A Mystery in the Depths is a main quest that is good to prioritise as you explore Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as it unlocks the final ability to fill out your wheel: Autobuild.

The Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom quest sees Josha ask Link to find out more about the mysterious Depths, following a trail of statues to a 'temple' that turns out to be an old mine.

But the Depths can be dangerous without proper preparation, so this guide will walk you through what you need to know in order to complete A Mystery in the Depths and how to get the Autobuild ability.

How to start the A Mystery in the DepthsHow to get AutobuildHow to defeat Master KohgaHow to complete A Mystery in the DepthsTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings 10 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting The Legend of Zelda Tears of the KingdomWatch on YouTube

If you'd like to learn more about Link's adventure, then visit our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.

How to start the A Mystery in the Depths quest in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

The questline for A Mystery in the Depths first requires you to complete one of the four parts in the main storyline quest Regional Phenomena in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We finished the Rito Village questline, but it doesn’t seem to matter which one you progress, just that you fully complete one area and remove its marker from the quest log.

Once you’re done with whichever you prefer, speak to Josha at Lookout Landing. She will tell you about the temple she believes is in the Depths, at the end of a line of statues which point at one another to show you the way. She will give you 10 Giant Brightbloom Seeds and 10 Arrows to help. We would recommend taking more than this, though, as there’s quite a lot of the Depths to walk through and having these lights really helps.

Image credit: Nintendo

How to get Autobuild in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

To unlock the Autobuild ability in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you first need to fast travel down to Iayusus Lightroot to begin the trek. You’ll see that the statues are looking in a certain direction - follow them. Broadly, this is southwards, but it’s best to keep a close eye and not wander off into the darkness. After a few statues, you’ll reach Nihcayam Lightroot. Activate it to get another fast travel point as well as illuminate the surrounding area. Then keep following the statues, still moving southwards.

After three statues, you’ll see an open space with lots of red Gloom on the ground. If you look at the minimap, you’ll notice you’re at the edge of the part illuminated by Nihcayam Lightroot. Be careful approaching here as there’s a miniboss called Frox: Scourge of the Depths to the right.

Image credit: Nintendo

You can sneak around the other side of the patch of Gloom and continue south if you want to. If you do choose to fight Frox, beware of its sucking breath attack that will cause it to swallow Link, and its bounce which will crush him. Try to stay back and target his eye to stun him. When stunned, climb on his back and hit the rock outcrops to deal damage.

It will drop quite a bit of Zonaite and a Large Crystallized Charge as well as Frox fangs and fingernails when defeated.

Keep going towards the south, avoiding or defeating the enemies along the way. There is quite a large gap here with no statues, but keep going. You will pass an old ruin with a Wing and some Zonai devices inside if you’re on the right track. There will also be small fires in the distance you can use to orient yourself. As you approach, keep using Brightbloom Seeds as there is a ledge of rock here that may be tricky to navigate.

Image credit: Nintendo

Follow the ledge and fight a camp of Gloom-affected Moblins and Bokoblins. You can also pick up the two Grand Poe on the left. Then keep going to reach the Great Abandoned Central Mine.

Activate the construct here to receive Autobuild. This ability lets you instantly recreate things you’ve made using Ultrahand. It remembers your previous projects so that you can quickly repeat them, and you will also receive Schema Stones for common and useful projects.

For now, fix the car as directed by the NPCs here by reattaching the wheel. Then use Autobuild to create the car on the other side.

Image credit: Nintendo

How to defeat Master Kohga in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

You’ll now have to face a boss battle with a Yiga clan member, called Master Kohga in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. They will use their own car to try to run you down. Hit them with a bow to stun and knock them off their structure, then run up and attack with a sword. (You can also use Autobuild here to form your own car, but we didn’t find this especially helpful.)

In their second phase, the Yiga clan member’s car will have a barrier at the front, but you can still shoot through it. In the third phase, this will be replaced with a windshield and sides, so you’ll need to shoot from the back. But as long as you keep needling them with arrows, there’s not much else to this fight.

Image credit: Nintendo

How to complete A Mystery in the Depths in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Once you defeat the Yiga clan in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, open the chest to get a Huge Crystallized Charge. Then speak to the constructs as directed. You’ll get your first Schema Stone. This one will create a Fanplane.

You will also get the parts needed to test it out, so use it now and put it in the groove to head towards the nearby Lightroot. You can also pick up some poe on the way, but be aware that if you do you’ll be down a small cliff from the Lightroot, blocking it from view. You may need to use a Brightbloom Seed or two to figure out how to get back on track.

Image credit: Nintendo

Once you have activated Koradat Lightroot you can explore more if you wish, but head back to Josha when you’re ready. She will give you another Schema Stone. This one will make a hot air balloon. When she’s done talking, go outside and fix up the balloon there. She will give you a Large Zonaite as thanks.

Image credit: Nintendo

That technically concludes the quest, but you’ll also automatically tell Josha about the Yiga clan and in return she’ll tell you about more statues, setting up your next mission to the Depths.

You’ll also now be able to speak to Robbie to begin the Hateno Village Research Lab quest, which will unlock several upgrades for the Purah Pad, including the Travel Medallion, Shrine Sensor and Hero’s Path mode.

If you’d like to learn more about Link’s adventure, visit our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.

To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings