Moon. During the cutscene where the monsters all respawn, they return from dark portals. It is possible that when the ancient arrow hits a monster, they are forcibly returned to the rift that they were in before they respawned. There is also the possibility that the ancient arrows quite literally banish them from existence, sending the monster to another realm or plane outside of Hyrule, never to be able to return.
Another interesting thing to consider, is that the only enemies getting sucked into this portal are the smaller monsters and bosses. Guardians and bigger foes like the Hinox take large amounts of damage, but do not vanish. This could mean that enemies with a large amount of mass, or who are very powerful, can't be banished from Hyrule the way smaller foes and bosses can be. It would be interesting to see more about how ancient arrows work in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but in the meantime, players will want to check what arrows they have equipped to avoid wasting an arrow on a Chuchu, or accidentally miss out on loot they are trying to farm. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has many mysteries left to be solved for players who want to understand all the quirks in the lore, but hopefully the chance to learn more will come soon.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available on Nintendo Switch.