All playable characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

The roster of playable characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a big one. You’ve got the sages from Tears of the Kingdom, a Hylian warrior who excels at parrying, Zora fighters, and even a character whose fighting style plays out like a miniature rhythm game. And no, Gannondorf is not playable in Age of Imprisonment, not via any means we’ve found anyway.

Below, we list all of Age of Imprisonment‘s playable characters and how to unlock them.

How to unlock characters in Age of Imprisonment

The For Hyrule quest screen, showing Quino as a reward in Age of Imprisonment

A small handful of Age of Imprisonment‘s playable characters unlock automatically as you progress through the story, while the rest of them become playable after you complete a side quest associated with them. These optional quests usually pop after you clear a main story quest. For example, once you complete the “Lanaryu Defiled” story quest and recruit Qia, you’ll have the chance to take on side quests that let you recruit some of her Zora allies, such as Lago.

Side quests remain available even as you continue moving ahead in the story. While we recommend completing them as they pop up, there’s no penalty for leaving them until later if you want to do something else instead.

How to unlock all characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

There are 19 playable characters in total, with a handful unlocked in each chapter.

Character	How to unlock
Zelda	Playable from the start
Rauru	Playable in Chapter 1, “Way of the Blade”
Mineru	Complete Chapter 1, “Where Ancient Wisdom Sleeps”
Mysterious Construct	Complete Chapter 2, “The Howling Tempests”
Calamo	Complete Chapter 2, “The Howling Tempests”
Typhan	Complete Chapter 2, “The Howling Tempests”
Quino	Complete the “For Hyrule” side quest, which unlocks after “The Howling Tempests”
Agraston	Complete Chapter 3, “Crisis on Death Mountain”
Qia	Complete Chapter 3, “Lanayru Defiled”
Raphica	Complete Chapter 3, “Shadows in the Snow”
Vence	Complete Chapter 3, “Shadows in the Snow”
Lago	Complete “A Veteran’s Return” side quest, unlocked after clearing “Lanayru Defiled”
Ardi	Complete Chapter 4, “Terror of the Sands”
Pinnec	Complete “The Unsung Spearman” side quest, which should unlock alongside “Terror of the Sands” at the start of Chapter 4
Cadlan	Complete “The Strength to Protect” side quest, which unlocks after clearing Chapter 4, “Crimson Omen”
Sholani	Complete the “Standing on Principle” side quest, which unlocks after clearing Chapter 4, “Crimson Omen”
Pastos	Complete “A Lone Wolf’s Pride” side quest, which unlocks after clearing Chapter 4, “Crimson Omen”
Ronza	Complete the “In Search of Power” side quest, which unlocks after clearing Chapter 4, “Crimson Omen”
Braton	Complete the “Gourmand Goron” side quest, which unlocks after clearing Chapter 4, “Crimson Omen”