A funny thing happened on the way to our first Divine Beast, which we didn’t realize until much later, when we were consulting our screenshots and checking the dates: It took us more than four months to muster the courage to take on Vah Ruta. But we confronted all three of the remaining beasts, and Ganon to boot, in about the same amount of time.
There was something intimidating about the first one. Whether the Divine Elephant Vah Ruta or another of the beasts, we suspect it would have been the same. Demelza had prepared pages, truly, pages of information, culling the best of the best from any number of websites, fan pages, and videos and then compiling that information into a single, comprehensive walkthrough. Even then, we weren’t sure we were ready. Yet, one day, Itzal said, “Let’s do it.”
But we get ahead of ourselves.
As noted in our previous post, freeing each Divine Beast can be divided into four parts, which are the prerequisite phase, the gaining access to the beast phase, the puzzle section, and finally, the blight-fight.
In this post, we cover the prerequisite phase of Vah Ruta. You might think we would split the four phases equally into two posts, rather than one phase for this post and three for the following; indeed, it taxes our OCD nature not to do so. But the fact is that we approached the prerequisite phase of Vah Ruta with great deliberation, while the remaining three phases passed in an anxiety-ridden blur. Allow us to pretend for the nonce that we handled each phase with the same degree of confidence and precision.
It isn’t uncommon for Zora’s Domain to be the first area one visits outside of the Dueling Peaks-Hateno-Kakariko tri-state area; one follows the northern star or something. In our first venture, we traversed the land unaided by a map, because we had yet to scale Lanayru Tower. It was very wet, that we recall. And more than a trifle dreary. There were Lizalfos along the way, and Octoroks in the river who spit rocks at us. (To this day, we loathe the lowly Octoroks, who manage to do more damage to us with their eight health points than a Guardian does with fifteen hundred.) Mostly we followed the exhortations of the occasional Zoran determined to direct us toward Inogo Bridge and Prince Sidon.
Were we to do it again – and eventually we did – we would fly from Lanayru Tower and subsequently from a mountaintop or two, thus avoiding some of the Octoroks and Lizalfos and a lot of supremely bad weather.
Inogo Bridge
In any case, in due course, we did in fact meet up at Inogo Bridge with Prince Sidon, who – although we did not realize it at the time – would be our guide to gaining access to Vah Ruta. The prince was polite, which is more than we can say for some Zorans we met in the king’s palace. (For one, Sidon gave us an electro elixir, which was a clue of unpleasant things to come.)
After Prince Sidon’s encouraging word, we continued to follow, as best we could, a series of blue lanterns on a path toward his ancestral home.
We tried once or twice to skip the path and attempt instead a water crossing and up the mountain shortcut, but such proved unsuccessful. (We can’t say Sidon didn’t warn us; he was quick to point out that the cliffs were slippery.)
Zora’s Domain (and Armor)
Once in the royal domain, Prince Sidon introduced us to King Dorephin, who gifted us one piece of the Zora armor set: the body piece, which would allow Link to swim up waterfalls. He also explained that the Zorans, being watery folk, were particularly susceptible to lightning, and thus they needed Link’s help with Vah Ruta.
After activating the Ne’ez Yohma shrine as a fast-travel spot (it’s underneath the throne room), we were free to roam the seat of Zoran government. We began to regret the impulse to explore, however. There were more than a few residents who wanted to chastise Link for having abandoned Mipha (whom he did not even recall, courtesy of a hundred years’ sleep); the Zorans (and we were beginning to understand why Link had chosen to forget them); and Hyrule as a whole.
Nevertheless, you can’t avoid all the Zoran grouches. There’s Muzu, for example. He’ll be near a statue of Mipha, and there you’ll uncover one of the Captured Memories. Moreover, once mollified, Muzu advises Link to go to Shatterback Point on Ploymus Mountain to collect at least 20 shock arrows to take on Vah Ruta.
Zelder Tip #1: Get lots more than 20 shock arrows.
Zelder Tip #2: Before you go to Shatterback Point, activate the quest to get a second piece of the Zora armor set. Wander around Zora town (which is confusing in the extreme, it all being grey and blue and winding here and there) until you find a Zoran named Laflat. Speaking to Laflat triggers the Lynel Safari quest. In short, Laflat desperately desires a photo of a red-maned Lynel, and there just happens to be one on Ploymus Mountain.
Ah. What to say here? Despite a few months’ play under our belts, these were still Early Days. We had few hearts and less stamina. We had never met a Lynel.
We received one extremely valuable bit of advice, and we are sorry we can’t credit the source, but it was long ago and we had no idea at the time exactly how sage the guidance was. The advice was this: Do not try to fight this guy. Don’t take his measure; he’s already got yours, and he’s found you wanting. Snap a photo and then run. And don’t run literally, fast-travel your little Linkian behind to the Ne’ez Yohma shrine. Don’t dilly. By no means dally.
Zelder Tip #3: Cue up your camera rune well in advance; maybe even practice a few shots before approaching him, so you don’t accidentally try to stick a pin in the Lynel instead of taking his photo. Also, there’s a large, flat rock nearby his stomping grounds; if you perch there, it won’t protect you from the electricity the Lynel spews, but at least he won’t also run over you.
Zelder Tip #4: It wouldn’t hurt to consume a shock resistant meal or potion just before.
The photo that Itzal took that day was, how shall we put it, not precisely family-friendly. We’re pretty sure we snapped a stellar shot of the Lynel’s privates. Nonetheless, it was sufficient to appease Laflat’s prurient interests, and she handed over the Zora greaves.
That left one piece to have the full Zora set – the helm. The helm can be found in a chest in Toto Lake, definitely not in Kansas.
Zelder Tip #5: The Zora armor set is one of the easiest sets to upgrade to the second level, requiring mostly common ingredients. When all pieces are upgraded and worn together, the set provides a bonus of decreased energy consumed while swimming and an attack spin bonus in water. We never managed the latter, but we appreciated the former. After the second upgrade, you might not bother with levels three and four, since more often than not you won’t be fighting at sea.
With your Zora set donned, return to Ploymus Mountain to collect shock arrows. Or buy them somewhere, or both. Then meet Prince Sidon at East Reservoir Lake. The fun is about to begin!
Liquid matters
In keeping with the wet, dreary environment of Zora’s Domain, we recommend a Blue Lagoon for your sipping pleasure. Drink up, especially if you plan to take that Lynel’s measure!