Sidon of the Zora Quest
A complete guide for the Sidon of the Zora Quest, Water Temple and the Mucktorok boss along with The Broken Slate and Clues to the Sky.
Sidon of the Zora is another Main Quest within the Regional Phenomena questline in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This quest takes Link to Zora's Domain in Lanayru where he will also receive additional quests: The Broken Slate and Clues to the Sky. The whole sequence culminates in the Water Temple and the fight against Mucktorok. Use the links below to jump to the section you need!
Beginning this quest will let Link unlock a special Zora armor tunic, allowing him to swim up waterfalls.
Sidon of the Zora is the Lanayru region quest for Regional Phenomena. Before you access this, you must first complete the Sludge-Covered Statue quest. Once this is done, Lady Yona will direct Link to climb Ploymus Mountain. It's at the top of this waterfall-laden mountain where he will find Sidon. Reach the top however you please: Climb, Ascend, walk, use Recall on a falling rock, etc.
Sidon will be at the top of the mountain in Mipha Court. Speak with Sidon to learn about what's happening. He will ask Link to meet Jiahto at Toto Lake. You can find Toto Lake to the northwest, north of Zora's Domain. Look for the yellow-green color (remember, the lake's water is sludge so it won't appear blue on the map).
Look for the sludge dripping down from the sky, this is where you will find Jiahto. When you reach Toto Lake, you can either talk to the solider or head into the cave. Inside is Jiahto who will lament the broken writing on the wall. This will begin the next Main Quest, The Broken Slate.
Jiahto is unable to read the wall in its current state and so it must be fixed. Exit the cave and look to the north. There will be a chunk of slate buried beneath sludge. Use a Splash Fruit attached to an arrow to clean it and then slot it into the wall with Ultrahand. Jiahto will read the text and then the next quest will begin, Clues to the Sky.
The Clues to the Sky quest begins once Jiahto has read the text on the slate. Though this is a Main Quest, it is a subset of the overall Sidon of the Zora Quest. As for the text, this is what it says:
Stand upon the land of the sky fish, and behold its lofty view. Among the floating rocks you see, a droplet waits for you. Through this droplet shoot an arrow with the mark of the king. Do this task, and you shall reveal a most wondrous thing. See the watery bridge's resting spot with your own two eyes… that which connects the Zora to the people of the skies.
Speaking with Jiahto and Sidon reveals that Link should seek out King Dorephan, who is currently missing. To find him, head back down to Zora's Domain and into the royal chamber. Three children will be playing in the throne room and talking about the king's hiding place. Link must overhear their conversation in order to find out where the king's secret hideaway is located.
To do this, go one level below the throne room to the baths. Stand on the northern side and use Ascend to reach the throne behind the children. Press the button to eavesdrop on the kids and learn of the Pristine Sanctuary.
This Pristine Sanctuary is behind the waterfall in Mikau Lake, just east of Zora's Domain. Simply pass through the waterfall to find the cave. Ascend to the top and speak with King Dorephan. The king will give Link five of his scales to use.
At this point, the Clues to the Sky and Sidon of the Zora quests will join. Speak with Jiahto at Toto Lake and Sidon at Mipha Court to get them up to speed. The next step will be to work out the watery bridge and land of the sky fish.
The goal is to reach an island in the sky called the Floating Scale Island. There are a couple of ways to reach this. You can either swim up the waterfall by completing the Restoring the Zora Armor quest, glide from a brick that you Recall, use a Zonai device to fly up, or some other way.
When on the island, go to the southwest side and move around until the broken blocks form a droplet. Nock an arrow and attach a King's Scale. Fire the arrow through the droplet to form a pillar of light in the Rutala Dam. At this point Clues to the Sky will be completed and you can return your focus to Sidon of the Zora. Speaking of which, return to Sidon at Mipha Court.
After a brief chat with Sidon, Link and the prince will work together to defeat a Sludge Like. Use Sidon's ability to protect Link from sludge attacks. Using a melee weapon while bubbled will send out a wave of water, clearing all the sludge in its path and removing the Like's sludge armor. Dodge its spit and then shoot its tongue-ball to stun it. Rinse (literally) and repeat until it's defeated. Now go and meet Sidon at the beam of light.
Sidon will be standing on a bit of stone in the water, looking at the light. He’ll then create a whirlpool for Link to jump into. Dive in to reach the Ancient Zora Waterworks. The goal is to find pipes that are blocked with rocks. Destroying the rocks will cause water to flow, raising the water level and allowing Link to access new areas.
Upon reaching the main chamber (the one with the beam of light in the middle), search the surrounding area for more pipes. Unclogging one pipe will grant Link access to the next level. This repeats until he can reach the center structure.
The first pipe is on the left from where you enter. This will let you access the pipe to the right of the entrance, though you will need to build a ramp to reach it.
Once this is done, head to the far side of the room and work through the tunnels behind the wall. There will be a large pipe that needs to be unblocked. With this done, you can reach the center portal.
A chest can be reached on the side of the cavern, though it's covered in thorns. Create a little shelter from wood to dry it out so you can ignite it. Head to the center of the room to move on to the next part.
When you get back to the dam, speak with Sidon. He may remark that you need the Zora armor. If you haven't already, go and unlock the Zora armor to continue. Now, jump into the waterfall to head up to Wellspring Island. Most enemies will defeat Link in one hit if he has fewer than seven hearts up here, so take some time to visit Shrines and get more health containers if you need to.
Though large, this area is fairly simple to navigate. The idea is to use the floating bubbles to reach new areas and to jump into waterfalls to be propelled upwards. You can also use water (like from a Zonai hydrant) to clear the sludge, which will unlock waterfalls and reveal hidden chests.
There is a Flux Construct II you can fight to get some powerful material. It's even got a chest attached to it that contains a Sage's Will.
From here, there will be more waterfalls to swim up and a couple of bubble puzzles. Use Recall to rewind the direction of the bubble. Additionally, a ramp must be created using Ultrahand to send bubbles up toward the temple. At the top, build a plane using fans and the wings to reach the base of the temple. Fight the Construct with Sidon and then prepare to get started on the main event: the Water Temple.
Navigating the Water Temple is comparatively easier than some of the other temples. The main goal of the dungeon is to activate four water wheels to fill up the four huge water vessels. Link can then pour the water on the sludge to face the boss.
To get started, jump off the west side to find a room blocked by fire. Use Sidon's ability to shield Link, letting him walk through fire. The floating blocks can be connected together to make a bridge across the spikes to get the ball. To keep the ball in its socket, attach it to a floating block.
Once the gate open, use Sidon's ability to send a wave of water at the wheel. Return to the upper level to get started on the next wheel.
Head up to the western side of the area to find a large ball in water and a bubble dispenser covered in sludge. Clean the dispenser and put the ball in a bubble so it reaches the top. Follow it up in your own bubble.
When you reach the next level, use a floating block to hold the spillway open, draining the water. While the water drains, position the big ball so it goes into the socket. Run to the building that was below the waterline and activate the wheel.
The next two water wheels are in the east. Reach this area by attaching a bubble to a spear and throwing it at the snake statue that's covered in sludge. This will free up the waterfall.
This next wheel is trapped behind a door that needs power. Attach boards to the wheel to create a water generator. To make the power cross the gap, use Ultrahand to grab the nearby bubble and place it so that both nodes are inside the water – this will power the door. Activate the water wheel and then move on.
The last water wheel is to the southeast. Ascend up the platform where the Like Like is and then head to the back corner. There is a spinning block that has sludge on it. Attach a bubble to a board and hold it up to clear the sludge.
Now for the tricky part. You’ll need to shoot an arrow at the torch inside the spinning block. To do this, get some height and glide down. Pull out your bow in mid-air to slow down time letting you land the shot. With the water drained, find the water wheel in the middle of the area and activate it.
Head back down to the main platform, activate the vessels, and prepare for the boss fight against Mucktorok.
The fight against Mucktorok in the Water Temple is all about using Sidon's ability to shield Link from the boss’ attack and using it to remove the boss’ sludge. Remember that if the water shield blocks an attack it will be used up.
To help with survivability, try to keep your distance from the boss. This will give you more time to request Sidon's ability to shield you from attacks.
Mucktorok will typically do two attacks: one where muck pulses out in a wave and the other a laser beam. After he does these, he will charge Link. When this happens, prepare Sidon's ability and fire a wave of water at the boss to knock the little gremlin out.
As the boss is flopping around, hit it with an arrow to stun it. Now, use whatever weapon you have to smash its health down. Powered attacks that hit quickly, like a spear, can blitz its health down fast.
When Mucktorok hits half health, it will cover the arena in sludge. This will make it tough to move around. Try to use Sidon's ability to clear the sludge while also avoiding the boss’ attacks. If you’re quick, you might be able to fire off a shot while it's spewing out sludge.
During this second phase, take your time and try not to get hit. Use Sidon's ability as much as you can to clear up the path so you’re not getting stuck in the mud. Clearing the sludge will ensure the boss isn't able to recover quickly.
The good news is that it's possible to knock Mucktorok out extremely quickly. His health isn't tied to any weakpoints, just raw damage, so use your best weapons to get it done. Once Mucktorok is defeated, the Water Temple will be cleared, and the Sidon of the Zora Main Quest will be completed. Now you can either do the other Regional Phenomena quests or continue on with another mission! For more walkthroughs, check out our Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Strategy Guide.
Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can Tweet him: @SamuelChandler
meet Jiahto at Toto Lake land of the sky fish droplet mark of the king watery bridge