What's the most efficient way to earn Rupees early on in Zelda: Skyward Sword?

Question

I am at the Forest temple in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and just got the flying bug remote control thingadongdong. There's a lot of stuff at Beedle's Airshop I want to but but it's friggin' expensive! What the most effective way to earn rupees at this point in the game?

Asked by Josh

Answer

At the point you're at, you don't actually need all the shiny stuff right away. The Bug Net and the Extra Wallets are probably what you need the most right now, especially if you want to buy the shinier things early.

That said, this early on, there are few ways to get Rupees effectively:

• You can try to find all the Goddess Cubes you can and open them; they can contain Rupees, but often contain other things.

• You can catch as many bugs as you can with the Bug Net (Deku Hornets come in especially large numbers) and go see Stritch in his room at the Academy at night. He will buy some bugs off your hands, but only buys four specific kinds of bugs a night.

• It is doubtful you have a lot of treasure by now, but if you're willing to part with them (keep in mind they are used to upgrade your equipment at Gonzo's), Rupin will buy treasure from his house at night on a mechanic like Stritch's. His house is located on the other side of the river, near the graveyard.

• There is also the classic "break everything you can" strategy. Break all the pots and skulls you find. Cut all the grass and flowers you can. Roll into every tree.

Answered by Kareen

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Was I a bad Hero by taking so long to catch up with Zelda?

Question

So, Zelda fell through the clouds and like a good young Hero I rushed after her to save her. I ran through the forest in desperation searching and dowsing for her. I found a Kikwi who said she was with him, but she ran off to the "very dangerous" Forest Temple. Annoyed, I rushed after her... only to reach the end of the Forest Temple to find she has ran away again, to the even more dangerous Earth Temple.

So, I set off for the Eldin Volcano area. But, to be honest, by this point I am quite frustrated with Zelda. She clearly doesn't need my help! And there's all this Questing to be done! There's bugs to be collected and treasures to be found! So many Pieces of Hearts to collect and things to buy in Beedle's Airshop! People in Skyloft need my help! People who don't run away from me when I am trying to help them!

So, after I had done all the Questing I could, I finally reached the Earth Spring where I found Zelda, perfectly safe might I add, and some tall, annoying, bitter woman. This... person... had the gall to tell me I was late! Late! And she said I should be ashamed of myself for taking so long. I know she's right, I was supposed to be going after Zelda... but, Questing! Rupees! Treasures! Bugs! Crystals! Potions! Upgrades! If I actually rescued Zelda she'd just want to settle down, probably start a family, booo-ring! Questing is so much more fun!

Was I a bad Hero by waiting so long to reach Zelda? Do you always get chastised for being too slow, or did I actually hit some time threshold which changed the storyline?

Asked by Josh

Answer

Nope! You're not a bad hero! Unless you think leaving a damsel in distress hanging is bad... then yeah, you are, sorry buddy.

Whatever you do, you will always be late and Impa will brandish it over your head, so keep questing! I suppose you could call that a character-building experience for Link?

As far as I remember, there are only a few time-limited quests, and you are notified before you set off to complete it. Why have side-quests available if you are supposed to be rushing through the main plot, right?

Answered by Kareen

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is it still possible to get the gratitude crystal from Peater?

Question

I think I might have skipped talking to Peater to advance the side quest and Peater keeps saying "Bamboo slivers! Who has gone and stolen my baby girl's heart? Oh... I knew this day would come, but..." and Peatrice keeps saying " Darling! I told you that we need to keep our relationship secret! If you come over too often, my dad will catch on to us! what could you possibly want this late?" and it gives me a choice of answering deposit items, Need to talk!, or nothing and any way I answer it they say the same thing every time and I cannot find anything online that would help me. I am thinking that I completely messed it up and that I cannot get the crystals. is it still possible to get the crystals or is it now immposible to get them?

Asked by Sean

Answer

Complete details on getting all Gratitude Crystals are listed in the GameFaqs FAQ here. None are missable, per discussions here and here.

You would be most interested in section 3.10 of the FAQ "Crush or be Crushed?"

Start flirting with Peatrice early on in the game once she has the "quest bubble" above her head. As you progress, Peater(Bamboo Island) will tell you he thinks that someone is trying to take his "baby girl" from him and asks you to get rid of him. Speak to Peatrice and either break off the connection or tell her you like her. If you choose to break it off, speak to Peater and he will reward you with 5 Gratitude Crystals. If you choose to like Peatrice, she will reward you with 5 Gratitude Crystals.

Answered by EBongo

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Does Zelda: Skyward Sword require the Wii MotionPlus accessory?

Question

Or will MotionPlus be optional?

Just wondering if I'll be required to buy this accessory for this game.

Asked by Chris

Answer

Yes, the MotionPlus will be necessary for Skyward Sword, and the reason is because we'll need the increased sensitivity to wield the remote as the sword.

http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword/#/about/wii-remote-plus-technology

Answered by Kareen

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How do I catch birds?

Question

A character in the game told me that I can catch birds with my bug net, for which I'll collect a feather. I have repeatedly tried to follow these instructions. Just before I get close enough to use my net, the birds fly away. What is the best technique for catching birds?

Asked by splattered bits

Answer

Walk up to the birds very slowly, with your net vertical, at ground level. When you get within striking distance, swing the gently from right to left.

This technique applies to almost all the creatures you catch with the net. Walk up to them slowly, net out and ready.

Answered by splattered bits

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Is there a point to the mound / sunlight room in the Temple of Hylia?

Question

In the Temple of Hylia, there's a room behind the Bird save statue that has a mound, and a few items to help you recover. Besides giving you some life hearts, is there anything else you can do in this room? The light coming from above seems like it would have some sort of meaning.

Here's the room I'm talking about (sorry, best picture I could find on short notice):

Asked by John

Answer

Yes, this room has a use.

To keep spoilers at a minimum, it is part of the quest to find the Thunder Dragon and learn Nayru's part of the Ballad of the Hero.

Answered by Raven Dreamer

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Is it possible to unlock the side door in the Temple of Hylia?

Question

The Temple of Hylia has two exterior doors, one in the front and one on the side wall. The front door unlocks when the plot says you're supposed to go through it, but the other door never got unlocked during my playthrough. The map initially depicts both doors using the same "locked" icon, and there appears to be a path on the other side of the side door, so it seems like there ought to be a way to go through it.

So, is there a way to unlock it, or is it just there for decoration?

Asked by Paul Kuliniewicz

Answer

As far as I know, it keeps locked while you're in the past. @Jeff Mercado seems to agree with me, and he seems to have gone through every pixel of this game. Furthermore, no walkthrough I could find mentioned any use to the side door.

As I see it, the door is there for consistency throughout the game, but does not serve an actual purpose in the past other than say "if there's a door in the present, then there has to be one in the past, unless someone went and altered the temple, made out of stone" at some point between the two times". Which brings us back to the path. Why would there not be a path on the other side? Why have a door that leads to nothing? This is of course speculation, but the path likely leads to Faron Woods and the Skyview Temple, as it does in the present. And since you don't need to access those locations in the past, the door remains locked. I suppose it also allowed the developers to not have to create a new, younger-looking location.

Answered by Kareen

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Is the Thrill Digger minigame deterministic?

Question

In Skyward Sword, in the Edlin Volcano area near the Bokoblin tower, there is a cave where one can play the game Thrill Digger. My question is: can one predict the layout of the board based on:

• Difficulty level
• Number of previous plays
• Other factors

Asked by AJ.

Answer

I believe it is non-deterministic. If you go digging behind the game, a Mogma will pop up and give you hints on how to play. He says that smaller value rupees have fewer bad holes around them and that higher value rupees have more bad holes. This leads me to believe that the game builds each field randomly. There isn't a set of pre-defined fields the game rotates between.

The only thing that affects the field is the level at which you choose to play: Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert.

If you want some help playing the game, there is the Thrill Digger Assistant/Solver that will let you see the probabilities of finding good holes based on what you've dug up.

Happy digging!

Answered by splattered bits

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How do you equip items in Zelda: Skyward Sword?

Question

How do you fill a bottle in Skyward Sword? I'm trying to scoop up some water, and I can't figure out how to get the bottle equipped.

Asked by drneel

Answer

You can equip it like anything else in your bag, such as when you've got a new shield (hold - to select, press - to get it out.) and use it like an item. (Press A to use it after equiping.)

Answered by Ashley Nunn

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How do I defeat Sentrobes?

Question

In a room in Lanayru Mining Facility, I get attacked by a Sentrobe:

He shoots missiles at me, as well as two flying bombs. Can I defeat it? I see a targeting arrow over him, but he's always out of reach.

Right now my strategy is to serpentine, hoping not to get hit as I cross the room. It's not working out too well.

Answer

Shield bashing the missiles will reflect them back, causing damage. It takes two reflected missiles to defeat one of these.

Another solution courtesy of IGN's Wiki guide:

Wait for it to fire a missle at you, and then use a shield bash to bounce the missile into its "eye." It will send out 2 "Sentrobe Bombs." Slash both of them across their respective blue line, with a horizontal or a vertical slash. If not, they will explode. The Sentrobe will fire a missile again. Bounce it back with another shield bash, and it will be defeated.

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In Hero Mode, is a Heart Medal almost ineffective in dungeons? What about with two?

Question

I'm playing through Hero Mode. After I started the Lanayru Mining Facility, I left, got one of the Heart Medals, and returned for the rest of the dungeon.

I destroyed three or four dozen barrels and pots after equipping the Heart Medal, and in that whole time, I got only two hearts, plus one each from two Spumes, for a total of four.

I didn't even get hearts from the pots that were previously guaranteed to have hearts. I didn't even get hearts from the pots in the boss chamber!

If a Heart Medal gets me only four hearts per dungeon, I think I'd rather leave it with Peatrice and carry something else. Is this typical? And when I get the other Heart Medal later on, will carrying both render them any more effective than carrying the one?

Answer

The chance for hearts with the Heart Medal is greatly reduced. Breakables that you know had guaranteed hearts (e.g., pots in boss battles) in them will not have hearts in them (AFAIK).

I would strongly recommend playing through the game with the Heart Medal equipped. Sure, you're not going to find as many hearts still, but you're getting them. And in Hero Mode, you're going to need all the help you can get. You are most likely going to have two hearts at some point in the game and a hit means instant death or using one of your bottled fairies. If you can find a heart to bring your total to three, you just gave yourself an extra hit to take before being forced to use your fairy.

Besides, any heart you find could be upgraded to a fairy if you keep around Glittering Spores. They are really a lifesaver, especially in this mode and totally worth keeping.

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How do you get Beedle's airship to stop?

Question

There doesn't seem to be a feasible way to ring the bell on the bottom of Beedle's airship. It seems it might be possible to stab a pumpkin and throw it at the bell or lift up a pot and throw it.

The main problem is aiming, it does not seem obvious how the player is supposed to aim.

Answer

It's much easier if you use an item with aiming capabilities, like the Slingshot or the Beetle. It's possible to see Beedle before you've picked these up, however, so just come back when you get one. However, if you really want to access the shop, throwing pumpkins or pots seems like it should work (judging from the fact they can trigger switches etc. like shots), but it'll probably be difficult and time consuming.

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What do I need to do with a parrot statue that is missing a red eye?

Question

In Skyward Sword, there's a bird statue near the waterfall (it is the only one in that area) and it seems to be missing a red stone that use to be one of its eyes. This same statue seems to be looking at Skyloft during the day and at night it seems to be looking in the opposite direction.

At the beginning of the game a man tells you about the statue and that it has lost one of its eyes. Right now nobody is there And I still can't find any side quest that has to do with the statue.

What do I do with that statue?

Answer

That statue is relevant very, very late in the game. I'll write when in the spoiler tag

You get the missing red eye after finishing the final silent realm, once placing it in the statue, it unlocks the final dungeon, containing the Triforce

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Do upgrades only need to be done once?

Question

I am playing Zelda Skyward Sword and I am at a point where I could do some upgrading - but yet to do any at all.

I am wondering if any upgrades I commit to will remain for the duration of the game?

For example, if I upgrade the wooden shield and the upgraded version breaks, will I have to upgrade it again next time a buy I new one? or can I buy the upgraded version instead?

If they do need re-upgrading each time, what other items work this way?

Thanks

Answer

Almost anything you upgrade stays upgraded (such as the slingshot).

The exception to this is shields. While you will be able to re-buy each type of shield if it breaks (such as the wooden shield and the sacred shield), you will have to pay to upgrade it again (upgrading the wooden shield to the banded shield, for example).

You can, however, get your shields fixed before they break, so you won't have to go through the upgrade process each time.

Also, if you get the Sacred Shield, it will regenerate over time, so if it is close to breaking, you can always put it away for a while and it will heal itself. The same is true for its upgraded forms.)

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Is pumpkin soup still good to drink cold?

Question

What are the benefits of Pumpkin Soup hot vs cold?

Is it still worth drinking cold?

Is it better than other potions still?

Answer

The Pumpkin Soup heals 8 hearts when hot, and 4 when cold.

The Heart Potion that you can buy from the Bazaar's Potion Shop (for 20 Rupees) restores eight hearts when you drink it. You can also upgrade this potion - Heart Potion+ heals all of your hearts, and Heart Potion++ is essentially two helpings of Heart Potion+ (so it can heal all of your hearts twice).

The Revitalizing Potion that you can buy from the Bazaar's Potion Shop (for 30 Rupees) restores four hearts to Link and completely repair his shields. Bertie can improve the potency of the potion: Revitalizing Potion+ repairs Link's shield when it is damaged, and provides eight Heart Containers worth of healing; Revitalizing Potion++ is essentially two helpings of Revitalizing Potion+.

So yes, it is still worth drinking cold, however, there are much better things you can fill your bottles with if you are willing to spend the money.

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How many empty bottles are in Skyward Sword?

Question

Most Zelda games have around 4 empty bottles for Link to use. How many are in Skyward Sword?

Answer

According to this guide, there are only 5.

Bottle #1

As soon as you have your Sword and Shield in hand, head on over to the Bazaar in the middle of Skyloft and speak with Luv, the owner of the Potion Shop, and she will inform you about her potions. After noticing that you don’t have one, she will provide you with an Empty Bottle that she was storing.

Bottle #2

When you enter the temple at the Sealed Grounds for the first time, before speaking with the old woman at the top of the stairs, look over to the right of the stairs. Here you will find a small brown chest, and inside will be your second Bottle, prefilled with Revitalizing Potion.

Bottle #3

Bottle #3 can be obtained by completing the Missing Sister side quest, which becomes available after completing the Lost Child side quest. (The Lost Child quest should be completed ASAP as it unlocks the ability to perform additional side quests that yield great rewards that will be extremely helpful throughout the rest of the game.

Bottle #4

Once you obtain the Mogma Mitts in the Fire Sanctuary, Head back to the first floor. Locate the circular room in which you can now dig underground. Take Link underground and hit the switch to open the gate above you; this will open a new path filled with water plants. Use the switch nearby in order to open more gates and poke one of the water plants to skewer it with your sword. Head through the gate and make a right. Kill the Magmanos (slash to toss the water plant at it, then slash the Magmanos itself); this will lower the lava level giving you access to a new path which ends with a chest containing your fourth Empty Bottle.

Bottle #5

This bottle is located inside a Goddess Cube Chest that becomes available after striking a Goddess Cube in the Eldin Volcano. This cube cannot be reached or seen until the second trip to this location.

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What does drawing on a Goddess Wall do?

Question

On your way to Dungeon 4, you end up having to go back into Dungeon 1.

Just inside the entrance, a mole man gives you a hint about playing your harp near where butterflies gather. Doing this where he's standing makes a symbol appear on the wall.

What does this symbol do?

Answer

It's a Goddess Wall. It just provides you an opportunity to get some free stuff: hearts, rupies, bombs, arrows or fairies. You have to draw certain shapes on the wall in order to choose what you want in one stroke. To initiate it, you need to find a wall, stand in front of it and charge for a Skyward Strike.

Sheikah Stones and other characters will give you hints at what you need to draw.

There are 5 different things you can draw that the game will recognize, otherwise you will get the default 3 hearts.

1.  

   You can draw a heart to get hearts.
   diagram 1

2.  

   You can draw a rupee to get rupees.
   diagram 2

3.  

   You can draw a circle to get bombs.
   diagram 3

4.  

   You can draw an arrow to get arrows.
   diagram 4

5.  

   You can draw the Triforce to get fairies.
   diagram 5

Just a warning if you have a widescreen TV with widescreen settings enabled on your Wii, apparently the game doesn't compensate for the stretching that is needed to maintain the correct aspect ratio. So when drawing on the Goddess Walls, I recommend you turn that off temporarily, otherwise you'll have a hard time drawing respectable lines.

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How many ways can I cut people up?

Question

I would think that, theoretically, there would be eight sword slash directions possible (not counting the stab) in Skyward Sword, given that many targets such as training logs look like they only accept horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree diagonal slices. But animation-wise it looks to me like there's quite a bit more than that; for example I've seen uppercuts launched from both the left and the right side of Link's body. So what's up here? Are there 8 directions with multiple animations each? Or are there more directions (say 16), and which ones correspond to the eight major axes (assuming that there are only 8 "basic" directions)?

Answer

From what I understand, there are 4 "basic" attack types in Skyward Sword:

• Vertical Slash (this can either be to the right of link's body, or to the left, depending on where the sword was when you did this, and this can be up or down, for a total of four variations)
• Horizontal Slash (two variations)
• Diagonal Slash (Four variations)
• Thrust (one variation)

In additionally, there are the two stamina-powered spin attacks:

• Horizontal Spin Attack (two variations, inward and outward)
• Vertical Spin Attack (two variations, up and down)

Finally, there is a 'final blow' attack that can be triggered when an enemy is down. Swing down both wiimote and nunchuk while Z-targeting to trigger it.

The animations take your sword's prior position into account, which might account for some of the variation you're seeing. With 3d animation, there are no "frames" like you would get with sprites. So the "animation" might look a little different depending on where Link's sword was initially, but it's not to the point where "sword down and to the left at a 40* angle" gives a wholly different animation than "sword down and to the left at a 42* angle", even though these could potentially look visually distinct.

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Where in the Zelda timeline does Skyward Sword fit?

Question

I thought I read somewhere that Skyward Sword was to be the first Zelda game in the timeline, but now I can't find that source.

Is there any indication where Skyward Sword fits in the timeline?

Answer

Seeing as the game involves the creation of the Master Sword, you can assume that it must come before any games that include said sword (or are clear sequels to such games). So, the only games that could possibly come before it are:

• The Legend of Zelda (assuming that Magical Sword is not the Master Sword, as a theory goes)
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (same as above)
• Four Swords Adventures
• The Minish Cap

So, Skyward Sword must come before any of the other games, while it may or may not precede the ones in the above list.

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How I can reach this chest at Pirate Stronghold?

Question

There's a chest at Pirate stronghold which I can't reach. It's in the area where platforms emerge from the sand when you'e carrying the time stone.

Answer

You walk with the time crystal as close to the chest as possible without making it disappear, then drop the crystal, and walk over to the chest.

This technique will prove useful throughout the Pirate Stronghold.

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