You're standing on top of a cold, lonely pedestal in the Gerudo Highlands. The wind is howling. You’ve got your bow out, staring at the sun, waiting for something—anything—to happen. This is the Sign of the Shadow in BotW, and honestly, it’s one of those shrine quests that makes you feel like a genius when it works and a total idiot when it doesn't.
Most players stumble onto the Gerudo Tower, look down at the massive circular pedestal nearby, and immediately realize they’ve triggered a puzzle. But then the frustration sets in. You wait. You watch the sun move. Nothing happens. You leave, come back later, and it’s still just a silent slab of stone. It’s a classic Breath of the Wild moment where the game refuses to hold your hand, leaving you to figure out the celestial mechanics of Hyrule on your own.
The quest itself is given by Kass, everyone’s favorite accordion-playing Rito. If you haven't found him yet, he’s perched right on top of the Gerudo Tower. His song talks about a "light from the northwest" and a "shadow's core." It sounds poetic, but in gameplay terms, it’s a strict timing puzzle that requires you to be in the right place at a very specific minute of the day.
Why the Timing for Sign of the Shadow is So Annoying
Let's get into the weeds. The biggest mistake people make is thinking any shadow will do. It won't. You need the shadow of the Gerudo Tower itself to pass over the center of the pedestal. Because of how the sun moves in Hyrule, this only happens during a narrow window in the afternoon.
Specifically, you’re looking at the time between 2:55 PM and 3:50 PM.
If you show up at noon, you’re just wasting your flint. If you show up at 4:00 PM, you’ve already missed the window. The game’s engine calculates the sun’s position dynamically, so the shadow creeps across the landscape in real-time. Watching that shadow slowly crawl toward the pedestal is genuinely tense. You start second-guessing yourself. Am I standing in the right spot? Do I need to be holding a specific bow?
Actually, you just need to shoot an arrow toward the sun. Or, more accurately, toward the light source that is casting the shadow.
Step-by-Step: Pulling Off the Shot
First, get yourself to the pedestal. It’s located just southeast of the Gerudo Tower. You can paraglide straight down from the top of the tower where Kass is hanging out. Once you’re there, you’ll notice the pedestal isn’t glowing. That’s your first sign that it isn’t active yet.
- Start a fire. Use some wood and flint or a fire weapon.
- Sit by the fire until "Noon." This skips the morning wait.
- Now, you wait in real-time. Open your map or look at the bottom right of your screen to track the clock.
- Around 2:50 PM, the pedestal will start to glow a faint orange. This is your "Go" signal.
- Stand right in the center of the pedestal.
- Aim your bow directly at the sun—which should be hanging right above the Gerudo Tower from your perspective.
- Fire an arrow.
If you timed it right, the Sasa Kai Shrine will erupt from the ground. If not, you’re stuck waiting another full day or reloading a save. It’s worth noting that you don’t actually have to hit the sun (obviously, it’s a skybox element), but the game needs to register an arrow being fired while the shadow of the tower’s structure is intersecting with the pedestal’s hitbox.
The Gear You Need (And What You Don’t)
Don't overthink the equipment. You don't need a Golden Bow or a Duplex Bow for this. A standard Traveler's Bow works fine. Some players think you need Ancient Arrows. You don't. That’s a massive waste of resources. Just use a regular wooden arrow.
The real "gear" you need is cold resistance. The Gerudo Highlands are freezing. If you don't have the Snowquill armor set from Rito Village, you’re going to be chugging spicy elixirs just to stay alive while waiting for 3:00 PM to roll around. It’s pretty embarrassing to die of hypothermia while waiting for a shadow to move five inches.
Interestingly, some players have reported that they can trigger the shrine by shooting the arrow slightly before the shadow is perfectly centered. The game is a bit more forgiving with the "Shadow's Core" than the riddle implies. As long as the pedestal is glowing orange, you are in the active window.
Sasa Kai Shrine: The Reward
Once you finish the Sign of the Shadow in BotW, you get access to the Sasa Kai Shrine. For those who hate the "Major Test of Strength" shrines, I have bad news. This is a "Modest Test of Strength."
You’ll be fighting a Guardian Scout III. It’s not as brutal as the Major tests found in the late-game areas, but it’s no pushover if you’re still early in your journey. Bring a few Guardian weapons if you have them, as they bypass the scout’s natural armor. Use the pillars in the room to bait the Guardian into its spinning charge attack; when it hits the pillar, it’ll be stunned, giving you a massive opening for a flurry rush or just a heavy claymore spin-to-win.
The chest inside usually contains a Frostblade. In the grand scheme of Breath of the Wild weapons, the Frostblade is top-tier for crowd control. Freezing a Moblin solid while you deal with his friends is a lifesaver in the Master Mode DLC.
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Common Glitches and Frustrations
Sometimes, the pedestal just won't glow. This usually happens because of weather. If it’s raining or heavily overcast, the "sun" isn't technically out, and the shadow won't trigger the pedestal. The Gerudo Highlands are notorious for sudden shifts in visibility. If a blizzard rolls in at 2:30 PM, you might as well go hunt some rhinos and try again tomorrow.
Another weird quirk? Shooting too many arrows. You only need one. Firing a barrage of arrows sometimes bugs out the trigger if the game is struggling to track multiple projectiles and the environmental trigger simultaneously. Keep it simple. One shot, aimed high, right at the peak of the tower.
Why This Quest Matters for 100% Completionists
You can't get the monk's blessing or the Spirit Orb without this. But more importantly, Kass’s quests are all interconnected. Completing this is part of his larger narrative arc. When you finish all of Kass's shrine quests and find him back in Rito Village, it unlocks a final musical performance that fills in some of the lore regarding the Hero of Time and the Calamity.
For many, the Sign of the Shadow in BotW is a roadblock because it requires patience in a game that usually rewards movement. It forces you to look at the environment, not as a playground, but as a clock.
Actionable Tips for Success
To make sure you don't have to do this twice, follow these specific tweaks to the standard method:
- Check the Weather: Look at the forecast icon next to the clock. If you see a snowflake or a gray cloud, wait another day. You need a clear sun icon.
- The "Double Fire" Trick: If you miss the window by a few seconds, don't teleport away. Just light a fire immediately and wait until noon the next day. Teleporting can sometimes reset the environmental state in a way that makes the pedestal finicky.
- Camera Angle: Don't just look at the pedestal. Look at the tower. The moment the tip of the tower's shadow touches the edge of the circle, start aiming.
- Height Matters: Make sure you are standing on the pedestal itself, not the ground next to it. The verticality of the arrow's origin point matters for the game's check.
Solving the Sign of the Shadow is less about skill and more about synchronization. Once the shrine emerges, grab your Spirit Orb and head to the next peak. The Highlands are full of these little environmental puzzles, but few are as iconic—or as reliant on the literal rotation of the planet—as this one.