Atonorak Shrine — Proving Grounds: Depths

Location: The Depths, beneath southern Faron or Akkala region Coordinates: (1842, -2812, -0648) (depths layer) Type: Proving Grounds — Combat Trial in the Depths Difficulty: Hard

Overview

Atonorak Shrine is a Proving Grounds combat shrine in the Depths — the most punishing variant of the Proving Grounds format. Like all Proving Grounds shrines, Link enters with all equipment stripped and must defeat enemies using only weapons and materials found inside. Unlike surface Proving Grounds, Atonorak adds Gloom mechanics: the arena floor has Gloom patches that reduce maximum hearts on contact, and Gloom-infused enemies deal persistent health reduction. Managing Gloom damage while conducting combat with improvised weapons in complete darkness (except shrine lighting) makes Atonorak one of the most demanding shrines in the game.

Preparation

• No gear prep for inside — all equipment removed on entry
• Sundelion meals before entry — maximum hearts going in matter; Gloom damage reduces the ceiling
• Full HP going in — Atonorak's Gloom patches hit hard; start with full hearts
• The Depths approach requires: Brightbloom Seeds (15+), Sundelion meals (3+), Flameproof gear not needed
• Bring the strongest combat food allowed on approach for HP buffer; Gloom removes those hearts inside anyway

Depths Approach

Atonorak requires navigating the Depths from a regional Chasm. Use the nearest Chasm to the shrine's coordinates:

1. Descend through the Faron Chasm (south Hyrule) or Akkala border Chasm
2. Seed Brightblooms every 40m heading toward the shrine marker
3. Avoid Gloom Hand zones — sprint past if encountered
4. The shrine's orange glow is visible from ~200m in lit terrain

Walkthrough

Room 1: Gloom Floor Navigation

The entry chamber has Gloom patches on the floor interspersed with clean stone paths. A Gloom-enhanced Bokoblin patrols the room — it deals Gloom damage on hit, immediately reducing max hearts. The weapon shelf has a Zonaite Sword and a Wooden Shield.

Navigate to the weapon shelf without touching the Gloom patches. Take the Zonaite Sword. Circle behind the Bokoblin from the clean stone path and strike from the rear — avoid getting hit. One Gloom hit reduces your max hearts by 1 for the rest of the shrine run.

Room 2: Two Gloom Constructs

Two Gloom-enhanced Constructs with spears occupy the second chamber. Both emit Gloom on every hit. The room's weapon shelf has a Fused spear (Stone + Wooden Spear) and Bomb Flowers.

Throw a Bomb Flower between both Constructs to stagger them simultaneously. Rush the closer one with the Fused spear — 2-3 hits. Switch to the second while it's recovering from the explosion. Do not let either Construct land a hit — Gloom stacks.

Room 3: Gloom Boss Construct

A single heavy Construct with a Gloom-soaked Royal Claymore. It has 3x the HP of a standard Construct and charges across the room after 5 seconds of combat. The weapon shelf has two Fused weapons and a Bow with 10 arrows.

Use arrows for distance damage before the charge starts. Two headshots deal significant damage. When the Construct charges, sidestep-dodge to trigger flurry rush — the flurry deals massive damage. Three flurry rushes clear the boss.

Step 4: Altar

All rooms cleared, the gate opens. Collect your Light of Blessing. The chest contains a Gloom-Forged Sword — a high-attack Depths weapon with built-in Gloom resistance on the wielder.

Tips

• Gloom floor patches: memorize the safe paths before moving — Gloom damage compounds every hit
• Gloom-enhanced enemies: prioritize zero-damage runs; each hit permanently reduces max hearts for this run
• Bomb Flowers are the most valuable item — use them for multi-target stagger in Room 2
• Flurry rush on the charge attack is the key mechanic for Room 3; practice sidestep dodge on regular enemies if needed
• If Gloom has reduced max hearts significantly, the final boss room is still clearable — the sword does enough damage with 2-3 full swings

Nearby Points of Interest (Depths)

• Abandoned Faron Mine — north in Depths; major Zonaite deposit
• Lightroot: Sahosah — nearest Depths lightroot for map activation and safe warp
• Faron Chasm — above; primary descent point for southern Hyrule Depths
• Gloom's Origin Trail — south in Depths; leads toward the late-game deepest Depths zone

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Chest Summary

| # | Contents | Location | |---|----------|----------| | 1 | Gloom-Forged Sword | Altar chamber after clearing all three combat rooms. |

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Part of the Depths Shrine Guide — Tears of the Kingdom shrine walkthroughs on Hyrule Archive.