You're standing on a floating chunk of rock, the wind is howling, and you've got exactly half a battery cell left on your janky fan-plane. We’ve all been there. You look down at the sprawling map of Hyrule and realize you’re still missing dozens of those glowing green spirals. Finding all the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations isn't just a completionist flex; it's the only way to not get one-shot by a Silver Lynel later on. Honestly, it’s a massive undertaking. There are 152 shrines in total. 120 are on the surface, and 32 are hiding up in the Sky Islands.
The scale is staggering.
Link’s latest adventure doesn’t just ask you to look behind a waterfall anymore. Now, you’re diving through laser grids and rotating giant stone spheres in the clouds. It’s a lot. But there’s a logic to the madness that the game doesn't explicitly tell you, and once you see the pattern, the hunt becomes way less of a chore.
The Secret Link Between the Surface and the Depths
Here is the thing most people miss for the first forty hours of gameplay. There is a literal, direct 1:1 correlation between the Lightroots in the Depths and the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations on the surface. If you find a Lightroot underground, there is a shrine directly above it on the surface map. Every single time.
It’s a mirror.
This is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. If you're struggling to find that last shrine in the Hebra Mountains because the blizzard is making visibility zero, just dive into a chasm. Navigate the dark, find the glowing Lightroot, and mark it. When you switch back to the surface map, you’ll see exactly where you need to go. It’s basically a cheat code built into the game's geography. Also, notice the names? They’re just backwards. The "Usazum" Shrine on the surface sits right above the "Muzasu" Lightroot. Clever, right? Nintendo's level designers were clearly having a bit of fun with the linguistics here.
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Those Frustrating Hidden Cave Shrines
Not every shrine is out in the open. A huge chunk of the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations are tucked away inside the game's new cave systems. If your sensor is pinging like crazy but you’re standing on flat grass, you’re likely standing right on top of a ceiling.
Look for the Blupee.
Those glowing blue rabbits aren’t just for shooting rupees. They are literally directional signs. If you see one, follow it. It will lead you to a cave entrance. Once inside, you’ll often find a Rauru’s Blessing shrine. These are the "reward" shrines where the challenge was actually getting to the location, rather than the puzzle inside. The Frox-filled caves in the Gerudo Highlands are notorious for this. You'll be wandering through a tunnel for ten minutes, wondering if you're lost, only to find a shrine tucked behind a breakable rock wall.
Pro tip: Use a Cherry Blossom tree. If you drop a piece of fruit in the bowl at the base of these pink trees, Satori will appear and light up every cave entrance in the region with a giant blue beam of light. It makes finding those subterranean Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations infinitely easier.
Sky Island Navigation and the Crystal Quests
The Sky Islands are a different beast. While the surface shrines are usually about exploration or combat, the sky shrines often involve "Shrine Quests." You’ve probably seen them—the large green beams of light pointing to a crystal. You have to haul that rock back to the base to make the shrine manifest.
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It's a logistics puzzle.
Sometimes you’re building a multi-fan hovercraft, and other times you’re fighting a Flux Construct III that has the crystal stuck to its leg. The Sky Islands near the South Lanayru Sky Archipelago are particularly tricky. The gravity is lower, the gaps are wider, and the game expects you to be a master of the Ultrahand.
Don't ignore the Zonai Dispensers. To reach these Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations, you need specific parts. If you don't have a steering stick or a rocket in your inventory, some of these islands are practically unreachable unless you’re willing to spend thirty minutes eating stamina-recovery meals while paragliding from the highest point you can find.
The Misconception About "Missing" Shrines
I see players all the time complaining that they have 151 shrines and can't find the last one. Nine times out of ten, it’s a shrine hidden inside a cave with two entrances. If you enter through one and leave through the same one, you might miss the "cleared" icon on your map.
Another common culprit? The shrines in the middle of the sky that are hidden by the "Thunderhead Isles" storm. You aren't supposed to get those until much later in the main questline when the clouds clear, though technically, you can brute-force your way through the fog if you have enough hearts and a bit of luck.
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Also, check the islands that look like little crosses or "plus" signs on the map. These are often rotating puzzles. You have to turn a launcher to fire yourself toward a specific platform. If you’ve missed one of these, it’s usually because it’s on a lower level of a multi-tiered island chain.
Why Some Shrines Feel Like "Empty" Rewards
You’ll occasionally run into a Rauru’s Blessing where there is no puzzle. Just a chest and a Light of Blessing. Some players find this disappointing. They want the "Proving Grounds" or the complex physics puzzles. But look at the context. If you had to navigate a pitch-black cave, fight a Black Hinox, and use three stamina bars to climb a wet wall, the game recognizes that that was the puzzle.
The Zelda Tears of the Kingdom shrine locations are distributed based on friction. High friction to get there means low friction once you're inside. Low friction on the surface (like the shrines right next to stables) usually means a complex "Combat Training" or "Device Circus" puzzle inside.
Strategies for Efficient Tracking
- The Sensor+ is Mandatory: Do the Robbie quests at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab as soon as possible. Tracking shrines by sound is better than tracking them by sight.
- The Hero’s Path: Check your map and turn on the Hero's Path mode. If there's a huge "blank" spot where you haven't walked, there's a high probability a shrine is sitting there.
- Don't Forget the Great Sky Island: Many players leave the starting area and never go back. There are four shrines there, and they are essential for your early-game health pool.
- Stables are Hubs: Almost every single stable in Hyrule has a shrine within walking distance. This is intentional; they serve as fast-travel points for the game's "hubs."
Practical Steps for Your Completionist Run
If you’re serious about hitting that 152 mark, stop wandering aimlessly. Start by clearing all the Lightroots in the Depths. This effectively gives you a map of 120 surface shrines. Once those are marked, focus on the sky. Use the Skyview Towers to launch yourself and look for the tell-tale green glow. Use your scope to pin them.
Once you hit 152, head to the "Temple of Time" in the North. There is a specific reward waiting for you there that celebrates the history of the entire series. It’s a long road, but between the paragliding and the accidental Zonai explosions, it's one of the most rewarding grinds in modern gaming. Just remember to keep some Brightbloom seeds in your pocket for the cave hunts. You'll need them.