Ancient Zora Waterworks puzzle solution in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
How to raise the water level and get through the Ancient Zora Waterworks.
The Ancient Zora Waterworks in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom poses a rather tricky puzzle that you need to complete in order to figure out what's causing the Regional Phenomena that's covering the Zora in sticky sludge.
After progressing through the Sidon of the Zora quests and finding the Land of the Sky Fish in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you'll have followed the Prince of the Zora deep underwater into the Ancient Waterworks - but there's no clear way out.
Don't worry, we're here to show you how to solve the Ancient Zora Waterworks puzzle in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
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If you'd like to learn more about Link's adventure, visit our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.
How to unblock first Ancient Zora Waterworks pipe in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
After you follow Sidon down the whirlpool, you'll land in ancient ruins below the water. This is the start of the Ancient Zora Waterworks.
To find the first blocked pipe here, head forward once you land in the ruins and walk down into the slightly lowered area in front of you. Keep following the path until you can't go any further and then look to your right.
You should see a pipe here blocked by rocks. Use a Hammer (can be made by Fusing a rock to a melee weapon) or attach a Bomb Flower to an arrow to clear the rocks here to unblock the first pipe. Once unblocked, the water level in the immediate area will begin to rise.
Continue to follow the path forward and you will be notified that you are officially in the Ancient Zora Waterworks.
How to unblock second Ancient Zora Waterworks pipe in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
To find the second blocked pipe in the Ancient Zora Waterworks, follow the path forward to the end of the broken path and face the center of the area.
Then, look down and to your left. You should be able to see another blocked pipe here, but if it's hard to spot then we recommend firing down some Brightbloom Seeds in that general direction to illuminate the area a bit.
Once you find the blocked pipe, you need to unblock it by using a Hammer, melee weapon or Bomb Flowers attached to arrows.
How to unblock third Ancient Zora Waterworks pipe in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
After clearing the previous pipe, the water level will rise again. Once this happens, look around until your compass on your minimap tells you that you are facing east. You should see another pipe in the wall opposite you.
Use the floating pieces of wood around you to create platforms to get across if you don't have enough stamina to swim there safely.
Once you get to the pipe area, climb into the blocked pipe in the wall. To get up to it, we created a ramp using Ultrahand and some of the pieces of wood stashed nearby.
As you did with the others, carefully clear the blockage in the pipe and the water level will rise again.
How to unblock fourth Ancient Zora Waterworks pipe in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
There's one pipe left now and this one takes a bit longer to get to than the rest. Once the water has been raised from the last pipe, look towards the center of the room again.
Across from you, you should see a large pipe high up in the wall and two smaller pipes underneath it. Face west using the compass on your minimap if you're having trouble seeing it.
Head over to the two smaller pipes and go into the one on the left side of the larger pipe. You can reach it at the coordinates (3634, 0296, -0009.)
There are Keese and Chu Chu's hiding in the pipes here, so be on guard. Walk into the pipe and take the first right.
Then, keep walking forward and take the second left. Follow the path around until you come to the point where water is leaking through a hole in the ceiling at (3589, 0332, -0011.)
Here, use Ascend to get through the grate covering the hole in the ceiling. You should almost instantly be faced with a huge blocked pipe.
As you did with the others, use a Hammer, Bomb Flower or weapon of choice to clear the rocks blocking the pipe. This will cause the water level to rise one last time.
How to get to the center of Ancient Zora Waterworks in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
After unblocking all four pipes, you can now reach the center of the Ancient Zora Waterworks in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Once you've cleared the fourth and final pipe, climb up the ladder at (3578, 0342, 0004). Then, follow the path around to the right and use Ultrahand to flip the switch here to raise the gate to get out.
Swim out of the open gate and then swim to your right and back into the large pipe to collect the chest here. This chest contains some Opal.
You can now swim or follow the path laid out for you to get to the light source in the middle of the room. Once there, follow the prompt to examine it with 'A' and watch what happens next.
Congratulations on completing the Ancient Zora Waterworks! You can now press forward with saving the Zora. However, if you need a break, then why not check out our other guides? We have one that shows you how to get a Giant White Stallion or perhaps, you may want to get Rubber Armor to protect yourself from shocking enemies.