Look, we've all been there. You just got your sword from the hole in the wall, you've scraped together forty rupees for a wooden shield, and Mido finally let you pass. Now you're standing inside a giant, dying tree. It's iconic. It’s also surprisingly easy to get turned around in if it's your first time or if it’s been a decade since you picked up a Nintendo 64 controller. If you're looking for a solid Ocarina of Time Deku Tree walkthrough, you don't need a 50-page manual. You just need to know where the spiderwebs are and how to handle a very grumpy spider queen.
The Great Deku Tree isn't just a tutorial. It’s a masterclass in Zelda design. It teaches you verticality. It teaches you how to use fire. Most importantly, it teaches you that if something looks suspicious, you should probably roll into it or set it on fire. Honestly, the atmosphere still holds up in 2026, whether you’re playing the original, the 3DS remake, or an emulated version.
Getting Your Bearings in the Hollow
First things first: climb the ladder. You’ll see some vines, but don't worry about the spiders (Gohma Larvae) just yet. Follow the path around the upper rim until you find a chest. Inside is the Dungeon Map. This is basically useless if you know where you’re going, but it’s a nice security blanket.
Keep moving until you find a door. Inside, you’ll meet a Deku Scrub. He’s going to spit nuts at you. Standard stuff. Reflect a nut back at him with your shield—just stand still and hold R—then run up and talk to him. He’ll open the door for you. In the next room, you’ll find the Fairy Slingshot. This is your primary weapon for the rest of the dungeon. It’s also how you solve about 90% of the puzzles here.
Go back out to the main chamber. See that big spiderweb in the middle of the floor? You can't break it by jumping on it normally. You need momentum. But before you do the big leap, you need to get to the very top floor. Use the Slingshot to clear out the Big Skulltulas hanging around the vines. If you try to climb while they're there, they'll just knock you off. It’s annoying. Don't be that person.
The Compass and the Crawlspaces
On the top floor, there’s a door leading to a room with a puzzle involving a switch and some platforms. Hit the switch, get across, and grab the Compass. This lets you see where all the chests are. To get out, you’ll need to use a Deku Stick. Find a torch, light your stick, and then light the unlit torch near the door.
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Pro tip: Deku Sticks are a limited resource early on, but you can save them by putting them away (press the A button or the button you have it mapped to) before they burn out completely. It's a small optimization, but it saves you from having to farm more from the carnivorous plants (Baba Shrouds).
Now, go back to the top ledge overlooking the giant web on the ground floor. Look down. Aim for the center. Jump. If you hit it right, you’ll crash through the web and land in the basement. This is where the Ocarina of Time Deku Tree walkthrough gets a bit more "puzzle-heavy."
Navigating the Basement Waterways
You’re wet. You’re in a basement. There’s a switch on a pedestal. Stepping on it lights a torch, but it also raises the water level or activates a moving platform depending on which version you're playing. Use a Deku Stick to carry fire across the room to burn away the webs blocking your path.
There’s a specific room here with a block puzzle. It’s the first one in the game. Push the block into the water so you can reach the other side. Simple. But then you run into the "Three Brothers."
This is the part that used to trip people up back in 1998. You'll find three Deku Scrubs standing in a row. If you hit them in the wrong order, they just reset. The hint is actually given to you earlier by a Scrub you defeated: "Twenty-three is number one." What does that even mean?
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- Hit the Scrub on the Right (2).
- Hit the Scrub on the Left (3).
- Hit the Scrub in the Middle (1).
It’s 2-3-1. Get it? After you nail the order, the middle one will freak out and give you a hint about the boss before opening the door to Queen Gohma’s chamber.
Facing Queen Gohma
Queen Gohma is essentially a giant eye with legs. She’s not scary once you realize she has the situational awareness of a potato. The fight starts when you look up at the ceiling with your Slingshot or just walk into the center of the room.
The Strategy:
Wait for her eye to turn red. That’s her "I’m about to attack" tell. Hit her in the eye with your Slingshot. She’ll fall down, stunned. Run up and mash the B button with your sword. Use the "Jump Slash" (A while targeting) for double damage if you want to end this quickly.
When she climbs back up to the ceiling, she’ll try to drop eggs. These hatch into Gohma Larvae. You can either shoot her eye while she's on the ceiling to knock her down again or just kill the larvae for extra hearts and seeds. Repeat this two or three times, and she’s toast.
Why People Still Struggle Here
Even with a solid Ocarina of Time Deku Tree walkthrough, players often miss the Gold Skulltulas. There are three in this dungeon. One is behind a crate in the compass room, one is on the vines you climb to get to the top floor, and one is down in the basement on a wall you can only reach with the Slingshot. If you’re a completionist, don't leave without them, because backtracking here later as an adult is a hassle.
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Another common mistake? Forgetting to equip the Kokiri Shield. If you get hit by a fire attack and you're holding your shield out, it can burn up. Then you have to go back to the shop and spend another 40 rupees. In the early game, that’s a lot of grass-cutting.
Moving Forward After the Forest
Once Gohma is dead, you grab the Heart Container and step into the blue light. You’ll get a long cutscene with the Deku Tree. It’s pretty grim for a Nintendo game—the tree dies, Link gets a shiny emerald, and you're told to go save the world.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Head to Hyrule Field: Don't linger in the woods. Saria will stop you on the bridge and give you the Fairy Ocarina. This is a mandatory cutscene.
- Visit Lon Lon Ranch: It’s in the dead center of the map. Go there during the day to learn Epona's Song early. It makes traversing the field much faster.
- Market Bound: Your goal is Hyrule Castle. Don't worry about the guards yet; just explore the market, maybe play the 10-rupee chest game if you're feeling lucky.
- Upgrade Your Inventory: Keep an eye out for the Deku Nut and stick upgrades hidden in the Lost Woods. You’ll need to use the "Skull Mask" from the Happy Mask shop later to get one of them.
The Deku Tree is just the beginning. The game opens up massively once you leave the forest, but the logic you learned here—using fire, observing enemy patterns, and looking up—will carry you all the way to Ganon's Castle.
Keep your Deku Sticks handy and your shield up. Hyrule is a big place, and the Deku Tree was just the warm-up.