If you’ve spent any real time wandering through the ruins of Hyrule, you know that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom loves to make you feel like a bit of an idiot. It’s part of the charm. You’re running around with a glowing sword and a hand that can rewrite physics, yet you’re stopped dead in your tracks by a cryptic riddle about stone statues. One of the biggest head-scratchers for players hitting the mid-game is the quest involving TotK the six dragons.
It sounds epic. It sounds like you’re about to fight six massive bosses in a row. Honestly? It’s a lot more subtle than that.
This specific trial is part of the "Investigate the Thyphlo Ruins" side adventure. If you haven't found it yet, head way north. The Thyphlo Ruins are sitting right above the Great Hyrule Forest. In the previous game, this place was pitch black, a total nightmare to navigate. Now, the sun is out, the fog has cleared, and we’re left staring at a bunch of Zonai architecture that makes very little sense at first glance. You’ll meet an NPC named Kazul here who is obsessed with these ruins. He’s found four stone tablets that hint at four different trials.
The one everyone gets stuck on is the "The Dragon of Six."
What the Six Dragons actually are
Let's clear this up: you aren't looking for the big elemental dragons like Farosh or Dinraal flying around in the sky. If you waste your time chasing them for this quest, you’re going to be disappointed. The "six dragons" refer to a specific architectural feature within the ruins themselves. Specifically, it's a small grove where six dragon-headed stone pillars are arranged in a circle, all facing inward.
It's tucked away in the northwest corner of the Thyphlo Ruins.
When you find it, it feels... quiet. There are no enemies. No flashing lights. Just a bunch of cold stone looking at a patch of mud. The riddle on the tablet mentions displaying the power of the Sage of Water in the presence of the six dragons. That is your clue. You need Sidon. Or, well, his ghostly blue avatar.
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How to trigger the solution
You can't just stand there. You have to actually use the ability. Most people think they need to hit all six dragons or maybe shoot an arrow into the middle. Nope.
- Approach the center of the dragon circle.
- Summon Sidon (the Sage of Water).
- Activate his ability so you’re surrounded by that protective water bubble.
- Perform a charged attack.
Hold down the Y button with whatever weapon you have equipped. When you release it, the water burst expands. If you're standing in the right spot—right in the center of those six staring stone faces—the water hits them all simultaneously. That's the trigger. Suddenly, the ground shakes, a stone slab rises, and you’ve got yourself a treasure chest containing five Opal gems.
Is it the most legendary loot in the game? Maybe not. But it’s a checkmark on a questline that eventually leads to a much bigger reward: the Dusk Bow.
Why the Thyphlo Ruins matter for lore nerds
There is a lot of debate in the Zelda community about why these specific ruins exist. If you look at the architecture, it’s clearly Zonai, but it’s mixed with the Owl, Boar, and Dragon motifs we see throughout the Faron region. These three animals represent the Triforce pieces: Wisdom (Owl), Power (Boar), and Courage (Dragon).
By focusing on TotK the six dragons, the game is leaning heavily into that "Courage" theme.
The ruins feel like a testing ground. A place where the Sages of old would prove their worth. It’s interesting that the game requires you to have already completed the Water Temple (or at least progressed far enough to have Sidon's vow) to finish this. It creates a natural gate. You can’t just stumble into Thyphlo at the very start of the game and solve everything. You have to bring your friends.
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Honestly, the hardest part of this quest isn't the riddle. It's the UI. Trying to chase down Sidon’s avatar while he’s running away from you just so you can click "A" and get the water shield is the real boss fight. We've all been there. You're standing in the middle of the dragons, Sidon is off fighting a stray Keese thirty yards away, and you're whistling like a madman trying to get him to come over.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
People overthink the "Six Dragons" because the wording is just vague enough to be annoying. Here is what you shouldn't do:
- Don't use Splash Fruit. You might think throwing water at the statues works. It doesn't. The game specifically checks for the Sage ability.
- Don't look for the dragons in the sky. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Those dragons are too high up to care about some ruins in the woods.
- Don't forget the charged attack. Just having the water shield on your body isn't enough. The "display of power" mentioned in the text is the physical burst of the water shield.
There are three other riddles in this area, too. One involves the "Long Dragon" (use Tulin’s wind down the length of a long stone path), one involves the "Owl" (use Mineru or Yunobo depending on the prompt), and one involves the "Two Dragons" (use Riju’s lightning between two specific statues).
If you're doing the Six Dragons, you might as well knock them all out. The rewards are mostly gems, but completing the whole set unlocks a hidden chamber. Inside that chamber, you’ll find a chest with the Dusk Bow, which is a neat callback to Twilight Princess. It has incredible range and looks fantastic, though it’s not quite as broken as the version from the original game's amiibo.
The deeper mechanics of the Thyphlo trials
What’s fascinating about the way Nintendo designed these puzzles is the "hidden" logic. The game doesn't give you a waypoint. It gives you a physical description. In an era where most open-world games just put a yellow dot on your map, Tears of the Kingdom expects you to actually look at the statues.
The "Six Dragons" statues are unique because they are the only ones grouped in a tight circle. Most other dragon heads in the ruins are used as decorative pillars or are scattered randomly. This grouping is a visual "X marks the spot."
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If you’re struggling to find the exact coordinates, open your map. Look at the northwest quadrant of the Thyphlo Ruins island. You’ll see a small, square-ish clearing that looks a bit different from the surrounding rubble. That’s your destination.
Why this questline is worth your time
Aside from the Dusk Bow, this questline is one of the few that actually fleshes out the Sages' connection to the world. Throughout most of the main story, the Sages feel like they belong to their specific tribes—the Zora, the Rito, etc. But here in Thyphlo, you see how their powers were used in tandem to guard ancient secrets.
It’s also a great way to farm Opals, Rubies, and Sapphires early on. If you’re low on cash (and let’s be real, everyone in Hyrule is broke because of how much armor upgrades cost), these trials are a quick injection of currency.
Actionable steps for your playthrough
To wrap this up and get you back into the game, here is exactly what you should do right now if you're standing in those ruins:
- Check your Sage Vows. Ensure Sidon’s avatar is actually summoned. If his icon is grayed out in your inventory, the puzzle won't trigger.
- Locate the coordinates. Go to roughly -0383, 3065, 0173. This is the sweet spot.
- The "Burst" Technique. Stand in the dead center of the six heads. Activate Sidon’s shield. Hold Y. Release.
- Look for the rising platform. The chest doesn't just appear in your inventory; it physical rises out of the ground in front of you.
- Pivot to the "Long Dragon." Once you've finished the six dragons, walk east. Look for a very long stone neck on the ground. Use Tulin’s gust to blow air along the entire length of it to finish the next part of the quest.
The game doesn't hold your hand, but that’s why it feels so good when the jingle plays and the secret is revealed. Go get that Dusk Bow. You've earned it.