Walkthroughs
More is still to come! Go to our Site Updates to keep track of development progress!
-
Skyward Sword Walkthrough Chapter 7: Voyage to Lanayru Desert
Chapter 7: Voyage to Lanayru Desert
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 Amber Tablet to the chamber inside the Goddess Statue and travel to the Lanayru region.
- Proceed through the Lanayru Mines using Timeshift Stones.
- Rescue the trapped robots from the Lanayru Desert ruins.
- Pursue Zelda to the Temple of Time.
- Use the Ancient Map to navigate the desert ruins and activate the generators.
- Unlock Lanayru Mining Facility.
Important Obtainables:
New Enemies:
Secrets:
1 - Return the Amber Tablet to the chamber inside the Goddess Statue and travel to the Lanayru region.
You've done it all before with the Ruby Tablet. Head back to the Goddess Statue and replace the Amber Tablet in its place in the shrine where you found the Goddess Sword. This time, the column of light that appears is amber in color and situated just above the Lanayru Desert.
As you continue to progress, you'll open up more opportunities to find Gratitude Crystals, so take the time to survey the townspeople and see if any of them need some assistance. Refer to our Gratitude Crystals Guide for details on who you can help.
2 - Proceed through the Lanayru Mines using Timeshift Stones.
You'll land in an area known as the Lanayru Mines. Survey the landing area for some bombable rocks, a Goddess Cube, and a few scrapped robots littering the field, then proceed along the path ahead. Push the derelict minecart forward to create a stepping stone that will give you a leg up at the ensuing gap. You'll have to give it a bit of a tug once it's in the pit to move it into position.
Proceed and you'll run into a brand-new form of Chu Chu: the Yellow Chu. Watch out for its electrical charge and move past it into the next area. A minecart off to your right can be pushed along a short stretch of track which ends near the open area to the left. Once you've moved the minecart as far as it'll go, move into the open area and strike the crystal in the center of the field. This is a Timeshift Stone, and activating it will revert the surrounding area about 1,000 years into the past, revealing the desert's previous lush state and reactivating all the machinery nearby, including the ruined robots.
Another minecart aside from the one you just moved falls in range of the Timeshift Stone, and you can hop into it to head into a side room containing a 20-Rupee chest. Head back into the field area and hop onto the minecart you pushed within range to proceed.
It'll dump you in a room filled with sinksand. To cross the sand, toss a Bomb into the basket held by the robot statue up ahead and it'll take a tumble. You'll still need to dash to cross the sand without sinking, so make sure you're at full stamina before you start. The next chamber features yet more sinksand and a few staggered basket-carrying statues that you'll have to blast down to form a way across. Again, make sure to sprint so you don't get sucked under.
The next room is a much more open chamber, but it's again full of sinksand. Electro Spumes patrol the sands and are most vulnerable to Bomb rolls - yes, rolling your Bombs still works on sinksand. Otherwise, dash across to the nearest island, using the Stamina Fruits as your guide, and head clockwise between the various safe spots until you reach the far end of the room. Here you'll see a sinksand-filled passage to your left with some debris cluttering the other side. Roll a Bomb across to blast away the rubble and trigger a nearby Timeshift Stone. Warping the land to its original state will clear out the sinksand, but it also causes Babas to appear.
Electro Spume
Electro Spumes hide in the sand and pop out only to shoot passing prey by spitting rocks from their mouths. Electricity courses across their body, so you can't hit them with sword attacks. They're not very smart, though, so if you roll a bomb their way, they'll unwittingly go down before they even know what's happening.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Electro Spume.
With the Timeshift Stone active, head back into the large sinksand chamber and blast the rubble blocking the minecart track. Then shove the cart onto the active section of track and ride it out of the mines and into Lanayru Desert proper.
3 - Rescue the trapped robots from the Lanayru Desert ruins.
There aren't many Timeshift Stones in the area ahead, so you'll have to rely on your dashing skills to make it across any pesky sinksand pits. You'll also meet the pesky Ampilus, electrically-charged crab-like enemies that will try to mow you over. Shield Bashes will put a stop to their momentum as well as leaving them open to attack, so make sure you've practiced your timing! Make note of the fact that their shells are left behind for a brief moment after they go down.
Ampilus
Ampiluses are crabs that once inhabited the Lanayru sea... but in the centuries since they've evolved and become electrified! They roll around in their round shells to attack. If they touch you they'll zap you and then come around for another pass. Use your Shield Bash to stop their momentum and stun them.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Ampilus.
Keep heading north and you'll run across a set of three cages. Inside one of them is a Timeshift Stone, but it's trapped by rubble. You'll need to dash up onto the broken wall that overlooks the cages and hop on the one cage you can jump to so you can toss a Bomb into the hole in the top of the cage. This will let you blow away the rubble and strike the Timeshift Stone. This timeshift zone will revive one of the robots, trapped in a cage, as well as a group of ancient Bokoblins that wield electrically-charged swords, known as Technoblins. Fight off the Technoblins and the robot will upgrade your Beetle to the Hook Beetle, which gives it a set of mandibles it can use to grab and carry small objects.
Technoblin
The Bokoblins who have invaded the desert region have also laid hold of much of the old technology there, including electrically-charged swords and gadget-equipped armor. Strike their swords with yours and you'll get zapped, leaving you open to attack. You'll have to be precise to win!
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Technoblin.
Hook Beetle
One of the ancient robots you rescue in the desert will revamp your Beetle to make it even more useful. The Hook Beetle can use its powerful mandibles to grab onto small objects like Bomb Flowers and carry them around. It can also drop its payload on any targets immediately below.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Hook Beetle.
4 - Pursue Zelda to the Temple of Time.
You need to make your way to the giant Hylian crest structure to the west, as that's where Zelda is certainly headed. This will require some crafty sinksand navigation, so keep your Stamina Meter as full as possible. Look to the west for a long stretch of sinksand flanked by more of the basket statues and pilot your Hook Beetle, picking up the Bomb Flower resting on top of the dead tree and dropping it in the baskets to create a way across. Hook Beetle Bomb blasts are also pretty effective against Electro Spumes, Ampiluses, as well as the Hroks, massive giant rock-spitting birds that you'll find up ahead.
HrokHroks spit giant boulders at their enemies which are formed from hundreds of tiny ones they've been gathering in their throats. You can bomb them yourself with the help of your new and trusty Hook Beetle.
Find out more at Zeldapedia: Hrok.
In fact, after you cross the sinksand, you'll need to blast some Ampilus to use their shells as stepping stones to cross the next set of sand. Make sure the Ampilus is a good distance from the spot where you're standing to make sure you have enough stamina to make it to the next safe position. There's a Goddess Cube off to the right that you can nab while you cross with some careful Ampilus herding.
The next sinksand pit is at the foot of the sand falls, so it's constantly "flowing." You'll need to use more Ampilus shells to cross it - thankfully they won't sink as long as they're being pushed by the flowing sand. At the far end you'll find the entrance to a cave leading to the Temple of Time area.
Here you'll need to manipulate Timeshift Stones once again to move a minecart towards the temple complex. The first is easy - send your Beetle at it and cross the gap using the newly-formed minecart track. The next is a bit trickier. First send your Beetle into the bottom of the large rock structure to the west and hit the crystal switch inside to open the gate blocking the track. Then pick up a Bomb Flower from atop one of the cacti nearby and fly it up to the top of the dead tree capping the stone and drop it in the gaping hole. It's easy to tell there's a Timeshift Stone inside thanks to the eerie purple glow, and sure enough, activating the stone will let you ride the minecart the rest of the way forward.
5 - Use the Ancient Map to navigate the desert ruins and activate the generators.
The Temple of Time's main entrance is blocked off, so you can't pass. You'll need to find another way in through the Lanayru Mining Facility, which stands in ruins back in the desert proper. A robot nearby will show you a map of what the area used to look like in his time that will be a great asset in navigating the ruins. Hit another nearby Timeshift Stone to activate the cart along the north wall, then ride it to the east, hitting the Goddess Cube with a Skyward Strike as you pass by it.
It looks like everything here is covered in sinksand, but your improved map will show you the spots where there's actually safe footing. You can mark key points with beacons (you can now place up to five!) so you don't have to keep reopening your map every time you want to figure out where to walk. Follow the safe pathways to the spot labeled "X" on the map, which overlooks what appears to be just a solid pit of sinksand. Activate the Timeshift Stone, however, and you'll reveal what appears to be a giant complex locking mechanism. The nearby robot reveals it will open the way to the mining facility, but you'll need to power it up first. Three generators in the three compass directions will supply it with the necessary energy.
Water Generator
Gaze to the west and you'll see a series of basket-statues. It looks like you can't reach them due to the sinksand, but if you reference your map and use Dowsing to scout for the generator signatures you'll see not only a path leading there but a secret passage behind the wall. The generator here has fallen into disuse, but a nearby cracked wall reveals a Timeshift Stone you can use to restore it.
Approach the generator console and jab your sword into it, then turn it 90 degrees counterclockwise to activate the generator.
Thunder Generator
The second generator is to the north. Look for a crack in the wall that you can blast open to get inside. Avoid or defeat the Ampilus and blast open the large rock in the middle of the room. Hit the Timeshift Stone to revert this building to its past state. This will also awaken some Technoblins, so be careful. Ampilus trapped in the radius of a Timeshift Stone transform into electrically-charged shells you'll need to supply power to certain objects. Move the shell over to the pressure plate at the far side of the room. If you step on the pressure plate, it'll open up a small slot that you can roll the shell into to raise the gate ahead and charge the generator.
Fire Generator
Head to the southeast to reach the final generator. Nearby there's a gate that was locked earlier but when opened by tugging on the lever hanging on the wall will open a shortcut back to the desert entry. This will give you a shortcut to a Bird Statue also. Proceed into the generator complex nearby. There's a lot of sinksand here, all flowing towards the far end of the room. If you strike the Timeshift Stone, however, all the sinksand will disappear, leaving a bottomless pit in its place, so don't touch it just yet.
Instead, ride an Ampilus shell along the sand flow to the rusty pressure plate, then hit the stone with your Hook Beetle to revert the other Ampilus in the room to their infantile shape. Your Hook Beetle can pick up these shells, so grab one and carry it back to the pressure plate and repeat the process you've probably grown accustomed to by now to open the gate.
6 - Unlock Lanayru Mining Facility.
With the three generators activated, return to the massive locking mechanism. You'll need to twist the locks so that the elemental emblems line up with the compass directions the three corresponding generators are located in.
You'll twist the lock with your sword and release the locks in this order: water, fire, thunder. The water lock needs to be pointed left, the fire lock bottom-right, and the thunder lock up, respectively. Releasing this seal will raise the Lanayru Mining Facility from beneath the sinksand. Dash up onto it and approach the entrance to head inside.
