Is Unlocking Every Fairy Fountain In Zelda: TOTK Worth The Rewards?
The Great Fairies from Breath of the Wild have made a return in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but is it worth unlocking all four Great Fairy Fountains? In Breath of the Wild, the four giant women – Tera, Mija, Kaysa, and Coltera – would enhance Link’s armor in exchange for a hefty amount of rupees. Despite the high prices, it was worth unlocking all Great Fairies in Breath of the Wild. However, in Tears of the Kingdom, the answer may not be as clear.
In Tears of the Kingdom, the Great Fairies’ main purpose is to upgrade armor. By visiting their respective Great Fairy Fountains, Link can strengthen a piece of armor up to four times, once with each Fairy. This increases its defense stat and makes it more durable against enemy attacks. However, to gain access to all four Great Fairy Fountains in Tears of the Kingdom, Link will have to undertake a considerably lengthy and complicated process.
To unlock the Great Fairy Fountains, Link must start at the Woodland Stable, where he will meet two members of the Stable Trotters musical group, Mastro and Violynne. They will express a desire to play a tune for the nearby Great Fairy Tera. It’ll be up to Link to transport them up the hill to her Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom. To do this, he’ll need to use a towing harness (which is obtained after earning three Pony Points) and attach it to a horse-drawn carriage. After Violynne performs a violin solo, Tera will rise out of the Fountain with joy, becoming available for upgrades. She’ll also mark the three remaining Great Fairy Fountain locations in Tears of the Kingdom on Link’s map.
Players are free to tackle Coltera, Mijo, and Kaysa in any order they choose. However, it’s required to start with Tera. The Great Fairy Mija will specifically require the sound of a horn to leave her Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the horn player Eustus is stuck in a ditch all the way near Piper Ridge in the Tabantha Frontier. Players will need to lift his carriage out of the pit using Zonai devices, travel back to Snowfield Stable, fit it with a roof, then safely escort Eustus and the rest of the Stable Trotters up a mountain (through a field of hostile enemies that attack the carriage) to get to Mija.
Kaysa will need to hear the sound of a flutist like Pyper, but Pyper needs to impress his crush Haite before he can perform for the Great Fairy. In order to help him with his endeavor in Highland Stable, players will need to collect ten Sunset Fireflies and bring them to Pyper, and then speak to Haite again, before Pyper will be willing to join the party. Once that’s been settled, Link will need to travel to Outskirt Stable, fix a broken vehicle with Ultrahand, then bring the group up the rocky terrain to Kaysa’s Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom.
Cotera lives next to Dueling Peaks Stable in Necluda, but players will need to find the drummer, Beetz, who has set up camp to the right of the Pillars of Levia. Beetz only requests three Courser Bee Honey – which Link will have received as a reward if he’s already found Eustus, but he can also find it in a nearby forest otherwise. After that, players can return to Dueling Peaks Stable with Beetz, where they’ll need to transport him and the rest of the Stable Trotters across a river using a raft and Ultrahand. Once Cotera hears the sound of percussion, she’ll rise up out of her own Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom.
Although it may be a good way to keep busy after beating Tears of the Kingdom, it’s not worth it to unlock every Great Fairy Fountain. By unlocking just one or two, players will likely already feel a sizable difference in their armor’s defense. Instead of spending an unnecessarily lengthy amount of time with the Stable Trotters, Link will be better off unlocking only a couple of Great Fairy Fountains in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Breath of the Wild‘s Great Fairies are back in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdombut is it worth unlocking all four of the Great Fairy Fountains? In the prequel, the four giant, water-dwelling women – Tera, Mija, Kaysa, and Coltera – would kindly help Link with strengthening his armor in exchange for large amounts of rupees. Despite the high prices they set for their services, it was absolutely worthwhile to unlock all Great Fairies in OTWbut both newcomers and Hyrule veterans may wonder whether that sentiment has changed at all for the newest Zelda game.
The Great Fairies aren’t the only fairies that occupy the fantastical realm of Hyrule. Link can also come across smaller, regular fairies floating around the map, most commonly in the Sky Islands. Catching the tiny pixies can be a bit tricky at times, much like taming a horse in Tears of the Kingdom; if players approach them too quickly or too noisily, they’ll become frightened and flutter away. Despite their somewhat difficult nature, it’s always worth catching fairies, since they have the power to revive Link after his health drops to zero – but when it comes to the Great Fairies, the answer may not be so straightforward.
What The Great Fairies Do In Tears Of The Kingdom
Just like in Breath of the Wildthe main purpose of the Great Fairies in TOTK is to upgrade armor. By visiting their respective Great Fairy Fountains, Link can strengthen a piece of armor up to four times, once with each Fairy. Doing so will increase its defense stat, making it more durable against enemy attacks – and for certain items, it can even go towards unlocking an armor set bonus in Tears of the Kingdom.
As magical the Great Fairies are, though, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows at the end of the day. In order to upgrade his armor, Link will not only have to cough up a substantial amount of rupees (especially when upgrading a piece for the third or fourth time) and even some raw resources, but he’ll also have to undertake a considerably lengthy and complicated process to even gain access to all four Great Fairy Fountains in TOTK.
How To Unlock Every Great Fairy Fountain In TOTK
To embark on his Fairy-seeking mission, Link must start at the Woodland Stable, which is located west of Pico Pond, just north of Hyrule Castle. Here, the Hero of Hyrule will meet two members of the Stable Trotters musical group, those being the aptly-named conductor Mastro and violinist Violynne. They’ll express a desire to play a tune for the nearby Great Fairy Tera, and it’ll be up to Link to transport them all the way up the hill to her Great Fairy Fountain in TOTK.
Doing so will require using a towing harness (which is obtained after earning three Pony Points), and attaching it to a horse-drawn carriage, which can then be used to bring the group up the incline. After Violynne performs a violin solo, Tera will rise out of the Fountain with joy, becoming available for upgrades. She’ll also mark the three remaining Great Fairy Fountain locations in TOTK on Link’s map. While it’s required to start with Tera, from this point on, players are free to tackle Coltera, Mijo, and Kaysa in any order that they choose.
Make sure that Link has started the “Potential Princess Sightings” quest before going to Woodland Stable. Until he’s joined the Lucky Clover Gazette, it’ll be impossible to unlock the Great Fairies.
The Great Fairy Mija, who resides northeast of Snowfield Stable in the Herba region, will specifically require the sound of a horn to leave her Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom – but unfortunately, the horn player Eustus is stuck in a ditch all the way near Piper Ridge in the Tabantha Frontier. Players will need to lift his carriage out of the pit using Zonai devices, travel back to Snowfield Stable, fit it with a roof, then safely escort Eustus and the rest of the Stable Trotters up a mountain (through a field of hostile enemies that attack the carriage) to get to Mija.
Kaysa, on the other hand, will need to hear the sound of a flutist like Pyper, but the problem lies in that Pyper needs to impress his crush Haite before he can perform for the Great Fairy. In order to help him with his endeavor in Highland Stable, players will need to collect ten Sunset Fireflies and bring them to Pyper, and then speak to Haite again, before Pyper will be willing to join the party. Once that’s been settled, Link will need to travel to Outskirt Stable, fix a broken vehicle with Ultrahand, then bring the group up the rocky terrain to Kaysa’s Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom.
Cotera lives next to Dueling Peaks Stable in Necluda, but players will need to find the drummer, Beetz, who has set up camp to the right of the Pillars of Levia. Beetz only requests three Courser Bee Honey – which Link will have received as a reward if he’s already found Eustus, but he can also find it in a nearby forest otherwise. After that, players can return to Dueling Peaks Stable with Beetz, where they’ll need to transport him and the rest of the Stable Trotters across a river using a raft and Ultrahand. Once Cotera hears the sound of percussion, she’ll rise up out of her own Great Fairy Fountain in TOTK.
Total Rewards For Unlocking Every Great Fairy Fountain
Of course, the grand prize that Link will be chasing after with the Great Fairies is the ability to upgrade armor, but in order to achieve that goal, the Hero of Hyrule will need to spend a great deal of time with the Stable Trotters. In a way, doing so kills two birds with one stone, since the side quests count towards the Lucky Clover Gazette rewards in TOTK. However, the musicians will also personally compensate him for his time (albeit somewhat meagerly). A list of all the rewards that Link will earn while completing the Stable Trotters side quests in Tears of the Kingdom is as follows:
- “The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” (Serenade To Mija): 3x Courser Bee Honey
- “The Flute Player’s Plan” (Serenade To Kaysa): 1x Big Hearty Truffle
- “Honey, Bee Mine” (Serenade To Cotera): 1x Silver Rupee, or 100 Rupees
It’s Not Necessary To Unlock Every Great Fairy Fountain In TOTK
Whereas in Breath of the Wildthey simply requested a payout of rupees, unlocking every Great Fairy Fountain in Tears of the Kingdom is no small feat by comparison. Link will need to get his hands dirty to reunite the Stable Trotters, which requires no shortage of traveling across the map, doing menial tasks for the musicians, and then transporting them all up to the respective Great Fairy Fountains. By the end of it all, players will gain the ability to upgrade their favorite pieces of armor – but they will have had to sacrifice plenty of time for lackluster rewards in order to get there.
Ultimately, it’s not worth it to unlock every Great Fairy Fountain in TOTK. While it may be a good way to keep busy after beating Tears of the Kingdomthose who are looking to make the most of their time in Hyrule shouldn’t bother with all four. With just one or two armor upgrades, players will likely already feel a sizable difference; for some, it may be more than enough to get them through the endgame. Instead of spending an unnecessarily lengthy amount of time with the Stable Trotters, Link will be better off only unlocking a couple Great Fairy Fountains in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
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