Water Temple Walkthrough

1. The temple centers on one big room with a hollow tower in the middle and three floors around it. The water in this room sits at one of three heights: high (where it starts), middle, or low. Most doors are only reachable at one of those heights.

   #1.1

2. You change the water level by standing on the tile in front of one of three water level symbols, Triforce carvings on the wall, and playing Zelda's Lullaby. Each symbol always sets the same height.

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3. Tip

   Low symbol: on the top floor of the east side, beside the Map room, reached by floating up the shaft where you meet Ruto. Middle symbol: inside the central tower, on a ledge above its bottom-floor door. High symbol: in a small top-floor alcove on the west side of the central room, reached by riding a water jet up from the middle-floor west room.

   #1.3
4. Tip

   There are 6 Small Keys and 6 locked doors, and every locked door is on the required path, so you can't waste a key. If you're stuck, you're missing a key; the two most often missed are under the central tower's floating block and behind a cracked wall in Ruto's shaft.

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5. Tip

   Wear the Zora Tunic the whole time, and get used to the Iron Boots swap: boots on to sink and walk along the bottom, boots off to float to the surface.

   #1.5
6. Tip

   The temple also holds the Dungeon Map, the Compass, the Longshot, the Boss Key, and 5 Gold Skulltulas. Break pots when you run low on arrows; you need plenty of them here.

   #1.6

1. Walk through the entrance tunnel, take off the Iron Boots, and float up into the central room. The water is at its highest.

   #2.1

2. Blue Tektites skitter across the water around the central tower. Shoot them with arrows or Hookshot them before they reach you; they return every time you re-enter the room.

   #2.2

3. Put on the Iron Boots and sink to the bottom floor. Go through the east doorway, the one flanked by two unlit torches.

   #2.3

4. Spikes, spiny balls that roll at you, patrol the passage beyond. Block them with your shield or hit them with the Hookshot to make them pull in their spines, then slash them.

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5. At the end, Princess Ruto, now grown up, greets you and then swims up through an opening above and vanishes.

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6. Take off the boots and float up the shaft after her, all the way to the surface. Climb out on the top floor and go through the nearby door.

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7. You get

   Defeat every Spike in this room and a chest appears with the Dungeon Map.

   #2.7

8. Step back out to the water level symbol on the wall outside the Map room. Stand on the tile in front of it and play Zelda's Lullaby. The water drains to its lowest level.

   #2.8

1. Drop back down the shaft to the small room at its bottom. Of the three torches by the barred door, only one is lit.

   #3.1

2. Light the other two by firing arrows through the burning torch so they catch fire, or by casting Din's Fire. The bars lift.

   #3.2
3. You get

   Shell Blades wait inside, and they can only be hurt while their shells are open. Hit them when they snap open (the Hookshot stuns them). Defeat them all and a chest appears with Small Key 1.

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4. Collectible

   Optional: on the bottom floor of the central room, bomb the cracked floor at the end of the south corridor and sink through. Past a Shell Blade, step on the switch to raise the water there, Hookshot the target on the statue, and defeat the Tektites. Hit the crystal switch behind the cage with a spin attack to open it and claim the Gold Skulltula.

   #3.4

5. Back in the drained central room, go into the corridor on the west side of the bottom floor. Push the red block as far as it will go; it drops into a flooded hole and clicks into place.

   #3.5

6. Put on the Iron Boots, sink into the flooded passage beyond, and follow it until you can take the boots off and float up into the next room.

   #3.6

7. A crystal switch here controls a water geyser in the pool. Hit the switch to make the geyser rise, hop on top, and jump to the doorway on the far side.

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8. The next room is a whirlpool swirling around a submerged dragon statue. Let the current carry you, then put on the Iron Boots to drop onto the dragon.

   #3.8

9. Hookshot the crystal switch inside the dragon's mouth. A gate nearby opens for only a moment, so immediately Hookshot the target beyond it to zip through.

   #3.9
10. You get

    Watch for Shell Blades on the other side. Take off the boots, float up, and open the chest for Small Key 2.

    #3.10

11. Hit the crystal switch here to open the way back, ride the current, and float up. In the geyser room, Hookshot the target by the upper ledge to reach the doorway, then retrace your steps to the central room.

    #3.11

1. On the bottom floor of the central room, unlock the door into the central tower.

   #4.1

2. Inside, Hookshot the target above you to reach the ledge with the second water level symbol. Play Zelda's Lullaby. The water rises to the middle level.

   #4.2

3. As the water rises, a block in the tower's floor floats up and reveals a hole beneath it. Put on the Iron Boots and sink through the hole.

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4. In the flooded chamber below, hit the crystal switch. It opens a gate in a corner and drops Spikes and Shell Blades around you; defeat them.

   #4.4
5. You get

   Swim through the open gate, take off the boots, and float up to a chest holding Small Key 3.

   #4.5

6. Leave the tower. On the middle level of the central room's east side, find the passage marked by two lone jars and follow it to a room guarded by Spikes.

   #4.6

7. Hookshot your way up the targets through the opening in the ceiling. In the room above, a jet of water covers a big chest. Shoot the crystal switch with an arrow to shut the jet off, then open the chest before it starts again.

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8. You get

   Compass.

   #4.8

9. Sink to the bottom of the central room and go back through the east doorway into Ruto's shaft. Take off the boots and float up: the surface now sits at the middle level, right beside a cracked wall.

   #4.9
10. You get

    Bomb the cracked wall. The chest in the small room behind it holds Small Key 4.

    #4.10

1. In the central room, unlock the door on the west side of the middle level.

   #5.1

2. Inside, a Blue Tektite hops around a water jet. Shoot the Tektite, stand on the jet, and hit the crystal switch across the room with an arrow. The jet launches you up to an exit high above.

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3. You come out in an alcove on the top floor of the central room, next to the third water level symbol. Play Zelda's Lullaby. The water rises back to its highest level.

   #5.3
4. Tip

   This alcove is a good spot for a Farore's Wind warp point. You'll come back here to raise the water again before the boss.

   #5.4

5. On the top floor's west side, unlock the door to the waterfall room. Shoot the two Keese first.

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6. Platforms slide down the waterfall in a steady stream. Drop to the lowest one, Hookshot across to the falling platforms, and keep hopping upward faster than they sink. When you're high enough, Hookshot to the ledge by the locked door and unlock it.

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7. The next room has dragon statues standing in water, with a crystal switch in the center. Hitting the switch raises or lowers the water, and the statues rise and fall with it, exposing Hookshot targets.

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8. Work your way around the room: raise the water and Hookshot to the next platform; lower it and Hookshot the target on the side of the next platform, then cross over the statue's head; raise it again and Hookshot to the last platform; finally lower the water, stand on the last statue's head, and raise the water so it lifts you to the exit.

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9. Defeat the Blue Tektites and the Like Like near the exit, then Hookshot the target on the ceiling to pass over the spiked floor and go through the door.

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10. Watch out

    A Like Like can swallow your Hylian Shield and your Zora Tunic. Keep your distance and finish it with arrows.

    #5.10

1. You enter a misty room that seems to stretch forever, with a single dead tree on a small island. The room is really an ordinary square with invisible walls.

   #6.1

2. Walk to the barred door on the far side. When you turn around, a shadowy copy of you has appeared by the tree: Dark Link.

   #6.2

3. Dark Link mirrors your sword attacks and blocks most of them. Jump attacks and straight sword thrusts are especially risky, because he counters them.

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4. Tip

   He can't copy items or magic. Din's Fire hurts him reliably, and the Megaton Hammer or Biggoron's Sword smashes through his guard.

   #6.4
5. Tip

   Each time you hit him, he vanishes and reappears behind you. Keep moving and keep your shield up between attacks.

   #6.5

6. When Dark Link falls, the illusion lifts and the door opens.

   #6.6

1. You get

   In the next room, open the big chest for the Longshot, an upgraded Hookshot with twice the reach.

   #7.1

2. Behind the chest is a Time Block. Play the Song of Time to make it vanish, then drop through the opening.

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3. You land in a fast underground river dotted with whirlpools. Swim along the surface rather than walking in the Iron Boots, and steer wide of each whirlpool. If one pulls you under, you're swept back and have to try again.

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4. Collectible

   A Gold Skulltula clings to the wall near a bend in the river. Longshot it.

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5. Partway along, a golden eye switch sits on the far side of the water. Shoot it with an arrow; a gate nearby lifts for a few seconds. Longshot the chest behind the gate before it drops.

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6. You get

   Small Key 5.

   #7.6

7. Continue past the chest. The river empties into the upper part of the dragon whirlpool room; Longshot over to the doorway ledge, then head back through the geyser room to the central room.

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8. Collectible

   While the water is still high, you can go back to the waterfall room on the top floor's west side and Longshot the Gold Skulltula on its wall.

   #7.8

1. You need the water at the middle level again, but the tower's symbol is submerged right now. Drain everything first: sink to the bottom, go through the east doorway, float up Ruto's shaft to the top, and play Zelda's Lullaby at the first symbol.

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2. With the water low, enter the central tower through its bottom door, Longshot up to the ledge, and play Zelda's Lullaby at the second symbol. The water returns to the middle level.

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3. Collectible

   Before leaving the tower, look up: a Gold Skulltula clings high on the wall. Longshot it.

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4. Swim to the south side of the central room, where an iron grating blocks a corridor beside a golden eye switch.

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5. Shoot the eye with an arrow. The grating lifts for a moment; Longshot the target behind it to get through before it drops.

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6. Inside, push the red block as far as it will go. It drops into a hole and clears the way.

   #8.6
7. You get

   Open the chest in the side room for Small Key 6.

   #8.7

1. Return to the central room. With the water still at the middle level, put on the Iron Boots, sink to the bottom, and walk into the north corridor, a sandy passage patrolled by Spikes.

   #9.1

2. Past the spiked wall, take the boots off and float up. Climb onto the ledge, Longshot the target across the room, and unlock the door.

   #9.2

3. The next room is a channel of rushing, zigzagging water with whirlpools, rolling boulders, and six Blue Tektites. Shoot the Tektites from the doorway first, then swim across along the right side, putting the Iron Boots on if a whirlpool starts to pull you in.

   #9.3

4. Drop into the next room and shoot the Stingers with arrows. A floor switch sits underwater here, and it needs something heavy on it.

   #9.4

5. A U-shaped walkway runs behind the wall, blocked by two bombable sections. Bomb them both, then push and pull the stone block around the walkway until it drops onto the underwater switch. The water rises, and the next door opens.

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6. The following room works like the earlier geyser room, with more geysers and more Tektites. Lure or shoot the Tektites first, then hit the switch and cross the geysers before they sink; the same timer opens the far door.

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7. Collectible

   In the next room, boulders roll down a channel. From the alcove where they start, Longshot the Gold Skulltula on the right.

   #9.7

8. After a boulder passes, put on the Iron Boots, drop into the water, and head toward the waterfall into the deeper water. Round the corner slowly and Longshot the Shell Blade waiting there.

   #9.8

9. Take off the boots, float up, and unlock the last locked door.

   #9.9
10. You get

    The ornate chest holds the Boss Key. The pots here hold fairies, so fill any empty bottles.

    #9.10

11. Retrace your steps to the central room and go back through the middle-level west door. Ride the water jet up to the alcove and play Zelda's Lullaby at the third symbol to raise the water to its highest level.

    #9.11

12. On the top floor's north side, Longshot the target on the dragon statue and go through the door behind it. More fairies wait in pots here.

    #9.12

13. The corridor beyond slopes upward and is lined with sliding blade traps. Run straight up along one side without stopping or rolling, then open the boss door.

    #9.13

1. Boss

   Morpha is a small nucleus that lives in the arena's pool and shapes the water into tentacles. Step onto one of the platforms in the middle of the pool to begin.

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2. Boss

   A watery tentacle rises with the nucleus inside it. The tentacle can grab you, lift you, and slam you down, so stay out of reach and listen for the sound of a tentacle forming.

   #10.2
3. Boss

   When the nucleus shows inside a tentacle, target it and fire the Longshot to rip it out onto dry ground. Slash it as many times as you can before it bounces back into the water.

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4. Boss

   As the fight goes on, Morpha raises two tentacles at once, then three. Keep moving and pull the nucleus out whenever you get a clean shot.

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5. Tip

   For an easier fight, stand in a corner of the walkway around the edge of the room. The tentacles struggle to reach you there, and a nucleus you pull out gets pinned in the corner, so each sword hit drives it back against the wall.

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6. Watch out

   Stay out of the water. Morpha controls it, and fighting while submerged leaves you badly exposed.

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7. You get

   Morpha bursts and its water drains away. Collect the Heart Container and step into the blue light.

   #10.7
8. You get

   In the Chamber of Sages, Ruto awakens as the Sage of Water and gives you the Water Medallion.

   #10.8

9. Back at Lake Hylia, the water returns to its proper level, and Sheik appears briefly.

   #10.9
10. Collectible

    Fire Arrows: with the lake refilled, wait for sunrise (the Sun's Song skips ahead), then shoot an arrow straight into the rising sun. A cutscene shows the Fire Arrows landing on a small island in the lake; swim out and collect them.

    #10.10

Every Gold Skulltula and Piece of Heart you can grab around here as adult Link. Checking one off here also checks it off in the full trackers.

Gold Skulltulas (7)

• Crate in the Lab's Diving Pool GS-045

  Inside the Lakeside Laboratory, put on the Iron Boots to sink to the bottom of the pool and roll into the crate there. Finish the Skulltula with the Hookshot, which also pulls in the token.

  Adult LinkIron BootsHookshot

• Top of the Dead Tree GS-046

  At night, go to the island with the warp pad and look at the top of its dead tree. Longshot the Skulltula perched up there for the token.

  Adult LinkNightLongshot

• Behind the South Crystal-Switch Gate GS-080

  With the water at its lowest, bomb the cracked floor in the south passage opposite the central pillar's locked door and sink in with the Iron Boots. Cross with the Hookshot, then spin-attack the crystal switch to raise the gate and kill the Skulltula behind it.

  Adult LinkBombsIron BootsHookshot

• High Inside the Central Pillar GS-081

  Once you have the Longshot, return to the central pillar and go inside. The Skulltula clings high on a wall within the pillar; Longshot it for the token.

  Adult LinkLongshot

• Falling Platform Waterfall Room GS-082

  In the tall room where platforms ride down a waterfall, look to the right-hand wall. Longshot the Skulltula to kill it and pull in the token.

  Adult LinkLongshot

• Underground River Wall GS-083

  After defeating Dark Link, play the Song of Time in his room to open the way down to the underground river. Swim past the first whirlpool, then put on the Iron Boots and Longshot the Skulltula on the left wall.

  Adult LinkIron BootsLongshot

• Boulder Stream Before the Boss Key GS-084

  On the way to the Boss Key, reach the stream where boulders roll down between whirlpools. The Skulltula sits on the wall where the boulders come out; wait for a gap and Longshot it quickly.

  Adult LinkLongshot

Pieces of Heart (2)

• Laboratory Rooftop HP-29

  Plant a Magic Bean beside the Lakeside Laboratory as a child and ride the platform up as an adult, or summon Pierre with the Scarecrow's Song and Hookshot to him. Climb the ladder to the lookout on the roof to claim the piece.

  Adult LinkMagic Bean, or Scarecrow's Song and Hookshot

• Laboratory Dive HP-30

  Inside the Lakeside Laboratory, dive to the bottom of the deep pool using the Golden Scale (the Iron Boots don't count). Surface and talk to the scientist to get the piece.

  Either ageGolden Scale