Cave of Ordeals
The Cave of Ordeals is an optional 50-floor gauntlet beneath the Gerudo Mesa. Each floor is one room full of enemies; beat them all and a hole opens to the next floor down. It's split into five sections of ten floors, and a Great Fairy waits at the bottom of each section.
Getting There
- Take Fyer's Cannon from Lake Hylia to the Gerudo Desert.
- Clear the Twilight beasts on the Gerudo Mesa, then have Midna warp the missing middle section of the Bridge of Eldin back to Eldin. This opens the way down the steps to the cave.
- You can enter early, but you need the Spinner, Ball and Chain, Dominion Rod and Double Clawshots to get all the way to the bottom. If you don't have the item the next section needs, the Great Fairy will send you back to the surface.
Before You Go
- Bring as many bombs and arrows as you can carry. The bigger bomb bags and quiver help a lot.
- Fill your bottles with Blue Potions or fairies, and keep one bottle empty for the Great Fairy's Tears at the end.
- Don't use the Wooden Shield (or Ordon Shield); fire enemies can burn it. Use the Hylian Shield.
- Don't wear the Zora Armor on the fire and ice floors. The Magic Armor is a big help on the hardest floors if you have the Rupees to run it.
- The Great Spin and Mortal Draw make the late floors much easier, so learn your Hidden Skills first.
- Some floors hide hearts or Rupees underground. Dig as a wolf to find them.
The Great Fairies
On floors 10, 20, 30 and 40, a Great Fairy releases fairies into one of Hyrule's springs and offers to take you back to the surface. If you leave, your next visit starts from floor 1 again.
- Floor 10: fairies are released into the Ordon Spring.
- Floor 20: fairies are released into the Faron Spring.
- Floor 30: fairies are released into the Eldin Spring.
- Floor 40: fairies are released into the Lanayru Spring.
- Floor 50: the last Great Fairy fills an empty bottle with Great Fairy's Tears, which restore all your hearts and power up your attacks for a short time. From then on, the Great Fairy at any of the four springs will refill a bottle for you. You can only carry one bottle of Tears at a time.
Floor by Floor
| Floor | Enemies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bokoblin | |
| 2 | Keese, Rats | |
| 3 | Baba Serpents | Knock the hanging ones down with the Gale Boomerang. |
| 4 | Skulltulas | |
| 5 | Bulblin Archers | Use your shield; avoid a wooden shield. |
| 6 | Torch Slugs | Some drop from the ceiling. |
| 7 | Dodongos, Fire Keese | Hidden hearts (dig). |
| 8 | Tektites | |
| 9 | Bulblin Archers, Lizalfos | |
| 10 | Great Fairy (Ordon Spring) | |
| 11 | Helmasaurs, Rats | Pull the Helmasaurs' masks off with the Clawshot. Spinner needed to continue. |
| 12 | Giant purple Chu | Hit it from a distance. |
| 13 | Chu Worms | Clawshot them out of their bubbles. |
| 14 | Bubbles | Hidden Rupees (dig). |
| 15 | Bulblins | A Bomb Arrow into the group helps. |
| 16 | Keese, Rats | Dark room; light your Lantern. |
| 17 | Stalhounds, Poe | Poe Soul. Catch the Poe first. |
| 18 | Leevers | Hidden heart (dig). |
| 19 | Chus | They drop from the ceiling. |
| 20 | Great Fairy (Faron Spring) | |
| 21 | Ice Keese, Bokoblins | Ball and Chain needed to continue (to break the ice). |
| 22 | Keese, Rats, Ghoul Rats | Ghoul Rats are invisible; use the wolf's senses. Hidden hearts (dig). |
| 23 | Stalkin | A whole skeleton army. |
| 24 | Undead knights | Don't let them catch you with their scream. Bomb Arrows work well. |
| 25 | Bulblins, Bulblin Archers | Shoot the archers on the towers with the Hawkeye and Bow. |
| 26 | Stalfos | Knock them apart, then finish them with bombs or the Ball and Chain. |
| 27 | Bubbles, Skulltulas | Hidden heart (dig). |
| 28 | Lizalfos, Bokoblins | |
| 29 | Stalfos, Fire Bubbles, Stalkin | |
| 30 | Great Fairy (Eldin Spring) | |
| 31 | Beamos, Keese | Shoot the Beamos with arrows. Dominion Rod needed to continue (move the statues off the switches). |
| 32 | Torch Slugs, Dodongos, Fire Keese, Fire Bubbles | No wooden shield, no Zora Armor. |
| 33 | Undead knights, Poe | Poe Soul. The Ball and Chain works well on the knights. |
| 34 | Ghoul Rats, Chus | Hidden heart (dig). |
| 35 | Ice Keese, Freezard | Smash the Freezard with the Ball and Chain. |
| 36 | Chilfos | Bomb Arrows from the ledge. |
| 37 | Leevers, Bubbles, Ice Bubbles | |
| 38 | Chilfos, Freezards, Ice Keese, Ice Bubbles | |
| 39 | Darknuts | Hidden Rupees (dig). |
| 40 | Great Fairy (Lanayru Spring) | |
| 41 | Armos | Double Clawshots needed to continue. |
| 42 | Bokoblins, Baba plants | |
| 43 | Lizalfos, Bulblin Archers | |
| 44 | Dynalfos, Poe | Poe Soul. |
| 45 | Undead knights, Bulblin Archers, Chus | Hidden hearts (dig). |
| 46 | Freezards, Chilfos, Ghoul Rats | Ball and Chain on the Freezards. |
| 47 | Bokoblins, Stalkin, Rats | |
| 48 | Darknut, two Aeralfos | Take out the Aeralfos first. |
| 49 | Three Darknuts | The hardest fight in the cave. Use potions, Magic Armor, Mortal Draw and Bomb Arrows. |
| 50 | Great Fairy: Great Fairy's Tears | |
The three Poes on floors 17, 33 and 44 count toward the 60 Poe Souls. See the Poe Souls page.