Walkthroughs
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Skyward Sword Walkthrough Chapter 5: Climbing Eldin Volcano
Chapter 5: Climbing Eldin Volcano
Skyward Sword Story Guides:
Skyward Sword Secrets Guides:
- Skyward Sword Heart Pieces
- Skyward Sword Goddess Cubes
- Skyward Sword Gratitude Crystals
- Skyward Sword Items & Gear
- Skyward Sword Item Upgrades
- Skyward Sword Enemies
- Skyward Sword Bosses
Objectives:
- Return the Ruby Tablet to the chamber inside the Goddess Statue and travel to the Eldin region.
- Navigate the volcano vicinity and enter the underground passage.
- Fight your way through the cave and exit to the foot of the mountain.
- Pursue the mysterious woman to the top of Eldin Volcano.
- Collect the five pieces of the key to the Earth Temple.
Important Obtainables:
New Enemies:
Secrets:
1 - Return the Ruby Tablet to the chamber inside the Goddess Statue and travel to the Eldin region.
Approach the nearest Bird Statue and hop back up to the clouds. Skyloft is a short trip away, so make your way to the Goddess Statue as quickly as possible and head into the shrine inside to place your Ruby Tablet alongside the emerald one. This will open a second column of light over the Eldin region. It's red in color so it's easy to differentiate from the portal to Faron.
You can take off for Eldin immediately, but you may want to try out some sidequests right away. You can begin pursuing Gratitude Crystals as well as pick up the Bug Net from Beedle.
You'll see Beedle's Airshop floating around Skyloft during the day. Hit the bell with your Slingshot or Beetle and he'll lower a rope you can grab onto to get hoisted up into the shop. The Bug Net costs 150 Rupees, but he also has a couple other goodies on sale - an Extra Wallet that will increase your Rupee capacity as well as an expansion for your Adventure Pouch. Both are well worth the investment, so if you have the cash go ahead and spring it.
Bug Net
This is a basic net for catching bugs. Once you capture one, it gets added to your Collection Screen and you can use it as an ingredient for special Potions!
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Bug Net.
It's also best to pick up an Iron Shield from the Bazaar to replace your wooden one, which will burn easily in the heat of the volcano. Iron Shields cost 100 Rupees, but again, it's a good investment.
Iron Shield
This is an iron shield used sometimes by Skyloft knights. It's a bit hardier than a Wooden Shield since it's made of metal, but it still breaks if it takes too much punishment. It'll resist fire, but is weak against electricity.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Iron Shield.
Once you're prepared, dive off a takeoff platform and head for Eldin!
2 - Navigate the volcano vicinity and enter the underground passage.
Immediately after you land, be sure to tag the Bird Statue to flag it on your map. From there, you'll have two options - a left fork and a right fork. The left fork leads to the very foot of the mountain, but the path is blocked off right now, so stick to the right. A Red Chu Chu will pop up from the path. It's not much different from ordinary Chu Chus aside from the fact that it'll set you ablaze if it touches you for too long. Cut through it with your sword and move on.
Hop across the rocky platforms floating in the lava and you'll run into a pair of Mogmas. These mole-like guys mention the Bokoblin infestation that recently crept up on their territory as well as a mysterious figure who came charging through. This may be connected to Zelda, so you'd better follow. Keep running forward and you'll reach a cave filled with lava and swarming with Fire Keese. The level of the lava will rise and fall periodically, so time your movements carefully to make it across dips in the path.
Fire Keese
Fire Keese have somehow found a way to keep themselves ablaze, much to the dismay of hopeful heroes. They behave in much the same way as regular Keese, only they pack a bit more of a punch since they can set you on fire. Be especially careful so you don't lose your Wooden Shield - or just buy an iron one to play it safe.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Fire Keese.
Another bend takes you to a much safer cave. This one has a crop of Bomb Flowers growing in the center. You can pick them with the A button, but be sure to toss them away before they explode. Try them out on all the piles of rubble in this area. Some will hide Rupees and enemies, but one will show you the way forward. Practice using overhand swings to toss Bombs and underhand ones to roll them, as you'll need to know how to do both to proceed later on.
Outside the cave is another Bird Statue and an open area. Follow the bend to the left and you'll meet a Mogma who tells you more about the person who came through the area earlier. To the left is a Goddess Cube, but if you keep going to the right you'll run into another new enemy: the Pyrup. It'll scamper off and hide in a hole up ahead, and breathe a jet of fire at you if you try to run past. The only way to kill it is by rolling a Bomb Flower into its hole from afar. If you practiced rolling things earlier, you know how to do this, so pluck a Bomb Flower from the crop growing nearby and roll away. Make note of the Heart Piece on the ledge above, as you can come back for it in a little while.
Pyrup
Pyrups hide in small alcoves and breathe fire whenever they sense danger, but if you roll a Bomb just right you can blast them out of commission. Later on you'll encounter a variety that hunkers beneath a rock-like shell and requires you to toss a Bomb overhead to blow away its armor before you can defeat it.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Pyrup.
On the path ahead you'll run into some Bokoblins, some of whom wield clubs instead of machetes. Take them out and continue on the path to reach a small lower region with Pyrups roaming about. But these Pyrups aren't hiding in caves - they're hiding beneath skull shells! You'll need to toss Bomb Flowers into the hole in the top of the shells to defeat them. It can be tricky since they'll breathe fire at you if they notice you, but thankfully bomb-tossing is aided by a neat guiding line that helps you align your trajectory. It's best to pick them off from the lower ledge using the crop of Bomb Flowers there rather than meeting them on ground level. Once you take them out, you can climb the ledges across the gap to get on top of the plateau and circle back to grab the Heart Piece you passed earlier.
Next order of business - blow up the plug blocking the lava flow up ahead. It's a simple matter of lining up a Bomb Flower along the boney bridge nearby and rolling away. The Bomb will tumble into the lava, but that's alright - it instantly explodes, and if you nailed the shot this will break up the plug and drain the lava surrounding the cavern entrance up ahead. You need to dash across the bone bridge to avoid letting it sink into the lava with you still on it, so make a break for it. Then climb up and into the newly-drained area and look for some air vents to the left that'll give you a boost onto a ledge that drops down into the cave.
3 - Fight your way through the cave and exit to the foot of the mountain.
Take a running dive into the cave and you can control your fall. There's a Goddess Cube stashed on one of the stalagmites here that you can only reach by diving, so navigate to it if you can and give it another go later if you miss. Be sure to whip out your Sailcloth to avoid damage as you fall.
At the bottom there's a passageway that will lead you deeper into the cave. What looks like a recently-buried hole is visible off to the right, and a Mogma to the left explains that monsters have taken up residence here. Keep going past him and you'll reach a staging area where the Bokoblins have set up camp. Fight them off, but beware - one of them bears a Monster Horn, which it'll use to call in reinforcements should the Bokoblin forces run thin. Climb up onto the tower and take him out with a few strokes from your sword, then deal with the rest.
Once you've cleared the area, talk to the Mogma you passed by earlier. He'll give you the Digging Mitts as thanks. You can use these to dig up those x-marked holes. Approach the one you saw earlier and dig away to reveal another air vent, which you can of course use to ascend to the upper ledge and continue into the caves. Be sure to dig up all the holes you can find, because they often hide Rupees, ammunition, and Treasures.
Digging Mitts
These gloves resemble a mole's claws, and can be used to dig for buried treasure like the pieces of the key to the Earth Temple. Use them in conjunction with the Goddess Sword's Dowsing feature to track down important objects.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Digging Mitts.
The left fork will lead you to a short climb to what looks like a small settlement. The houses aren't important - look at the series of chutes that slide down to the lower levels. If you take the middle one, you'll drop down right next to a treasure chest containing some Eldin Ore. Head back around and choose the right fork. A series of holes with Pyrups hiding inside checker the area. Look for Bomb Flower crops along the outer walls and use them to blow up the unsuspecting Pyrups to clear the room. There's also a cracked wall that hides a small treasure chest nearby one of the Pyrups.
Once you've cleared a path across the room to the other exit, dig up the three holes here, one of which hides an air vent, and use it to blow yourself up to the larger vent, which will carry you out of the cave.
4 - Pursue the mysterious woman to the top of Eldin Volcano.
Head directly forward to find a Mogma waiting for you. He mentions that the mysterious figure you've been chasing just crossed the retracted bridge up ahead with a mighty leap. You too can cross - but only after you approach the bridge yourself and the figure, who apparently seems to be on your side, extends it for you. Before you continue you can backtrack a little and blow up a pile of debris off to the side to create a shortcut back to this area.
Across the bridge, there's a Bird Statue as well as a fallen tower with some Bomb Flowers growing nearby. Pluck one of them and toss it at the rock wall behind the tower and you'll blow up the whole wall, revealing a hidden chest. Then continue up the mountain (reorient yourself with Dowsing if you need to), fighting your way past the Fire Keese until you reach the sandy slope up ahead.
This hill is steep enough that you'll need to dash as fast as you can to maintain momentum. Run up to the side of the platform midway up the hill, scramble on top of it, and engage the Bokoblin there. Try to do so without being seen, because the Bokoblin can give you a good smack before you even make it onto the landing if you aren't careful. A ledge to your left houses a Bomb Flower that you can roll down the hill to a pile of debris - the same one that blocked the left fork when you first entered Eldin Volcano. This completes a nice circuit of shortcuts that makes getting around the volcano much faster in the future.
At the top of the hill is a Bokoblin who'll toss large boulders down at you if you come too close. While he's got a boulder hoisted over his head, he's slim pickings for a Deku Seed from your Slingshot, which will stun him so that he drops the boulder, which crushes him utterly. Remember the Deku Seed shots lose altitude as they travel, so aim a little bit higher than the targeting reticule indicates to get in a solid hit. Then dash up the rest of the hill and scramble up onto the cliff.
A group of Bokoblins awaits, led by another horn-wielding chief. You'll have to place a Bomb Flower just next to the tower the chief is hiding atop to put an end to his calls for backup, so do so as quickly as you can to avoid a long and trying battle. Once you take care of the rest of them, you can blow up the debris blocking the cave nearby. Inside is the Thrill Digger minigame, a Minesweeper-like challenge run by a Mogma named Tubert that you can play to win Rupees or even a Heart Piece if you're good enough.
Use the fallen tower as a bridge to cross the gap ahead, then climb up the vines. You'll reach the foot of yet another steep slope. This one's taller, with more Bokoblins - both club-wielding and boulder-tossing - so exercise caution as you climb and take out the boulder bowlers quickly. Dodging multiple boulders at once is not fun!
5 - Collect the five pieces of the key to the Earth Temple.
A pair of Mogmas hanging out in this temple area talk about a key to the temple that was divided up by the mysterious figure you saw earlier. The Mogmas can dig their way inside, but you'll have to track down the pieces yourself. Save at the Bird Statue nearby and then begin your search. The pieces are hidden in the following locations:
- Scout around the temple area with Dowsing and you'll find the first piece buried in a hole nearby.
- Keep going past the first key piece and use Bomb Flowers to blow up the tower at the bottom of the hill. Beneath it is a key piece. (On the way back up the slope, dig up a jet stream nearby the water spring. Drop a Bomb Flower into the jet stream and it'll blow up the debris up above, revealing a Goddess Cube.)
- Go past the temple entrance again and look down the slope from the balcony-like overlook. You'll spot a pile of debris that you can destroy with a well-placed, well-timed Bomb Flower. You'll have to roll the Bomb Flower down the hill to get it to its target. You'll see another hole with a piece of the key buried inside after you clear the alcove.
- Keep going east to reach another Bokoblin camp. Just like last time, blow up the tower and take out the Bokoblins, then use the tower to cross yet another gap. Across this gap you'll see another retracted bridge. This one you'll have to activate yourself, so drop down to the small ledge on your left and climb along the wall to make your way around the lava pool below. Follow the vines to the right to continue along the wall, picking up Stamina Fruit as you pass them, until you reach safe ground. Then step on the nearby switch to engage the bridge.
From here, you'll reach a superheated area. You'll quickly die if you don't hurry, so run through as fast as you can and take the right fork when you reach it. A long slope up ahead will take you down, but you need to make sure you stick to the right and make it onto the nearby ledge, which overlooks a series of jet streams off to the left. Wait for the nearest one to spring up, then give the other a few seconds to warm up before you jump so you can catch both of them and ride up to the ledge across the way, where you'll find another hole and another key piece. - At the very bottom of the slope, hang a right and head into the nearby cave, which houses a small lava pool and another short slope. A plug at the far side of the room reveals what you have to do - roll a Bomb Flower across to clear the plug. You'll have to roll it along the slope to get the Bomb to angle correctly so that it falls near enough to the plug to damage it. Once the plug is cleared, you can grab the final key piece.
Earth Temple KeyThis key opens up the lock on the doorway to the Earth Temple. It was broken up into five fragments by the mysterious woman who you saw earlier, but you've united the five shards and can now enter the temple!
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Earth Temple Key.
From there, head out of this small cave and to the right to find another large jetstream that will take you back to the summit. Before you go, however, make sure you bomb the debris off to your left to create a shortcut back to the spot where you met the mysterious figure. The jet stream drops you off nearby the temple entrance, so bring your completed key there and prepare to head inside...
