Finding All Shrine Locations Zelda Breath of the Wild: Why Most Players Give Up Too Early

You're standing on top of a Sheikah Tower. You've got the Slate out. You see one orange glow in the distance, maybe two. You think you're making progress. Then you realize there are 120 of these things in the base game alone. It's a lot. Honestly, it's a ridiculous amount of climbing and glidng just to get enough Spirit Orbs to pull the Master Sword or stop dying to every stray Guardian laser. Finding all shrine locations Zelda Breath of the Wild isn't just a checklist; it’s a massive logistical puzzle that spans the coldest peaks of Hebra to the scorching sands of the Gerudo Desert.

Most people miss the same ones. The "hidden" ones. The ones that don't glow until you finish a weird quest involving a Rito child or a blood moon.

The Numbers Game: How Many Are There Really?

Let's be clear about the count. There are 120 shrines in the standard version of Hyrule. If you bought the DLC, that number jumps up. You get 16 more. Totaling 136. Why does this matter? Because the reward for the original 120 is the "Of the Wild" armor set, a nostalgic nod to Link's classic look. If you're stuck at 119, you’re probably losing your mind staring at an interactive map.

Finding them all isn't just about looking for orange lights. Many are buried underground. Some only appear after you hit a specific pedestal with a specific arrow. It's a grind. But it's the best kind of grind.

Great Plateau: The Tutorial Trap

Everyone finds the first four. Oman Au, Ja Baij, Keh Namut, and Owa Daim. They're literally handed to you. But they set a false expectation. You think they’re all going to be this obvious. They aren’t. Once you leave the Plateau, the game stops holding your hand and starts hiding shrines behind waterfalls and inside destructible rock faces.

The Hardest Regions to Clear

Hebra is a nightmare. I’m serious. The verticality is exhausting. You’ll spend half your time eating spicy peppers and the other half wondering if that suspicious pile of snow is actually a door. Shada Naw and Goma Asaagh are classic examples of shrines that require you to actually pay attention to the environment rather than just following a sensor.

The sensor is great, don't get me wrong. But it has no sense of height. It’ll beep its head off while you're standing on a cliff, not telling you that the shrine is actually 200 feet below you in a sea cave.

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Central Hyrule and the Guardian Problem

Central Hyrule is tricky for a different reason. The shrines here, like Katah Chuki or Namika Ozz, are often guarded by Decayed Guardians or Stalkers. It’s less about "finding" them and more about surviving the trip. If you’re hunting for all shrine locations Zelda Breath of the Wild in this area, do yourself a favor: bring ancient arrows or get really good at parrying.

The Gerudo Desert Shrines

The desert is flat, which makes it seem easy. Wrong. Sandstorms mess with your map. You'll be wandering toward the Tho Kayu shrine and suddenly your GPS goes haywire. You have to use landmarks. Or a sand seal. Definitely use a sand seal.

• Dako Tah: This one is hidden within the Electric Stone quest.
• Kema Zoos: Follow the statues. It sounds like a cliché, but the statues literally point the way.
• Hawa Koth: Way down in the bottom left corner of the map, near the Great Fairy Fountain.

Shrine Quests: The Ones That Don't Glow

This is where most players get stuck. You can fly over the entire map and still miss 20% of the shrines because they haven't "spawned" yet. These are tied to Shrine Quests.

Take the "Blood Moon" shrine (Mijah Roke) in Washa's Bluff. You have to stand on a pedestal with no clothes on during a Blood Moon. It’s weird. It’s specific. And if you miss the window, you’re waiting another few hours of gameplay for the next cycle.

Then there’s the "Twin Memories" shrines (Ree Dahee and Shee Vaneer) on the Dueling Peaks. You have to look at the pattern of the orbs in one shrine to solve the puzzle in the other. If you don't realize they're connected, you'll be stuck there forever. It’s clever game design, but it’s also a massive pain if you're just trying to finish the set.

The Mystery of the Thundra Plateau

Ever been to the Ridgeland region? There’s a place where it never stops raining. Lightning is constant. This is the Toh Yahsa shrine. You have to move colored orbs onto pedestals while being actively hunted by thunderstorms. It’s one of the most memorable moments in the game, but finding the entrance requires you to actually engage with the "Trial of Thunder."

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Hidden Mechanics: The Sheikah Sensor+

If you aren't using the upgraded Sheikah Sensor, you're playing on hard mode. Go to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. Give Purah some ancient materials. Upgrade that Slate.

Once the sensor is upgraded, it can track things from your compendium. But more importantly, it becomes much more sensitive to shrines. Even then, it’s not perfect. It won't beep for shrines that are "inactive" (the quest-based ones).

Pro Tip for Completionists

If your sensor is beeping but you see nothing, look for:

1. Cracked walls: Use bombs. Always.
2. Large flat rocks: These can often be moved with Stasis and a few hits.
3. Waterfalls: The oldest trick in the book. There's almost always something behind a waterfall.
4. Pressure plates: Sometimes you need to place a luminous stone or a specific fruit on a tray.

Why 120 is the Magic Number

Completing all shrine locations Zelda Breath of the Wild is about more than just a 100% save file. It changes how you play. With 120 shrines, you’ll have 30 extra hearts or a massive stamina wheel (usually a mix of both).

You become a god.

Lynels aren't scary anymore. Ganon becomes a joke. The real reward, though, is the A Capella of the Sheikah Monks. Just kidding. The real reward is the Armor of the Wild. It’s the only way to get that classic green tunic without using an Amiibo. It starts with a low defense rating, but once you upgrade it at the Great Fairy Fountains using dragon scales and petals, it’s one of the best sets in the game.

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Common Missed Locations

I've talked to dozens of players who got stuck at 118 or 119. It's almost always one of these:

• Shoqa Tatone: Located at the very south of the Faron region. You have to talk to an NPC named Loone who is obsessed with a "rosy ball" (an ancient orb).
• Joloo Nah: This one is hidden in the cliffs between the Great Plateau and the Gerudo Desert. It requires a "Test of Will" which involves standing in heat and cold.
• Korgu Chideh: This is Eventide Island. You lose all your gear. It’s a survival mini-game. If you haven't done it, you haven't finished the shrines.
• Lomei Labyrinths: There are three. One in Akkala, one in Hebra, and one in the Gerudo Desert. They are giant mazes visible from the map. They look like squares. Go to the center of them.

Dealing with the "Tests of Strength"

A good chunk of the shrines are combat trials.

• Minor: Easy.
• Modest: A bit of a challenge.
• Major: Bring your best weapons.

The "Major Test of Strength" shrines (like Muow Jeem or Tutsuwa Nima) are actually great for farming high-end Guardian gear. If you're hunting for all the shrines, use these as pit stops to restock your arsenal. The Guardians inside respawn every Blood Moon.

Final Steps for the Completionist

If you’re staring at your map and it looks full but you’re still short, check the icons. A shrine icon on the map that is yellow in the middle means you've found it but haven't finished it. A blue icon with an orange center means you’ve activated the fast travel point but didn’t get the Spirit Orb.

1. Open your quest log. Check the "Shrine Quests" section. If it says 42/42, you’ve done all the hidden ones. If not, look for NPCs with red exclamation points over their heads in stables.
2. Check the Peaks. People often miss the shrines tucked into the side of the Dueling Peaks or the hidden caves in the Hebra mountains.
3. Fly the perimeter. Sometimes just paragliding along the very edge of the map (the "unplayable" zones) reveals shrines tucked into the cliffsides, like the ones in the North Akkala beach area.
4. Reference your DLC. Remember, if you have the Champions' Ballad, those extra shrines do not count toward the original 120 for the armor set, but they do show up on your map. Don't let them confuse your count.

Get out there. Hyrule is big, and those monks have been waiting 10,000 years for you to show up. It's time to finish the job.