Let’s be real. If you’re here, you’re probably staring at a wall in Lake Hylia feeling like your brain is melting. You’ve adjusted the water level three times, you're missing one small key, and that damn compass is telling you there’s a chest right under your feet that doesn't exist. It’s the Zelda walkthrough Ocarina of Time Water Temple experience in a nutshell. Since 1998, this place has been the graveyard of many "no death" runs and the primary reason kids in the 90s called hint lines.
It isn't actually the combat that kills you. Morpha is a joke if you have the Longshot. No, it’s the spatial awareness—or lack thereof. You have to think in four dimensions because the layout changes every time you touch a Triforce symbol. Most people get stuck because they forget that one specific block in the central pillar. If you miss that, the whole run grinds to a halt. We're going to fix that.
The First Rule of the Water Temple: Don't Panic
Before you even step inside, make sure you have the Iron Boots and the Zora Tunic. If you don't have the tunic, King Zora is still frozen in Zora’s Domain; go melt him with Blue Fire. Honestly, doing this temple without the tunic is possible, but it’s a miserable self-imposed challenge that involves a lot of drowning.
Once you’re in, the main gimmick is the central pillar. This is your North Star. Every Zelda walkthrough Ocarina of Time Water Temple guide will tell you that the level revolves around three specific locations where you can change the water height using Zelda’s Lullaby.
- Level 1 (Bottom): Found behind the block inside the passage where you meet Princess Ruto.
- Level 2 (Middle): Located inside the central pillar itself. You have to enter from the bottom and float up.
- Level 3 (Top): Located on the second floor in a recessed hallway.
The biggest mistake? Forgetting the key under the floating block in the central tower. When you raise the water to the middle level inside that tower, a wooden block floats up. Most players just swim past it. Look under it. There’s a hole. That hole leads to a Small Key. If you miss this, you will eventually hit a locked door and have no idea where you went wrong. You’ll backtrack for hours.
Tracking Down Those Small Keys
There are six small keys in the original N64 version, though the 3DS remake tweaked some things to make it less of a headache. If you're playing on Switch Online or an original cart, the pressure is on.
One key is hidden behind a cracked wall. You need bombs. You’d think a temple full of water would be about, well, water, but Nintendo loved making you use your entire inventory. After you meet Ruto and she floats up to the ceiling, follow her. But wait—don't just follow her. Before you go through the door she went through, look around that bottom level. There’s a torch you need to light. Actually, there are multiple. Lighting them opens a door to a small key. Simple, but easy to overlook when you're distracted by a disappearing Zora princess.
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Another key is tucked away in the "Longshot" room. But to get there, you have to fight your own shadow.
The Dark Link Encounter: Why Your Sword is Useless
This is the highlight of any Zelda walkthrough Ocarina of Time Water Temple journey. Dark Link. He doesn't have a health bar in the traditional sense, and he mirrors your movements. If you slash, he parries. If you stab, he jumps on your blade. It’s poetic. It’s also incredibly frustrating if you try to play fair.
Don't play fair.
The Megaton Hammer is the secret weapon here. Dark Link has a harder time mirroring the overhead smash of the hammer compared to the Master Sword. Alternatively, if you have enough magic, Din’s Fire is basically a "skip" button for this fight. Just stand in the middle of the room and spam it. He can’t parry an explosion of literal divinity. Once he’s gone, the room loses its illusion, the trees disappear, and you get the Longshot.
The Longshot is the upgraded Hookshot. It reaches twice as far. You need it to get across the whirlpool room later on. If you try to do the whirlpool room without it, you're going to have a bad time. The physics of the water currents in this game are surprisingly punishing for a 64-bit title.
The Infamous Central Pillar Block
I have to emphasize this again because it is the #1 reason people give up. After you get the water to the second level (the middle height), you go inside the central tower. You use a small key to get in. You look up, you see the Triforce symbol, you play the song. The water rises.
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Now, look at the floor. Where the water was, there is now a hole.
Drop down that hole.
There is a small room down there with shells (Tektites) and a switch. Hit the switch, kill the enemies, and grab the key. This is the "hidden" key that isn't really hidden, just tucked away in a spot that defies the "always look up" logic of most adventure games.
Navigating the Whirlpool and Morpha
The whirlpool room is a test of patience. There are spinning blades and dragon statues that spit water. Use your Iron Boots to stay grounded, then swap back to regular boots to float over the barriers. It’s a rhythmic process. Swap, float, sink, repeat.
Eventually, you'll reach the Boss Key. This requires a bit of Longshot gymnastics. You'll see a series of targets. If you miss one, you fall back into the water and have to start the climb over. Take it slow. There’s no timer here, despite how stressful the music feels.
Then there’s Morpha.
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Honestly? Morpha is a bit of a letdown after the hell you went through to get there. It’s a giant amoeba with a red nucleus. The trick is to stay in a corner. If you stand out on the small platforms, Morpha’s tentacles will grab you and squeeze the life out of you. If you stay in the corner of the room, near the entrance, the tentacles can barely reach you.
Wait for the nucleus to enter a tentacle. Use the Longshot to yank the nucleus out of the water toward you. Once it’s on the ground, hack at it with your sword. Biggoron’s Sword makes this fight last about thirty seconds. If you're using the Master Sword, it might take four or five cycles. Just don't get greedy. If the nucleus gets back into the water, back off and wait.
Common Mistakes People Still Make in 2026
- The Compass Trap: You see a chest on the map and spend twenty minutes trying to reach it, only to realize it's in a room you can't access from your current water level.
- The Gold Skulltula in the Tower: There's one hidden behind a crate at the very top of the central pillar. You need to have the water at the highest level to reach it.
- Missing the Block: In the room with the moving platforms (the ones that look like a waterfall), there’s a block you need to push to progress. If you don't push it all the way into the slot, a later door won't open.
- Forgetting Din's Fire: While not strictly required for the whole temple, it makes lighting the torches in the basement significantly easier than trying to use fire arrows or aim through other torches.
The Water Temple isn't actually "hard" in terms of enemy difficulty. Stalfos and Lizalfos are way more dangerous in the Forest and Fire temples. The difficulty is purely navigational. It’s a puzzle box. If you treat it like a dungeon to be "beaten," you’ll get frustrated. If you treat it like a Rubik's cube where every move affects the next, it starts to make sense.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
To finish the Water Temple without losing your sanity, follow this specific flow. First, grab the map and compass immediately—the map is in the room with the large whirlpool on the first floor. Second, always return the water to the lowest level if you feel truly lost; it resets your perspective.
Before you enter the Boss Room, double-check your Small Key count. You should have used all of them. If you have one left over, you missed a door somewhere, likely the one leading to the Longshot.
Go to the Lake Hylia Laboratory after you finish. Talk to the scientist. If you’ve been diving and have the Gold Scale, he’ll give you a piece of heart. It’s a nice palette cleanser after being underwater for three hours. Finally, make sure you play the Serenade of Water to warp back quickly if you ever need to leave to restock on fairies or potions. You’ve earned the rest.
Check your inventory for the following items before the boss:
- Longshot (Upgraded from Hookshot)
- Iron Boots (Equipped/Unequipped constantly)
- Zora Tunic (To prevent the breath timer)
- At least one Bottle of Green Potion or Blue Potion for magic (if using Din's Fire)
Once Morpha is dead, you'll get the Water Medallion. The lake will refill, the music will change, and you can finally move on to the Shadow Temple, which is a whole different kind of nightmare. But at least you don't have to change the water level there.