In Breath of the Wild, we both loved and loathed blessing shrines. We loved them because Link waltzed in, opened a chest with some coveted item, and received a spirit orb without having to fight enemies, solve a puzzle, or do anything other than be Link. But we also loathed them because we knew a blessing was bestowed only after we’d battled enemy hordes or completed complicated quests or both, such that even the game’s designers felt sorry for us and didn’t ask for more. Our poster child for blessing shrines we loathed in BOTW was Eventide Island, the last shrine we completed.
It’s different in Tears of the Kingdom. There are more shrines overall in this game, true, but the ratio of blessing shrines to regular ones is more favorable. In addition, some of the blessing shrines feel less bless-worthy.
We offer as example the Otutsum shrine, to which one can simply sail from the Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower, drop on its doorstep (with sufficient stamina), and activate the portal. Mind you, in these easier shrines we still grab the chest and the light of blessing and are grateful for same; yet we often feel as if we’re cheating. Indeed, as shown in the associated video, a star fragment also dropped to our feet, de trop!
Then there’s the occasional shrine that ought to be a blessing, but – isn’t. Here, we offer as example the High Spring and Light Rings quest.
To initiate this quest, one first speaks to Nazbi near the Lanayru Skyview Tower. After his cryptic clue, one is inspired to shoot out of the tower and look down for a small sky island in the Lanayru Sky Archipelago.
On said sky island, one next interacts with a stone half-circle thingy (not its actual name), which, in turn, activates a green light, which must definitely be a Light Ring, at the end of a ramp on the island. What’s a Link to do? Why, jump through, of course!
Upon jumping through, a spark of light plummets to the ground and, of course, Link must plummet also. But if Link does not have on his upgraded Glide Armor, because it is, after all, cold on the sky island and thus he’s likely wearing his long underwear, he may very well go SPLAT as he chases after the light without being cognizant of the ground below. This happened to Demelza perhaps a couple of times. Perhaps three or four. Eventually, she figured out that plummeting straight down in the inky dark night resulted in death.
Zelder Tip #1: Don’t attempt this quest in the inky dark night. Be a morning person.
(Old-fashioned sound of record being rewound. In truth, a save point was loaded.)
Next, Demelza tried eating a cold resistance meal[1] and switching out the Snowquill armor for upgraded Glide Armor. (Please note that the path to getting the Glide Armor is itself worthy of a blessing.)
The cold resistance-glide armor combination worked well in preventing SPLAT. Unfortunately, she then realized that by going straight down in hot pursuit of the light, one may get ahead of the light and undershoot the location of the green ring that Link needs to go through. Reaching that ring is a long slog in snow, if one has not shelled out for snow boots, and even then….
Clever Reader will have figured out, likely well before Demelza did, that shield-surfing rather than slogging was called for. Now, we are not very skilled at shield-surfing. In fact, Demelza, who ironically had recently declined Selmie’s offer of lessons, had to research how to shield surf. For those who have also not graduated Selmie’s school of shield-surfing, the process involves holding ZL to pull out one’s shield, then pushing X to jump, followed swiftly by A to surf. Easy, right?
We are Zelders. We do not handle well such intricate controller tasks, particularly when there’s a timer relentlessly counting down.
Demelza dove off that sky island many, many times. She often landed on a nearby cliff, which precluded any attempt at shield-surfing; she occasionally made a good landing, pulled out the shield, but forgot the proper button combo so the green ring flickered out before she’d begun to surf. As she, um, improved, she made it through a couple of rings, then three. On one attempt, certain she had to have gone through the last ring, she jumped off her shield excitedly only to discover it was not, in fact, the final ring.
Zelder Tip #2: Do not stop surfing until a cut scene ensues.
Sometime after the tenth sixteenth twenty-third attempt, Demelza happened to notice, off to the side of the stone half-circle thingy (still not its actual name), some shiny objects. Now, there is nothing Demelza loves more than a shiny thing. Heedless of her cold resistance ticking down, she went to investigate. Zonai shields!!! Harrumph. If only she had noticed these in the beginning, she would not have wasted so much time trying to waddle through the snow to the first green ring on the ground! She would have known at the outset that the shields were a clue!
Naturally, Demelza already carried a long-suffering shield. But – wait – there was something else there, larger than the Zonai shields: a shield sled. Why was this not disclosed?? Why was this not listed among our assets?
Zelder Tip #3: If you’re having trouble surfing with a regular shield, try the shield sled. Demelza successfully ran through all the rings on the first attempt after equipping the shield sled.
Success!!! Zakusu Shrine rose from the air/ground/whatever!!!
At the same time, a chime sounded, which will likely not happen in your game unless you also happen to be doing laundry.
Demelza set down her controller and went to put sheets in the dryer. She returned to a dreadful sound: that horrible “you’re under attack” panicky music. Gah!!!! She’d forgotten to pause the game!
We are here to tell you that yes, there are enemies around the Zakusu Shrine, and they will find you, or rather, your Link-self, if you wander off without first hitting save and pause.
Fortunately, Tulin, Yunobo, et al, had been defending Demelza-as-Link while she was away. Whew! She finished off a foe and then headed into the shrine to claim her well-deserved prize.
Which was not a blessing.
Nope, after all that, Zakusu stripped Link to his underwear and challenged him to prove himself. (Really? We can’t prove ourselves while fully clothed? We haven’t ALREADY proven ourselves just getting here?) What’s more, the laundry episode had cost Demelza/Link a number of hearts, and she was not going to battle constructs with depleted health!
And thus it was off to Link’s compound in Tarrey Town, where the shield sled was retired to a place of honor and Demelza/Link slept off the laundry damage.
After a suitable interval, Demelza returned to Zakusu shrine and made short work of the constructs inside.
And then it hit her: SHE DID NOT HAVE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE FINAL SUCCESSFUL SURFING RUN. There had been no one on the sofa next to her shouting “screen shot!” or “take a video!” Instead, the washing machine bell had chimed!
Well. Did Demelza return to her previous save point in order to recreate her slalom prowess, all for the sake of a video for this post? By damned, she did not.
And, the curious reader might ask, what of Itzal? Oh, he gave up on this quest after a mere five tries waddling through the snow. The shield surfing/sledding never occurred to him until reading this blog. Now armed with Zelder tips, he shall try again!
After finishing his laundry.
[1] Arguably, you’ll run out of time before you run out of hearts; thus, Demelza’s cold resistance meal was comforting, if ultimately unnecessary.