Meeting Prince Sidon and Finding the Water Temple
Table of Contents
After speaking with Purah in Lookout Landing, Link discovers that the four major regions of Hyrule have been plagued with strange phenomena that are putting the residents’ lives in peril.
In the eastern portion of Hyrule, the Lanayru Region, Link must seek out the Zora people and help them restore peace to their home.
This guide covers portions of Tears of the Kigndom‘s “Regional Phenomenon” and “Sidon of the Zora” main quests.
Reaching Zora’s Domain
To begin this portion of the “Regional Phenomenon” main quest, Link must travel to Zora’s Domain. The domain is located in the northern part of the Lanayru Region, north of Hateno Village.
Useful items to bring with you
- A full armor set (any type) for defense
- Electricity-producing items
- Water-producing items
- Multiple melee weapons, shields, arrows, and bows.
Starting from Lookout Landing, follow the road heading east toward Lanayru Wetlands. There are various locations to explore, enemies and overworld bosses to defeat, and additional quests to unlock between Lookout Landing and your destination. None of these explorable features are essential for reaching Zora’s Domain, however, so you may complete or ignore whichever you want.
Once you reach the wetlands, continue northeast to find an enemy camp at the base of a mountain trail. Defeat or slip past the enemies to reach the trail. This is the start of the trail that ultimately leads to Zora’s Domain.
As you climb the path and draw closer to the domain, you’ll discover signs of what ails the Zora people. Mysterious and toxic sludge has permeated the land and is poisoning the waterways. If you step into any of this sludge, your mobility will be hampered.
Continue up the trail to the tops of the mountain to reach the bridges that lead to the heart of Zora’s Domain.
Meeting Yona and Learning Zora Domain’s Fate
When you first enter the domain, drop down beneath the first floor to find the Mogawak Shrine. Activate it to create a fast-travel point. Next, return up top and head to the center square to find a sludge-coated statue of the Zora prince, Sidon.
By the statue is a green Zora woman speaking with other Zoras. Listen to their conversation to learn that they need to find a way to wash away the sludge on the statue, as doing so might provide some encouragement to everyone.
Use any water-producing item to clean the statue. One of the best options is to use an arrow fused with a Splashfruit. Once the statue is clean, speak with the green Zora again. She will tell you that she is Yona, Sidon’s fiancée. She will also tell you to go meet with Prince Sidon. You can find Sidon near Mipha Court at the top of Ploymus Mountain.
Yona will also request that you find an ancient arowana fish for her. With it, she’ll be able to repair the Zora Armor, which you will need later on.
Finding Sidon
Cross the bridge at the northwest corner of the Zora’s Domain to find a new mountain trail. Follow the trail to reach the entrance to the Upland Zorana Foothill Cave. Enter the cave and climb up and through it to move closer to your goal.
To reach the top of the cave, you’ll need to break the rocks nestled into the wall opposite to the entrance. With them gone, use Ascend to reach the next level. At this next height, you’ll find more rocks embedded in a wall. Repeat the process of breaking them and using Ascend to reach the next level one more time, then use Ascend again to pass through the cave ceiling and emerge at the top of the mountain.
After emerging, head west to find the Upland Zorana Skyview Tower. Wash away the sludge from the tower’s entrance so you can activate it. After activating it and having it launch you into the sky, use the height advantage to paraglide toward Mipha Court. You most likely won’t reach it from the tower, but the straight path toward will be a helpful shortcut.
When you eventually land on the ground, you’ll find a number of fallen stones around. You can use Recall on these to return to the sky and continue drifting toward Sidon’s location. Or, you can travel by land if you would prefer to explore as you go.
Whichever method you use, you’ll eventually reach the peak of Ploymus Mountain. Before you climb to the top, however, look for the small pool of water near the trail just below the peak. You’ll find some ancient arowana, the fish Yona requested. Jump into the water to collect them and save them for later.
Continue to the peak to find Sidon. You can also find the Ihen-a Shrine at the east end side of the court. Activate the shrine to generate a travel point.
Meeting Sidon and Looking for King Dorephan
After speaking with Sidon, travel to Toto Lake to find the historian Jiahto. Toto Lake is northwest of your location and directly north of Zora’s Domain.
You will find the elderly Jiahto near some ruins on the edge of the lake. Speak with him to learn that he’s been studying a message inscribed on a large slate. The slate is broken, however, with pieces of it and the message missing. He needs to see the entire message to discover what it means.
You must repair the slate for Jiahto. Luckily, the missing piece is close by. Walk up and around the hill north of Jiahto to find the large fragment, which is covered in sludge. Wash away the sludge with a water-producing item, then use Ultrahand to pick up the piece. Take it to the slate and slide it into the empty space to restore the monument and complete the message.
With the slate complete, Jiahto will read you the entire message:
“Stand upon the land of the sky fish, and behold its lofty view. Among the floating rocks you see, a droplet waits for you.
“Through this droplet, shoot an arrow with the mark of the king. Do this task, and you shall reveal a most wondrous thing.
“See the watery bridge’s resting spot with your own two eyes…that which connects the Zora to the people of the skies.”
Per Jiahto’s recommendation, you’ll next want to seek out King Dorephan, the Zora king who is currently on a mission of his own. To find the king, start by returning to Zora’s Domain to find and speak with Yona again.
First, give her the ancient arowana you found so she can repair and give you the Zora Armor. With it, you will be able to swim up waterfalls, including the ones falling from the sky.
Second, ask her about King Dorephan. You’ll learn from her that the Zora children are currently in the throne room, playing and pretending to be the king. Visit the throne room and listen to the children to learn that King Dorephan has a secret hiding spot and is probably there.
Though, the children won’t let you hear if you get too close to them while they play. You need to sneak into the throne’s water chamber and listen to their conversation while hidden.
You’ll learn from the children that Dorephan’s secret spot is a “pristine sanctuary” free of sludge found somewhere between Ploymus Mountain and Zora’s Domain. The sanctuary also has an entrance behind a waterfall.
To find King Dorephan, return to the shrine at Mipha Court. From there, head west and follow the flow of clean water going down the mountain to find a large, clear waterfall. There is a small cavern opening at the base of the waterfall. Drop down into it to find the Pristine Sanctum and King Dorephan.
Speak with the king to receive 5x King’s Scale, which is the “mark of the king” mentioned in the message.
Island and Teaming Up With Sidon
Once you have the scales, return to Sidon to tell him of his father’s condition. Sidon will mention that the next step is now to find the land of the sky fish. To find this, return to Jiahto to update him as well. He isn’t sure exactly what it is, but he suspects that it might be something in the shape of a fish.
Look at the sky map to find the location. There is a fish-shaped island near the east end of the region. Mark the location on your map, then travel toward it via the surface. Once you are close and can see the island, you need to find a way to reach it.
The best method is to use Ultrahand to create a flying Zonai craft. If you need Zonai devices, you can find pieces for a hot-air balloon on a nearby cliff.
If you cannot build a craft, you can instead look for any nearby fallen rubble, use Recall on it to ascend into the sky, and then paraglide toward the island.
Once you’re on the island, climb to its top platform and look southwest to find a number of floating stones arranged in a tear-shaped pattern. Shoot an arrow fused with a King’s Scale through the middle of the stones to make a pillar or light appear in the middle of the East Reservoir Lake beneath you.
Return to Mipha Court and speak with Sidon again. After you speak with him, a Sludge Like will appear from the nearby sludge and attack you. At this point, Sidon will join you to help defeat the beast. Now you can use Sidon’s Power of Water to create a water shield and attack.
Boss Battle: Sludge Like
To defeat the Sludge Like, use Sidon’s power to fire a disc of water at the beast. This will remove its protective layer of sludge. With the sludge gone, you can attack this enemy using the same strategy to attack it as you would with a regular Like Like: Wait for it to expose its center eye, then strike the eye to stun it. Repeat this process until the Sludge Like is destroyed.
From this point, Sidon will journey on ahead to the East Reservoir Lake to continue helping you with your mission. Return to the East Reservoir Lake and find Sidon standing on a large piece of rubble in the middle of the lake.
Speak with Sidon to have him dive into the water and generate a large whirlpool around the pillar of light. Paraglide into the center of the whirlpool sink down into Ancient Zora Waterworks.
Exploring the Ancient Zora Waterworks
Follow the path west into the waterworks to find a large pipe that is clogged with stones. Destroy the stones so water can flow freely from the pipe and raise the water level. This will raise you to the top of the wall so you can reach the heart of the waterworks.
When you reach the center of the waterworks, climb down to the water and stand on the floating boards. Look to the south to see another clogged pipe. Destroy the stones so this pipe can fill the area partway with water.
With the water raised, you can now reach another pipe at the opposite end and to the northeast. The stones plugging this pipe are set deeper within it though, so you’ll need to find a way up to it. You can do this by using Ultrahand and the nearby sets of boards to create a ramp. Climb into the pipe and destroy the stones to let more water into the chamber.
From this new water level, head west to find another pipe set high up in the west-end wall. There are also a number of boards floating around it. Move one of the boards beneath the pipe, then use Ascend to rise into it. This pipe is actually the start of a short network of tunnels. You need to navigate the tunnels to the fourth and final clog.
Starting from the pipe’s entrance, follow this pattern:
- Turn right
- Take the first left.
- Take the first right.
- Use Ascend to rise through the grate above you.
Once you climb through the grate, you’ll find the final clog. Destroy it to raise the water as high as it can go. Climb the ladder that was hidden behind the stones, then follow the path at the top of the ladder to find a lever and gate. Flip the lever with Ultrahand to open the gate, and paraglide from the new opening down to the center platform.
Activate the Zonai device on the platform to make a massive waterfall drop from the largest floating island above the reservoir. Link will automatically return to Sidon’s location on the lake, and Sidon will swim up the waterfall. When you are ready, equip the Zora Armor so you can swim up the waterfall as well to reach Wellspring Island.
Wellspring Island and Finding the Water Temple
Head northwest to find a machine that produces floating bubbles of water. As the bubble rises, jump into the water so the bubble will carry you up. Once you’re at the highest point that the bubble will travel, swim and jump out of the water to catch the wall in front of you. Climb over the wall and walk to the end of this part of the island to find Sidon again.
After speaking with Sidon, turn back toward the angled bubble-producing machine. Stand on the face of the machine and wait for it to generate another bubble. When it does, it will automatically grab Link and carry him as it drifts up and toward another platform. Jump onto the platform once you reach it.
Head east to find a series of bubble generators suspended mid air. They send their bubbles straight up, so stand on the first one, let the bubble raise you high into air, then jump and paraglide to the next one. Repeat this process to get across all of the machines and to reach the next part of the island.
Defeat the Guardian Constructs in your way as you explore the island. On the opposite end from where you arrived on this island, you’ll find a Zonai hydrant. You can use the hydrant to dispel the sludge in your way. This is especially helpful to clear openings to secret areas with treasure chests and materials.
After clearing a path for yourself, you’ll reach the end of this island and find one of the floating pillars that generates a waterfall. This one, however, is clogged with sludge. Use the hydrant or a Splashfruit to remove the sludge so the water can flow freely. And with the sludge gone, you can now safely jump to the pillar.
From this pillar, turn east and paraglide to the lone waterfall you see. If you miss the pillar, you can use the Zora Armor to swim back up its waterfall to reach the top. Once you’re on top of the pillar, turn around and paraglide toward the pair of waterfalls to the west. Jump from the top of these pillars to the larger floating piece next to them.
Climb to the top of the thin pillar on this island, then paraglide from it to the higher waterfall pillars to the south. When you reach the first pillar, keep moving south to paraglide to the pillar across from it. It is from this pillar that you can reach the large, multi-level island in front of you.
This island is home to multiple optional materials, including a Guardian Construct on the first level, a Zonai dispenser on the second level, and the Igoshon Shrine on the third level. Make sure to activate the shrine to create a travel point.
From the shrine, head west to find a launching ramp for Zonai crafts and some nearby Zonai gliders. Set one of the gliders on the ramp, stand on the glider, and shoot the ramp’s switch with an arrow to make the ramp launch you and it into the air toward the next island.
Defeat the enemies on this island and head to the far west end to find some large columns. Climb to the top of these columns and jump over to the top of the nearby floating waterfall pillar. Front that pillar, paraglide to the next set of waterfall pillars to the east. Climb to the top of these pillars to see that there are many more pillars that form a trail.
Follow the trail of floating waterfall pillars to reach the next elevation. When you reach the last pillar, look south to find three large waterfalls. Paraglide toward the waterfalls and use the Zora Armor to swim up one of them so you can reach the next island.
Defeat the enemies you find on this island, then climb the large pieces of rubble to reach the top of this island. At the top, you’ll be able to see another bubble-producing machine on an island to the south. The trajectory of this machine causes the bubbles to land at the end of the island you’re standing on.
Use Recall on the bubble to send it back toward the island it came from. Jump into the bubble before it starts to move so it will carry you to that island as well.
Go to the west end of this island to find a short wall and some flat stone pieces you can move with Ultrahand. There is a bubble machine at the opposite end, but the bubbles repeatedly burst when they hit the standing wall.
Use the flat stones to create a ramp that the bubbles can ride up and over the wall. When the ramp is in place, stand on it and wait for a bubble. Let the bubble catch and carry you up toward the next island.
This next island has a collection of Zonai devices and a large ramp aimed at the next island. Use the wheeled cart, glider, and fan pieces to make a plane-like craft. Ride the craft up the ramp and across the gap to reach the new island.
Sidon will be waiting for you on this new island, but so is a Captain Construct not far behind him. Defeat the construct with Sidon’s help, then climb to the top of the stairs to reach the massive waterfall. Jump into the waterfall and use the Zora Armor to swim to the top and to reach the entrance to the Water Temple.
