Depths Exploration Guide — Surviving Underground Hyrule

The Depths are TotK's underground layer — a vast dark mirror of the surface world directly beneath Hyrule. Every surface region has a Depths counterpart. The key challenges: Gloom corrupts max HP, darkness hides enemies and routes, and navigation without a map is disorienting. This guide covers everything needed to survive and thrive underground.

---

The Depths — What They Are

How to access:

• Chasms scattered across Hyrule's surface — drop down
• Every major chasm leads to the Depths region below it
• Total Depths area: roughly equal to the surface map

Why go there:

• Poes (currency for Bargainer Statues — armor and items)
• Zonaite and Crystallized Charges (battery upgrades)
• Unique armor sets (Depths-exclusive)
• Forge Constructs (weapon upgrades)
• Hidden Shrines accessible only from Depths chasms
• Lightroots (unlock map, restore Gloom hearts)

---

Gloom — The Core Hazard

What Gloom does:

• Contact with Gloom-covered ground reduces max HP
• Each exposure reduces one or more heart containers temporarily
• Reduced hearts appear as darkened red hearts — unusable until cured
• If Gloom reduces max HP to zero → immediate death

Gloom sources:

• Gloom-covered ground (majority of Depths floor)
• Gloom Hands (grab attack inflicts Gloom)
• Phantom Ganon attacks
• Some boss abilities

Curing Gloom:

• Lightroot activation: Standing near an active Lightroot restores all Gloom hearts
• Sundelion-based meals: Cooking Sundelions produces dishes that restore Gloom hearts (not just HP)
• Surface: Returning to the surface (natural light) restores Gloom hearts over time
• Bright Elixir: Cooking Brightcaps + critter = limited Gloom resistance (not full immunity)

Sundelion locations:

• Sky Islands (abundant on Great Sky Island and high-altitude sky clusters)
• Drop from Sky to carry down into Depths before long sessions

---

Lightroots — The Navigation Foundation

What Lightroots do:

1. Illuminate a large area around them (permanent after activation)
2. Restore all Gloom-reduced hearts when you stand in their light
3. Unlock a section of the Depths map
4. Act as fast travel points from the surface

Lightroot locations:

• Directly beneath most surface Shrines (inverse map: shrine above = Lightroot below)
• Total Lightroots: 120 (mirrors the 152 surface shrines — not all shrines have one directly below)
• Surface shrine → drop into chasm nearby → navigate toward the Lightroot glow

Navigation tip: Activate the surface shrine, note its exact map position. Drop down the nearest chasm → the Lightroot is approximately at the same X/Y coordinate underground.

Lightroot glow: Lightroots emit a yellow-white light visible from hundreds of meters in the Depths darkness. When you see a glow in the distance → navigate toward it.

---

Poes — Collection and Uses

What Poes are:

• Blue glowing orbs scattered throughout the Depths
• Currency for Bargainer Statues (found throughout the Depths and some surface locations)

Collection:

• Walk or run through Poe clusters — auto-collected on contact
• They do not reset on Blood Moon
• Total available: hundreds across the entire Depths

Bargainer Statue items (selected):

| Item | Poe Cost | |------|---------| | Depths Armor (chest) | 150 | | Depths Armor (legs) | 150 | | Depths Armor (head) | 150 | | Autobuild Schematic (specific Zonai builds) | 100 | | Dark Clump (material) | 16 |

Priority: Depths Armor first (reduces Gloom damage rate) → Schematics → Dark Clumps for Fuse materials.

---

Navigation Strategies

The Surface Overlay Method

Surface features map directly to Depths features (mirrored underground):

• Surface mountain → Depths has elevation in same area
• Surface river → Depths has a dry canyon/chasm below
• Surface Eldin Volcano → Depths has magma-adjacent zones below

Use the surface map as a mental overlay when navigating the Depths.

Brightbloom Seed Lighting

Brightbloom Seeds are critical for Depths navigation:

• Throw a Brightbloom → it blooms into a light source on impact
• Giant Brightbloom: lights a larger area, longer duration
• Fuse Brightbloom to arrows → shoot into dark passages ahead to illuminate
• Drop a trail of Brightblooms as breadcrumbs when exploring new territory

Brightbloom farming:

• Abundant in caves throughout Hyrule
• Grow alongside cave walls near Brightcap mushrooms
• Stock 20–30 before a Depths session

Zonai Headlamp

Fusing a Zonai Lantern to a shield or helmet provides continuous illumination:

• Shield fuse: Holds the lantern out front — lights the ground ahead
• Head fuse (helmet): Illuminates where you look

This eliminates constant Brightbloom throwing for extended sessions.

Following Rivers of Light

Activated Lightroots form visible columns. When moving between Lightroots:

1. Activate current Lightroot
2. Look for the nearest glow in the distance
3. Move toward it directly — ignore surface features
4. Activate that Lightroot → repeat

This method chains Lightroot activations efficiently across large Depths sections.

---

Depths Survival Kit

Before a long Depths session, carry:

| Item | Quantity | Purpose | |------|----------|---------| | Sundelion meals | 5–10 | Gloom heart restoration | | Brightbloom Seeds | 20–30 | Lighting dark passages | | Hearty meals (Yellow Hearts) | 3–5 | Buffer for unexpected Gloom spikes | | Stamina food | 3–5 | Running from Gloom Hands | | Zonaite Sword or strong weapon | — | Construct Forges and combat |

---

Depths Enemy Notes

Gloom Hands

• Appear in specific locations — not random
• 5 hands spawn and grab simultaneously
• Fastest escape: Paraglide upward — they can't follow
• If all 5 grab: Phantom Ganon fight triggers
• After Phantom Ganon: Drops Gloom Sword or Gloom Spear — powerful weapons

Construct Forges

Not enemies — upgrade stations:

• Found throughout the Depths near Lightroots
• Trade Zonaite for Crystallized Charges (battery upgrades)
• Large Construct Forge: higher-tier exchange rates

Depths Bokoblins

Same types as surface but often Black or Silver. Gloom-corrupted Bokoblins (darkened skin) appear in deeper regions — significantly higher HP.

---

Zonaite and Battery Upgrades

Zonaite farming in Depths:

• Ore deposits (blue-black rocks) clustered near Lightroots
• Large deposits require a weapon swing to break
• Construct Forges nearby accept Zonaite directly

Battery upgrade path:

1. Collect Zonaite from ore deposits
2. Trade at Forge Construct for Crystallized Charges
3. Travel to Crystal Refinery in Lookout Landing (surface)
4. Exchange Crystallized Charges for Energy Well upgrades (larger battery)

Practical battery: 3–4 battery units handles most Zonai vehicles comfortably. 6+ enables sustained hoverbike travel across the entire Depths.

---

Quick Tips

• Lightroots = Shrines mirrored — the easiest way to find Lightroots is to have unlocked the surface shrines and drop into the nearest chasm. The Lightroot is directly below.
• Never run on Gloom without Sundelions — Gloom permanently reduces hearts until cured. Running through Gloom zones without Sundelion food risks a fast death even at high max HP.
• Brightbloom arrows — fuse Giant Brightbloom to an arrow → shoot into a dark corridor → instant map-worthy light for 3–4 minutes. Essential for scouting passages before committing.
• Gloom Hands flee upward — if Gloom Hands appear and you're not ready, activate the paraglider immediately and ascend. They cannot follow you off the ground. Land away from their trigger zone.
• Depths map = surface map flipped — when completely lost in the Depths, check where you are on the surface map overlay. The underground position is the same X/Y. You can navigate to a known Lightroot using surface map coordinates.

---

See also: Gloom Guide | Zonaite Farming Guide | Brightbloom Guide