You've probably been there. You're wandering through the lush, rain-slicked forests of the Dueling Peaks region in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and you stumble upon a shrine that feels... different. It’s not a combat trial. It’s not a physics puzzle involving Magnesis and a giant metal ball. It’s the Fateful Stars Breath of the Wild puzzle, located inside the Twin Memories shrines (Shee Vaneer and Shee Venath). It is, honestly, one of the most clever—and frequently frustrating—bits of game design Nintendo ever packed into Hyrule.
Most players hate it at first. They walk in, see a grid of holes and some glowing orbs, and start moving things around randomly. Don't do that. You'll literally be there for hours.
The genius of the Fateful Stars quest isn't about what’s inside the room you're standing in. It’s about what’s happening on the other side of the mountain. It’s a literal mirror puzzle that spans two physical locations, forcing you to use the map, your camera rune, or—let’s be real—a frantic scribbled note on a piece of scrap paper next to your Switch. It’s the kind of "Aha!" moment that defines why Breath of the Wild changed open-world gaming. But if you don't get the logic immediately, it feels like a total roadblock.
The Logic Behind the Twin Memories
The Fateful Stars puzzle relies on a concept called "Twin Memories." To solve the Shee Vaneer shrine, you have to know the original state of the Shee Venath shrine, and vice versa.
Think about that for a second. The game expects you to enter one shrine, memorize the specific configuration of five orbs in a five-by-five grid, then paraglide across to the opposite peak, enter the second shrine, and rearrange its orbs to match what you saw in the first one. It’s a test of memory, or more accurately, a test of how well you utilize the tools Link has at his disposal.
If you look at the stone tablet inside, it gives you a cryptic hint about the stars being the guide and the memories being the key. Basically, it’s telling you that the layout you see when you first walk in is the "answer" for the other shrine. If you move an orb before recording the pattern, you’ve essentially locked yourself out of the solution until you reset the shrine or remember what it looked like.
👉 See also: Why Pictures of Super Mario World Still Feel Like Magic Decades Later
It’s brilliant. It’s also kinda mean.
How to Solve the Fateful Stars Breath of the Wild Layouts
Let’s get into the weeds of how you actually beat this thing without losing your mind. First off, get to the top of the Dueling Peaks. You’ll find Shee Vaneer on the south peak and Shee Venath on the north peak.
Recording the Patterns
Don't trust your brain. Seriously. The human brain is terrible at remembering if a blue orb was in the third or fourth row when you’re being distracted by a Yiga Clan assassin on the way to the next shrine.
- Use the Sheikah Slate Camera. This is the "pro" way to do it. Stand on the elevated platform in Shee Vaneer, look down at the grid, and snap a photo.
- The Manual Method. If your album is full of pictures of Link doing selfies with Lynels, just draw a 5x5 grid on a napkin. Mark the spots.
- The Reset. If you’ve already moved the orbs and realized you messed up, just leave the shrine and come back in. They reset to their "default" positions, which is the actual code you need for the sibling shrine.
The Specific Grid Coordinates
If you’re looking for the "cheat sheet" because you’re tired of paragliding back and forth in the rain, here is how the constellations align. We'll look at this from the perspective of standing on the platform looking down at the entrance.
For Shee Venath (the North one), the orbs need to be placed in these positions:
In the first row (closest to the far wall), put the orb in the 2nd hole.
Second row? 4th hole.
Third row? 1st hole.
Fourth row? 3rd hole.
Fifth row (closest to the entrance)? 5th hole.
✨ Don't miss: Why Miranda the Blighted Bloom Is the Weirdest Boss You Missed
Now, for Shee Vaneer (the South one), the layout shifts.
Row one: 5th hole.
Row two: 1st hole.
Row three: 2nd hole.
Row four: 4th hole.
Row five: 2nd hole.
Once the last orb clicks into place, that satisfying Zelda "discovery" chime plays, the gate opens, and you get your Spirit Orb. It sounds simple when written out, but the spatial awareness required to translate a 2D image from one mountain to a 3D grid on another is exactly the kind of friction Nintendo loves to create.
Why This Puzzle Matters for BOTW History
The Dueling Peaks are a landmark for a reason. In early development interviews, Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi mentioned how the team wanted the geography to tell a story. The mountain was literally split in half by a dragon (supposedly), and the Fateful Stars quest reinforces that duality. It’s one of the few times the game forces you to treat the world map as a puzzle board rather than just a playground.
It’s also a subtle tutorial on the "Mirror Puzzle" trope found in older Zelda games, like Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past, but updated for a massive 3D space.
Interestingly, many players miss the chest in these shrines. There’s an elevator platform in both. If you stay on it as it rises, you can jump off to a hidden ledge. You usually get a Serpentine Spear or a similar mid-tier weapon. It’s not world-breaking, but for a completionist, it’s mandatory.
🔗 Read more: Why Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is the Best Game You Probably Skipped
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The biggest mistake is moving the orbs before you look at them. I've seen so many people enter Shee Vaneer, think "Oh, an orb puzzle," move everything around, and then realize they just erased the "map" for Shee Venath. If you do this, just walk out the front door. Re-entering resets the "Fateful Stars" to their original positions.
Another tip: The elevators. Each shrine has one. Use it to get a top-down view. Trying to figure out the grid while standing on the floor is a recipe for a headache. You can't see the rows properly from ground level.
Looking Back from 2026
Even years after the release of Tears of the Kingdom, people still talk about the Fateful Stars Breath of the Wild quest. Why? Because it’s a "pure" puzzle. It doesn’t rely on having a high-level weapon or a lot of stamina. It’s just you, your observation skills, and two identical-but-different rooms. It represents the "Old Zelda" logic living inside the "New Zelda" world.
While Tears of the Kingdom introduced complex building mechanics with Ultrahand, there was something elegantly simple about the Twin Memories. It didn't ask you to build a flying machine; it just asked you to pay attention to your surroundings.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you are currently standing in the Dueling Peaks trying to wrap this up, follow these steps to finish it in under five minutes:
- Teleport to the top: If you have the DLC, place a Travel Medallion on one peak to make the trip easier, though the paraglide is short enough that it isn't strictly necessary.
- Screenshot everything: Use the Switch's internal capture button (the square one on the left Joy-Con). You can pull up your gallery instantly without having to use the in-game camera.
- Check the peaks: Ensure you are actually at the very top. These shrines are tucked away near the summits, and it’s easy to get sidetracked by Ore Deposits or Korok Seeds on the way up.
- Clear the area: There are often goats or small enemies near the shrine entrances. Clear them out so you don't get knocked off the cliff while trying to enter.
Solving the Fateful Stars is a rite of passage for BOTW players. It’s the moment you realize the game isn't just about hitting things with a club—it’s about looking at the world as a giant, interconnected machine. Once you finish these two, you’ll have a much better handle on how Nintendo hides solutions in plain sight throughout the rest of Hyrule.