Great Fairy Fountains Guide

Great Fairies are the only way to upgrade your armor in Tears of the Kingdom. Unlike Breath of the Wild where you simply paid Rupees to unlock them, TotK requires completing a side quest chain involving a travelling musical troupe.

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Why You Need Great Fairies

Each piece of armor can be upgraded up to 4 times (★★★★) at a Great Fairy Fountain. Upgrades:

• Increase defense significantly (base ~3–5 defense → ★★★★: 20–28 defense per piece)
• Unlock set bonuses at Level 2
• Strengthen set bonuses at Level 4

Without Great Fairies, you cannot upgrade armor. This makes late-game and endgame content significantly harder. Unlocking all four Great Fairies early is a high priority.

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The Musical Troupe Questline

This is the key difference from BotW. You don't just bring Rupees to a fountain — you need to deliver Penn the Rito journalist and the Stable Trotters musical troupe to each fountain first.

The questline is called "Potential Princess Sightings" — Penn (a reporter for Lucky Clover Gazette) is investigating rumors of Zelda sightings near the Great Fairy Fountains. You'll encounter him at Lucky Clover Gazette (northwest Hyrule, near Rito Village).

Starting the quest: Visit the Lucky Clover Gazette just west of Rito Village and speak to Traysi (the editor). She sends you to find Penn, who is investigating Great Fairy sightings.

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Stable Trotters — The Traveling Musicians

The Stable Trotters are a group of four musicians traveling across Hyrule in a wagon. Each musician is near a different Great Fairy Fountain, but they all refuse to travel to the fountain without their full band.

The musicians: | Musician | Instrument | Location | |----------|-----------|----------| | Mastro | Conductor/bass | Near Woodland Stable (central Hyrule) | | Pyper | Flute | Near Outskirt Stable (west Hyrule) | | Beetz | Drummer | Near Snowfield Stable (northwest) | | Haite | Violinist | Near Dueling Peaks Stable (east) |

You must reunite the band at each fountain's stable location to unlock each fairy.

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Great Fairy 1 — Cotera (Woodland Stable, Central)

Location: Near Woodland Stable, north of Hyrule Castle (Eldin region border) Stable: Woodland Stable (just north of Hyrule Castle)

How to unlock:

1. Find Mastro (conductor) standing near the wagon at Woodland Stable
2. He needs a horse to pull the wagon to the fountain
3. Bring any horse (catch one from the wild if needed)
4. Escort the wagon up the path to Cotera's fountain north of the stable
5. Penn arrives, the band plays, Cotera emerges

Cotera's fountain is just north of Woodland Stable on a small plateau. It's the most central Great Fairy and the easiest to reach first.

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Great Fairy 2 — Mija (Snowfield Stable, Northwest)

Location: Near Snowfield Stable, northwest Hyrule (Tabantha Frontier region) Stable: Snowfield Stable (far northwest, near Rito Village)

How to unlock:

1. Travel to Snowfield Stable in the northwest (near the Hebra region)
2. Find Beetz the drummer — he's separated from the group and needs convincing
3. Beetz wants you to deliver honeyed fruits (Courser Bee Honey + any fruit) — cook some at the stable fire
4. Give Beetz the honeyed fruits and he'll rejoin
5. The wagon needs a horse — provide one
6. Escort the wagon to Mija's fountain in the snowy hills north of the stable

Prerequisite: You need cold resistance for this area (Snowquill Armor from Rito Village shop or cold resistance food).

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Great Fairy 3 — Kaysa (Outskirt Stable, West)

Location: Near Outskirt Stable, west Hyrule (Hyrule Ridge region) Stable: Outskirt Stable (west of Hyrule Castle, near Lake Kolomo)

How to unlock:

1. Travel to Outskirt Stable (west of central Hyrule)
2. Find Pyper the flute player — he's at the stable but won't travel
3. Pyper needs you to light five specific lanterns in the meadow behind the stable at night (in-game nighttime)
4. Use fire arrows or a torch to light all five lanterns
5. Pyper is satisfied — rejoin the wagon
6. Provide a horse and escort to Kaysa's fountain west of the stable

Tip: Light the lanterns between 9 PM – 4 AM in-game. Advance time by resting at the stable if needed.

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Great Fairy 4 — Tera (Dueling Peaks Stable, East)

Location: Near Dueling Peaks Stable, east Hyrule (Necluda region) Stable: Dueling Peaks Stable (near the Dueling Peaks mountains, east of Lake Hylia)

How to unlock:

1. Travel to Dueling Peaks Stable (east Hyrule, near the iconic twin peaks)
2. Find Haite the violinist — she's at the stable but insists on playing alone
3. Haite wants you to find her sheet music — it's in a small chest near the river southeast of the stable
4. Return the sheet music to Haite
5. Rejoin the wagon with a horse
6. Escort up to Tera's fountain in the foothills below the Dueling Peaks

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After Unlocking — Upgrading Armor

Once a Great Fairy is unlocked, interact with her fountain to upgrade armor:

1. Talk to the Great Fairy — her fountain is now a glowing portal
2. Select "Please upgrade my armor"
3. She shows the material requirements for each upgrade level
4. Confirm — materials are consumed and the armor is upgraded instantly

You need all four Great Fairies unlocked to reach Level 4 (★★★★) upgrades. Each successive fairy allows the next tier:

• 1 Great Fairy = Level 1 upgrades
• 2 Great Fairies = Level 2 upgrades
• 3 Great Fairies = Level 3 upgrades
• 4 Great Fairies = Level 4 upgrades

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Material Farming Tips

Common Level 1–2 materials:

• Monster horns and claws — drop from Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos
• Keese Wings — from Keese (common cave enemies)
• Moblin Guts — from blue/black Moblins

Rare Level 3–4 materials:

• Lynel parts (Lynel Hooves, Horns, Guts) — from Lynels (mini-bosses at mountain passes)
• Silver enemy parts — from Silver Bokoblins/Moblins (appear late game)
• Dragon Parts — from the four dragons (see Dragon Parts Farming Guide)

Tip: The Hyrule Compendium (camera + Robbie's quest) lets you track where specific monsters appear on the map. Use it to farm specific materials efficiently.

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Armor Upgrade Priority

First upgrades (immediately after unlocking each fairy):

1. Upgrade your primary combat set to ★★ — unlocks the set bonus
2. Upgrade Depths Armor to ★★ — critical Gloom resistance
3. Upgrade Climbing Gear to ★★ — transforms traversal speed
4. Continue upgrading combat set to ★★★ and ★★★★ with late-game materials

Do not waste rare materials on weak armor sets you'll discard (Soldier's Armor, default Link's Tunic).

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See also: Best Armor Sets | Dragon Parts Farming | Temple Order Guide