Breath of the Wild - Divine Beast Vah Ruta Quest

Half-submerged in the reservoirs of the Zora’s Domain, Divine Beast Vah Ruta can be your first dungeon in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Being so close to the Hateno Region, the Lanayru Region is just the logical first choice. Even a woefully under-powered Link can conquer the challenges in the Divine Beast Vah Ruta quest, as long as you know how to solve all the tricky puzzles.

Vah Ruta is a massive elephant-like machine, powered by electricity and spewing an endless stream of water. It is the source of the Zora Domain’s bad weather, and appeasing the Divine Beast will lead to a lengthy dungeon — followed by a tricky boss battle. Come prepared and bring plenty of bows (and arrows!) before venturing forth with Gameranx’s compete guide for the Vah Ruta dungeon.

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Divine Beast Vah Ruta | Step-by-Step Quest Guide

After speaking with the King of the Zora, his aid Muzu will retreat to the statue square in the Zora’s Domain promenade. Follow Prince Sidon to get this quest started — eventually, you’ll be able to board Divine Beast Vah Ruta. This is one of four major dungeons. Dungeons, like previous Zelda titles, feature tons of puzzles and a big boss battle.

Talk to Muzu in the Zora’s Domain statue square. After the memory, put on the Zora Armor and talk to Muzu again to show him Link really does remember Mipha.
Muzu recommends you’ll need at least 20 Shock Arrows before going to the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.
- To collect them, go to Ploymus Mountain and face the Lynel at Shatterback Point. It shoots Shock Arrows — collect them from the ground where they land.
- To reach the area, swim up the waterfall (while wearing the Zora Armor) north of the Zora’s Domain.
Lynel are incredibly tough opponents. If you’re feeling brave, take it on — but you only need the Shock Arrows.
- Grab as many Shock Arrows as you can in the Lynel battleground. Sneak around, and hide if it spots you. Just to be safe, grab about 30 Shock Arrows in the area before leaving. Most of the arrows are embedded in trees.
After collecting the Shock Arrows, paraglide down to Prince Sidon at the East Reservoir Lake. Agree, and the battle will begin.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta – Battle

To appease Vah Ruta, you’ll need to hit all four of the devices on Vah Ruta’s back with Shock Arrows. Make sure you bring multiple Bows, 30 regular Arrows, and 20 Shock Arrows.

Riding on Prince Sidon’s back, target the ice blocks with regular arrows.
When Prince Sidon swims close to the waterfalls on Vah Ruta’s back, press [A] (with Zora Armor equipped) to swim up.
- Once you jump up above the Divine Beast, aim at the purple devices with a Shock Arrow.
After dropping back into the water, jump back onto Prince Sidon’s back.
- You’ll need to destroy all the ice blocks to get another shot at the purple devices.
Take out two devices, and Vah Ruta will summon spiked ice balls. These balls track after you, so aim behind Prince Sidon to take them out.
The final sequence summons 5 ice blocks and 5 spiked ice balls. Deal with both and activate the final device to complete this battle.

Now you can finally enter the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta – Dungeon

At the start, Link unlocks a travel gate. You can fast travel in and out of the Vah Ruta dungeon freely.

Your first goal is to unlock the dungeon map. In the first room, shoot the eye on the corruption under the water to remove all the black gunk from the Sheikah terminal door. Use Cryonis on the water beneath the gate to raise it up.

The map shows five terminals you’ll need to access to unlock the main controls for Ruta.

Optional Chest: Find it in the water to the left of the locked map room door.

In the first room, use Magnesis on the giant metal handle attached to the gear. Turn it to lift the first Sheikah terminal out of the water on a platform.

Go up the ramp to the giant water-wheel. The second Sheikah terminal is on the smaller wheel. Use Cryonis on the spouting waterfall that’s turning the smaller waterwheel — time it so the Sheikah terminal stops in the up-right position.

Optional Chest: Use Cryonis on the water near the smaller wheel to reach the wall left of the pouring water.

The third terminal is on the giant waterwheel. To get it turning, enter the map screen and move the trunk. When the trunk is over the giant wheel, it will begin to turn. Place the trunk so the giant wheel turns counter-clockwise.

Wait for the energy ball to slide into the funnel — use Stasis to freeze it in place, then use the third Sheikah terminal when it turns up-right. Wait until the last second to Stasis, you’ll only have a few seconds of frozen time.

Optional Chest: On the giant wheel, freeze the top stone block on the chest with Stasis as the wheel turns counter-clockwise.

Keep the giant wheel turning, and use the paddles on both wheels to reach the fourth level of the dungeon. On this level, hit the glowing button to create a waterfall shortcut.

Optional Chest: Lower the trunk all the way to the lowest point to reach this chest. Shoot the eye of the corruption to access it.
Optional Chest: Swim up at the waterfall shortcut to leap up to a platform with this chest.

Lower the trunk using the map, and then glide to the platform on the far end of the trunk from the exit corridor. Slowly raise the trunk to reach the fourth Sheikah terminal.

Raise up all the way and drop through the tiny hole in the Divine Beast’s head. Once you’re inside, destroy the corruption, and use Magnesis on the metal crank to open the roof. Move the trunk to pour water in through the opening to put out the fires, allowing you to access the fifth Sheikah terminal.

Optional Chest: Glide down to the roof of the Divine Beast and shoot the corruption eye on the opposite side to get this chest.

Now return to the main control unit near the entrance to finish the dungeon and face off against the boss.

Waterblight Ganon

NOTE: Bring plenty of bows and extra arrows. Try bringing at least 20 Shock Arrows to make this battle much easier.

This dangerous Ganon creation waits on one side of the arena, swinging its retractable trident around the arena. The boss has incredible reach, so try to bring plenty of shields into the fight to avoid taking too much damage.

You can hurt Waterblight Ganon with arrows. Aim for the blue light on its “head” to score a double-damage headshot.
- Stand out of the water and use Shock Arrows to really damage him.

When Waterblight Ganon raises its spear (usually after attacking it in melee range) it will slam down, creating an area-of-effect blast. Sprint away or block to avoid.

If you attempt to fight it at range, Waterblight Ganon will throw its trident. This is a powerful attack, so dodge or block before it can land.

At 50% health, Waterblight Ganon will change positions, summoning four squares of dry land and staying out of the water. He’ll summon ice blocks too — use arrows to knock away the blocks.

Shoot Waterblight Ganon with two Shock Arrows in a row to stun him. When he’s down, swap to your strongest weapon and attack him with everything you’ve got in melee range.

After the boss is defeated, collect your free Heart Container and activate the main control unit. Clean up any optional chests before leaving if you missed them — activating the main control unit makes it impossible to return.

Mipha’s Grace: Reward for completing Divine Beast Vah Ruta – When your hearts run out, you’ll automatically be resurrected with full health, plus temporary bonus hearts.

Following the cutscene, you’ll return to the Zora’s Domain. Approach the king to complete the quest, and get a chest containing the Lightscale Trident for all your trouble. If the Lightscale Trident is broken, return to the weaponsmith behind the general store to get it repaired.

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