Once on the Great Sky Island, speak with the Steward Construct. He will hand out Link a Purah Pad device and point him toward an isolated temple where Princess Zelda should be.
This quest is the initial part of Tears of the Kingdom’s main story and will unlock several functional abilities like Ultrahand for making makeshift items, Fuse for merging equipment and weapons, and Ascend for climbing walls.
1. Go to the Garden of Time
Tears of the Kingdom’s Garden of Time marks our first stop as we search for Princess Zelda. Part of a larger map known as Great Sky Island, but more suitable as an instructional area due to its small scale.
Once we enter the Garden of Time, we are met by Rauru. He gave Link his new arm and still inhabits it today, telling us how he lived alongside Hyrule’s first King and Queen before introducing us to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s an enchanting scene that provides a fantastic start to our adventure!
Once introduced, Rauru will instruct Link to visit the Temple of Time and open its doors. He also gives Link the Steward Construct assistance on his journey – this marks one of many mentor characters who will assist them throughout the game.
The Garden of Time is an area in Saint Haven that appears to warp time and space in some way, providing access to other places in the game like Hero’s Battlefield and Dark Banquet and featuring a repair tool that can be accessed without leaving Saint Haven.
You’ll earn reputation points at the Garden of Time by searching scenes and collecting beautiful artifacts. Doing this will unlock more locations for exploring as part of both main-story quests and collection-based mini-quests.
2. Talk to the Construct
On Great Sky Island, you will see Rauru, a Construct Archer spirit who stands near a derelict building, lamenting how his fellow Constructs still cut lumber nearby. Chatting with him will teach you how to roast food at campfires as well as other tricks (e.g., using Ultrahand to assemble makeshift objects quickly using Fuse or Ascend) such as roasting food over an open flame (using Ultrahand), Fusing equipment and climbing ceilings without difficulty).
Once you learn these tricks, the Construct will inform you about Zelda’s Room on the western side of Hyrule Castle; it belongs to Princess Zelda herself! He will ask you to go there.
As soon as you enter the Room, it becomes evident that it has fallen into disrepair, with various pieces of furniture broken and scattered about. On the dresser, you’ll find numerous books as well as a basket filled with yarn and knitting needles for knitting projects and knitting needles used on Tingle dolls, alongside an incomplete knitting project as well as an antique carving of Zelda’s Loftwing; while on the desk are several loose sheets of notes.
The Room also houses a cage containing an invisible Yiga Clan member cloaked in disguise – this must be defeated along with three more to continue your quest. Once killed, these members will drop pieces of Phantom Armor, which you can collect by either standing next to their bodies or paragliding directly over them. Speak to Penn for your reward; his rewards increase gradually until finally yielding Froggy Armor when your quest is complete.
3. Talk to the Steward Construct
After exiting the Garden of Time, one of the first things you should do is contact a Steward Construct. It can be found on a small, rocky structure north of Lookout Landing. In exchange for Crystallized Charges, you exchange for Energy Wells produced by this NPC that makeup three full batteries – this early quest provides an effective means of quickly increasing power levels without incurring significant penalties.
After speaking to an NPC, it will point out that its yellow marker leads to a large building on a much lower island in the sky. Before heading there, ensure your Purah Pad is equipped and ascend all platforms until you reach the temple roof.
Once at the top of Southern Peak, you should come upon a small cage containing Princess Zelda. Before lifting it using Ultrahand, be sure to defeat all Yiga Clan members who attack.
A short NPC dialogue then informs Link of his responsibility to find Princess Zelda at Temple of Time, explaining that this early quest shouldn’t be too thrilling or engaging but does help set the stage and teach him about using his new abilities that emerge from Link’s right arm.
This quest isn’t required, but you should still take part to learn how to play TotK. Once completed, you can continue with its main quest path; alternatively, for more in-depth reading about the game, visit our comprehensive guide to TotK.
4. Use the Purah Pad
The Legend of Zelda’s Tears of the Kingdom offers an expansive, open world with various new mechanics to facilitate exploration and traversal. While many of these devices are immensely useful, players should utilize some early to complete it quickly and efficiently – such as Purah Pad, which is a hub for all essential tools like Camera Sensor Medallion Travel Medallion, etc.
After players complete the Prologue segment and receive the Purah Pad from a steward construct soldier, they must begin unlocking its full functionality as soon as possible. Doing this will enable access to various in-game tools to assist them in their quest to find Princess Zelda and further progress the story.
Players should first upgrade their Purah Pad with Camera capabilities, allowing them to take pictures anywhere within Hyrule Compendium quickly. Furthermore, upgrading it with a Sensor will allow players to locate nearby Shrines of Light more quickly, alerting Link whenever one exists nearby.
Once both upgrades are installed, players should visit Hateno Village Research Lab and speak with Robbie about them. He’ll go over all their upgrades in detail before suggesting they visit Lookout Landing to test them out – when doing this, they will discover that their Purah Pad’s Sensor can now detect new Shrines of Light nearby!
5. Go to the Temple of Time
Once you have presented four Lights of Blessing to the Goddess Statue inside the temple, Rauru will inform you that he had done all he could for Zelda and that it was your turn to help her. He’ll give you the Purah Pad – an access device that provides access to certain game features, like fast travel – needed for visiting shrines and solving puzzles required in finding Princess Zelda.
Nachoyah Shrine can be reached by riding your Wing from the Steward Construct on Great Sky Island. Enemies will occasionally appear, but these won’t prevent you from reaching your destination unless you engage in combat with them. Just ensure that when it gets cold, bring warm clothing and items like Opal, Tree Branch, and Archaic Warm Greaves to protect you against colder climate conditions.
Once you arrive at the shrine, Zelda will appear as an invisible vision and give you her Recall ability. Make sure to use it here before heading towards the center of the room to interact with a golden object.
Once activated, a cutscene will play, and the Temple of Time door will open, enabling you to progress with the main quest and complete The Closed Door walkthrough. After this step has taken place, explore what Ganondorf did to it in this alternate version of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by reading our entire Temple of Time guide; for additional help, check out our TotK tips and tricks page.
