You’ve spent dozens of hours gliding over the rolling hills of Hyrule, and you’re still staring at gaps on your loading screen. It's frustrating. You see the number—152—and then you look at your own progress and wonder where the hell the rest are. Honestly, finding every single one of them isn't just about having a sharp eye; it's about understanding the "mirror" logic Nintendo baked into the game's foundation.
If you’re looking for a TOTK map of shrines that actually makes sense, you have to stop looking at the surface as a single layer. Most players get stuck because they treat the Sky, Surface, and Depths as separate games. They aren't. They are mechanically linked in a way that basically gives you a cheat code if you know how to read the terrain.
The Secret Link Between Lightroots and Shrines
Here is the thing most people realize way too late: the Depths and the Surface are literal reflections of each other. This is the single most important tip for anyone trying to complete their map. Every single Lightroot in the Depths sits directly underneath a Shrine on the Surface.
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Literally every one.
If you find a glowing orange tree-root in the pitch black of the underground, mark that exact spot on your Surface map. There will be a shrine there. This works in reverse, too. If you’re struggling to find a Lightroot to clear the "fog of war" in the Depths, just look at the shrines you’ve already found on the Surface.
The naming convention is a dead giveaway, too. The names are just spelled backward. Take the Jiosin Shrine near Lookout Landing—its subterranean twin is the Nisojir Lightroot. It’s a clever, slightly cheeky way for the developers to reward you for paying attention to the details.
Breaking Down the Numbers: Sky vs. Surface
You aren't going to find all 152 shrines on the ground. The distribution is actually quite specific:
- Surface Shrines: 120
- Sky Shrines: 32
The Sky shrines are often the trickiest because they don't follow the "Lightroot rule" (since there’s no "Sky Depths"). Instead, many of these are tied to "Shrine Quests" where you have to haul a glowing green crystal across floating islands using a clumsy Zonai wing or a makeshift hoverbike.
If your count is at 120 and your Surface map looks crowded, you’ve likely ignored the archipelagoes drifting above. Check the circular "islands" like the Valor Island or Courage Island. Those diving challenges usually end in a shrine reveal.
Those "Invisible" Caves
You might have the coordinates for a shrine on your map, but when you stand on the spot, there's nothing but grass. You're likely standing on top of it.
Tears of the Kingdom leaned heavily into verticality. A huge chunk of the 120 surface shrines are tucked away inside cave systems. If your Shrine Sensor (the one Robbie gives you at the Hateno Research Lab) is beeping like crazy but you see nothing, look for a Bubbulfrog or a Blupee. Those glowing rabbits aren't just for show; they literally lead you to the entrances of the caves where the shrines are hidden.
The Kyokugon Shrine is a classic offender. It’s buried in the Great Plateau Foothills Cave. You can walk right over it a hundred times and never see it because the entrance is tucked away behind some breakable rocks at the base of the cliff.
The Most Infuriating Shrines to Locate
Some shrines are just mean. They don't want to be found.
- Tenmaten Shrine: This one is inside a well. Specifically, the Elma Knolls Well. If you aren't checking every hole in the ground, you’ll miss it.
- Zakusu Shrine: You have to complete a high-speed snowboarding/shield-surfing trial on Mount Lanayru just to make this one appear.
- Otak Shrine: This is tucked in the Icefall Cave in the far northwest. You have to melt massive chunks of ice just to see the entrance.
Then there are the "Proving Grounds" shrines. These are the ones where Link gets stripped of his gear and you have to fight constructs with a stick and a prayer. There are 15 of these total. If you’re a combat-focused player, these are great for farming high-level construct horns, but they can be a nightmare if you stumble into one with only four hearts.
Is the Final Reward Worth It?
What happens when you finally fill in that TOTK map of shrines? You get the Ancient Hero's Aspect. It’s a unique piece of armor that transforms Link into a Zonai-like creature.
Is it the best armor in the game? Not necessarily. But for the completionists, it’s the ultimate badge of honor. It has a base defense of 12, but when you upgrade it at a Great Fairy fountain, it hits 84—matching the heavyweights like the Champion’s Leathers.
Your Next Steps for a 100% Map
If you are currently sitting at 140-something shrines and losing your mind, stop wandering aimlessly.
First, open your Depths map. Toggle back and forth between the Surface and the Depths using the D-pad. Look for any Lightroot that doesn't have a blue shrine icon sitting directly on top of it on the other layer. That is your missing link.
Second, go to the Hateno Research Lab. If you haven't upgraded your Purah Pad to include the Sensor+, do it now. It allows you to track specific items, but more importantly, it makes the basic shrine detection much more sensitive.
Finally, check the "Hero's Path" on your map. If there's a massive area of the map where you haven't walked, chances are there's a cave entrance there you missed. The map doesn't lie, but it does hide things in plain sight. Keep your eyes on the Lightroots, and you'll have all 152 before you know it.