Highlights
- Tears of the Kingdom features a wider selection of dungeons with unique themes and puzzles, providing a bigger gameplay challenge for players.
- The three Lomei Labyrinths from Breath of the Wild make a return, offering an additional challenge for players looking for more linear areas to complete.
- Some dungeons, like Gloom's Approach and the Spirit Temple, are exceptionally difficult and require players to be well-equipped and prepared before taking them on.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features a wider selection of dungeons for players to fight their way through. Compared to the four Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom features a few distinct dungeons, each with its unique theme and puzzles. All the dungeons stand out as incredible set pieces, although some provide a bigger gameplay challenge than others.
Whether it's through tricky puzzles to decipher, sneaky enemies to battle, or ferocious boss battles to overcome, each temple has its unique obstacles to complete. Here are the dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom, ranked in difficulty.
Updated September 4, 2023, by Bronwyn Lee: Tears of the Kingdom features some truly impressive themed dungeons for each of the game's key areas. However, in between these set pieces, some smaller, but equally challenging, dungeons can be found scattered throughout Hyrule. Some notable examples include the three Lomei Labyrinths, all making their return from Breath of the Wild. These dungeons provide an additional challenge for players, especially for those looking for more linear areas to complete. Players who are interested in learning more about these mini-dungeons can find them here.
10 North Lomei Labyrinth
Positioned in the north of the Hebra region, the North Lomei Labyrinth has a few different methods for completion. The intended way is by following the trail of pinecones that have been left behind by the Zonai research team.
However, players who are feeling a bit crafty can simply make their way to the top of the maze, and navigate over the walls. This makes the maze much easier to complete. Once players have completed the section on the surface, they will then have to complete two more layers: one in the Depths, and one in the sky.
9 South Lomei Labyrinth
There are three segments within the South Lomei Labyrinth, located in the Depths, on the surface, and in the sky. The South Lomei Labyrinth itself can be found in the Gerudo desert, on the eastern edge of the region.
Notably, this particular labyrinth doesn't actually pose a significant challenge. It simply contains a chest and a Blessing of Light in the Shrine at its center. This makes it one of the easier dungeons to complete in Tears of the Kingdom.
8 Lomei Labyrinth
The Lomei Labyrinth Island, just like its counterparts, is divided into three sections. The main section of the labyrinth can be found in the Akkala region, towards the northwest of the map. It can be a bit tricky to reach. Players will have to use their glider, or Zonai devices, to reach the island, as it's far off the coast.
In this labyrinth, players will find a trail of acorns to guide them to the end. However, players can also simply climb the walls of the labyrinth and navigate it from the top, just like the others.
7 Gloom's Approach
Gloom's Approach is likely one of the last dungeons players will complete in Tears of the Kingdom. Players will need to work their way through Gloom's Approach in order to reach Ganondorf during the game's dramatic conclusion. To get there, players will need to glide their way down the Hyrule Castle Chasm, which is found just outside the castle itself.
This area is filled with plenty of high-level enemies, all of whom are covered in Gloom. This makes this area incredibly difficult, especially for lower-level players. Although this dungeon can be accessed at almost any time, players should wait until they've gained considerable health and stamina before they try to take it on.
6 Wind Temple
At the start of the game, Purah strongly advises players to begin their journey by assisting Rito. This will lead players to arguably the easiest dungeon in Tears of the Kingdom. Once players reach Lookout Landing and access their map, they can choose to head directly to the Wind Temple, which takes the form of a flying ship. The best part is that players don't require any specific items to enter the temple.
To navigate the Wind Temple, players should make sure they have some Cold Resistance Armor and food items. Fortunately, these items are readily available early in Tears of the Kingdom. Inside the temple, players will face five turbine puzzles to solve and then confront the boss, Colgera. Both the boss fight and the puzzles are relatively simple, and warm players up for the much trickier dungeons later in the game.
5 Water Temple
Water-based dungeons in video games are often a source of frustration for players. Luckily, in Tears of the Kingdom, this isn't the case. The Water Temple is one of the easiest dungeons in the game and features some relatively simple puzzles to solve. Players won't need any specific items to enter the Water Temple, but they should make sure to stock up on Splash Fruit before heading in. This makes navigating the dungeon much easier.
Inside the dungeon, players must tackle four water pipe puzzles, with the help of Sidon. Once all these puzzles are complete, they can then move on to confront the boss. This boss is a little tougher than the Wind Temple boss, but as a reward for defeating it, Link gains the ability to use Sidon's Sage power.
4 Fire Temple
The Fire Temple in Tears of the Kingdom can be found beneath Death Mountain in the Eldin region. To access the Fire Temple, players will need to make sure they've got some Heat Protection with them, as the scorching temperatures beneath Death Mountain make it almost impossible to navigate without being fireproof.
Inside the Fire Temple, players must unlock five seals through a series of puzzles. To access these puzzles, players will need to navigate various mine cart tracks. Unfortunately, these can be rather tricky to navigate, and this has led to players simply climbing the walls around the dungeon instead. Luckily, the boss for the Fire Temple is much easier than the dungeon itself and makes up for all the frustrating puzzles.
3 Lightning Temple
In Tears of the Kingdom, the Lightning Temple in the Gerudo Desert stands out as the one that feels like an authentic Legend of Zelda dungeon experience. Initially, players must fight their way through a dark and creepy environment. They must solve some puzzles and fight through enemies to make their way into the dungeon's main section.
The inclusion of Gibdos as enemies sets it apart from the rest, and adds a unique challenge, unlike the more common Zonai constructs found in the other dungeons. They're a bit more challenging to take down, as they require elemental attacks to weaken them.
The main section of the Lightning Temple is rather complex to navigate, spanning across several floors. The temple's elevator requires power from four batteries, so Link must solve puzzles related to these batteries to progress and reach the boss of the Tears of the Kingdom Lightning Temple. The boss encounter in this temple is also exceptionally well-crafted, and is one of the most challenging boss battles in the game.
2 Hyrule Castle
The lack of puzzles makes Hyrule Castle much easier to complete than the other dungeons. However, what it lacks in puzzles, it makes up for in challenging enemies. Tears of the Kingdom players shouldn't even attempt to complete Hyrule Castle if they're not well-equipped.
Many of the enemies in the castle can one-shot low-health players, and the boss encounter is incredibly challenging. The majority of this dungeon includes fighting through hordes of enemies, which can make it a walk in the park for well-prepared players. However, it takes a long time to get to this state, and for the average player, it can be a bit overwhelming.
1 Spirit Temple
In Tears of the Kingdom, the final Temple that players will encounter before the finale is the Spirit Temple, the most challenging of the main Temples. To gain entry into the Spirit Temple, players must undertake the task of reconstructing a powerful mech for Mineru, which will then aid Link in the battle against the Temple's boss. Players can enhance the mech's power by equipping it with various equipment found within the Temple.
Although the Spirit Temple is relatively short in Tears of the Kingdom, players must make sure that Mineru's Construct is equipped with at least one cannon to successfully confront the boss. Without proper preparation, there's a big risk of taking too much damage during the battle. Therefore, players are advised to stock up on health-restoring food to make this encounter much easier.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.