Temple of Time Guide: The Great Sky Island Prologue Temple

The Temple of Time on the Great Sky Island is TotK's opening dungeon and tutorial area. It introduces all four of Link's initial abilities — Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall — before the game truly opens up. This guide walks through the entire sequence.

Overview

The Great Sky Island serves as TotK's prologue zone. You cannot leave until you complete four shrines (one per ability) and present the collected Light of Blessing to the Goddess Statue inside the Temple of Time. Completing the temple restores your Paraglider, unlocking the ability to descend to Hyrule's surface.

The Four Required Shrines

1. Ukouh Shrine — Ultrahand

Located near the Temple of Time entrance. This shrine teaches Ultrahand — the ability to grab, move, and attach objects. You'll construct a simple bridge and a raft to cross gaps. The shrine is the easiest of the four; focus on learning the rotation controls thoroughly.

2. In-Isa Shrine — Fuse

Located south of the temple, requiring some traversal. This shrine teaches Fuse — attaching items to weapons and shields. You'll fuse a rock to a weapon to break cracked walls, and fuse a fire fruit to an arrow. Fuse is introduced here as both a weapon upgrade tool and a puzzle-solving mechanic.

3. Gutanbac Shrine — Ascend

Located on a high plateau requiring cold-weather food or the Archaic Warm Greaves. This shrine teaches Ascend — passing upward through any solid surface. The shrine uses Ascend to navigate ascending chambers. The climb to reach this shrine first is itself a puzzle.

4. Jiukoum Shrine — Recall

Located beyond a large river gap on the east side of the island. This shrine teaches Recall — reversing the motion of objects through time. The ice block puzzle here is an elegant introduction: shoot it with an arrow to launch it into the air, then Recall it to ride it back up.

Cold Weather on the Great Sky Island

The upper plateau where Gutanbac Shrine sits is cold enough to drain hearts. Before climbing, collect the Archaic Warm Greaves from a chest near the base of the cold area, or cook Spicy Peppers (found abundantly on the island) with meat for a cold-resistance meal.

The Temple of Time Interior

After completing all four shrines, enter the temple (use Ascend through the locked floor sections). Inside, activate the Goddess Statue to exchange your four Lights of Blessing. Choose between a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel — Heart is recommended for the early game. The Paraglider is awarded as a story reward.

Tips

• Explore every corner of the Great Sky Island — there are optional chests and materials
• The Zonai Constructs on the island drop useful device capsules
• You can cook at the campfire outside the Temple of Time entrance
• After getting the Paraglider, dive off the island edge toward the Hyrule surface below

Shrine-by-Shrine Puzzle Details

Ukouh Shrine — Ultrahand Mechanics

The shrine introduces three core Ultrahand operations you'll use throughout the game:

• Grab (ZL + A): Pick up objects at range
• Rotate (right stick): Adjust object orientation before placing
• Attach (ZL + A when objects are close): Fuse two objects together permanently

The two major puzzles: build a bridge across a wide gap by attaching two stone slabs end-to-end, and build a raft by attaching wooden planks to a floating base. The raft section also introduces the fan device — a Zonai wind turbine that propels watercraft.

Key tip: The attach distance matters. When attaching objects together, hold them close until the gold outline appears — that confirms the joint will hold.

In-Isa Shrine — Fuse Applications

This shrine is the first hint that Fuse is more than weapon upgrades. The cracked stone wall blocking early progress requires fusing a rock to any weapon — the added mass is enough to shatter the wall. Later, fusing a Fire Fruit (found in containers in the shrine) to an arrow ignites the fire hazard blocking the terminal.

Fuse permanent: Unlike Ultrahand attachments, Fuse bonds are permanent — the added item stays on the weapon until the weapon breaks. Choose fuse materials carefully; you can't remove them once attached.

Gutanbac Shrine — Ascend Ceiling Navigation

Ascend works on any solid ceiling above Link — stone, wood, metal, even platforms built with Ultrahand. The three chambers each add a twist:

1. Chamber 1: Ascend straight up through a stone platform — the basic technique
2. Chamber 2: Ascend through a moving platform at the correct moment (don't let it move away mid-ascent)
3. Chamber 3: Combine Ascend with a jumping ledge grab for a vertical multi-step climb

Critical rule: Ascend fails if there's nothing solid above you (open air blocks it), and also fails inside water or during freefall. Always confirm a ceiling is present before activating.

Jiukoum Shrine — Recall Timing

Recall reverses an object's previous motion for a set duration. The ice block puzzle is elegant:

1. Shoot the ice block with an arrow — it sails upward into the air
2. Immediately activate Recall on the ice block
3. The block reverses course and descends, passing through the gap it originally fell through — but you're now riding it upward

The mechanic generalizes: Any object's motion can be reversed. Recall a boulder rolling downhill to send it back up. Recall a launched ball to retrace its arc. The game uses this extensively in later shrines and puzzles.

Secrets on the Great Sky Island

Dragon Scale (Pre-Paraglider)

The Light Dragon passes over the Great Sky Island at high altitude during the prologue. Players who Ascend to the highest reachable peak and use the initial stamina can sometimes grab the Dragon's scale even before obtaining the Paraglider — though the fall back to the island requires very careful landing.

Zonai Device Capsule Chests

Several chests tucked behind rocks and inside ruins on the island contain device capsules — portable Zonai devices you can carry and place later. Key finds:

• Near the first pond south of the Temple: A chest with Portable Pot capsules
• On the cliff east of Jiukoum Shrine: Fans and a Battery capsule

These are worth collecting before leaving the island — they're useful immediately upon arriving on the Hyrule surface.

Old Shrine of Resurrection (Secret Room)

The chamber immediately before the Goddess Statue inside the Temple of Time contains a hidden side room accessible via Ascend through the left wall. Inside: a chest with an early weapon upgrade material (typically Opal or Amber) and a Zonai charge.

After the Temple: Optimal Descent

When you dive off the Great Sky Island after obtaining the Paraglider, several landing options exist:

| Destination | Advantage | |-------------|-----------| | Lookout Landing | Closest to main story start — meets Purah immediately | | Hyrule Castle exterior | Faster access to early Depths exploration (via castle moat) | | Central Hyrule plains | Maximum freedom to explore before any story commitment | | Emergency River Landing | The river below prevents fall damage if stamina runs out mid-glide |

Recommended first landing: Lookout Landing. Purah gives you the Sensor+, Camera rune (for compendium scanning), and points you toward the first regional story. All four main temples become accessible immediately after.

Heart vs. Stamina — First Temple of Time Choice

The Goddess Statue inside the temple offers your first upgrade choice. Community consensus:

• Heart Container — Recommended for new players; survivability in early surface encounters is the primary concern
• Stamina Vessel — Viable for experienced players who know how to avoid combat damage; the 1.75-wheel stamina drain to pull the Master Sword later means prioritizing stamina has a specific payoff

You'll have many future opportunities to make this choice (at every fourth shrine). The first choice matters least — pick whichever supports your current playstyle.

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Tutorial — Great Sky Island — Dungeons