You’re standing in Kakariko Village. It’s raining—because it’s always raining in Kakariko when you actually want to climb something—and you’re staring up at these massive, floating stone donuts. They’re weird. They’re ancient. Honestly, they’re a bit of a literal headache for the NPCs living under them. But the secrets of the ring ruins aren't just about cool floating geometry; they are the narrative heartbeat of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Most players just see them as a hurdle to clear or a backdrop for a selfie. That's a mistake. These ruins are basically the Zonai’s way of leaving a "read me" file for Link thousands of years after the fact. If you’ve spent any time poking around the wreckage, you know the Chief of the Zonai Survey Team, Paya, is obsessed with them. And she should be.
Why the Ring Ruins Are Actually Falling
When the Upheaval happened, Hyrule basically coughed up its internal organs. Mountains cracked, chasms opened, and these ruins came screaming down from the sky. But notice where they landed. They didn't just hit random spots in the woods. The secrets of the ring ruins are tied specifically to the Zonai’s ancient defensive and ritualistic infrastructure.
They fell because the magic holding them aloft for millennia finally flickered out when Ganondorf woke up. It’s sort of like a power surge in an old house—everything starts breaking at once. Paya and Tauro are trying to piece together why these specific shapes were used. If you look closely at the architecture, the "ring" isn't just a design choice. It mirrors the Zonai Ouroboros—the dragon eating its own tail—which represents the eternal cycle of time and sacrifice. It’s basically Rauru and Mineru’s brand logo.
Tauro’s Obsession and the Fifth Sage
Tauro is the guy you’ll see wandering around with a notebook, looking like he hasn't slept in three weeks. He’s the key to unlocking the real secrets of the ring ruins. While the rest of the village is worried about the debris hitting their houses, Tauro is translating the inscriptions.
There is one specific ruin that is strictly off-limits early in the game. You know the one—the floating one that the "fake" Zelda told everyone to stay away from. This is where the game pulls a fast one on you. The "Secret of the Ring Ruins" main quest doesn't even properly trigger until you've dealt with the four regional phenomena.
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Once you get up there, you realize the ruins are a set of instructions. They are a map. They point toward the Faron region, specifically the Dracozu Lake. The inscriptions talk about the "Sage of Spirit." For those who haven't finished the quest, this is the path to finding Mineru, the fifth sage. Without the data hidden in the Kakariko ruins, Link would literally never know where to look for her construct body. It’s a breadcrumb trail left by a dead civilization that knew exactly how much help Link would need.
The Mural Controversy
If you look at the walls inside the accessible ruins, the carvings are surprisingly detailed. They depict the "War of Imprisonment." But here’s the kicker: the murals are incomplete. This isn't just a "the rock broke" situation. The Zonai purposefully hid certain parts of their history.
Some players think the ruins were meant to be a tomb. Others argue they were a library. Honestly, they’re probably a bit of both. The secrets of the ring ruins suggest that the Zonai were terrified of Ganondorf’s power, even back then. They didn't just fight him; they built a fail-safe system into the very architecture of the sky.
Hidden Mechanics: Not Just Lore
Let’s talk gameplay. You’ve probably noticed that the ruins are packed with Zonai devices. Fans have discovered that the ruins act as a natural "battery" for certain powers.
- Ascend is your best friend. The geometry of the ring ruins is specifically designed to be navigated with the Ascend ability. It’s a vertical puzzle that rewards players for looking up.
- Sundelions are everywhere. Because these ruins fell from the sky, they brought Sky Island flora with them. If you’re low on gloom-healing food, Kakariko’s ruin sites are basically a grocery store for Sundelions.
- Camera Work. You actually have to use the Purah Pad camera to progress the quest. This is one of the few times the game forces you to be a researcher rather than a warrior.
The Mystery of the Fifth Ruin
There are five major ring ruins in Kakariko. Four are accessible fairly early if you’re sneaky, but the fifth is the "Floating Castle" of the village. The game does a great job of making you feel like a criminal for trying to sneak in.
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When you finally do get the "Letter from Ancient Times," the translation reveals a poem. It’s not just flavor text. It’s a mechanical guide on how to dress. To unlock the path to the Spirit Temple, you have to wear the "Charged" armor set found near the ruins. This is the Zonai's way of "biometric" security. Only someone with the right gear (and the right soul) can trigger the next phase of the quest. It’s a clever way of blending the secrets of the ring ruins with actual progression.
What Most People Miss About the Dracozu Connection
When you follow the clues from the ruins to the Faron region, you find a river shaped like a dragon. The ruins in Kakariko specifically mention "wearing the lightning."
A lot of players just run through this part, but if you stop and read the tablets, you’ll see the Zonai were obsessed with the idea of "becoming" the dragon. This foreshadows the game’s ending in a way that’s almost painful once you realize what Zelda did. The ring ruins were essentially a training manual for the ultimate sacrifice.
The architecture in Faron mirrors the architecture in Kakariko. It’s the same "ring" motif. This suggests that the Ring Ruins weren't just buildings—they were part of a massive, kingdom-wide machine designed to guide the Hero of Wild through the ages.
Is There More to Find?
Data miners have looked into the game files to see if there were more ruins planned. While there aren't "hidden" physical ruins, the text files suggest that the secrets of the ring ruins were originally intended to be even more complex. There are references to a "sixth" ruin that might have fallen into the sea.
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Even without a sixth ruin, the ones we have are dense. If you use the Ultrahand ability near the base of the ruins, you can sometimes find chests buried in the mud that fell with them. These contain old maps to the Depths, further linking the Sky, the Surface, and the Underground.
Practical Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re heading back into the game or just starting, don't ignore the NPCs in Kakariko. They aren't just there for window dressing.
- Talk to Calip. He’s the grumpy guy at the base of the ruins. He actually provides specific coordinates that make finding the hidden armor sets much easier.
- Look for the notebooks. Tauro leaves notebooks all over the place. Reading them gives you the "why" behind the ruins, which makes the puzzles feel less like chores and more like an investigation.
- Upgrade your battery. The ruins are a great place to test out flying machines. Since they are high up, you can launch gliders from the edges of the ring ruins to reach distant parts of the map without needing much energy.
- Finish the "Crisis at Hyrule Castle" quest first. You literally cannot finish the ring ruin mystery until the game recognizes you’ve progressed far enough in the main story. Don't waste hours trying to glitch into the fifth ruin early—it won't trigger the flags you need.
The secrets of the ring ruins aren't just about what happened in the past. They are a roadmap for Link’s future. Every stone, every inscription, and every floating donut in Kakariko was placed there by a civilization that knew the world would one day fall apart—and they wanted to make sure someone was there to put it back together.
Next time you're in Kakariko, stop and actually look at the carvings. The history of the Zonai is written in the stone, waiting for someone to actually read it rather than just jumping off it with a paraglider.
Go back to Kakariko Village after completing the four main temples and speak to Paya. Make sure you have the Camera rune unlocked, as you'll need it to document the mural inside the final ruin. This will trigger the "Secret of the Ring Ruins" questline, leading you directly to the Charged Armor set in the Faron region and eventually to the fifth sage.