What Are The Best Dungeon in Tears of the Kingdoms?
If you still need to do the dungeons and want to avoid spoilers, read at your own risk! I'm ranking the dungeon by the difficulty of the bosses, puzzles, maps, music, and why it's fun.
1. Hyrule Castle
Link finds treasure in Zelda's Study!
Hyrule Castle is the best dungeon in TOTK because it's the one that stays true to the fanbase the most. The castle's map is challenging to master and takes time to explore, and there are plenty of monsters to fight through to get treasure or armor. The boss in this dungeon is Phantom Ganon, and it's one of the most challenging boss battles before fighting the real Ganondorf.
Hyrule Castle is a unique dungeon, as the game invites you to revisit it many times because of the many treasures and hidden paths you find there. There are many fun things to do there, such as getting early weapons and armor, testing your combat skills, taking out enemies with a sniping arrow shot, or enjoying the grand view of Hyrule.
Another reason why Hyrule Castle is worth revisiting is the memorable music. The orchestral soundtrack has a catchy crescendo and decrescendo leitmotif. It encapsulates the Gloom's effect on the castle with reverse-sounding special effects, foreshadowing the overall boss. The overall timbre adds intensity and mystery as the French horns, drums, and synthesizer want to make you investigate Hyrule Castle more.
Every room is dramatic, with lots of gloom, monsters, rubble from ruins, falling platforms, and a messy array of weapons. The atmosphere of Hyrule Castle is still dramatic in abandoned rooms such as the library, making you watch for lurking monsters. The hidden Korok Puzzles make the dungeon feel complete, giving you something worth doing.
At a certain point, Hyrule Castle is at its peak during the Crisis in Hyrule, as you get trapped by monsters fighting your way out and facing off against the menacing Phantom Ganondorf.
The boss fight is exhilarating, testing all your skills by avoiding Phantom Ganon's duplicates and gloom. The boss battle music is incredible! The distressful strings and disruptive sudden horns make the battle feel frightening, as if you're fighting something that came out of a Stephen King novel.
Hyrule Castle Tips:
1. You can get the Hylian Shield early! It's in a cave below the docksdefended by Gloom Hands!
2. After a blood moon, the Twilight Dusk bow will respawn on top of the Sanctum.
3. After completing Crisis at Hyrule, collect as many Demon King Bows as they are among the best bows in the game.
4. Use the Sheikah Sensor to track treasure nearby.
5. Fast Travel to the Serutabomac Shrine to access Hyrule Castle instantly.
6. Use Lookout Landing’s Skyview Tower to get a birds eye view of Hyrule Castle if needed.
7. Wear anti-gloom armor such as Minda’s Helmet or Armor of the Depths when fighting Phantom Ganondorf.
Hyrule Castle features:
Weapons:
- Arrows
- Torch
- Soldier Spears, Shields, Broadswords, and Bows
- Traveler Bows
- Royal Claymores and Royal Shields
- Royal Guard Bows, Spears, Swords, and Claymores
- Knight’s Broadswords, Halberds, and Claymores.
- The Hyrule Shield
- Dusk Bow
- Demon King Bow
- Magic Rod (inside the Serutabomac Shrine)
- Lizal Bows, Shields, and Boomerang
- Long Sticks
- There are 19 Korok Seeds in Hyrule Castle.
- A Silent Princess resides in Princess Zelda’s Study.
- A Heart container after defeating Phantom Ganon in the Sanctum.
- Shard of Dinraal's Spike
Armor
- The Royal Guard Set
- The Soldier Greaves Set
Enemies:
- Bokoblins (all types)
- Lizalfos (all types)
- Moblin (all types)
- Horriblin (all types)
- Like-Likes (all types)
- Keeses (all types)
- Chuchus
- Gibdos
- Gloom-Hands
- Phantom Ganondorf
2. Lightning Temple
Link gets into an en garde with 2 Soldier Constructs!
The Lightning Temple is the 2'nd best dungeon in TOTK because it's the most challenging dungeon with clever design and memorable ambience. It feels like an old-school Zelda dungeon where the environment is dark, sandy, echoey, and with fire torches on the walls. It's the only temple in the game that keeps you in interior space throughout solving it.
The map is easy to read because the dungeon is small, but finding the hidden rooms takes some time to discover. Beneath some sand areas, there's treasure or a Zonai device! Watch out for "Indiana-Jones-like" traps! The boss, Queen Gibdo, does not mess around and has swarms of Gibdos to chase after you.
This process is engaging because it's dark inside, making it difficult to find the hidden rooms. You have to use the environment and its tools around you. The dungeon tests your ability to angle light with Zonai mirrors toward specific targets. Those targets open more hidden rooms or the door to access the battery room!
The Lightning Temple's music is Egyptian-inspired, making the dungeon feel ominous and mysterious with slow strings and low percussion sounds. The music gets eerie when solving the batteries with the light ambiance of the vocals, bright piano, and dissonant lyre in the background. It picks up the pace later by solving the last battery, as the strings and percussion build more staccato notes and the reverse mixing cues when getting closer to fighting Queen Gibdo.
Almost every room offers something such as collecting Zonai charge or Gibdo guts when fighting the monsters. Sometimes, there's treasure beneath the sand or in an area you have yet to discover. You can find weapons like the Gerudo Bow in a covered grave. There are many creative autobuild opportunities to use Zonai mirrors to solve the overall dungeon, such as a hot air balloon mirror.
Lightning Temple Tips:
1. Use the Sheikah Sensor to locate treasure.
2. Use leaf-fans or Zonai-fans to blow sand away to get your treasure!
3. Remember to use brightgloom seeds in the dungeon because it's dark inside
4. When facing Queen Gibdo, wear attack up armor to make the battle easier with charged attacks.
5. Don't wait for Riju to reload her lightning during the boss battle. You can use yellow chuchu jelly or electric Keese wings to stop Queen Gibdo.
6. Want to knock out a Gibdo nest with 1 K.O? Use bomb arrows!
7. Use shield rockets, hover stones, or spring shields to get high and reach bullet time faster.
8. If you have Yunobo early, use him toward Queen Gibdo!
Lightning Temple features:
Weapons:
- Torch
- Mighty Zonaite Shield
- Gerudo Bow
- Flame Emitter
- Radiant Shield
- Mighty Construct Bow
Items:
- Topaz
- Diamond
- Mirror
- Large Zonai Charge
- Heart Container after defeating Queen Gibdo.
Monsters:
- Gibdos
- Flying Gibdos
- Fast crawling Gibdos
- Soldier Constructs (all types)
- Mighty Soldier Constructs
- Queen Gibdo
3. Wind Temple
Link does Mission Impossible stunts.
The Wind Temple is one of the best dungeons in TOTK, ranking #3 because it has a super-fun boss battle, a memorable layout, and great music. However, the dungeon could have been longer with a slightly bigger Ark, and the puzzles could have been more complex.
The boss, Colgera, puts up a moderate fight and has surprising offensive attacks, such as throwing gusts of wind at you and coming out of nowhere. The overall dungeon is original and still captures the feel of an old-school Zelda dungeon by equalizing the interior and exterior space on the Ark.
The Wind Temple is almost a perfect dungeon, and some parts of it could have been longer. Now, getting to the dungeon takes a lot of time and effort since Link has to leap from floating platforms to one another and jump from one airship to another. The risk is high from falling and withstanding the cold weather, adding difficulty to the high altitude. It hypes players up for high expectations of the Wind Temple.
When you arrive, the goal is to activate all the Ark's gears by charging the turbines. Various things are in your way, such as powerful Captain IV Constructs, deadly Aerocudas, annoying Keeses, and lasers!
The map is easy to read, displaying 3 levels, and most of its rooms have large openings.
The puzzles are switches that test your ultrahand and recall abilities. The dungeon makes you use the environment by finding the missing pieces to complete a switch. The process feels too simple to solve because most puzzles only have 1 switch to open 1 door. There could have been more variety, such as more switches to open 1 door. The Ark could have been bigger in scale, offering more room to design more switches to connect by opening 1 door.
The Wind Temple theme music is outstanding because it sounds close to Breath of the Wild's music when paying more attention to the piano. When starting the temple, the music has a faint and airy-sounding piano in the background, while whole-sounding wind and brass instruments create a zen atmosphere.
The music is at its best during the boss battle! The quick strings in 1/8th notes bring urgency to the battle as the wind and brass instruments breathe a humful and heroic melody. The odd reverse sound mixing with the vocals makes Colgera look even more uncanny and fierce.
Wind Temple Tips:1. Wear cold resistant armor or eat plenty of cold resistant food!
2. Remember to use the Sheikah Sensor to locate treasure.
3. You can defeat Colgera with no weapons guaranteed! Jump through his purple organs!
4. Have a flame-emitter shield to melt ice in this dungeon! Wood and fire fruit always work.
5. Fuse some of your weapons or shields with icicles! It can be great against the powerful Captain Constructs.
The Wind Temple Features:
Weapons:
- Soldier II Spear
- Captain I Reaper
- Strong Construct Bow
- Zonaite Shield
- Soldier Blade
- Soldier II Spear
- Arrows
Items:
- Large Zonaite
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Opal
- Large Zonai Charge
- Time Bomb x5
- Portable Pot x3
- 1 Old Map
- Heart Container
Enemies:
- Aerocudas
- Captain Constructs (all types)
- Soldier Constructs (all types)
- Keese
4. Water Temple
Link enjoys a sky-swim.
The Water Temple is the most underrated dungeon that deserves to be on this list because it tries to break away from traditional dungeon designs. All the rooms are transparent with an open-exterior layout, proving that dungeons don't need restrictive design to be fun. It ranks #4 because it has easy creative puzzles, a pretty design, and an annoying boss. Also, swimming up waterfalls is super fun, which makes this temple unique!
The boss in the Water Temple, Mucktorok, is an eccentric-looking boss but a real pain to deal with! It becomes a powerful shark and suddenly moves around fast. It tries to move away from you! It spits out sludge to defeat you and slow you down. If you ignore to clear the sludge, you might get stuck quickly. You have to use water to weaken the creature and remove the sludge around the battlefield.
The Water Temple is the prettiest dungeon, and on the way to the dungeon, Wellspring Island is gorgeous to look at. The waterfalls are pristine. The ruins' fading color still makes the temple shine when exploring it during the day.
When looking at the map, the space is incredible and vast, informing you where all the dungeon rooms are near bodies of water. It makes players want to explore! They can use their creativity by interacting with the Water Temple's puzzles or bubbles. The main goal is to clear the sludge from the basin by turning on the other faucets.
Solving most puzzles in the dungeon requires little thinking by draining water or carrying shrine balls. Plenty of them need a creative mindset, such as using a water wheel to power electricity. The monsters are too spread out and fail to protect the dungeon's puzzles. You can ignore them while doing a puzzle and still not get hurt. Many players may agree that the Water Temple is a less protected dungeon and that the gravity makes it hard to control Link.
In addition, the Water Temple is the only dungeon with a Zonai Dispenser located at the Wellspring Island level. The dispenser will give you valuable Zonai items to build with, such as fans, wings, stabilizers, hover stones, and batteries. While it has many treasures, it's the only temple providing a Sage's Will and has 3 Old maps hiding around.
The Water Temple's musical ambience is very pretty when attempting it for the first time. The slow horns, low harp, and light xylophone make a pleasing aqua-like sound for the dungeon.
During the boss battle, the music feels almost like "Jaws," with a low bass sound from the piano and bassoon. The score's tone shifts from a dramatic ensemble to a cartoonish xylophone and violin dissonant melody. The shifting tone is intentional for the boss, but the score becomes less memorable because it uses many dissonant notes.
Water Temple Tips:
1. Use Zora Armor to ascend waterfalls!
2. You can get the full Zora Armor early by just finding them. The Zora Helm is located on Floating Scales Island, and the Zora Greaves is located in the Ancient Waterworks.
3. You can use splash fruit, hydrants, and Blue Chuchu Jelly to remove sludge.
4. Remember to use the Sheikah Sensor to locate treasure.
5. The Sage’s Will in the Water Temple is attached to a Flux Construct.
6. The 3 old maps reveal locations to find pieces of the Tunic of the Wind armor.
7. The Water Temple Features:
Weapons:
- Soldier II Spear
- Soldier II Blade
- Captain II Reaper
- Soldier III Blade
- Zora Shield
- Soldier III Spear
- Arrow x 5
Items:
- Big Battery
- Hydrant
- Opal
- Sapphire
- Large Zonaite
- Large Zonai Charge
- Hover Stone x 3
- A Zonai Device Dispenser
- 3 old maps
- Sage’s will
- Heart Container
Monsters:
- Soldier Constructs (all types)
- Captain Construct
- Flux Construct
- Fire Like-Like
- Blue Chuchu Jelly
- Muktorok
5. Fire Temple
Link rides the Fire Temples rollercoasters.
The Fire Temple is a fierce dungeon with a few great qualities, making it one of the best dungeons to do in the game. Like the Water Temple, it has an open-exterior layout with some exceptions of closed rooms in it. The dungeon has a fun introduction before entering it. The dungeon is visually striking with lava. It has an interesting map trying to make the mine-cart system part of the dungeon.
This dungeon ranks #5 because the boss, Marbled Gohma, is easy to beat as it stands around like a brick waiting to be hit by Yunobo. The monsters hardly guard the rooms with the gongs. For some players, the visibility of the dungeon could be more light because it's very dark. Link's Flamebreaker Armor blends in with the lava-like environment, and it may be hard for some players to see Link. He has to wear the Flamebreaker Armor to access the Eldin's depths. Also, there's only so much treasure to find. Interactivity may be limited in this dungeon.
There's no puzzle-like contraption that is stopping you from getting to the rooms with the gongs. It's just marbled doors blocking access to them. The dungeon prompts you to use Yunobo twice, first by crushing marbled doors to access the gong rooms. Secondly, to sound the gong unlocking the moat. Even if it's not engaging, the whole puzzle is about trying to carry Yunobo with you on mine carts as if he's a dead weight.
With those criticisms said, what makes the Fire Temple the best dungeon is its clever introduction. You battle Moragia on top of Death Mountain's volcano while controlling an airship! You shoot Yunobo out and try to crush Moragia as fire meteors are trying to destroy you. Moragia really should have been the main boss for the Fire Temple because an airship battle would be fun and challenging for a boss battle.
After defeating Moragia and landing at the Fire Temple, you get to see how amazing the Fire Temple looks in the depths. It has lava waterfalls, bone structures, ruins, and a large bridge with torches. The air has small specs of red as if it's ashes. The dungeon feels big and powerful from the surrounding darkness and lava.
Throughout the dungeon, there are some exciting challenges. The map displays a complicated map, making the player rely on mine carts. You must navigate them and notice that turning on switches re-directs the carts in different paths. Alternatively, you can fuse your shield to a mine cart to ride the rails, making this dungeon a fun skating rink.
The dungeon challenges your ability to use ultrahand walking over lava by activating a fire hydrant to cool down lava, making a cobblestone-like platform. Making many platforms with that can make a bridge, incline, or decline. You need to make some inclines for Yunobo to crush marbled rock. The lava makes the dungeon daring even though the interactivity could be repetitive or dull.
The Fire Temple's music evokes a dark jazz atmosphere that feels conflicting when you arrive. A vocal orchestra creates monk-like chants as a strange, low-funky bass plays in the background. The score mashes up with a dissonant organ synthesizer and a Chinese gong. The score does an excellent job of making the dungeon feel out of place and giving the player a false sense of security as if Link is visiting Ganondorf's backyard while Ganondorf is working remotely at home.
Fire Temple Tips:
1. DON’T USE BOMB FLOWERS IN THE FIRE TEMPLE! YOU’LL DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH!
2. Achieve the Flamebreaker Armor before visiting the dungeon!
3. Make lots of Fireproof elixirs.
4. Use the Sheikah Sensor to locate nearby treasure.
5. When Marbled Gohma is throwing stones at you, you can use recall on the them to stun it.
6. You can use a rocket shield and try to get more arrow shots on Marbled Gohma's eyes!
7. Dye the Flamebreaker Armor a different color at the Hateno Dye Shop to see Link clearly in the Fire Temple area.
8. Mineru can walk on lava! Re-visit the temple to use this mind-blowing feature!
The Fire Temple Features:
Weapons:
- Arrows
- Soldier II Reaper
- Strong Zonaite Longsword
- Strong Zonaite Shield
Items:
- Zonaite x3
- Large Zonai Charge
- Ruby
- Diamond
- Heart Container
Monsters:
- Soldier Constructs
- Captain Constructs
- Igneo Talus
- Fire Like-Like
Thanks for reading!
