Look, everyone remembers the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time. It was a nightmare. You spent half your life pausing the game just to put on heavy boots. Honestly, when I heard Tears of the Kingdom had a Water Temple, I felt a physical pang of anxiety.
But it's different this time. Mostly.
The TOTK Water Temple walkthrough isn't about raising and lowering water levels until you want to scream. It’s a series of puzzles floating in the sky, governed by low gravity and a lot of sludge. If you’ve just arrived at the Great Wellspring of Hyrule with Sidon, you’re probably looking at that massive central machine and wondering where to start.
Basically, you have to turn on four giant faucets. That's the mission.
Getting Your Bearings in the Sky
Before you even touch a puzzle, remember the physics. You’re high up. Gravity is weak. You can jump further, but so can the enemies. Don't forget that.
The temple is basically a central hub with paths branching out to different "islands." You can do these in any order, but some are definitely easier to wrap your head around than others. Sidon is your key here. His water shield ability isn't just for protection; it’s the only way to "power" the water wheels that activate the faucets.
Faucet 1: The Fire Room (B1)
Head to the west side of the main platform. You’ll see a ramp leading down. Downstairs, there’s a wall of fire.
Don't panic.
You’ve got Sidon. Use his ability to wrap yourself in a water bubble and just walk right through the flames. Inside, there’s a spike-filled pit and a bunch of Hover Stones. You need to get a ball across the spikes to a hole in the wall.
Here is the trick: attach the ball to a Hover Stone using Ultrahand. Activate the stone. Now you can move the whole platform across the gap without the ball falling into the abyss. Once the ball is in the hole, the gate opens. Hit the water wheel with Sidon’s power. One down.
Solving the Remaining TOTK Water Temple Walkthrough Terminals
Faucet 2: The Bubble Bounce (1F West)
Go back up and head further west. You'll see a bubble generator. These bubbles move upward. Use Recall on a bubble while you’re standing inside it to hitch a ride to the higher platform.
There’s a pool of water here with a ball at the bottom. You need to get that ball into a socket, but the socket is underwater. Use Ultrahand to lift the sluice gate. This drains the pool.
The problem? The gate falls back down immediately.
Lift it, then use Recall on the gate itself. It’ll stay up long enough for the water to drain and the ball to settle into the hole. If you’re fast, you can hit the water wheel before the Recall wears off.
Faucet 3: The Electricity Gap (1F Northeast)
Over on the northeast side, there’s a puzzle involving a water wheel and a waterfall. The wheel won't spin because it’s not catching the water.
Grab those two stone slabs nearby. Attach them to opposite sides of the wheel. Now the wheel catches the waterfall and starts spinning like a propeller. This generates electricity.
Follow the yellow glowing line. It stops at a gap. You need a conductor. Conveniently, there are water bubbles floating nearby. Grab a bubble with Ultrahand and wedge it into the gap between the two metal ends. Water conducts electricity. The door opens. Hit the wheel.
Faucet 4: The Spinning Tower (1F Southeast)
This is the one that trips people up. It’s a fast-spinning pillar in the middle of a lake. There's a switch inside, but it’s covered in sludge.
You need to be airborne.
Use a Hover Stone or just jump from a high point. While you’re in the air, pull out your bow. The low gravity gives you a massive window for "bullet time." Fuse a Splash Fruit to your arrow and shoot the sludge off the pillar. Once it's clean, do it again with a regular arrow to hit the orange switch inside.
The water drains. The wheel is revealed. You know what to do.
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Beating Mucktorok Without Losing Your Mind
Once all four faucets are running, the sludge on the central platform clears, and Mucktorok shows up. He’s a tiny octopus in a giant mud-shark suit.
He is annoying.
- Phase One: Use Sidon’s water wave to hit the shark. This "cleans" it, forcing the tiny octopus to jump out. Now, hit the octopus with a melee weapon.
- Phase Two: He covers the whole floor in mud. This is where people fail. Use Splash Fruit or Opals fused to a wand to clear the floor. If you have a Hydra Zonai device, bring it out. It’ll act like a sprinkler and keep the arena clean for you.
When he starts hopping around in the mud during phase two, don't chase him on foot. Jump, use slow-motion aiming, and hit him with a water-fused arrow. It’ll knock him right out of the sludge.
Actionable Next Steps
- Stock up on Splash Fruit: You’ll need at least 15-20 to be safe, especially if your aim is shaky during the Mucktorok fight.
- Check your Zora Armor: Make sure you have the chest piece equipped. You literally cannot reach the temple easily without the ability to swim up waterfalls.
- Fuse an Opal to a Magic Staff: This creates a water-spraying weapon that makes the boss fight trivial because it clears sludge in huge arcs.
The Water Temple isn't a test of your patience anymore; it’s a test of how well you can manipulate the environment. Once that octopus is dead, talk to Sidon to finish the "Sidon of the Zora" questline and claim your Secret Stone.