Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Great Fairy Fountain locations and how to upgrade armour
How to find all four Great Fairies hidden around Hyrule.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Great Fairy Fountains are another familiar sight to long-time Zelda fans, but one that has a tweaked role in this latest Switch and Wii U adventure.
As before, they're a destination for upgraded abilities, but this time it's in exchange for loot you already own - as well as a cash injection before hand to get things rolling.
Once you're done with all that, you may want to check out our sister-site Jelly Deals for a guide to the best Zelda gifts you can buy right now. Some of them are pretty fantastic.
How Great Fairy Fountains work in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Before you can use them, you have to 'donate' a number of Rupees to unlock each individual Great Fairy Fountain. The costs are as follows:
- First Great Fairy Fountain - 100 Rupees
- Second Great Fairy Fountain - 500 Rupees
- Third Great Fairy Fountain - 1,000 Rupees
- Fourth Great Fairy Fountain - 10,000 Rupees
Each one you unlock opens another 'tier' of upgrades you can use, so for example, if you have two Fairy Fountains unlocked you can upgrade a piece of armour twice, three times with Three Fairies, and all four with four.
Each upgrade requires a certain amount of specific loot, such as plants or monster parts, which increase in quantity and rarity the more upgraded it gets.
If you upgrade every piece of armour within a certain set at least twice, then a set bonus can kick in too, such as the ability to withstand freezing or increased damage output with specific weapons.
Remember it doesn't matter which order you unlock them, so go for those are easiest for you to get those earlier tiers.
It's also worth noting each Great Fairy location will be surrounded by smaller 'regular' Fairies, which you can add to your inventory to automatically revive you when you run out of health (and unlike previous games, without the need for a bottle).
Great Fairy Fountains in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Duelling Peaks (Fairy Cotera)
This is just a short walk from the first village you come across as part of the main quests, Kakariko Village. As you enter the town from the east, head right up the slope to find Ta'loh Naeg shrine. Now head east above the village and the Fountain will be right there.
Also note there's a quest from Pikango that you might want to wait for first, which requires you to have the Camera rune after completing the Locked Momentos quest.
Akkala (Fairy Kaysa)
This is in the south east of the Akkala region on the right-most side of the map, on top of a cliff. The easiest way to get there is to head to Akkala Tower and fly south east. You'll see Dah Hensho Shrine quite visibly on a cliff, and it's directly east from there.
Tabantha (Fairy Mija)
This is south of the eastern-most Tabantha region. If you head to the Tower (which is on the way to completing Divine Beast Vah Medoh) and look south, you'll easily see it on a cliff that's a short glide away, making it one of the easiest to find.
There's a few Luminous Stone deposits worth grabbing round here, so feel free to stop short and get those before activating the Shrine.
Thanks to a new update, it's now possible to play Zelda Breath of the Wild in VR. Want help with the main game? Our Zelda: Breath of the Wild walkthrough can help complete Divine Beasts Vah Ruta, Vah Rudiana, Vah Medoh and Vah Naboris and more. There's also how to get the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and all Zelda Captured Memories and Great Fairy Fountain locations, while our Shrines locations and Shrine maps hub explains where to find and solve every puzzle room, including dragon locations and Labyrinth solutions. We also have a DLC 1 guide and DLC 2 guide, including all Tingle, Majora's Mask, Phantom, Midna outfit locations.
Gerudo Desert (Fairy Tera)
While others are near populated towns and Towers, this one's a little more tricky, but still within each. When you reach Gerudo Town - required as part of Vah Naboris, so might be best doing both at the same time - you can grab a Sand Seal from outside and use it to travel easily across the sands.
You're aiming for a huge skeleton at the far corner of the map. Head south west and before you hit a sandstorm, the skeleton should be visible on the screen. Head in that direction, and while you're visibly and map will drop, you should still arrive there a few moments later.
The sandstorm will suddenly lift when you reach the Gerudo Great Skeleton if you're successful, with the Great Fairy Fountain underneath. Thankfully there's the Hawa Koth Shrine here you can fast travel to so you don't have to brave the journey again.
This Fountain is also worth returning to as it's a source of Saffina flowers of various elements, which are a requirement for certain upgrades with some armour types.