Pressing on through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you’ll make your way through the waterfalls of the Zora domain, eventually reaching the Water Temple that encompasses the Great Spring of Hyrule. By now, you should have completed the Wind Temple and Fire Temple, so you should have a fair bit of experience under your belt.
How to prepare for the Water Temple
By this point, you should have several upgrades to your health and stamina, as well as multiple weapon stash upgrades so you’ve got plenty of room for more gear. Always remember that you can clean away the sludge with Sidon’s Power of Water, as well as attach Chuchu Jelly or Splash Fruit to an arrow.
It’s also important to remember that while you’re in this temple, jumps will carry you higher and further. This is helpful in solving some of the puzzles, but I recommend practicing it a bit so you’re not thrown off by the difference at a crucial time. In order to proceed, you’ll need to turn on four faucets/spouts/valves/pipes that will pump water into the area to help clear out the sludge.
TOTK Water Temple Faucet 1
Go to the middle of the central platform, then head left, jumping off the side of the structure and gliding down a short way until you see a damaged staircase leading to an entrance with fire pouring down. Use Sidon’s Power of Water to coat Link, then run through. To the side, you’ll see a switch that you can turn off by jumping and slamming down your weapon.
You’ll find yourself in a room with a slot for a metallic ball on the left side of the wall. The floor drops off to a lower part of the room with a number of floating platforms that are powered by your battery, with a pit of spikes blocking access to the small metallic ball you need. Using Ultrahand, you can make a bridge over the spikes using the platforms, then fetch the ball.
Coming back to the other side of the spike pit, you’ll have to activate some of the platforms, carefully using Ultrahand to attach the ball to a platform while it floats in the air, then climbing up the wall to said platform, grabbing the ball again, and pushing over the edge back in the high part of the room.
Putting the ball in the hole will reveal the first waterwheel. Now, there’s a problem: The ball won’t stay put in the hole without you holding it there. Using Ultrahand, hold the ball in the hole for about 20 seconds. After that, let go and use Rewind on the ball, then quickly use Sidon’s Power of Water on the waterwheel.
TOTK Water Temple Faucet 2
Head back to the entrance of the Water Temple and use Ascend, then climb to the highest point possible on the right side, facing towards the faucets. Using Tulin’s Power of Wind, you’ll easily be able to reach the large floating platform.
Dispose of the enemies, but continue on to the next platform after that. Extend two of the planks on the water generator directly opposite each other. Use Ultrahand to get it started, and the generator will start producing electricity.
Follow the electric current until you reach a gap, and Ultrahand to pull the nearby bubble of water in, completing the circuit and opening the door to a waterwheel. Use Sidon’s Power of Water on the waterwheel, and you’ll have two faucets down, two to go.
TOTK Water Temple Faucet 3
Head back to the structure you came across on your way to the second waterwheel. Use the floating platforms that are powered by your battery to carefully reach close to the rapidly-spinning tower. Jump up and pull out your bow to slow time. You’ll need to shoot the sludge with an arrow that has something that creates water attached to it, like Chuchu Jelly or Splash Fruit.
After clearing the sludge, do this again with a regular arrow and hit the switch inside. This turns the tower off, draining the water from the area. In addition to revealing a chest with an Opal, you’ll now be able to access the third waterwheel, which you should hit with Sidon’s Power of Water.
TOTK Water Temple Faucet 4
Head to the left and jump across the floating rubble. Towards the back left edge of this platform, you’ll see a device that generates those bubbles of water, but it’s covered in sludge. Clean it off with water of some kind, then go to the nearby pool and grab the large metallic ball using Ultrahand. Place the metallic ball in the next floating bubble of water, then hop into a bubble yourself, floating up to the next platform.
Here, you’ve got a problem. The hole for the metallic ball is covered in water, meaning the metallic ball won’t stay put. Even if you force it in to open a door to the fourth waterwheel, the waterwheel is also underwater.
The solution is to carefully place the ball directly above the underwater hole, then raise the nearby sluice gate using Ultrahand. Hold it steady, keeping the water drained for about 20 seconds, let go and use Rewind on the gate. Run over to the fourth waterwheel and hit it with Sidon’s Power of Water, unlocking the fourth faucet. Now head back to all five faucets and activate them.
Mucktorok Boss Fight Tips
After activating the faucets, you’ll see that the small Mucktorok is responsible for the sludge. This creature’s size isn’t all though, as it quickly generates a construct of sludge to help it fight in battle. The hits are extremely hard, but because its attacks are sludge-based, you’ll be protected as long as you are covered by Sidon’s Power of Water.
The two most dangerous attacks to watch for are when the sludge shark shoots a sludge beam from its mouth, and when it slams down into the ground, sending out a circular wave of sludge. But you can jump over both attacks if you’re quick enough. Whenever you land an attack while coated in Sidon’s Power of Water, you’ll wash away the sludge, leaving the Muctorok defenseless. Get as much damage in as possible before the creature jumps up and regains its sludge shark form.
Once Mucktorok’s health is cut in half, it’ll start coating the arena in sludge, making it far harder to move around. It’s also able to bounce between patches of sludge whenever you wash away its shark form, making it extremely hard to damage. Clear out what you can with Sidon’s Power of Water and keep attacking. It’s difficult, but if you can land an attack on the Mucktorok with Sidon’s Power of Water while it’s bouncing around, you’ll stun it, leaving a window to deal lots of damage.
Once you’ve finished, congrats! You’ve completed the Water Temple, and assuming you’re following our recommended order, that’s three out of four temples down. Be sure to grab the Heart Container reward. After the cutscene, you’ll be able to summon Sidon’s spirit with the Vow of Sidon, Sage of Water, taking the Power of Water wherever you go.
“It's dangerous to go alone!” Check out more of Inverse’s Tears of the Kingdom coverage:
- THE INVERSE REVIEW: Tears of the Kingdom Is the Best Nintendo Switch Game Ever Made
- Tears of the Kingdom’s Best New Mechanic Could Change the Series Forever
- Why Zelda Speedrunners Plan to Take It Slow With Tears of the Kingdom
- Tears of the Kingdom Doubles Down on Breath of the Wild’s Best Inspiration
