Although there aren't a lot of dungeons in the traditional Zelda sense, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's shrines do a good job standing in for them. Their tight puzzle design paired with the fun of discovering all of them littered accross the land of Hyrule breathes new life into the formula that was beginning to get a little tired after 35 years of the franchise's life.
Breath of the Wild's Akh Va'quot shrine is inline with a lot of the others in the game: well designed, but frustrating if the player is having a hard time juggling all of its different pieces at once. The Akh Va'quot shrine deals with wind, an element that isn't as easily manipulated as others in the game, so its no wonder why it might give players a moment of pause.
Akh Va'quot Shrine Solution
When the player enters the Akh Va'quot shrine, they might be a little bit overhwelmed given how many fans are blowing all at once directly infront of Link in a giant grid. Upon inspection, it becomes clear that the shrine is looking for the player to get all of the windmills spining at once by manipulating the fans into blowing on them.
To open the door on the far side of the room and get the shrine's Spirit Orb, players need to approach the first fan on the left to the west and hit it three times so that it's facing the eastern wall. The player should then run over to the fan on the opposite side of the room, first row on the eastern side and hit it once to face north. Move one row and one collumn north and west and hit the next fan once so that it faces west. Continue diagonally one row and one collumn norht and west and hit the fan one time repositioning it to face the western wall as well. After that, go to the fan all the way on the west side of the final row, furthest from the enterence and hit it three times positioned so that it's facing east. Run east along the same row and hit the final fan once so that it's facing south. Once that's done, the door to the Spirit Orb should open.
Getting the Optional Treasure Chest in the Akh Va'quot Shrine
Before the player leaves the shrine, if they're looking for some nice loot, the Akh Va'quot shrine has three hidden treasure chests. Go back to the enterence area of the shrine, right where Link teleports in and follow the staircase behind the enterence in the southeast corner of the room.
After turning a corner, players will notice a pool of water and some outcroppings containing chests to the right. Equip Link's Cryonis ability and make some ice blocks that the player can jump on to get to the two chests. Inside, players will find a sapphire and a level 22 Feathered Spear.
The final chest requires Link to hit the fan on the oposite side of the room with an arrow to change its direction and hit a windmill. Hitting it one time will cause a gate to open revealing a chest. Inside the chest, players will find an ancient core.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
