You’re climbing a rain-slicked cliff in Akkala, stamina wheel flashing a desperate red, and then you hear it. That high-pitched, rhythmic ping. It’s the Sheikah Sensor. For anyone who has spent time in Hyrule, that sound is a Pavlovian trigger. You know there is a Breath of the Wild shrine nearby, but finding the entrance is usually half the battle.
These 120 glowing orange (and eventually blue) structures are the literal backbone of Link’s progression. Without them, you’re just a guy in his underwear getting one-shotted by a Red Bokoblin. But honestly? Not all shrines are created equal. Some are masterclasses in physics-based puzzle design that make you feel like a literal genius. Others involve tilting your Nintendo Switch at an awkward 170-degree angle while praying the motion controls don't glitch out.
It’s a weird system.
Most open-world games give you traditional, sprawling dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took that trope, smashed it into a hundred pieces, and scattered them across a map larger than most European cities. It was a massive risk for Nintendo. They traded the long-form complexity of something like Ocarina of Time's Water Temple for bite-sized "trials."
The Reality of Breath of the Wild Shrines
Let’s get one thing straight: the developers at Nintendo EPD weren’t just making puzzles. They were making a chemistry set. Every Breath of the Wild shrine is built on the "Multiplicative Gameplay" philosophy. This is a fancy term used by director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and technical director Takuhiro Dohta. Basically, it means that instead of making a specific key for a specific lock, they gave us tools—Magnesis, Stasis, Cryonis, and Remote Bombs—and let us break the game.
Have you ever looked at a puzzle involving a complex electricity circuit and just dropped a bunch of metal swords on the floor to bridge the gap? That’s not a glitch. It’s the intended experience. The game doesn't care how you solve the shrine, as long as you reach the Monk at the end.
Why the "Test of Strength" Shrines Divide the Fanbase
If you’ve played for more than ten hours, you’ve run into the Guardian Scouts. These are the "Test of Strength" shrines. There are Minor, Modest, and Major versions. Early on, a Major Test of Strength is a nightmare. You’ll break every weapon in your inventory just to shave off half the Guardian's health.
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A lot of players find these repetitive. Honestly, they kind of are. There are 20 of these combat-focused shrines in the base game. That is a significant chunk of the 120 total. But they serve a specific mechanical purpose. They are gear checks. If you can’t beat a Major Test of Strength, the game is gently (or violently) telling you to go find better armor or learn how to "Perfect Guard."
The real magic, however, isn't in the combat. It’s in the "Shrine Quests."
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Best Shrine Quests
Some of the most memorable moments in the game don't happen inside the shrines at all. They happen during the search. Think about Eventide Island (Korgu Chideh Shrine). You land on the beach, and suddenly, the game strips you of everything. No Master Sword. No high-level armor. Just you, your runes, and a very grumpy Hinox.
It’s brilliant.
Then there’s the "Thyphlo Ruins" (Ketoh Wawai Shrine). You wander into a literal wall of darkness where you can only see a few feet in front of you with a torch. It transforms a bright, colorful adventure into a survival horror game for twenty minutes. These external challenges prove that Breath of the Wild shrines are more than just blue boxes in the ground; they are environmental puzzles that require you to actually pay attention to the world's lore and geography.
The Problem with Motion Controls (Apparatus Shrines)
We have to talk about it. The "Apparatus" shrines. You know the ones—the Myahm Agana Shrine in Hateno Village is usually the first encounter. You have to tilt your controller to guide a ball through a maze.
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It’s polarizing.
If you’re playing on a handheld Switch, you end up upside down on your couch. If you’re using a Pro Controller, it’s slightly better but still feels "floaty." Pro tip: many players eventually figured out that you can just flip the entire maze platform upside down. The bottom is flat. The ball lands on the flat surface, and you can just flick it into the goal. It’s a perfect example of the game’s "if it works, it’s legal" philosophy.
The Rewards: Spirit Orbs and the Master Sword
Why do we do this? Why spend hours hunting down the last few shrines in the Hebra Mountains?
Spirit Orbs.
Every four orbs gets you a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel. It’s a simple loop. But there’s a threshold most people aim for: 13 hearts. That is the magic number required to pull the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Korok Forest. If you try with 12 hearts, you die.
It’s worth noting that the DLC (The Champions' Ballad) adds 16 more shrines. These are significantly harder and more complex than the base game offerings. They require a deeper mastery of the physics engine. For example, the Rohta Chigah Shrine—often called the "Shrine from Hell"—features spikes, moving platforms, and giant swinging balls of death. It’s a sharp spike in difficulty that reminds you how much you've learned since leaving the Great Plateau.
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Missing Shrines? Check These Often-Overlooked Spots
If you’re stuck at 118 or 119 shrines, you aren't alone. It’s almost always the same few that people miss.
- The Sand-Seal Race: Most people ignore the racing mini-game in the Gerudo Desert, but winning it is the only way to trigger the Raqa Zunzo Shrine.
- The Dueling Peaks Trio: There are actually three shrines here. Ree Dahee is easy to find on the riverbed, but Shee Vaneer and Shee Venath are hidden at the very top of the peaks. They are "twin" shrines; the solution to one is the layout of the other. You literally have to take a screenshot of the floor patterns to solve them.
- The Blood Moon Shrine (Mijah Rokee): This is the most annoying one in the game. You have to stand on a pedestal without any clothes on during a Blood Moon. Since Blood Moons are semi-random (triggered by a hidden "kill meter" in the game's memory), you can end up waiting for hours.
Navigating the End-Game Grind
By the time you reach the final ten shrines, the experience changes. It’s no longer about discovery; it’s about completionism. The reward for finishing all 120 is the "Of the Wild" armor set. It’s a nostalgic nod to Link’s classic green tunic.
Is it worth it?
Stat-wise, it’s great when upgraded. But the real reward is the journey. Each Breath of the Wild shrine acts as a fast-travel point, turning the massive map into a manageable playground. The shrines are the reason the game feels so dense. You can't walk five minutes in any direction without hitting a point of interest.
Actionable Tips for Efficient Shrine Hunting
If you’re looking to wrap up your collection or starting a new Master Mode run, keep these specific strategies in mind.
- Prioritize Stamina over Hearts early on. You can cook "Hearty" foods (like Hearty Durians or Radishes) to get temporary yellow hearts, but "Enduring" foods for extra stamina are harder to come by. More stamina means more climbing, which means finding more shrines.
- Use the Map Pins. When the Sheikah Sensor starts beeping but you can't see the shrine, it's likely underground or behind a breakable rock wall. Pin the location and look for nearby caves or pressure plates.
- The "Stasis" trick. If you’re looking for hidden chests inside a shrine, turn on the Stasis rune. It highlights interactable objects in bright yellow, making them pop out against the blue/grey background of the shrine interior.
- Listen to Kass. Any time you see a giant Rito bird playing an accordion, drop everything and talk to him. His songs are the "keys" to the most complex hidden shrines in the game.
The brilliance of the shrine system is that it respects your time. You can pop in, solve a puzzle in five minutes, and leave. It transformed the Zelda formula into something that fits into a busy life while still offering the depth that hardcore fans crave. Whether you love the puzzles or hate the motion controls, there's no denying that the map would feel empty without those glowing orange beacons on the horizon.
Go find that last Monk. Hyrule can wait a little longer.
Next Steps for Completionists
To truly master the world beyond the shrines, you should focus on gathering 400 Korok Seeds to maximize your inventory space, which makes the late-game combat shrines much easier to manage. Additionally, seeking out the four Great Fairy Fountains will allow you to upgrade the "Of the Wild" set you earn from the shrines, providing the highest defense values in the game.