Look, if you’re wandering around Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom wondering why your armor still has the defensive stats of a wet paper bag, you probably missed a troupe of musicians. In Breath of the Wild, finding the Great Fairies was basically a matter of having enough Rupees. You paid the tax, the flower opened, and you got your upgrades. Simple. But in Tears of the Kingdom, the Great Fairy Fountains aren’t interested in your money. They’re stressed out. They’ve locked themselves in their buds because of the Upheaval, and they won't come out unless they hear specific music.
It’s a whole ordeal.
Honestly, the shift from a monetary gate to a quest-based gate is one of the more polarizing changes in the sequel. You can’t just stumble upon them and get stronger. You have to engage with the Lucky Clover Gazette questline, find the Stable Trotters, and figure out how to transport a literal stage across broken terrain. It's a lot of work for a bit of defense. But if you want to survive a Silver Lynel encounter without seeing the "Game Over" screen every ten seconds, you’ve got to do it.
Where to start the Great Fairy Fountains hunt
You can’t just run to the old locations from the first game. Well, you can, but you’ll find them empty or repurposed. The new Great Fairy Fountains are strategically placed near stables. This makes sense from a gameplay perspective because the stables serve as hubs for the Stable Trotters musical troupe.
The very first step—and people miss this all the time—is heading to the Lucky Clover Gazette just outside of Rito Village. Talk to Traysi. She’ll set you up as a reporter, which is the "master quest" that triggers the Fairy sightings. Without this, the musicians at the stables won't have the motivation to move.
The first fairy most players encounter is Tera. She’s located near the Woodland Stable in the Eldin region. If you look at your map, that’s just northeast of Hyrule Castle. You’ll see the giant, glowing purple bulb on the hill. But Tera won’t budge until she hears the violin.
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Dealing with the Stable Trotters
The musicians are the heartbeat of this entire mechanic. To get Tera out, you need the violinist, Violan. He’s already at the Woodland Stable, but the troupe's wagon, Breezer, is broken. You have to use Ultrahand to fix the wheels and then use a horse with a Towing Harness (which you get by earning Pony Points) to drag them up the hill.
It feels a bit like a glorified escort mission. It is. But once they start playing, Tera emerges, and the armor upgrade system finally unlocks.
The complexity scales with the other three sisters. Mija is up in the Hebra region near Snowfield Stable. To get her, you need the horn player, Eustus. He’s stuck in a literal pit in the Totori Lake area. You have to build a flying machine or a crane to lift him out. It’s a physics puzzle disguised as a side quest. Once he's back with the band, you have to take them to Mija, but you’ll need to put a roof on their carriage so they don't get snowed on.
Then there’s Kaysa near Outskirt Stable. She wants the flute player, Pyper. He’s hanging out in a tree near Highland Stable in the south, obsessed with making a "glowing tree" for a friend. You’ll need to collect 10 Sunset Fireflies for him. It’s tedious. But once he’s back, you have to turn the troupe's wagon into a literal off-road vehicle to climb the rocky path to Kaysa’s bud.
Finally, Cotera is found near Dueling Peaks Stable. Her gatekeeper is the drummer, Beetz. You’ll find him hiding in a mountain pass near Kakariko Village. He wants honey. Specifically, Courser Bee Honey. If you don't have three jars on you, you're hiking into the woods. After he's satisfied, the final challenge involves turning the wagon into a boat to cross the river to reach Cotera.
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The actual cost of power
Don't think that just because you did the quests, the upgrades are free. No way. The Great Fairies still want materials. And they want a lot of them.
The tier system is fixed:
- One Fairy: Upgrades armor to level 1.
- Two Fairies: Upgrades armor to level 2 (and unlocks Set Bonuses).
- Three Fairies: Upgrades armor to level 3.
- Four Fairies: Upgrades armor to level 4 (max).
The Set Bonus is the real prize here. Wearing a full set of Zora armor, upgraded at least twice, lets you dash up waterfalls with almost no stamina cost. The Rubber set makes you un-shockable. The Flamebreaker set makes you immune to fire. You can’t get these perks without visiting at least two of the Great Fairy Fountains.
The material requirements are where the grind really starts. You'll need standard stuff like Bokoblin horns at first, but for the final tiers, you're looking at rare drops like Gleeok Guts, Lynel Sabers, and massive amounts of elemental fruits. It makes the world feel bigger because you aren't just looking for shrines; you're hunting specific monsters to satisfy a giant woman in a flower.
Why the upgrade system matters for the endgame
Hyrule is dangerous. The "Gloom" mechanic in Tears of the Kingdom reduces your maximum health, and the enemies hit significantly harder than they did in the previous game. If you try to take on the final boss or even some of the tougher Flux Constructs with base-level gear, you’re going to get one-shot.
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There's a hidden mechanic called "World Leveling." As you kill more enemies, the game replaces red Bokoblins with blue, then black, then silver. Their damage output skyrockets. If you don't keep pace by visiting the Great Fairy Fountains, the game eventually becomes a "no-hit" run by default because your armor can't mitigate the damage.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
A lot of players think they can do these out of order. Technically, you can do Mija, Kaysa, or Cotera in any order after you’ve helped Tera at the Woodland Stable. Tera is the mandatory starting point.
Another big mistake? Selling your monster parts for Rupees. You’re going to need those Gleeok wings. You're going to need those Lizalfos tails. In fact, tails are notoriously hard to farm in this game—the drop rate is surprisingly low. If you see a tail, keep it.
Also, don't ignore the "Pony Points" system at stables. You get points for registering horses or just sleeping in a bed. You need at least 3 points to get the Towing Harness. Without that harness, you can't pull the musicians, and you can't unlock the fountains. It’s all interconnected.
Actionable steps for your armor grind
If you're looking to maximize your efficiency, follow this workflow:
- Go to the Lucky Clover Gazette. Talk to Penn and Traysi. This is non-negotiable.
- Unlock the Woodland Stable Fairy first. Fix the wagon wheels with Ultrahand, hitch it to your horse, and drive the musicians up the hill.
- Hoard Courser Bee Honey and Sunset Fireflies. You’ll need them for the drummer and the flutist later. If you see them, grab them.
- Prioritize the Hylian Set or the Soldier Set. These are the easiest to upgrade early on for raw defense.
- Focus on "Set Bonus" sets. Getting the Glide Suit or the Froggy Suit to level two is more valuable than getting a random chest piece to level four because of the utility they provide.
The hunt for Great Fairy Fountains is essentially the "long game" of Tears of the Kingdom. It forces you to explore the corners of the map you might otherwise skip and rewards you with the ability to actually stand your ground against the terrors of the Depths. Start at Woodland Stable and work your way around; your health bar will thank you.