Temple of Time Ruins

Temple of Time Ruins

The main building is the largest and most recognisable landmark on the Great Plateau. Its eastern wall has largely collapsed compared with the version seen in Breath of the Wild. The interior remains recognisable, but it is open, overgrown and partially destroyed.

There is no dungeon-style locked progression inside the building. The ruined temple is primarily an exploration site.

Temple of Time Statue

The Goddess Statue inside the temple is the location’s main interaction point. When Link examines it, the statue communicates that it is trapped beneath the water behind the stone gate of the Great Plateau. This begins or advances A Call from the Depths.

The statue’s wording directs the player towards the Great Plateau’s four chasms. Each chasm contains one of the statue’s eyes. The eyes must be moved into the Depths and eventually delivered to the large Bargainer Statue beneath the plateau.

Upper tower

The upper part of the temple contains a chest with the Nostalgic Fabric. This is a paraglider fabric rather than an armour item or weapon. It is found in the tower of the Temple of Time Ruins, in the area associated with the earlier game’s opening sequence.

The ruined building is not designed as a conventional climbing puzzle, so the exact route can vary depending on whether you use climbing, Ascend, Zonai devices or the paraglider. If you are visiting before obtaining the paraglider, the upper chest may be less convenient to reach.

Northern ruins

A smaller group of ruined structures lies immediately north of the main temple. A chest there contains a Royal Shield. The northern ruins are easy to overlook because they are visually subordinate to the temple itself.

The shield is a fixed chest reward, not a random enemy drop. Search the broken northern structure rather than the main temple interior if you are specifically looking for it.

Starting the quest

The quest begins when Link interacts with the Temple of Time Statue after reaching the ruined temple. The statue explains that it is trapped and asks Link to recover its four eyes. The four objective locations appear on the map.

The quest may also be foreshadowed by the large Bargainer Statue in the Depths, which refers to being trapped beneath the water behind the Great Plateau’s stone gate. This is useful if you encounter the underground statue before speaking to the Goddess Statue.

The four eyes

Each eye is located near one of the Great Plateau’s chasms. The surrounding terrain differs at each location, so the task is not simply a matter of picking up four objects in identical rooms.

These directions and obstacles are documented in walkthrough coverage of the quest.

Do not assume that throwing an eye into a chasm completes that part of the mission. The eye must later be transported through the Depths to the destination beneath the temple.

Delivering the eyes

The four eyes are delivered to the large Bargainer Statue in the Great Abandoned Central Mine, directly below the Great Plateau. The surface and Depths maps can be used together to mark the approximate underground destination.

The eyes can be awkward to transport through the Depths. Fuse one to a vehicle or use a minecart when possible. If an eye is lost, check the last place where it was dropped rather than assuming the quest has reset.

Quest rewards

Completing A Call from the Depths gives Link a choice between:

The quest also opens access to the relevant Bargainer Statue’s Depths-related services and rewards. Some guides describe the associated outcome as access to the Tunic of the Depths, but the Temple of Time Ruins themselves do not function as a clothing shop. The actual purchasing system belongs to Bargainer Statues in the Depths.

Choose the Heart Container if you are preparing for difficult combat or want to meet heart requirements sooner. Choose the Stamina Vessel if you are prioritising climbing, gliding, swimming and long-distance exploration. The decision is not permanently damaging, because Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels can be exchanged later through the Horned Statue system.

Verified enemy directory

The Black Bokoblins may carry different fused weapons or equipment, including rock-based weapons. Enemy placements can change after a Blood Moon, and enemy encounters should not be confused with fixed chest contents.

Aerocuda are most noticeable around the open upper sections of the temple. They can be defeated with arrows, thrown items or attacks from a raised position. Black Bokoblins are more dangerous at close range, particularly if Link arrives with early-game weapons. Chuchus may be found in or around the ruined structures and can be used for elemental materials depending on their type.

There is no verified boss encounter at the Temple of Time Ruins.

Plant and material directory

These entries may not appear simultaneously in every visit. Wildlife can move, flee, despawn or be replaced after a Blood Moon. Their presence should therefore be treated as ordinary regional ecology rather than as guaranteed one-time collectibles.

Fixed chest contents

The Nostalgic Fabric is particularly easy to miss because the player may naturally leave the temple after speaking to the Goddess Statue without fully climbing the upper structure.

Quest-related objects

The four eyes are mission objects. They should not be treated as ordinary inventory items or as permanent collectibles that can be stored freely.

Facility directory

The presence of the word “temple” does not mean the ruins provide routine Goddess Statue services. The statue’s main role here is to start the quest. Heart and stamina upgrades are not purchased directly from this statue as ordinary services.

Characters directly associated with the location

The Bargainer Statue is not a resident of the surface ruins. It is located in the Depths, at the Great Abandoned Central Mine, and should be listed separately from the surface statue.

No guards, researchers, merchants, construction workers or stable personnel are stationed at the ruins. The area is not controlled by a formal faction in the way that Lookout Landing or a major settlement is.

Great Plateau temple

The ruined surface temple is the continuation of the building seen in Breath of the Wild. It is a historical Hylian landmark on the Great Plateau. In Tears of the Kingdom, its damaged state reflects the passage of time and the destruction already visible in the earlier game.

Great Sky Island temple

The intact Temple of Time on the Great Sky Island is a separate playable location. It is involved in the opening tutorial, the Closed Door main quest and the early acquisition of Link’s abilities. Its surrounding story and architecture belong to the ancient Zonai-era narrative, not to the surface ruins as a single continuous dungeon.

Ancient memories

Several memories show a Temple of Time during the era of Rauru and Sonia. These scenes are part of the game’s ancient history and should not be treated as ordinary present-day access to the Great Plateau ruins. The exact relationship between the ancient temple, the later surface temple and the sky temple is presented through the game’s story and imagery rather than through a complete architectural history.

Breath of the Wild connection

In Breath of the Wild, the Temple of Time was one of the Great Plateau’s central landmarks and was closely associated with the opening tutorial. The Tears of the Kingdom version revisits the same broad location, but its eastern side is more collapsed and its role has changed from early-game tutorial landmark to optional quest location.