Steps 1 through 35, grouped by where you physically are. Completed steps are marked done — tap any to reopen. The early steps are written out in full so this works as a from-scratch guide on a replay.
Leg 00 · Step 1
Great Sky Island
The tutorial, and the only part of the game that's genuinely linear. You leave with all four abilities and the cold gear that carries you through the next ten steps.
01Great Sky IslandTutorial · 4 abilities
Four shrines, four abilities, one heart container, then a dive to the surface. The order is fixed by the island's layout, but two things here are easy to walk past and both matter for hours afterwards.
The four shrines, in order
Ukouh — Ultrahand. West of the Temple of Time, up the stairs. Grab, rotate, glue. Everything you build for the rest of the game runs on it.
In-isa — Fuse. South, across the lake. Build a raft from the logs and sail — flip the sail so it sits perpendicular on top or you'll go nowhere. Inside, fuse a rock to the rusty claymore to make a hammer that smashes cracked stone.
Gutanbac — Ascend. On the cold plateau. Phase straight up through any ceiling directly above you.
Nachoyah — Recall. Reached from the Room of Awakening, not the surface path. Warp back there, and in the room of turning gears use Ascend on the right side of the wall wheels, then Recall to reverse them and reach the hidden passage.
Don't leave without the Archaic Warm Greaves. Coming out of Gutanbac, Ascend up the tree stump beside the shrine — the chest at the top holds them. That's your first level of cold resistance, and steps 4 through 11 are all cold country. Miss it and you're buying your way out of the problem later.
Temple of Time and out
Recall isn't from a shrine — it comes from the large Tear inside the Temple of Time. Ride the big wheels up by reversing them, then the smaller one.
Trade all four Lights of Blessing at the Goddess Statue for a Heart Container. You need the fourth heart to open the back door — this isn't optional.
After the cutscene, dive off the edge toward Hyrule. You have no paraglider yet; that comes from Purah at Lookout Landing.
Stock up before you drop
The island itself
Spicy Peppers grow all over and cook into cold resistance — carry a stack, because the Greaves alone are only level one. Feed Zonai charges into the device dispensers and hoard fans and wings; they're free transport for the whole early game.
Archaic Warm GreavesSpicy PepperFanWingOpal
The island is bigger than it looks. Optional chests sit on the outlying platforms, including three spare wings on the eastern island. Nothing here respawns once you leave for good, so sweep it before the dive.
Leg 01 · Steps 2–3
Arrival & Lookout Landing
The game hands you its whole structure here: paraglider, towers, the four Regional Phenomena, and the quest chains that everything downstream hangs off.
02To Hyrule KingdomCentral Hyrule
The skydive down. You can aim anywhere, but aim at Lookout Landing — the tented camp with the tower, due south of Hyrule Castle. Everything you need is there and you're on foot until you arrive.
How
Steer by flattening out to glide further or diving to drop faster. You can't die from the fall.
Head straight for the marker. Fights on the way are avoidable and you have four hearts and no paraglider — there's nothing to prove here.
Purah gives you the Paraglider when you reach her. That's the real end of the tutorial.
03Lookout Landing questsHub · Towers · Camera
The densest hub in the game. Four separate threads start here and three of them run for the next fifty steps.
What to pick up
Purah upstairs: Paraglider, then Crisis at Hyrule Castle, then Regional Phenomena — the four-temple spine of the game. You can't finish Crisis yet; that's step 42.
Activate the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower. Towers are how you get map data, and gliding out of one is how you find everything else. Light every one you pass from here on.
Josha and Robbie below Purah: Camera Work in the Depths. Worth doing now rather than later — the camera and Hyrule Compendium make several later steps trivial, and it's your controlled introduction to gloom.
Penn shows up once the tower is lit and points you at the Lucky Clover Gazette. That's step 7.
Camera Work in the Depths, if you do it here
Josha gives you Brightbloom Seeds and arrows. Head to the Hyrule Field Chasm south of town, near Jiosin Shrine — the circular hole ringed with gloom, with Daval standing at the lip.
Dive and paraglide the last stretch. Ponnick is at the campfire; Robbie went deeper.
Throw Brightbloom Seeds by hand as you walk rather than firing them — save the arrows. Light the big Lightroot by Robbie's fire.
Press L, photograph the statue when the marker appears, return to Josha. Rewards the camera, the Compendium and 5 Zonaite.
Gloom removes max hearts, it doesn't just damage you. Recover in a Lightroot's glow or on the surface. Sundelion dishes clear it instantly — Sundelions grow in the sky, so cook a few before any serious descent.
Come back to this town at step 16 with Poes and Crystallized Charge. The Bargainer Statue, the Goddess Statue and the Crystal Refinery all live here and all take things you don't have yet.
Shrines on this stretch
Kyononis — -0205, 0451, 0021 — combat training (parry & flurry basics), in the castle town ruins just north of Lookout Landing. Worth doing for the tutorial alone.
Jiosin — -0240, -0374, 0026 — Ultrahand shape puzzle, directly south of town by the Hyrule Field Chasm — bank it on the Camera Work trip.
Leg 02 · Steps 4–7
The road west
Central Hyrule out to Tabantha. Your first memory, your first cold wall, and the newspaper job that gates a surprising amount of the rest of the list.
04Head towards Rito VillageHyrule Ridge
Long ride northwest. The point of doing it on the ground rather than warping is that you don't have warp points yet — so light everything.
How
Light Lindor's Brow Skyview Tower on the way. You'll be launching from it repeatedly — steps 9 and 11 both use it.
The cold ramps up as you go west: roughly one level of resistance near Tabantha Bridge, two by the time you're at Rito Village.
Catch and register a horse if you see a decent one. Stables let you swap later and it makes this leg far less tedious.
Shrines on this stretch
Ishodag — -0877, 0423, 0049 — Zonai fan-and-wing puzzle, at Quarry Ruins right beside the bridge on the northwest road. Directly on the path.
05Stop at New Serenne Stable, talk to ImpaMemory 1
Impa is parked outside with a hot-air balloon. Talking to her starts Impa and the Geoglyphs and by extension The Dragon's Tears — the memory hunt that runs the whole length of this list.
How
Ride the balloon up with her. From altitude the Rauru geoglyph resolves out of the ground — you cannot see these from the ground, which is the whole lesson.
The Dragon's Tear sits in the figure's left eye, toward the top-centre of the image. Tear at -1412, 0966, 0123.
That's Memory 1, "Where Am I?" Impa then heads for the Forgotten Temple, which is step 11.
Worth knowing
Sinakawak Shrine — -1413, 0756, 0089
Right at the stable — a hot-air-balloon puzzle, fittingly. Light it and you can warp straight back to this stretch of North Hyrule Plain later instead of riding out again.
06Go south to Tabantha Bridge StableCold checkpoint
This is the last comfortable stop before the blizzard. Treat it as a supply run, not a quest stop.
How
Buy Spicy Elixirs here — around 80 rupees each. Cheaper than dying on the bridge, and they stack with the Archaic Warm Greaves to give you the second level of cold resistance you need at Rito.
Register your horse if you haven't. Stables share a single roster, so anything you register here you can pull anywhere.
Talk to Fera, the well enthusiast. She pays rupees for every well location you report, forever. Costs nothing to start.
Penn's quest here won't trigger yet. "White Goats Gone Missing" needs the Gazette first, which is step 7. Come back after — it's a five-minute ride and the goat trail is marked by pine cones scattered outside the stable.
Empty frame on the wall, same as every stable. Needs the camera. If you took Robbie's quest at step 3 you can do it now; otherwise it waits.
Shrines on this stretch
Makurukis — -2846, 0630, 0233 — archery combat training, right at the stable.
Runakit — -2530, 1169, 0178 — build-a-carrier puzzle on Upland Lindor, a hill-climb northeast. Optional — only if you're cutting overland anyway.
07Stop at the Lucky Clover GazetteGates a lot
A converted stable at -3256, 1764, 0119, southeast of Lake Totori by Rito Village's broken bridge. Small stop, disproportionate consequences.
Why it matters this early
Talk to Traysi and Penn to start Potential Princess Sightings — twelve stable investigations paid in rupees (50 each for the first six, 100 for the last six — 900 total) and the Froggy armour set (no slipping on wet rock, which is transformative for climbing).
This is the gate on Zelda's Golden Horse at step 10 and Serenade to a Great Fairy at step 18. Skip the Gazette and both of those simply don't exist yet.
Penn then appears at stables across Hyrule. You don't hunt him — he turns up where you're already going.
Leg 03 · Steps 8–9
Rito Village & the Wind Temple
Your first temple. Doing it first is the right call: Tulin's gust is the most broadly useful sage power in the game, and clearing it lifts the blizzard over the whole northwest.
08Rito story arc — Tulin of Rito VillageWind Temple · Colgera
Rito Village is snowed in and run by children while the adults scavenge. Tulin has gone to investigate the storm. The quest is a long vertical climb into the sky, ending on the Stormwind Ark.
Two levels of cold resistance, minimum. Archaic Warm Greaves plus spicy food, or buy Snowquill from the Brazen Beak in the village. The blizzard on the approach does constant damage without it.
Getting to the temple
Find Tulin at Revali's Landing arguing with Teba and Saki, then go north to Harth's lodge at -3581, 2252, 0141 — two big bonfires outside — to sort out his bow.
The climb up the Rising Island Chain is Ascend plus Tulin's gust, over and over. If you lose him, warp back to Mayaumekis Shrine and he'll be waiting at the first ship trampoline.
Light Kahatanaum Shrine partway up — it's the checkpoint if the climb goes wrong.
Bounce between the floating ships to get above the cloud layer, then dive into the hole at the top.
Inside
Five locks. Each one is a wind turbine: position the fan, hit it with Tulin's gust to spin it up.
Carry fire-fruit fused arrows for frozen mechanisms and icy enemies. Ten is not too many.
Colgera: it swoops with three ice joints exposed. Dive into it and shoot the joints as you fall through — the paraglider controls your descent speed so you can aim. Second phase adds a spin; ride it out and shoot on the recovery.
Reward: Tulin's Vow, and the blizzard lifts across Hebra.
Everything that needed clear weather now works — including the Snowfield Stable photo at step 10, which is impossible while it's snowing.
Shrines on this stretch
Oromuwak — -3079, 1617, 0243 — rocket-launch puzzle on the stone arch over the road in, southeast of the village. Ascend up from the road.
Gatakis — -3652, 1806, 0168 — paraglider updraft puzzle in Rito Village itself, below the main outcrop on the west side.
Sahirow — -3352, 2384, 0360 — laser-dodge trial on Corvash Peak, easiest gliding in on the temple approach. Cold country.
Wao-os — -4059, 1990, 0183 — across Lake Totori west of the village; revealed by the village quest The White Bird's Guidance.
Ikatak — -3950, 1138, 0112 — blessing atop Gisa Crater to the south, but it's a crystal-carry shrine quest. Optional; skip unless the crater's on your line.
09Grab memory 2, visible from the roadTabantha Hills
The geoglyph on the southern side of Tabantha Hills, drawn as Hyrule Castle. Now that the blizzard's gone you can actually see it.
How
Launch from Lindor's Brow Skyview Tower and glide in from the northeast. Height is what makes the shape readable.
Dragon's Tear at -2551, 1888, 0319.
The general rule for every tear: a geoglyph is full of teardrop shapes and they're all hollow outlines except one. Find the single solid, filled-in teardrop and land on it.
This is Memory 2, "An Unfamiliar World."
Leg 04 · Steps 10–11
Hebra & Tanagar Canyon
Cold country. You come away with the best early horse in the game and, more importantly, the map that makes every later memory findable.
10Head northeast, get Snowfield StableTabantha Tundra
A freezing-climate stable, so it's a gear check as much as a waypoint. It also pays out one of the best horses in the game — but only because you stopped at the Gazette in step 7.
Getting there
Stable at -1640, 2573, 0233, northeast of Rito Village, southeast of Pikida Stonegrove Skyview Tower.
Touch Orochium Shrine just north of the stable first — warp anchor for this whole corner.
You want two levels of cold resistance here, not one. Archaic Warm Greaves plus a spicy pepper dish, or the Snowquill set from Rito Village.
Zelda's Golden Horse
Penn and Harlow are by the horses on the east side. Press Harlow for detail and she hands you an Energizing Elixir.
Horse is north at -1818, 3380, 0236, among ruins with ordinary horses.
A Frost Gleeok patrols the way north. Ride past it.
Glide down onto the horse from the broken structures or approach from directly behind. Soothing takes about 1½ stamina wheels — that's what the elixir is for.
Ride back to Harlow: you keep the horse plus Royal Bridle and Royal Saddle. Register it with the stable owner, Varke.
A Picture for Snowfield Stable
Examine the empty frame inside and Varke asks for a picture of "the giant bird with wings stretched wide." It isn't a bird — it's Biron Snowshelf seen from a distance, an optical illusion.
Warp to Rospro Pass Skyview Tower, launch, glide northeast to Talonto Peak. Face northwest and raise the camera; it flags when the bird is framed.
Needs clear weather — sit at a fire until morning if it's snowing. Only possible at all because the Wind Temple lifted the permanent blizzard.
Reward: 1 Pony Point and Spicy Meat Stew. Pony Points buy the Towing Harness you need at step 18, so this is worth doing on the spot rather than saving for the fairy trip at step 52.
Stock up nearby
Mount Drena Foothill Cave — -1372, 2861, 0199
Don't just walk in — talk to the campers outside the stable first, who turn this into a proper side quest. The cave is on the road at the base of the mountain and has no enemies. Bubbulfrog hides behind breakable rocks high on the left wall; use a Bomb Flower from inside the cave.
FairyBomb FlowerAmberChillshroomBrightcap
Kopeeki Drifts Cave — -2397, 2278, 0172
South of Pikida Stonegrove tower at the bottom of the snow trenches. Nouda Shrine is inside, so it's a warp point as well as a supply run. One Ice Like. This is your bomb and light resupply before step 11.
Don't cook the Chillshrooms. Everything growing in this snow — Chillshroom, Cool Safflina — makes heat resistance, not cold. You'll want it in Eldin at step 19 and the desert at step 37. Bank it.
Still waiting: the Great Fairy fountain northeast of the stable. Needs the full musical troupe, which is step 52.
11Drop to the Forgotten Temple, talk to ImpaTanagar Canyon
The most important step in this stretch. It puts every remaining geoglyph on your map and fixes the order the memories are meant to be watched in — which is what steps 21, 29, 40, 52, 53, 54 and 57 are all keyed to.
Getting in
Northeast end of Tanagar Canyon, marked by the Dragon's Tears quest. From Orochium Shrine head south and glide down; from Lindor's Brow, launch and glide north into the canyon.
The first entrance you land at is blocked by rubble. This is where people get stuck. Don't Ultrahand it, don't bomb it — keep descending to the base of the valley.
Real entrance is on the south side at the canyon floor, with Cado and the balloon parked to its left.
Inside
Dark, with monsters between you and Impa. Fuse Brightbloom Seeds to arrows and shoot the ceiling as you advance.
Activate Mayausiy Shrine partway through — warp point, and "Building Blocks" is just Ultrahand-matching the shapes shown.
Impa is on the stone slab by the shrine. Follow her to the toppled Goddess Statue; the Zonai door behind it is open now.
Drop into the lower chamber. The floor map marks every remaining geoglyph and the mural shows them left to right in memory order.
Photograph the map while you're standing there. Two minutes now against a lot of hunting later.
Stock up nearby
Before you descend
A dozen Brightbloom Seeds and at least one Giant. If you skipped Kopeeki Drifts, this is where it costs you — the monsters see you before you see them.
Brightcap Cave — -3003, 1638, 0201
On the rim path south, at the base of the hill east of Oromuwak Shrine. Two campers outside give the side quest Cave Mushrooms That Glow. Deep inside, a thorn-ringed altar hides a chest with the Frostbite Shirt — burn the thorns with fire fruit. Bubbulfrog is on a ledge at the very end; Ascend gets past the thorns around it. One Black Horriblin.
Same canyon, west end past Piper Ridge — the entrance is on the canyon floor, so glide down from the rim. Worth it because Iun-orok Shrine is buried at the far end — one you'd otherwise never find. Ice Like, Shock Like and a Stone Pebblit guard the passages. Bubbulfrog hides behind the big blue rock wall at -3484, 0727.
Learn the rubble colours here.Red sediment breaks to one Bomb Flower. Blue is a tougher grade, not bomb-proof — two Bomb Flowers break it (corrected 08.22 after the old "physical only" line cost two rock hammers). Melee alternative: a Talus Heart fused to a two-hander far outlasts flint hammers. From step 20, Yunobo breaks any of it free.
Leg 05 · Steps 12–16
Lookout Landing & the Depths
The biggest capability jump in the list — Autobuild, the Depths map, your first Kohga fight. Shorter than it looks if you already ran Robbie's quest back at step 3.
12Back to Snowfield Stable, east, then south to Lookout LandingHebra → Central
Straight talk: transit step, nothing gated behind it. Lookout Landing has been a warp point since step 3, so the only reason to ride it is to bank map coverage.
If you're riding it
Pull your horse, then take the road east along the Hilltop High Road, then south through Hyrule Ridge into North Hyrule Plain.
Touch every green shrine light. Warp point plus a Light of Blessing each — bank hearts before Death Mountain at step 20.
Shrines on this stretch
Kiuyoyou — -1106, 2089, 0104 — fire-and-ice puzzle on Rowan Plain, the canyon's east rim ~500m south of the Forgotten Temple. Right on the southbound line.
Taki-ihaban — -1830, 1149, 0147 — blessing at the end of a short crawl through Lindor's Brow Cave, as the route swings south.
The road home re-passes Sinakawak (step 5) and Ishodag (step 4) if either is still unlit.
Stock up nearby
The road down
Ore deposits along the ridges either side. Hit them with a rock-fused weapon — you need ~1,900 rupees by step 20 (two Flamebreaker pieces), so gems are worth taking.
FlintAmberLuminous StoneCool Safflina
The tundra stretch — hunt as you ride
Buffalo, moose, wolves and foxes on this snowfield drop prime and gourmet meat. 5x Raw Gourmet Meat cooked plain sells for 315 — the best steady earner in the game, and this is its best ground. Details on the Wallet card.
Raw Gourmet MeatRaw Prime Meat
If you're short on time
Warp to Lookout Landing and go straight to step 13. You lose nothing on the critical path.
13Report to Purah, talk to JoshaLookout Landing
Reporting the Rito temple to Purah advances Regional Phenomena. Then Josha sets up the Depths run.
How
Purah is upstairs. Report the Wind Temple, take the cutscene.
Josha is below her. With one temple cleared and Camera Work in the Depths behind you, she'll offer A Mystery in the Depths — that's step 14.
If you haven't done Camera Work yet, do it now before Josha's follow-up — she won't offer it otherwise. The full walkthrough is in step 3.
14Follow the statues in the DepthsThe Depths · Autobuild
This is A Mystery in the Depths, and it's the highest-value step in the list so far. It ends with Autobuild, your first Kohga fight, and the Forge Construct that turns raw Zonaite into battery charges.
Shortcut if the trail feels long
The mine sits at -0822, -1940, and the Great Plateau North Chasm (-0665, -1510 on the surface) drops you a short hop northeast of it, past Nogukoyk Lightroot — faster than riding the whole statue line if you lose the thread.
Following the trail
Talk to Josha at the mural by the double doors. She gives 10 Giant Brightbloom Seeds and 10 arrows.
Warp down to the Lightroot where you found Robbie. The first statue stands nearby.
Each statue's face and raised hand point at the next one. That's the entire navigation system. Throw a Giant seed at each statue so you can see back the way you came.
Light every Lightroot you pass heading south — each one permanently shrinks the dark.
Collect the blue flames: Poes. The bigger purple ones are Grand Poes, worth 20 each.
A Frox patrols part of the route and eats any Brightbloom Seeds planted near it. Don't fight it — you're underlevelled and it drops nothing you need.
Great Abandoned Central Mine
Examine the glowing mark to wake the Steward Construct and unlock Autobuild. Creates a warp point too.
Round pedestal: Ultrahand the missing wheel back on, which registers the finished vehicle. Square pedestal: Autobuild the copy.
The two "researchers" are Yiga. Master Kohga traps you in an arena — you can't Ultrahand his machine apart.
Step sideways out of the charge lane, shoot him off the vehicle, close in while he's down. He bolts more parts on as his health drops.
After he flees: chest with a Huge Crystallized Charge, and the Steward Construct nearby gives the Fanplane Schema Stone. Build it and fly to the Lightroot in the distance.
Stock up nearby
The Forge Construct — inside the mine
Trades Zonaite for Crystallized and Zonai Charges. This is the pipeline that grows your battery for the rest of the game, so mine deposits on the way in rather than walking past them.
Poes only spend at Bargainer Statues, and the biggest one in the game is directly below this mine — from the schema-stone construct, face the main structure and take the stairway down underneath. Worth a look while standing here; otherwise the excavated head at Lookout Landing serves the same purpose at step 16. Trade zonaite at the Forge (3 → 1 charge) but keep ~20-30 raw — Autobuild spends zonaite to conjure missing parts.
15Speak to Josha, help RobbieLookout Landing
Short wrap-up. Tell Josha about Autobuild, she hands you a second Schema Stone, you use it on the spot.
How
The reward is the Hot-Air Balloon schema. Step outside, aim Autobuild at Robbie's wrecked balloon and build from the blueprint — you don't need to have built one before, that's what a schema stone is for.
This sends Robbie back to Hateno Village, which is what turns his lab into an upgrade shop.
Purah Pad upgrades live in Hateno now — Sensor+ and the rest. That's step 28, so don't chase him east yet.
16Talk to travelers in the centre of Lookout LandingUpgrades
The list is vague here, so here's what's actually worth your time. Lookout Landing is a bank of upgrade services and you're walking in holding exactly the currencies they take.
Spend what you brought back
Crystal Refinery, just outside the north exit — Crystallized Charge permanently extends your energy cell. Spend Kohga's Huge charge here.
Bargainer Statue in the central tent — Poes buy the Dark armour set, and it marks the other statues for you.
Goddess Statue in the underground shelter — four Lights of Blessing per heart or stamina segment. Take stamina if you're still on one wheel; Death Mountain is climbing-heavy.
Horned Statue, also below — swaps hearts for stamina and back, for a fee.
Quest worth grabbing
The Incomplete Stable opens now that you've cleared a temple. One Ultrahand board on the unfinished frame, and Lookout Landing becomes a working stable — meaning you can pull the Golden Horse here instead of trekking to Hebra.
Leg 06 · Steps 17–18
Woodland Stable
Two steps, but the second opens two long-running chains: the Great Fairies and the Bubbul Gem trade. Both pay off for the next forty steps.
17Head northeast to Woodland StableForest edge
Short ride north out of Lookout Landing. Bring a horse — you need one at the stable and towing is easier if it's already registered.
The road
Take the road north. At the fork where Yamiyo Shrine sits, go north and light the shrine as you pass.
Cross Helmhead Bridge, continue straight, stable is ahead.
Activate Ekochiu Shrine next to the stable first — you'll be warping back here during the Great Fairy chain.
Stock up nearby
Crenel Hills Cave — 0494, 0731, 0041
Right beside the road, and it holds the Barbarian Armor (chest piece — attack up). Inside, the chest is behind the second elevated stack of luminous rock on the right — one bomb arrow opens it. First of three: the helm waits near Kakariko (~step 24) and the leg wraps by Hateno (step 28).
Barbarian ArmorLuminous StoneBrightbloom Seed
18Woodland Stable quests — Trotters, Penn, the balloonGreat Fairies
Penn's stop here is Serenade to a Great Fairy, gateway to all four fairies — the only armour upgrade path in the game. The balloon behind the stable is something else entirely, and it's why your Bubbul Gems stop being dead weight.
Serenade to a Great Fairy
Penn is talking with Mastro and Violynne of the Stable Trotters. Their wagon, Breezer, is wrecked and their horse bolted.
Two wheels lie nearby — Ultrahand them onto the wagon.
You need a registered horse fitted with a Towing Harness, bought at the stable counter with Pony Points. The Golden Horse does the job, and the Pony Point from the Snowfield photo helps here.
Hitch the harness bar and tow the troupe up the northwest hill to the fountain — the pink plume visible from the stable.
Tera only needs the violin, so no band-hunting yet. She upgrades armour one level and marks her three sisters on your map. Penn pays 50 rupees.
Upgrade your cold and heat gear at Tera before step 20. One level sounds trivial but the Death Mountain interior punishes base defence.
The balloon behind the stable
That's Kilton. Talking to him starts The Hunt for Bubbul Gems!, which makes the gems from your cave clears spendable through his brother Koltin.
Worth doing now precisely because you've already cleared several Bubbulfrogs in Hebra.
Stock up nearby
Around the stable
Horses graze in the paddock west of the stable if you arrived without one. A hot spring in the area restores hearts free — cheaper than eating through your food before a temple run.
Towing HarnessHylian ShroomStamella Shroom
Koltin trades at night and moves around. Don't hunt him mid-quest; he turns up at stables you're already visiting.
Leg 07 · Steps 19–21
Eldin & Death Mountain
Your second temple, and the only step in this build with a hard cash requirement — ~1,900 rupees for two pieces of fireproof armour. Don't arrive broke.
19Follow the road northeast to Death MountainEldin Canyon
The approach matters more than usual, because two things gate the region: heat and money.
On the way
Light the Eldin Canyon Skyview Tower. Three fire-type enemies guard the base — clear them with ice arrows or a frost-fused weapon first.
Ambient heat starts on the approach road. This is where the Chillshrooms and Cool Safflina from step 10 cash in — cook them at any pot before you climb.
Check your wallet. You want ~1,900 rupees spare by Goron City — two Flamebreaker pieces (chest 700 + boots 1,200); one piece only covers the lower slopes. If you're short, sell meat skewers and surplus rubies/sapphires/topaz — hold your amber, opal, flint and luminous stones (armor upgrades eat those by the hundreds; the Wallet card has the full list).
At Bedrock Bistro on this road: do Meat for Meat, which unlocks Gomo's flint trade — 100 flint containing a "ripened" one pays 1,000 rupees, repeatable. The roast cave has lava — bring flame protection: one Fireproof Elixir covers it (cook a Fireproof Lizard + any monster part), or come back after buying Flamebreaker at step 20. Inside, knock a hydrant loose and drop it across the lava for walkable patches.
Shrines on this stretch
Timawak — 1798, 1635, 0311 — lava-flow puzzle just north of Bedrock Bistro, directly on the Death Mountain West Trail. Chest: Strong Zonaite Shield (guard 26) — the same shield Ren-iz gave you.
Stock up nearby
Eldin Canyon
Fire-region critters cook into fireproof elixirs for short stretches. Ore is unusually dense on the mountain — rubies fuse into fire damage, so hold a few back rather than selling the lot.
Elixirs won't substitute for the armour. The Gorons check for fireproof gear before letting you into the storage area, and the underground stretch runs long enough that timed elixirs lapse mid-route.
20Do the Goron story arcGoron City · Fire Temple
Yunobo of Goron City, start to finish: a boss fight against a friend, a minecart run under the mountain, and the Fire Temple. Longest step in this build by a wide margin.
Goron City
Quest marker around 1649, 2447, 0381. Bludo is scolding a Goron flat on the ground who's eaten Marbled Rock Roast. President Yunobo turns up, denies everything, leaves for YunoboCo HQ.
Buy two Flamebreaker pieces — Armour (700) + Boots (1,200). One piece only covers the lower slopes; two cover mid-mountain and most lava, with fireproof elixirs topping up the hottest caldera and temple pockets (the 1,400 helm is the skippable third). Or save 1,200: the free Vah Rudania Divine Helm at step 20.1 also carries Flame Guard — helm + Armour is the same two levels for 700.
Find Ramella in the city — the game's only premium gem buyer. She takes batches of 10 above list price (amber at double, diamond 550 each) and rotates what she wants. Start banking 10-packs; sell surplus through her, never a shop.
Head north to YunoboCo HQ. Slergo and Offrak at the storage entrance won't pass you without fireproof gear.
Fighting Yunobo
He balls up and charges in a straight line. Dodge sideways and let him hit the wall — he's stunned and open.
Hit the mask, not the Goron. Each connection cracks it further.
Into the mountain
Dive into the crater to the lowest level of the Death Mountain Chasm — mind the lava lake. Activate Mustis Lightroot and talk to Yunobo.
His charge is yours to aim now. Red rocks break to it — this is the ability the blue sediment from step 11 was waiting for.
Build a cart on the minecart rails and attach a fan to drive it. Ride to the end of the line; that's the Fire Temple.
Fire Temple & Marbled Gohma
The temple is a rail network more than a room puzzle. The five locks are five gongs — one per floor of the ziggurat, each at a rail's end or behind marbled rock. Launch Yunobo into each gong; when all five have rung, return to the padlocked door on the entrance floor and hit the green circle.
If a cart puzzle stalls you, climbing is legal — Ascend and bare hands reach most floors; pick the rail back up above.
Gohma stands on marbled-rock legs. Launch Yunobo at the legs — two broken legs = collapse; run in and hit the eye (plain arrows fine — nothing here needs a bomb). Recall on its own rolled boulders sends them back and stuns it.
Phase two it climbs to the ceiling — Yunobo's charge runs up walls: aim him up any wall and he carries across the ceiling to knock it down. Then the eye again.
One or two hits on the eye, then back off — greedy combos eat the counterattack. Boulders drop from above all phase; move out of the shadows.
Reward: the Vow of Yunobo, Sage of Fire.
Free armor in the caves here
Ember Headdress — YunoboCo HQ South Cave, 1715, 2696, 0399 — flame guard, stacks with your Flamebreaker pieces. Hot inside; Horriblins.
Ember Shirt — Goronbi River Cave, 1428, 2098, 0286 — lava river with floating platforms; a Fire Like sits by the chest.
The trousers wait at Cephla Lake Cave near Foothill Stable — that's step 30's road.
Isisim — 1841, 2841, 0363 — Proving Grounds combat gauntlet (gear stripped) at Goron Hot Springs, a short walk north of the city. Chest: Magic Rod — fuse a gem for elemental blasts.
Sitsum — 2358, 2602 — near the summit east of the city. Chest: Mighty Construct Bow (attack 24) — the chest upgrades this from a skippable summit pickup to worth the climb.
A free Flame Guard helm in a cave northwest of Death Mountain — his find, 08.25, verified. Inserted between his steps; the 65-step numbering doesn't move.
How
Lizards Burrow — entrance between the heads of the two lizard-shaped lakes on Death Mountain's northwest side, 2202, 3079, 0406.
Grey rock blocks the mouth — Yunobo breaks it free (or a bomb / rock hammer if you come before step 20).
The chest inside holds the Vah Rudania Divine Helm — Flame Guard: same heat protection as a Flamebreaker piece (fire and volcano heat, not desert heat).
Already bought two Flamebreaker pieces? Not wasted — helm + both = level-3 coverage, no elixirs needed even in the caldera. Three sister helms exist for later legs: Vah Ruta under Zora's Domain (step 34), Vah Naboris in the west Gerudo ruins (steps 39–40), Vah Medoh back in northwest Hebra (rides the step-52 Snowfield return).
21Head south of the Skyview Tower for memory 3Dragon's Tear
The geoglyph sits directly south of Eldin Canyon Skyview Tower, wedged between the roads to Goron City and Zora's Domain. The shape drawn on the ground is the Purah Pad.
How
Warp to Eldin Canyon Skyview Tower, launch, glide due south.
Dragon's Tear at 1828, 0737, 0089.
Same rule as always: find the single solid, filled-in teardrop among the hollow outlines and land on it.
This is Mineru's Counsel. Watching it in sequence is why step 11 mattered.
Leg 08 · Step 22
Lanayru Wetlands
Downhill out of fire country into water country. One stable, one Penn stop, and the road that opens the whole Necluda chapter.
22Continue south to Wetland StableLanayru Wetlands
From the memory-3 geoglyph it's one long glide south out of the Eldin foothills to the Hylia River's east bank. The stable sits just past Rebonae Bridge.
Getting there
Drop southwest to the main north–south road and follow the river's east side past Goponga Island to Rebonae Bridge. Stable at 0888, -0158, 0026.
Goponga Village Ruins hold an Electric Wizzrobe and a Lizalfos patrol (Stal versions at night). Nothing there needs killing — skirt the ruins or snipe the Wizzrobe first.
At the stable
Penn is here — "The Missing Farm Tools": turn dockworker Izra's raft into a boat (fan + steering stick; Autobuild makes it a ten-second job) and ride to Floret Sandbar. 100 rupees.
Ami — "An Uninvited Guest": clear the monsters around the south well. Two minutes.
Take the photo quest before you leave: stable owner Lawdon wants a picture of the Ring Ruins — exactly where step 24 goes. Snap it there, cash it on any later pass.
Two wells (0882, -0194 and 0859, -0261), connected underground — Brightblooms, Bomb Flowers, ore. Once you've met Fera the well-hunter (she roams stable wells) and reported at Lookout Landing, every well you've ever entered pays 10 rupees.
Shrines on this stretch
Tukarok — 0915, -0252, 0034 — right at the stable; Zonai-wheel puzzle. Chest: Strong Zonaite Sword (+50% power when fused with Zonai parts).
Jonsau — 1744, 0017, 0025 — out in the wetlands east; underwater-ball puzzle. Optional detour.
Maoikes — inside Boné Pond East Cave at the wetlands' far east edge (~2277, 0150) — a blessing shrine whose chest is a Diamond (sells 500). Optional; the chest pays for the trip.
Stock up nearby
The wetlands
Fleet-Lotus Seeds grow on the water everywhere here — this is the game's best patch. They cook into hasty (move-speed) dishes.
Don't sweep the marsh. Grab lotus seeds where the road touches water and move on — the wetlands reward ten minutes, not an afternoon.
Leg 09 · Steps 23–24
Kakariko Village
The Sheikah village is buried under fallen sky rings and booked out by the Zonai Survey Team. Five quests, one shop trick, and the tower that unlocks the Necluda map.
23Head southeast to KakarikoSahasra Slope
A short leg — but the middle of it is the region's map unlock. Take the tower on the way through.
Sahasra Slope Skyview Tower
Follow the road south from the stable, then southeast up the slope. Tower at 1341, -1176, 0166.
The door is jammed — two long sticks bar it from inside. Enter Sahasra Slope Cave below (1329, -1162), smash the cracked boulders with a rock-fused weapon (don't spend bomb flowers), stand in the alcove directly under the tower, Ascend through the ceiling, pull the sticks out.
The cave pays on the way through: a Shield of the Mind's Eye chest, a rare ore deposit, and a Bubbulfrog behind the big rock formation. Three Horriblins, one blue — Foes card applies.
From the tower, launch and glide northeast straight down into Kakariko.
On the way
Rikoka Hills Well (1705, -0653), on the northern approach to the village: Moza converts Dubious and Rock-Hard Food into real meals for 10 rupees a plate — a two-minute stop that cleans out your inventory's dead weight.
Shrines on this stretch
Morok — 1182, -0779 — on a tiny sky island resting on giant tree roots northwest of the slope; glide over from the tower launch. Spring puzzle.
Makasura — 1770, -1051, 0166 — the ledge above Kakariko; stabilizer puzzle. This is the village's warp point — grab it on arrival.
24Start the Kakariko questsKakariko Village
Everything in the village is open except the one thing the game dangles in front of you — the sealed ring ruin waits for step 55.
The armor shop prices are a quest, not a scam. Enchanted charges 5,000 a piece until you cure the owner's grandmother. Do Gloom-Borne Illness first — then Stealth pieces drop to 500/700/600 and Radiant to 800 each. Never pay the 5,000.
The five quests
Gloom-Borne Illness — Lasli, uphill of the armor shop. Cook Sunny Veggie Porridge = Hylian Rice + Fresh Milk + Sundelion (the general store sells rice and milk if you're short). Unlocks the real shop prices.
Codgers' Quarrel — Trissa, in High Spirits Produce. Clear the Bokoblins off the western ring ruin while Steen and Olkin argue tactics. Endura Carrot + the store restocks.
Follow the Cuccos — Trissa, right after. Bring 10 bird eggs; the cucco hideaway behind the Zonai dispenser (1877, -1156) holds 12. 50 rupees.
Out of the Inn — Dai, at Shuteye Inn. The owner is asleep on a stone slab northeast of the chief's house — drop a Hearty Truffle next to him. Opens the inn for beds.
A Trip through History — Bugut, roaming near the shops. Read the survey slabs at four broken rings; do the two quests above first (each clears a slab). 3 Thunderwing Butterflies.
Also in the village
Snap the Ring Ruins photo — that completes the Wetland Stable frame from step 22. While the camera's out, also photograph the Great Calamity picture in Impa's old hall — a Hateno school quest at step 28 asks for exactly that.
The village well hides a maze cave: a chest with an Eightfold Blade and a notebook of recipes.
Your first purchase at Enchanted comes with the Sheikah Fabric paraglider skin, free.
Post-discount, the Stealth set (1,800 all three) is the one genuinely useful buy — Radiant is cosmetic at this stage.
The roped-off ring ruin — Calip blocks the one intact ruin (and its sealed tablet) until every regional phenomenon AND the Hyrule Castle crisis are done. That's exactly your step-55 return. Nothing here can force it early.
Leg 10 · Steps 25–26
Dueling Peaks
Twenty minutes south, and the stable at the end quietly holds this chapter's armor upgrades — plus the best shield chest in the game.
25Head south to Dueling Peaks StableWest Necluda
Downhill from Kakariko, across Lake Siela, to the stable at the east mouth of the gorge.
The road down
South out of the village past the Pillars of Levia — a Silver Rupee chest sits on the southern tor if you fancy the climb.
Cross Kakariko Bridge over Lake Siela. Stable at 1751, -1889, 0013.
At the waterfall northeast of the stable, Beetz wants 3 Courser Bee Honey ("Honey, Bee Mine") — hives in the woods you just left. Silver Rupee, and it's a prerequisite for the Great Fairy at step 26.
Shrines on this stretch
Eshos — 1564, -1943, 0157 — on the cliffs just west of the stable; shield-parry training. Chest: Mighty Zonaite Shield (guard 50) — the strongest shield in any shrine chest in the game. Do not skip this one.
Jochisiu — 0931, -1902 — west past the gorge; gated behind the "Keys Born of Water" quest (ice slabs from White Chuchu jelly). Optional.
Stock up nearby
Beedle, at the stable
He sells Hot-Footed Frogs at 10 rupees each. Buy 10 — a Hateno quest at step 28 wants exactly ten, and catching them wild is a chore.
Hot-Footed Frog ×10ArrowsBrightbloom
100 rupees now saves an hour of frog-chasing later. That's the whole judgement.
26Do the Dueling Peaks questsDueling Peaks Stable
A Yiga ambush, a ferry job that unlocks armor upgrades, and a two-cave puzzle inside the peaks themselves.
At the stable
Penn is on the roof — "Princess Zelda Kidnapped?!": the caged "Zelda" sits in the saddle between the two peaks (1322, -1956). Ultrahand the cage open — it's a Yiga ambush; spring it anyway. ~100 rupees.
Mastro and the Stable Trotters — "Serenade to Cotera." Needs the Tera serenade (done, step 17) plus Beetz's honey from step 25. Ferry the wagon across the river on a fan-raft; Cotera's bud is near Big Twin Bridge (1766, -2172). This opens armor upgrades for the whole chapter — do it before Hateno, then feed her the Barbarian pieces as you collect them.
The photo frame (Tasseren) wants a sunrise from Tuft Mountain — Lurelin country. Take the quest now, shoot it at step 49.
The stable well is a three-layer shaft with fairies at the bottom — free revives, restock before the caves.
The cave pair
North Cave (ledge halfway up the north peak, 1190, -1861): the ceiling carries a painted pattern — photograph it. Bubbulfrog and Brightcaps inside.
South Cave (north face of the south peak, above the river): place four rocks on the pressure plates in the ceiling-painting's pattern — the stone door opens on Tingle's Shirt. Like Like at the entrance (Foes card), second Bubbulfrog.
Leg 11 · Steps 27–28
Hateno
The densest side-content stop on the route: a mayoral election, a school, a cheese industry, every Purah Pad upgrade — and the Barbarian set completes.
27Head east to HatenoFort Hateno road
East across Blatchery Plain and through Fort Hateno — with the Barbarian helm a hundred yards off the road.
On the way
The road runs east through Ash Swamp to Fort Hateno, then winds through the hills into the village.
Robred Dropoff Cave (2496, -1485, 0014), northeast of Fort Hateno just off the path: the Barbarian Helm. Stone statues at each fork point toward the treasure; a breakable rock wall guards the chamber — one bomb flower or a rock hammer, then Ascend up to the chest (2519, -1532). Bubbulfrog at 2541, -1513. Second of three — the chest piece came at step 17, the leg wraps land at step 28.
Fort Hateno is a monster camp now (Blue and Black Bokoblins, Moblins, Evermeans — mind the trees, Foes card). The east tower holds a Shield of the Mind's Eye chest; the skull-mouth cave northwest of the fort has Horriblins, a Rock Like and an Eightfold weapon chest.
28Do ALL the Hateno questsHateno Village · the long stop
Houses, wells, an election, a school, and Robbie. If you do nothing else here, do Robbie — the Purah Pad upgrades are why this step exists.
Robbie first — Purah Pad upgrades
The lab is on the hill east of the village (3779, -2111). Robbie installs the Sensor and sends you downhill after the beeps — they lead into Retsam Forest Cave and Mayahisik Shrine. Report back.
Then three upgrades, any order: Sensor+ (photograph 5 monster types — you likely already qualify), Travel Medallion (fetch the prototype from the Yiga-held Akkala lab — that's on step 30's road, fine to defer), Hero's Path (needs 15 shrines found — instant for you).
The compendium desk in the lab starts Filling Out the Compendium — Robbie sells any photo you're missing at 100 rupees.
Light the Mount Lanayru Skyview Tower east of the lab before settling into village quests — it maps this whole corner, and every tower feeds the Travel Medallion count. (Your own sequencing, 08.27 — now the standing rule: entering a region, the tower goes first.)
The election (this order)
A Letter to Koyin (the pasture): fish her grandfather's bottle out of the lake — the cheese shop opens.
A New Signature Food (Reede): bring him Hateno Cheese.
Reede's Secret (Clavia): drop into the West Well, take the right tunnel, Ascend into his locked shed.
Team Cece or Team Reede? (Cece): hand 8 mushrooms to villagers.
Cece's Secret (Sophie): tail Cece when she sneaks out around 10 p.m.
The Mayoral Election: attend, then see Cece — the Cece Hat, and Ventest Clothing starts re-selling any armor you've already found (lost-piece insurance).
Afterward Reede offers Homegrown in Hateno — defend his pumpkin patch at night. 5 Sun Pumpkins.
School, farm, dye shop
Teach Me a Lesson I (Symin, morning class): show the photo of the Great Calamity picture from Kakariko — you snapped it at step 24, so this is instant.
Part II: cook Monster Curry (Hylian Rice + Goron Spice + Monster Extract — Koltin sells the extract for a Bubbul Gem). Unlocks Uma's Garden: pick a crop, get a permanent growing plot.
Dantz trades 3 Acorns → Fresh Milk, standing offer. Manny wants 10 Hot-Footed Frogs — the ones you bought from Beedle at step 25 — for 10 Rushrooms.
Sayge at the dye shop: show a photo of any Chuchu → the Chuchu paraglider fabric.
Houses and wells
The four village wells are one connected cave system — ore, Bomb Flowers, and a Shield of the Mind's Eye chest (Ultrahand a plank to reach it). The West Well doubles as the Reede's Secret entrance.
Zelda's house (3318, -2280) — your old BotW house is hers now. Her diary upstairs starts A New Champion's Tunic (the tunic is in the Hyrule Castle throne room — log it now, collect during step 42).
Behind the house, Zelda's Secret Well drops into her private study: a chest with the Well-Worn Hair Band.
All five wells count for Fera's 10-rupees-each ledger.
Shrines on this stretch
Zanmik — 3469, -2179 — in the village itself; scoop puzzle. Chest: a Zonaite longsword (scales with your progress).
Mayahisik — 3730, -2057 — blessing shrine inside Retsam Forest Cave; the Sensor quest walks you into it.
Stock up nearby
Walnot Mountain Cave — the last Barbarian piece
East of the lab beside the waterfall (3929, -2066): the Barbarian Leg Wraps sit behind an ice chunk — bring a fire weapon or red chuchu jelly. Horriblins on the ledges, Bubbulfrog inside. The set completes here — take all three to Cotera (step 26) and the attack bonus starts compounding.
Barbarian Leg WrapsBubbul Gem
Retsam Forest Cave
Entrance 3756, -2072, at the cliff base below the lab. Brightcaps, Hearty Truffles, and a Bubbulfrog in the east chamber past the left fork.
Hearty TruffleBrightcapBubbul Gem
After dark
Sunset Fireflies in Retsam Forest, around the pond behind Zelda's house, and on the beach. Bank a handful — a Kakariko flute quest wants them later (step 44).
Sunset Firefly
Hateno pays you in systems, not loot — cheese, crops, armor resale, pad upgrades. The election chain is long: run it between other things, not in one sitting.
Leg 12 · Step 29
Back through Hyrule Field
A transit day: one memory off the road, one stable, and a Lookout Landing check-in that's worth more than the report itself.
29West to Riverside Stable, memory 4, report to PurahHyrule Field
Leave Hateno westward. The geoglyph is a small southern swing off the road; the stable sits where the road crosses the Hylia.
Memory 4 — The Gerudo Assault
Swing south of Batrea Lake: the geoglyph is Molduga-shaped, partly hidden by trees. The tear sits at the southwest corner, in the curve of the tail, inside a ring of trees (~0690, -1313).
Riverside Stable
Penn under the tree opposite the shrine — "Gourmets Gone Missing": trace Gotter's missing regulars. ~100 rupees.
Teli — "Feathered Fugitives": round up the escaped Cuccos. Silver Rupee.
Photo frame inside (Ember): 1 Pony Point. Well behind the stable: Throwing Spear chest.
At Lookout Landing
Report to Purah — a story check-in only: the big castle event won't fire until all four regional phenomena are done (that's after step 34 + Gerudo).
Start "Bring Peace to Hyrule Field!" with Captain Hoz while you're here — Eldin's and Akkala's monster-camp quests are chained behind it.
The tunnel under your feet
Royal Hidden Passage — the whole Soldier set
The emergency shelter's tunnel toward the castle moat: Soldier's Helm, Armor and Greaves in three chests (black sediment walls — bring a rock hammer), plus a Soldier's Shield and a Knight's Broadsword (~26). Ice Like and a boulder on the way. The Soldier set is the game's highest-defense upgradeable set — this tunnel is the armor-plan cornerstone.
Soldier set ×3Knight's Broadsword
Free is the best price for the best defense. Twenty minutes, no fight you can't skip.
Shrines on this stretch
Tajikats — at the stable — log-building puzzle; the stable's warp point.
Mayachin + Susuyai — both just west of Lookout Landing; an optional 15-minute loop once you're there. The Hyrule Field Skyview Tower stands by the Exchange Ruins on the same loop — light it if it's still dark.
Leg 13 · Steps 30–32
Akkala & Tarrey Town
Autumn country: two stables, a railcar town where your house waits, Robbie's old lab — and the Fierce Deity trail runs right through it.
30Northeast to Tarrey Town, Foothill and Akkala stablesAkkala Highlands
The long ride northeast. Flip every Hudson signboard you pass — Addison pays small but often.
Foothill Stable
Penn — "For Our Princess!": Zonai Survey members lured into a cave in their underpants. You fight it stripped of your own gear — use what you find. 50 rupees.
Three dogs at the stable: 3 apples each and they dig up a Royal Broadsword, Royal Bow and a Ruby.
Cephla Lake Cave beside the stable: Ember Trousers (feed the dog inside meat — Misko's Cave of Chests) and the locked Fierce Deity Sword (attack 38) door — it opens only wearing all three Fierce Deity pieces. You collect two of them THIS leg; come back before leaving Akkala.
South Akkala Stable & the Citadel
Penn — "The All-Clucking Cucco": a prophetic Cucco sets timed challenges. It's a Yiga in a suit; play along.
The photo frame wants the Unity Bell in Tarrey Town — take the quest, shoot it there, cash it on the way back.
Akkala Citadel Ruins Summit Cave above the road: the Fierce Deity Armor — crouch through the small wall hole, drop through the floor. Gloom Hands roam the ruins outside — Foes card rules: height or run.
Tarrey Town, first pass
Light the Ulri Mountain Skyview Tower first — it's on the ridge northeast of the Sokkala bridges and maps all of Akkala before you spend a day in it.
The railcar across the lake costs 20 rupees (Hagie). In town: start Mattison's Independence at Hudson's house — the house purchase is locked behind it (that's step 32).
Hagie — "Rock for Sale": he asks 100 for the green crystal — wait for his wife Ruli to interrupt; the price drops to 50. Ferry the crystal to the Lake Akkala island socket → Jochi-ihiga Shrine, a blessing holding a Diamond.
Pelison's Break-a-Part Shop — 20 rupees to split a fused material off intact. First of its kind you've met; remember it exists.
Shrines on this stretch
Domizuin — 3305, 1443 — rotating block; three chests incl. a Strong Zonaite Shield.
Moshapin — Lake Intenoch Cave, north of Foothill Stable — crystal quest. Chest: Mighty Zonaite Shield (guard 50).
Mayachideg — by the Citadel — Proving Grounds: The Hunt; scaled gear chest.
Rasitakiwak — SE of Tarrey Town, by your future house — Proving Grounds: Vehicles.
31Akkala Tech Lab for RobbieTravel Medallion
The lab is Yiga-occupied, and the prize is the place-a-warp-anywhere medallion.
Start the quest at Hateno first. Ask Robbie for the Travel Medallion upgrade ("Presenting: The Travel Medallion!") before riding out — without the quest active, the lab visit banks nothing.
The lab
A Yiga Blademaster + Footsoldier hold the yard — clear them, free Konba inside.
Prototype chest on the first floor → return to Robbie at Hateno → Travel Medallion. A second medallion comes at 10 Skyview Towers, the third at all 15.
The northern loop (worth it before leaving Akkala)
East Akkala Stable: frame quest, and the well behind it holds the only wild Goddess Statue in the game.
Skull Lake: drop down the chimney rock into the cave — the Fierce Deity Mask, guarded by a Stalnox (arrow to the eye, then wail on it). Kamatukis Shrine is the warp beside it.
Rist Peninsula (the spiral): Gemimik Shrine at its center — chest: Mighty Zonaite Shield (guard 50).
With Mask + Armor in hand, return to Cephla Lake Cave with the Boots later — or note the third piece (Boots) waits in the Ancient Tree Stump near step 36; the sword door needs all three.
Shrines on this stretch
Sinatanika — combat training, on the road north · Kamatukis — at Skull Lake · Gemimik — Rist Peninsula (the 50-guard chest).
32Back to Tarrey Town — quests and the houseTarrey Town
The town pays out this pass: a farewell, a deed, and a construction menu.
Mattison's Independence
Talk to Hudson alone outside → find Mattison upstairs in the daytime → her granny quiz answer is "Vaba" → railcar to the construction site → block Magie's line of sight (a Puffshroom or a held board) → give Hudson 10 Sundelions for the balloon. 200 rupees, and the town opens up.
Then the rest
Home on Arrange — Rhondson now sells the plot by Rasitakiwak Shrine for 1,500 (foyer + bedroom included). Grantéson builds rooms at ~250–600 each, 15 max — the weapon/bow/shield rooms (600) are real gear storage.
A Monstrous Collection I–V (Kilton) — only if your Koltin Bubbul chain from step 18 has finished at Pico Pond; rewards end in the Monster Bridle + Saddle and a diamond. If Kilton isn't in town, that's why.
Secrets Within (Pulcho at the construction site): drop a Zonai Charge in the dispenser. Sundelion + dispenser info.
Wallet check: this leg nets roughly +450 in quest pay but the house is −1,500 and rooms more. The skewer/Ramella engine from step 20 is what funds it — sell through her batches when passing Goron City.
Leg 14 · Steps 33–34
Zora's Domain
Your third temple. Everything on this leg is covered in sludge, and water is the whole answer — stock Splash Fruit as you walk.
33South, then east to Zora's DomainThe river road
Down from Akkala to the Zora River, then the bridge road the whole way up: Inogo → Luto's Crossing → Oren → Great Zora Bridge.
Sludge school
Sludge melts to water, nothing else: throw or fuse Splash Fruit (grows all along this road), or plain Chuchu Jelly on an arrow — elemental jelly does NOT work. Opals burst into water too; a Hydrant device clears wide patches.
On the way
Upland Zorana Byroad — cave south of the Upland Zorana tower, short climb off the road at Luto's Crossing: the Climbing Boots. In the flooded chamber, Ultrahand the gate up; the chest is in the small room right of it.
While you're up there, light the Upland Zorana Skyview Tower — it maps the whole Zora leg and banks another medallion tower.
Shrines on this stretch
Kurakat — 2365, -0515 — on the bluff where the river road starts.
Mogawak — under the Domain itself — grab it on arrival as the warp.
Ihen-a at Mipha Court comes free during step 34 — don't detour for it.
34The Zora questline — Water TempleRegional Phenomena III
Sidon's arc, start to finish: clean a statue, read a slate, swim up a sky-high waterfall, and beach a shark.
The chain, in order
The Sludge-Covered Statue: splash the Mipha statue clean. Then meet Sidon at Mipha Court up Ploymus Mountain.
Toto Lake: find the missing slate piece (a sludged rock west, by the cave). The Sludge Like miniboss: Sidon's water bubble, then arrows into the open mouth.
Zora Armor: Yona wants an Ancient Arowana — it swims in the pool at Mipha Court's statue. Grab it, return, and waterfalls become elevators.
Clear the East Reservoir waterfall clog with Sidon, swim up, and dive into the whirlpool: the Ancient Zora Waterworks — smash the four pipe blockages (rock hammer), raise the water, hit the terminal. The Zora Greaves chest is here, far end behind the big waterfall (formally Yona's "A Token of Friendship" — take the quest after if the chest waits). A Luminous Talus farms well down here.
Ride the water orbs up to Wellspring Island — take Igoshon Shrine as your travel point — then Zora-Armor up the waterfall chain to the temple.
Water Temple & Mucktorok
Four faucets, any order: west (carry a water orb up, spin the wheel with Sidon's blast) · under the center (Sidon's shield through the flames) · northeast (water-globule spear clears the sludge; Recall a globule to ride up) · east (Fire Like; splash-arrow the sludge, hit the crystal).
Mucktorok: Sidon's burst strips the sludge shark → unload on the little octopus (multi-shot bows shred it). Phase two floods the arena — clear lanes with Sidon or splash arrows, beach it, repeat. Heart Container + Vow of Sidon.
Before you leave the Domain
The Never-Ending Lecture (Chroma + Khira, post-Sidon): swim up the waterfall at Ihen-a in Zora Armor, enter Floating Scales Island where the tail meets the body — the Zora Helm chest is inside. (It moved from Toto Lake — BotW memory is a trap here.)
Glory of the Zora (Dento): the Lightscale Trident costs a Zora Spear + 3 diamonds + 5 flint. A diamond sink that's actually worth it — but only if the stones are spare; the don't-sell rule holds.
Leg 15 · Step 35
The Great Plateau
Back where it all began — four eyes, four chasms, and the statue at the bottom is one you've already met.
35Great Plateau — A Call from the DepthsEye stones · Bargainer
The trapped voice you heard under the Central Mine — this is its quest. The statue at the end is the giant four-eyed Bargainer where you got Autobuild.
The four eyes
Start: Ultrahand the sediment gate to drain the pond (~-0586, -1540), then hear the voice at the Temple of Time Ruins.
North — in the drained pond — lift it out. East — Eastern Abbey, under cracked rock — one bomb. South — pinned under a sky chunk — Ultrahand it off. West — frozen — a fire fruit.
Gloom Hands spawn near Hopper Pond by the east eye — fight from a roof or just run (Foes card).
Drop each eye into its corner chasm, dive after it, and carry all four to the statue's face at the Great Abandoned Central Mine.
The payout
Your pick of a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel, and the statue opens as a Poe shop — Dark Tunic at 150 Poes first; the Tunic of Memories (400) waits until every Bargainer statue is found. Arrive with 150+ Poes if you want to shop today.
While you're on the Plateau
Shrine of Resurrection is now a cave: a hot spring, a Bubbulfrog, a Yiga storeroom below (burn the tapestry — Eightfold Longblade chest), and a Steward Construct handing out the Beam Cycle schema — Autobuild's best commuter vehicle.
Shrines on this stretch
Tadarok — inside River of the Dead Waterfall Cave, west plateau wall (-1092, -2163) — fire-and-water puzzle. Chest: Mighty Zonaite Shield (guard 50).
Field guide
Foes — the cheap way
Every fight here is written cheapest-first. The theme: almost nothing needs a bomb flower. Bank them — they're cave currency.
Like Like — stop spending bombs on itCave walls & ceilings
The stun never needed an explosive. Any hit on the exposed tongue — a plain arrow, or even a melee strike — stuns it for several seconds.
The loop
Stand at mid range. Too close and it swallows you and chews your gear.
Wait for the mouth to open just before it lunges, then put one plain arrow (or a sword hit) into the tongue.
It drops stunned — wail on it, step back, repeat. Melee-only works too: sidestep the lunge, strike the tongue.
Mounted too high to reach? Stay ranged: after the first stun, keep putting plain arrows into the hanging tongue — every hit damages and re-stuns it. An elemental arrow is only ever needed once, to open the variant up. It still pays back 5 arrows on death.
Variants — one cheap counter each
Fire Like → anything ice (ice fruit, white chuchu jelly). Ice Like → anything fire. Instant stun.
Shock Like → stay out of blast range, fire-fruit arrow.
Rock Like → Recall its own boulder back into its mouth — free — or a blunt rock-fused weapon. The one variant where a bomb is defensible.
Why it's worth fighting
Every kill drops a Like Like Stone plus 5 arrows — the fight is arrow-positive if you skip the bomb. Wall and ceiling ones usually cough up a weapon chest too.
Treasure chest5 arrowsLike Like Stone
Stone Talus — Ascend is the whole trickCaves & rare-ore hunts
Zero ammo needed: run underneath, Ascend through its body onto its back, and melee the glowing ore deposit.
The loop
Two full combos fit before it shakes you — hop off, repeat. Blunt or rock-fused weapons hit the ore hardest; don't linger underneath (stomp).
Free stun: Recall its thrown boulders back at it.
Igneo (fire): douse with a splash- or ice-fruit arrow first — it falls stunned. Frost: fire arrow to melt the ice.
Battle Talus (Bokoblins riding it): ignore the riders, one arrow to the ore staggers it, then climb as normal.
Why it's worth fighting
A regular one drops ruby/amber/opal/flint. A Rare Talus drops sapphire, topaz, ruby and diamond — one of the best early rupee sources in the game, and you need ~1,900 rupees by step 20. The Talus Heart itself is a strong hammer fusion.
Diamond (rare)RubySapphireFlint
Horriblin — one arrow to the headCave ceilings
The loop
One plain arrow to the head: critical hit, knocks it off the ceiling, and it sits clutching itself while you melee it. Weak ones die to the headshot outright.
Free option: Recall its thrown rocks back at it — same knockdown.
A pack on the ceiling: one thrown Dazzlefruit drops all of them at once.
Low ceilings: a spear out-ranges them without the arrow.
Drops
Horriblin Horn is a decent early fuse. Kill them when they block a cave; not worth hunting.
Horriblin HornHorriblin Claw
Evermean — the tree that wigglesRoadsides & woods
The loop
Spot it before it springs: it's the one tree wiggling slightly among still ones.
Fire does the whole job — fire-fruit arrow, red chuchu, or just torch contact. Occasionally needs a second hit if it shakes the flame off.
Melee: swords and axes only — spears and clubs bounce off wood. Bait the slow trunk-slam, step aside, chop during its long recovery.
Drops ordinary wood — fight it for safety, not profit.
Gloom Hands — run now, farm laterSurface · fixed spawns
At your current gear level the answer is run: climb anything — they have almost no vertical mobility and despawn if you stay out of reach. Pin the spot on the map and come back.
When you do fight (~8+ hearts, gloom-resist food)
High ground they can't reach, then bomb-flower arrows — a multi-shot bow triples the value per arrow, and the blast hits several hands at once. This is the one fight where bomb flowers ARE the right spend: the hands regenerate faster than plain-arrow chip damage.
Plain arrows go in the eye in each palm if that's all you have, but expect to lose the regeneration race.
Never melee standing in the gloom pools — contact drains max hearts.
The hands are round one. Kill them and Phantom Ganon spawns immediately — a dodge-and-flurry duel that's actually easier than the hands. Flee him and the hands reset.
Why it's worth it eventually
Phantom Ganon drops a Gloom weapon — fusing one is roughly a +30-attack jump, transformative at this stage.
Gloom weaponDark Clump
Bubbulfrog — one sneak arrowOne per cave
The loop
Sneak into range and put one plain arrow in before it aggros — it flees at about 15m and warps away ~5 seconds later.
Arrow type is irrelevant. Never spend an elemental or bomb arrow on it.
Field guide
Wallet — steady rupees
Normal mechanics only, ranked by what they actually pay. TotK's economy runs on meat and gems; almost everything else that looks sellable is secretly an armor-upgrade ingredient.
The earners, rankedRupees per hour, honestly
1 · Gourmet-meat skewers — the workhorse
Cook 5x Raw Gourmet Meat, nothing else → a skewer that sells for 315 (the raw meat is worth 175). 5x Prime Meat → 135.
Don't season sale dishes. Spice fills a slot a fifth meat uses better — there's no seasoning bonus on sale price.
Best hunting ground: the Hebra/Tabantha snowfields you already know — buffalo, moose, wolves, foxes and bears all drop prime/gourmet meat.
2 · Talus gems → Ramella's batches
Ramella in Goron City (from step 20) buys gems in batches of 10 above list price — diamond 550, sapphire 170, ruby 130, topaz 100, and amber at double (20). She rotates what she wants; check when passing.
A Rare Talus pays ~800–1,000 at her rates per kill, and Taluses respawn every blood moon. The Foes card has the free kill loop.
3 · Income that rides the route free
Penn's stable quests (started at step 7): 50 each for the first six, 100 for the last six — 900 total plus the Froggy set, all at stables you're visiting anyway.
Gomo at Bedrock Bistro (on the step-19 road, after Meat for Meat): turn in 100 flint containing a "ripened" one → 1,000 rupees, repeatable. Doubles flint's face value.
Fera's wells (step 6): 10 per well, 58 wells — never route for one, always report the ones you fall into.
Dondons at Lakeside Stable (step ~46): fed a Luminous Stone (shop value 20), each excretes a random gem — up to diamond — 10 real-time minutes later. Passive only: dump surplus stones when passing, never wait around.
The don't-sell listUpgrade ingredients in disguise
The Great Fairy armor tiers eat gems by the hundreds. Selling the wrong pile early is the classic trap.
Hold these
Amber, Opal, Flint, Luminous Stone, Zonaite — the five bulk armor-upgrade ores. Amber especially. (Flint routed through Gomo's turn-in is the exception once you're stocked.)
Diamonds — every one eventually feeds a 4★ upgrade or a Zora weapon rebuild. Sell only real surplus, late.
Star Fragments (sell 200, but don't) — legacy armor and circlet tiers eat them.
Zonaite goes to the forge, never the shop — a Large Zonaite sells for a comedy 6 rupees.
Sell guilt-free
Cooked meat skewers — that's what they're for.
Rubies, sapphires, topaz beyond a reserve of ~10–15 each (Snowquill, Desert Voe and rubber gear take some) — surplus goes to Ramella's batches.
Duplicate dragon parts (300 each).
Field guide
Quick ref — shrines & caves
Everything the route covers, one line each: name, where, what it holds, and the step it lives in. Chest named only when it's worth the walk.
Shrines on the routeSteps 1–28 · number = its step
Sky Island → Hebra
Ukouh · In-isa · Gutanbac · Nachoyah — Great Sky Island · the four ability tutorials 1
Kyononis — Lookout Landing · combat training 3 · Jiosin — Hyrule Field · shape-fitting 3
Ishodag — near Carok Bridge · wind puzzle 4 · Sinakawak — by New Serenne · lights 5
How attack, defense and fusing actually work (datamined, not guide folklore) — where the fairy money goes, and what belongs on the end of your weapons. Full workings live in the workspace files; this is the playable version.
How the numbers workFive rules, no folklore
Attack
Attack Up has 3 levels: ×1.2 / ×1.3 / ×1.5 on your whole weapon + fuse total. Each Barbarian, Fierce Deity or Phantom piece adds one level; three pieces = level 3, hard cap.
Food attack and armor attack are the same buff — they don't stack. Highest wins. A five-banana meal equals a full Barbarian set.
⛔ "Hot/Cold Weather Attack" (Ember, Frostbite) is NOT Attack Up. It adds a small elemental pop to combo finishers in damaging weather — zero attack levels. An Ember piece inside a Barbarian set drops you ×1.5 → ×1.3. Never mix.
Defense
Linear, 1 defense = ¼ heart less per hit, no diminishing returns, minimum ¼ heart. 60 total (a 4★ attack set) turns everything below boss tier into chip damage; 84 (4★ Soldier) chips nearly the whole game.
Set bonuses need all three pieces at 2★+. Fairy count = your star cap: two fairies today = 2★; the third is AT Outskirt Stable (step 36), the fourth one Snowfield warp later.
The fairy planMinimal but sufficient
Upgrade these, in this order
1 · Fierce Deity → 4★ — the attack set. Same stats and bonus as Barbarian, but its materials (Hinox parts + dragon parts) farm at your level today; Barbarian's 48 colour-tiered Lynel horns don't. Pieces: Mask step 31, Armor step 30, Boots ~36.
2 · Soldier set → 4★ eventually — the defense tank (28/piece, highest upgradeable). Free in the Royal Hidden Passage (step 29). Push 2–3★ now on flint + amber; the 4★ Lynel tax waits for farming days.
3 · Glide set → 2★ and stop — the 2★ bonus is Impact Proof: no fall damage. Pieces are free at the sky Dive Ceremonies.
4 · Climbing set → 2★ once the Gear lands (step 45).
5 · Zora Armor (chest) → 2★ — the waterfall climb is the point.
Barbarian: park at 1★ (three thistles). It's your attack set only until Fierce Deity completes, then it retires.
Skip the fairies on
Ember / Frostbite (the burst is a gimmick — wear for flame guard and style) · Tingle / Phantom (can't upgrade — though free Phantom pieces = a no-cost attack outfit) · Hylian (Soldier beats it per amber spent) · Divine Helms (their value is the effect, not the stars) · Hero sets / Awakening (star-fragment walls for stats Fierce Deity already gives).
The don't-sell list was right all along: amber → Soldier, opal → Zora, flint → Soldier/Flamebreaker, gems → the resist sets, diamonds → the Lightscale Trident.
Standing combosWhat to actually wear
By situation
Neutral-weather fight: Soldier ×3 + an attack-3 meal (5 Mighty Bananas). Full ×1.5 AND 84 defense — the dominant combo.
Hot / cold / shock fight: attack set ×3 + the resist elixir. The armor carries attack because the food slot is busy.
Boss with a damage problem: attack set ×3 + a hearty meal — a full heal beats defense food.
Traversal day: Glide 2★ in the sky, Climbing 2★ on cliffs. Buffs don't matter; bonuses do.
Post-castle daily driver: FD Mask + Boots + Champion's Leathers (step 42) — attack 2, the game's best chest piece, Master Sword beams at any health.
Fusing — stop fusing rocksThe ladder, with numbers
A rock is +1–2. A boulder is +2–3. The horns falling off the enemies you're already killing are +17 to +35. Rocks keep one job: fuse to a stick for a mining hammer.
The rules
Fuse attack adds to the weapon's base, and every multiplier (Attack Up, wet-Zora, sneakstrike) applies to the total — better fuses compound with the armor plan.
Fusing adds +25 durability, once (first fuse only; Gerudo weapons only +5). Never swing a naked weapon.
Teeth, claws, fangs and toenails DOUBLE on arrows — Hinox teeth are the budget ammo.
Gems fuse at +1–4 (diamond 25 is the lone exception, and 500 rupees beats +25). Sell gems, fuse horns — the don't-sell list and Ramella win this argument.
What to fuse NOW, by leg
Black Bokoblin horn (+17) / Black Moblin (+24) — Akkala camps, steps 30–32. The new everyday.
Black Horriblin horn (+22) — every cave you're already sweeping.
Black Lizalfos horn (+26) — the Zora leg; electric and ice variants carry their element.
Blue-White Frox fang (+35) and Construct IV horns (+24–35) — the Depths.
Molduga Jaw (+32) and Gibdo Bone (+40, arrows only — it shatters after one melee hit) — Gerudo, steps 37–40.
Later era: Gleeok horns (+30, elemental) and Lynel horns (+22 up to +55) — same timeline as the armor plan's Lynel farming.
The weapons themselvesPassives · pristine · repair
Hidden passives worth building around
Gerudo weapons DOUBLE the fused material (Scimitar/Claymore): pristine Gerudo Claymore 24 + Molduga Jaw 32×2 = 88. Fragile (+5 fuse durability only) — carry two. Your Gerudo leg supplies both halves.
Zora weapons do ×2 while you're wet — rain, waist-deep water, a Splash Fruit at your feet, or Sidon's bubble. The entire next leg is wet.
Royal Guard = ×2 under 4 durability (and hits from a mounted Lynel's back cost zero durability — the later farming trick). Royal = ×2 in flurry rush. Knight = ×2 at one heart. Eightfold Blade = 16× sneakstrike.
Zonaite weapons: small flat bonus (+3/+5/+10 by tier) only when fused with a Zonai device. Real, minor — don't build around it.
Magic Rod/Scepter/Staff + a gem = an elemental caster: ruby throws fire orbs, sapphire an ice cone, topaz shock, opal water — the one good use for a spare gem.
Pristine weapons & repair
Surface weapons are "decayed." Pristine versions (~double attack) stand on Depths ghost pedestals — but only after the decayed one has broken in your hands once. Pedestals reroll every blood moon; regions match the surface (Zora weapons under Lanayru, Gerudo under the desert). Your broken-weapon pile is an unlock list.
Rock Octorok repair (Eldin, e.g. NW of Marakuguc Shrine): drop a weapon nearby — it spits it back fully repaired WITH a fresh yellow modifier. Once per octorok per blood moon. Works on the Hylian Shield.
Pelison in Tarrey Town (20 rupees) splits a fuse keeping both halves — rescue good horns off dying weapons.
Arrows & shieldsSpend vs hoard
Arrow fuses, in order
Bomb Flower — still the king; Depths pots refill them.
Keese / Aerocuda eyeball — arrows HOME, around corners. Farm freely, spend freely; ceiling Horriblins and Aerocudas stop mattering.
Elemental fruit/jelly — ice freezes (next melee hit ×3), shock disarms, fire ignites. Everywhere; spend freely.
Dazzlefruit — blinding flash; staggers Gibdo swarms, pops Yiga masks. Hoard a dozen for Gerudo.
Puffshroom — smoke → free sneakstrike (16× with the Eightfold Blade).
Later: Gibdo Bone (+40/arrow — and it applies to EVERY arrow of a multi-shot bow).
Shields
Parrying costs zero durability — the guard number only governs how slowly blocking drains it.
Fuses: Puffshroom (smoke on block) · Spring (launch into a bow window) · Cart (frictionless surfing — the cart eats the wear; sand and snow are free anyway) · Flame Emitter (spray while guarding) · a Gleeok horn (elemental burst on parry).
Hylian Shield (step 42): guard 90, ~800 durability, repairable by Octorok, and Cece sells a replacement if it ever breaks.