The Seven Heroines BOTW: What Most People Get Wrong

You’ve probably spent hours wandering the Gerudo Desert in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, squinting through sandstorms and wondering why on earth there are seven massive statues just chilling in the middle of nowhere. It's one of those things that makes Hyrule feel alive. The East Gerudo Ruins aren't just a place for a puzzle; they're a massive, silent piece of history that most players breeze through once they get their Spirit Orb.

Honestly, the seven heroines botw lore is way deeper than just matching symbols on metal balls.

These "divine protectors" are baked into the very soul of the Gerudo people. If you talk to Rotana, the archaeologist in Gerudo Town who's basically obsessed with them, you’ll learn they represent specific virtues. These aren’t just random traits. They’re "Skill," "Spirit," "Endurance," "Knowledge," "Flight," "Motion," and "Gentleness."

Wait, "Gentleness" in a warrior culture? Yeah. It’s a nuance that many people overlook when they're just trying to find the Korsh O'hu Shrine.

Solving The Seven Heroines BOTW Puzzle (Without the Headache)

Most of us get to the ruins, see the giant statues, and immediately start panicking because we can't find the orbs. Or we find the orbs but can't see the symbols on the statues because they’re covered in centuries of grit and bird droppings.

Basically, the "Seven Heroines" shrine quest is a giant matching game.

Where the Orbs Are Hiding

You’ll find six of the metal orbs scattered around the feet of the statues. Easy enough. But that seventh one? It’s a pain. It’s actually sitting on top of the statues. You’ll need to climb up (bring some stamina food or Revali’s Gale if you have it) to knock it down.

The Symbol Cheat Sheet

Don't bother squinting at the statues' chests or feet for ten minutes. If you look at them like a clock face, starting from the entrance (which is roughly South), here is the order you need to drop those orbs into the bowls:

👉 See also: Getting the Blood of the Divines in Oblivion: Why This Quest Still Frustrates Players

1. The "Comma" or Apostrophe: This goes in the first statue to your left as you enter.
2. The "Carrot" or Upside-down V: Moving clockwise.
3. The Circle: The third one.
4. The Colon (:): Right at the back.
5. The "S" or Scroll shape: Continuing around.
6. The Flame or Tear shape: Almost back to the start.
7. The Two Lines (II): The final one.

Once you drop that last orb in, the ground shakes, the sand shifts, and the Korsh O'hu Shrine rises. You get a Flame Spear inside. Is a Flame Spear worth all that work? Maybe not in the late game, but the lore payoff is the real prize here.

The Scandal of the Eighth Heroine

Here is where it gets spicy.

If you’ve done the quest for Bozai—the guy running laps outside Gerudo Town trying to get a date—you know there’s a "missing" sister. The seven heroines botw is a bit of a misnomer because there were originally eight.

But the eighth one was "wiped from history."

If you trek all the way up into the snowy peaks of the Gerudo Highlands, you’ll find her. She’s massive, carved into the side of a cliff, and she looks just like the others. Except she’s alone. She’s also missing her sword, which you can find even higher up on the plateau.

The Big Secret

Why was she kicked out of the club? In Breath of the Wild, it’s a mystery. But if you've played the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, we actually get the answer. It turns out the "Eighth Heroine" wasn't a woman at all. It was a voe (a man) who helped the Seven Heroines save the Gerudo people.

Because of the strict "no men allowed" rule in Gerudo culture, they couldn't officially honor him alongside the women. So, they stuck him in the mountains where nobody would see him. Kind of a raw deal for saving a civilization, right?

Who Are They Actually?

Some fans have a theory that the seven heroines botw are actually the Seven Sages from Ocarina of Time. Think about it. There’s a statue for "Spirit" (Nabooru was the Sage of Spirit) and "Knowledge/Wisdom" (Zelda).

Even the Gerudo text on the statues actually translates to "Seven Sages."

It’s a cool connection that bridges the thousands of years between the games. The Gerudo might have forgotten the names Impa, Saria, or Darunia, but they remembered the essence of those heroes. They turned history into myth, and myth into religion.

Things You Might Have Missed

• The Broken Sword: One of the seven statues in the desert has a broken sword. Why? Some think it represents a battle; others think it's just a sign of how old these things are.
• The Yiga Connection: If you sneak into the Yiga Clan Hideout, you’ll see eight statues. The Yiga don't care about Gerudo tradition—they remember the eighth.
• The View: If you stand on the head of the Eighth Heroine in the Highlands, you can see almost the entire desert. It’s one of the best photo ops in the game.

Making the Most of the Ruins

If you're heading out to the East Gerudo Ruins to finish the seven heroines botw quest, don't just rush it. There’s a Korok hiding behind the arms of one of the statues (the one with the white symbol on its head).

Also, the area is great for farming flint and amber since there are several ore deposits nearby.

Honestly, the best way to handle the desert heat is to go at night or wear the Desert Voe armor. Don't be like me and try to do the whole puzzle while eating raw meat to stay alive because you forgot your cooling elixirs. It's not worth the stress.

To fully wrap up this part of your map, make sure you take a picture of the statues for your Compendium. It’s also worth marking the location of the Eighth Heroine on your map with a stamp—it’s a long trek, and you don’t want to get lost in a snowstorm without a reference point. Once you have both the sand boots and the snow boots from Bozai, navigating these landmarks becomes a total breeze.

Head to the ruins, get your shrine, and take a second to appreciate the scale of what the ancient Gerudo built. Even in a game as big as this, these ladies stand out.

Actionable Insights for Your Next Session:

• Warp to the Wasteland Tower and glide southwest to hit the East Gerudo Ruins directly.
• Bring Magnesis. You'll need it to pull a couple of the orbs out of the sand where they’ve been partially buried.
• Check the Statues' Foreheads. If you're determined to find the symbols yourself, that's where most of them are etched, though some are on the feet or the sword hilts.
• Talk to Rotana again after the shrine appears. Her dialogue changes, and it's a nice bit of closure for her character arc as an overlooked scholar.
• Find the Eighth Heroine's Sword at the top of the Gerudo Summit (near the silver Lynel) to complete the set of photos for Bozai's side quests.