The Secret of the Ring Ruins is a main quest in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, related to finding the Fifth Sage. Upon completing the Regional Phenomena across Hyrule and talking to Purah, you will realize that Princess Zelda, sighted across Hyrule, is fake, and there is a Fifth Sage that you must find to defeat Ganon.
In this guide, we will help you start the Secret of Ring Ruins quest and complete it as easily as possible. This quest has some prerequisites that must be completed beforehand to proceed.
Talk to Purah in Kakariko Village
The first prerequisite to start the quest is to clear all four phases of the Regional Phenomena main quest. Talk to Purah, and she will give you a hint about some ancient Ring Ruins without disclosing the exact location. The Secret of the Ring Ruins takes place in the Kakariko Village, which is located south of the Lanaryu Wetlands in Tears of the Kingdom.
To get there, you need to make your way to Sahasra Slope Skyview Tower and jump from the top. Once you are in the air, glide southeast and drop down in the center of Karariko Village. You can also fast-travel to the Makasura Shrine if you have unlocked it already.
From there, make a trek north and reach Ring Ruins. Here, you will come across two people, Tauro & Paya, already talking to each other. Talking to these people will begin the Secret of the Ring Ruins quest.
Also, to complete the first part of the quest, you must unlock the ability to take pictures. You need to finish another prerequisite quest: Camera Work in the Depth.
Take a Picture of the Stone Slab
After starting the quest, you need to make your way to the Ring Ruins. As the name suggests, the Ring Ruins have a Ring Tower with a slab on top that you need to photograph.
To get to the tower’s top, you can climb the old-fashioned way or fly using the Ascend ability. After getting on top, head inside the room at the top of the tower.
The room has a stone slab fixed on the west wall. Once you see that slab, take a picture using the camera. The exclamation mark will only appear on your screen once you have the right frame of the wall.
Talk to Calip near Popla Foothills Skyview Tower
Once Paya and Tauro see the picture, Calip and Tauro form an investigation team and leave for the Popla Foothills Skyview Tower. For the next task, you need to use the fast travel point to make your way to the Popla Foothills Skyview Tower. Once you are in front of the tower, find and talk to Calip there.
Remember that Calip is not available to talk due to sleeping until the middle of the day. When that happens, you can skip the time to noon.
After interacting with Calip, you will find out that you just missed Tauro, who can be found in Zonai Ruins.
Talk to Tauro in Zonai Ruins
To get to the Zonai Ruins, you can use the Skyview Tower’s launch pad to get into the sky and then glide southwest. Doing so, you will reach the northeast edge of Dracozu Lake. Here, you can find the Tauro behind the campfire.
The exact coordinates where the Tauro can be found are (0968, -2531, 0008). Tauro will tell you of a riddle that says that you must wear a Charged Set and offer a zonai charge at the altar. The only hint you will get about the location is that you can find everything along the dragon’s body.
This is about Dracozu Lake, which is shaped like a dragon. There are massive pillars across the Dracozu River’s bank where you can find entrances to the secret rooms containing the armor pieces and the altar.
Solve Zonai Ruins Riddle to find Charged Armor Set
To solve this riddle, you must find and wear a full set of Electric Garb. That said, the charged set has a total of three pieces, and the location of all three is given below:
To get your hands on the Charged Shirt, you don’t need to go anywhere. After talking to Tauro, you need to find a treasure chest located in the same room. Opening the treasure chest will reveal the Charged shirt, which has coordinates (1002, -2539, 0013).
For the Charged Trouser, you must leave the ruins and head south along the Dracozu River. At the coordinates (0987, -2689, 0007), you will come across a door with bright white lights. The door is covered with boulders that you can break with Yunobo’s Charge ability or any Hammer Weapon.
Once inside the room, go to the Treasure Chest on the right side of the room to obtain the Charged Trousers.
Make your way further south on the same road running alongside the river until you come across the second pillar (0970, -2803, 0007) with a secret room. The entrance to the room is blocked by some vines that you can cut with a sword or burn with fire arrows.
Enter the room and open the treasure chest to obtain the Charged Headdress.
After getting your hands on all three armor pieces, the next thing you need to do is wear them. Make your way to the fourth pillar located at the end of the river to the west. Once you are there, head inside and find a pedestal.
You then need to place a Zonai Charge on top of the pedestal. This will star a cutscene, and a massive thunderstrike will clear the sky, revealing the Thunderhead Isles. Tauro will return to the village and Calip will remain there for further assistance.
Explore Thunderhead Isles
To get there, you can glide southeast after catapulting up from the Popla Foothills Skyview Tower. Make sure that you have enough stamina all throughout the flight, as Thunderhead Isles is a long way from the tower.
For that, you can either use Blessing of Light or consume meals midflight for additional stamina. If not, you can also gain an extra stamina bar if you sleep at the stable, but it will cost you 50 rupees every time.
You also need to be aware of the lightning strikes in the region; for that, you need to get rid of all the metal accessories like shields and weapons. After a little while, you will reach the east end of the Thunderhead Isles.
These are small clusters of islands situated very close to each other. Use the glide ability to hop from one island to another. You must stop when encountering an island with a launcher and conductor.
To get through the launcher, you need to activate it. This can easily be done by either attracting the lightning through a metal object. Another way is to strike the lightning using Riju Lightning.
Once you are on the next island, construct a wooden bridge using the board to hop onto the next island. From there, make your way to the island with the rail track by first gaining elevation through Tulin Gust.
After getting to the island, glide your way to where the Flux Construct III boss is and head to the nearby rail tracks. Use the fan and fused board to travel on the tracks. Halfway across the rail tracks, you will notice a shrine on your left side.
Travel to the Joku-usin shrine using the Ascend ability. From there, travel further south to a room with a launcher and a conductor. Rotate the launcher to the east end by turning the crank on the side of the room.
Explore Dragonhead Island
Use Riju’s Lightning to activate the launcher, and you will reach Dragonhead Island. Once you land, travel down to the island’s heart with Joku-u Shrine, where the circular gate is located.
Use ten and a half hearts from the inventory to open the door. Once you are inside, activate the green relic located at the back of the room. Doing so will finish “Secret of the Ring Ruins” in Tears of the Kingdom and automatically start the Guidance from the Ages Past main quest.
