Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dungeon Tier List - Best Dungeons Ranked

The Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dungeon Tier List evaluates dungeons based on design and gameplay experience. It categorizes them from top-tier, blending classic and innovative elements, to lower-tier ones possibly lacking in engagement or creativity.

by T Santhosh

Updated Nov 16, 2023

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dungeon Tier List - Best Dungeons Ranked
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 

"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" is a game made for the Nintendo Switch. It's an action-adventure game where you play as Link. He's on a mission to find Princess Zelda and stop the Demon King from destroying everything. This game follows "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and keeps some things from that game, like the big world of Hyrule. But this time, the world is even bigger, letting you explore more up and down. Nintendo first teased this game at a big event called E3 in 2019. They showed a bit more in 2021. It was supposed to come out in 2022, but it got delayed and finally released in May 2023.

The world was more exciting, and there were lots of new things to try. Players were curious and had fun trying different things in the game. It became super popular and sold more than 10 million copies in just three days! By September 2023, it sold over 19.50 million copies, making it one of the most popular games on the Nintendo Switch.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dungeon Tier List 

In "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," dungeons play a crucial role, offering diverse challenges and puzzles for players. Creating a tier list for these dungeons involves evaluating their design and the overall experience they provide. At the top tier, we find dungeons that seamlessly blend classic Zelda elements with the innovative approach introduced in "Breath of the Wild." These dungeons not only challenge players with intricate puzzles but also embrace the open-ended exploration characteristic of the franchise.

Moving down the tier list, some dungeons may fall short in delivering a balanced experience. This could be due to repetitive puzzles, lackluster design, or a departure from the essence of a Zelda dungeon. These lower-tier dungeons might leave players wanting more in terms of engagement and creativity. Each tier represents a different level of success in achieving this goal, providing players with a variety of dungeon experiences as they progress through the game.

S Tier

  • Lightning Temple
  • Spirit Temple

The Lightning Temple is an ancient place in Tears of the Kingdom, situated inside a pyramid. It strongly resembles classic Zelda dungeons. The temple excels in combining exploration and puzzle-solving—traps, blocks, and reflective mirrors await at every turn. Not every temple in the game achieves this balance, making the Lightning Temple stand out. The boss surprising players at its entrance adds to its appeal. However, managing Riju to use her Sage power can become tedious.

Debates surround the Spirit Temple's quality since its discovery. It doesn't exactly serve as the main dungeon; instead, it leads to the Construct Factory. After a challenge in the sky, players assemble four limbs for Mineru's robot body. How enjoyable this task feels depends on players' creativity—it might seem repetitive or a brilliant application of game mechanics. While the Spirit Temple introduces a new concept for a Zelda dungeon, some believe it could have been executed better, despite being an impressive first effort.

A Tier

  • Wind Temple
  • Fire Temple

The Wind Temple in Tears of the Kingdom is a really cool place. It looks like this huge floating ship surrounded by smaller ones. Inside, it's all about mixing ice and wind stuff together, which is pretty clever! It's not too hard, meant to be one of the first places you go in the game. They give you a helpful friend called a Sage to make things easier. And at the end, there's a big, epic fight with Colgera, making the Wind Temple really exciting when it matters most.

Now, the Fire Temple has had people talking a lot. You see, there's this thing where you can climb all over the walls underground, and Yunobo, your buddy, can shoot from far away. Because of this, some parts of the temple can be skipped, which fits with how Tears of the Kingdom works, but it shows a problem too. With a few changes, it could have been better. The temple is big, though, which can make finding stuff a bit tricky. 

B Tier

  • Water Temple
  • Hyrule Castle Chasm

The Water Temple in Tears of the Kingdom is kinda different from the other dungeons. It's this floating place in the sky, just like the Wind Temple, but it's all open-air. Imagine a bunch of little islands in the sky joined together—it's set up that way. Moving around is pretty easy because of this. But here's the thing: the puzzles in this place are a big deal. The final boss, Mucktoroc, isn't that tough, so it's not gonna keep players stuck for long. It's better than some of the older Water Temples from past Zelda games, but it's not the most thrilling.

Now, when it's time for Link's big final adventure, there's this place called the Hyrule Castle Chasm. To reach the final trial, you've gotta go through this area. It's full of huge holes, strong enemies, and some tough mini-bosses. Fight everything or just dash past them, your choice! It might seem pretty direct for a dungeon, but it still fits with how Tears of the Kingdom works. The best part is the big boss battle with Demon King Ganondorf. That fight really stands out, even though the dungeon itself doesn't have anything super special, unlike Breath of the Wild's Hyrule Castle.

C Tier

  • Hyrule Castle

In Tears of the Kingdom, Hyrule Castle is this massive place, just like in Breath of the Wild. It's got this huge map, and they've made some changes. They've toned down the bad stuff like the Malice and Guardians, so now you can find new paths. Exploring it is pretty cool because you can do your own thing and hunt for special items like the Hylian Shield or even a new Champion’s Tunic.

Even though it's so big and awesome, when it comes to the main story, it's a bit of a disappointment. Instead of being this grand story dungeon, it's more like a straight path with a bunch of monsters to fight. It's kinda sad because in Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Castle was incredible with all its secrets and twists. In Tears of the Kingdom, it's more like a linear challenge. The saving grace is this wild battle with Phantom Ganon at the end. That fight makes the whole journey worth it, even if the rest of the castle doesn't live up to its former glory.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Plot

In "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," Link and Zelda explore a cavern under Hyrule Castle filled with a harmful substance called gloom. They wake up a mummy that hurts Link badly and breaks the Master Sword. Hyrule Castle lifts into the sky, Zelda vanishes with a strange artifact, and Link's hurt arm gets replaced by a magical one on a floating island.

Link heads back down to a chaotic Hyrule after an event called the Upheaval and teams up with old pals, exploring ancient temples and defeating monsters. They discover Zelda's true fate: she got sent to the past, meeting the first king and queen of Hyrule. They fought Ganondorf, who turned into the Demon King. To safeguard the Master Sword, Zelda becomes a dragon, helping Link fight Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Gameplay

In "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," the gameplay keeps the adventurous style of "Breath of the Wild." You control Link in a big world called Hyrule, and there are two new areas to explore: the sky with lots of floating islands and the Depths, a huge underground space. You can move around on foot, climb things, ride horses, and use a paraglider to fly around and find stuff like weapons and things needed to finish missions.

This game brings in Zonai devices that do a bunch of cool stuff. Instead of the old powers, there are five new abilities for Link. Ultrahand lets you grab and join things together, making stuff like vehicles using Zonai devices. Fuse helps mix materials or add powers to weapons, like making arrows explode. Recall rewinds an object's movement, Ascend helps go up through solid things, and Autobuild makes devices instantly using nearby materials.

There are shrines and Korok seeds like before. Shrines give blessings, and if you collect four, Link can use them to get more hearts or stamina. Korok seeds help Link carry more stuff, like weapons and shields. Also, there's this gooey stuff called gloom. If Link touches it, he slows down, loses hearts, and gets weaker. But it's fixable when he gets back to the surface, eats specific foods, or finds special plants in the Depths.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Trailer

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dungeon Tier List - FAQs

1. What determines a dungeon's tier in the list?

The tier is based on design, puzzle quality, and overall experience provided by each dungeon.

2. What characterizes top-tier dungeons like Lightning Temple?

These excel in blending classic Zelda elements with innovative puzzles and exploration.

3. What's unique about the Wind Temple in the A tier?

It involves inventive ice and wind puzzles and features an exciting boss fight.

4.  Are there issues with lower-tier dungeons like the Water Temple?

While some aspects are interesting, certain dungeons lack thrill or standout features.

5. How does the Hyrule Castle fare in the tier list?

Despite its vastness, the castle's linear design disappoints in its main story involvement, with a redeeming battle against Phantom Ganon at the end.