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Faron Woods: Tears of Light Walkthrough

Twilight Princess 100% Completion Walkthrough23 chapters
Walkthrough overview
CoversTwilight Faron Woods (South Faron Woods, Coro’s house, the cave to North Faron Woods, the fog swamp), Faron Spring, the road to the Forest Temple entrance
DungeonNone here. The chapter ends at the web-covered door of the Forest Temple, the next chapter
RewardsVessel of Light filled with 12 Tears of Light, Hero’s Clothes, Ordon Sword and Ordon Shield back in your hands, a small key, Bottle 2 filled with lantern oil (100 Rupees), a 50-Rupee chest in Link’s basement, and the Ending Blow (Hidden Skill 1 of 7)

Faron Woods is the first province Midna asks you to cleanse: as Wolf Link you hunt down Shadow Insects, return their Tears of Light to the Vessel of Light, and Faron restores the woods and turns you back into a human. Afterward you pick up the gate key and a bottle from Coro, follow a monkey through the poison fog, and meet the Golden Wolf, which teaches you the Ending Blow right before the temple door.

The Wii U version asks for 12 Tears of Light here, where the GameCube and Wii versions ask for 16, so the route below is shorter than in the originals. Directions use the Normal Mode layout. Hero Mode mirrors the world, so swap left and right and east and west.

Twilight Faron Woods: the first Shadow Beasts

Midna keeps your sword and shield stored away for now, so Wolf Link fights with his fangs. The only way forward is north into the woods. A wall of twilight closes around you as you enter and three Shadow Beasts drop in.

Wolf Link in the twilight gate as Midna's shadow speaks in a dialogue box about the Faron Woods
Midna on Wolf Link's back with Link's sword and shield glowing before they are stored away
Midna perched on Wolf Link beside a glowing path, urging Link to get going

How to beat three Shadow Beasts at once

The first one can be bitten down on its own, but when only two remain, killing just one makes the survivor revive it, so you must finish them together. When Midna offers advice, hold B to grow a dark circle around Link, steer until all of the beasts stand inside the ring, then release B. The blast hits everything inside at once and the wall of twilight drops. Every group of Shadow Beasts in the Twilight Realm works this way, and each cleared group leaves a warp portal that Midna can use later. The enemies page has more on Shadow Beasts.

Wolf Link carrying Midna into a clearing as a Shadow Beast lurks at the edge
Wolf Link lunging at a Shadow Beast marked by an arrow in the clearing
Midna explaining the B button energy field, with a red barrier wall beside Wolf Link
A dark energy circle with a red rim forms around Link in the clearing
A Shadow Beast lies on the ground as green twilight shards break apart around it

Faron Spring and the Vessel of Light

Faron

Meet Faron

Keep running north to the waterfall at Faron Spring. A glowing shape in the water is Faron, the Light Spirit of the province. Faron explains that the Twilight Realm has swallowed the light, gives you the Vessel of Light and asks you to fill it with Tears of Light.

Faron's glowing light spirit above the waterfall at Faron Spring while a message speaks of the twilight
Wolf Link holding up the Vessel of Light as Midna speaks, with the item message about collecting Tears of Light shown in full

The Tears are carried by Shadow Insects, black bugs you can see only with Wolf Link’s senses. Press X to switch on your senses and the insects show up on the map as white dots. Defeat an insect and its Tear drops out, then walk over the Tear to pour it into the Vessel. The older versions of the game asked for 16 Tears; the HD map marks only the 12 you need, so treat the white dots on your map as the final authority. Wait until the insect stops crackling with electricity before you bite it. If you cannot find the last few, check the white dots on the map; the Tears of Light page lists every insect in every province.

Faron glowing by the waterfall while a message explains the dark insects
Wolf Link with senses on, pink Shadow Insects glowing in the dark forest

Faron Tears of Light: all 12

Tear of Light

Tears 1 and 2: the first path north of the spring

Follow the path north of the spring and press X to reveal the first two Shadow Insects close together. Take care not to step near the Twilit Deku Baba beside them. Defeat both insects to bank Tears 1 and 2.

Wolf Link and Midna on the path with two Shadow Insects glowing pink on the ground
Wolf Link running past two Shadow Insects marked with a red arrow on the grass
Wolf Link on the path beside a Twilit Deku Baba growing from the rock wall

Tears 3 and 4: inside Coro’s house

Keep following the path to Coro’s house, where the road forks. Just south of the house there is a higher ledge. Stand at its edge looking at the house and press the Midna call, then jump the gap to the open second-floor window and drop inside. Press X again to listen to Coro’s spirit near him; two Shadow Insects scurry out. Defeat them for Tears 3 and 4, then leave through the same window.

Wolf Link and Midna at Coro's house, with its open upper window above the porch
Wolf Link stepping through the doorway into the dark interior of Coro's house
Coro's spirit inside his house complaining about the strange bugs
Wolf Link and Midna inside Coro's house on the wooden floor
Wolf Link and Midna walking across the wooden floor inside Coro's house
Tear of Light

Tear 5: dig under the locked gate

Return to the fork. The path to the temple is closed by a locked gate and you do not have a key as a wolf. Switch on your senses and a dig spot appears right beside the gate. Dig with Y to tunnel under it. On the other side one Shadow Insect waits; defeat it for Tear 5. Then run through the cave to reach North Faron Woods.

Wolf Link facing the locked wooden gate on the path to the temple
Wolf Link running along the stone cave passage toward the bright exit
Wolf Link at the far end of the cave, light opening onto North Faron Woods

Tear 6: the wall insect in North Faron Woods

As you come out of the cave, turn right and scan with X. A Shadow Insect clings to the rock wall. Charge into the wall with a dash and the insect shakes loose and floats away; chase it down and defeat it for Tear 6.

Wolf Link stepping out into North Faron Woods with purple-tinted trees
Shadow Insect clinging to a mossy rock wall, marked with a yellow arrow
Shadow Insect knocked loose from the wall and floating over the grass
Wolf Link dashing across North Faron Woods with a blue burst of light
Midna

Tears 7 and 8: cross the fog with Midna

A poisonous purple fog now covers the swamp floor and hurts Link on contact. Near the east side of the area, close to where you took Tear 6, a branch sticks out from the ground. Walk up to it and Midna floats over. Target her and press the jump button to follow her up to the next safe spot; repeat to climb to the high ground. From there Midna leads you into the middle of the swamp with a few more leaps. Use your senses at the centre to find two Shadow Insects, defeat them, and take Tears 7 and 8.

Midna warns Link about the purple fog ahead of the swamp
Wolf Link approaching a branch that sticks out from the swamp ground by a tree
Wolf Link and Midna crossing a raised log above the purple swamp fog
Shadow Insect marked by a red arrow in the swamp seen with Link's senses
Tear of Light

Tears 9 and 10: buried insects at the end of the path

Keep following the linear path of Midna jumps. A few Twilit Deku Babas stand in the way, but fast jumping gets you past them. A swinging log crosses the path, so time your leap around it. At the end of the route two Shadow Insects have burrowed into the ground. Switch on your senses, dig each one up and defeat them for Tears 9 and 10.

Twilit Deku Baba beside the jump route above the purple swamp fog
A swinging log crosses the swamp path Link must time his jump around
Jump route of stumps and a plank bridge over the purple swamp fog
Midna above Wolf Link with a red arrow marking a dig spot in the dark swamp

Second group of Shadow Beasts

Head through the open gate east of the dig spot to the next area, where three more Shadow Beasts attack. Use the B-circle trick again to kill them all at once. A bridge stands upright against a wall in this area; remember it, because Midna sends you back here later to move it to the broken span in Kakariko Gorge.

Wolf Link passing between carved pillars through the open gate east of the dig spot
Wolf Link fighting Shadow Beasts in a clearing beside a carved wall
Monkey

Tears 11 and 12: the monkey at the temple stairs

Follow the path north to the steps below the Forest Temple, the place where you freed Talo’s monkey earlier. Use X to spot the same scared monkey and the last two Shadow Insects tormenting it. Defeat them for Tears 11 and 12. The Vessel is full and Faron pulls you back to Faron Spring.

Scared monkey on a stone pedestal calling for help beside a spider web
Glowing monkey on a stone pedestal with a Shadow Insect marked on the floor

Light returns: human form, Hero’s Clothes and the small key

Faron’s blessing

Faron reveals her true form, turns Link back into a human in the green tunic of the Hero (the Hero’s Clothes) and tells you about the great evil sleeping in the Forest Temple. Your Ordon Sword and Ordon Shield are equipped again.

Faron appearing as a white spirit in a glowing ring of light in Faron Woods
Link in the green Hero's Clothes after being restored to human form
Link with sword and shield on his back as Faron describes the shadow-bound world
Rupees

Optional: 50 Rupees in your basement

You need at least 100 Rupees for the bottle in a moment. If you are short, run back across the bridge to Ordon, enter Link’s house and climb down into the dark basement. With the Lantern lit you can see a chest; open it for a purple Rupee worth 50. Cutting the grass around Coro’s house also pays out small Rupees. You may also talk to the villagers: the children are still missing and Rusl is resting at home.

Link crossing the rope bridge on the Faron path back toward Ordon
Link in his dark basement holding a purple Rupee from a chest that held 50 Rupees

Coro: small key and Bottle 2

Walk back to Coro’s house in Faron Woods and talk to him. He hands over the small key for the temple gate, and he offers a bottle of lantern oil for 100 Rupees. Buy it: the bottle is yours to keep once the oil is gone, so it becomes your second empty bottle. If you do not take the offer now you can buy it from him later. The bottle locations page lists all four bottles.

Coro sitting in his yellow tent talking to Link
Link holding up a small key that opens the gate to Faron Woods
Link holding up a bottle of lantern oil in Faron Woods

The road to the Forest Temple

Through the gate and the cave

Go back to the fork and unlock the gate with the small key. Walk through the cave once more to North Faron Woods. Nothing new waits inside, so keep running.

Link standing at the wooden gate on the Faron path
Link walking through a dark cave with a lantern toward North Faron Woods

Follow the monkey through the poison fog

The fog still covers the swamp, and the monkey you saved appears, takes your Lantern on a stick and begins to walk. Wherever she swings the Lantern the fog clears in a circle around her. Stay beside her; if you fall behind the fog closes in and hurts you. Defeat any enemies that appear so they do not scare her. When you reach the gate at the west end she drops the Lantern, now empty, and leaves through the gate. Pick the Lantern up and walk through.

Shadowy Midna scolding Link as a monkey carries off his Lantern in the swamp fog
Monkey raising the Lantern high in the swamp while Link walks beside her
Link following the monkey, who holds the Lantern up in the misty swamp
Trill

Trill’s shop and refilling the Lantern

Trill’s shop sits on the left just inside; Red Potion refills cost 30 Rupees and Lantern Oil refills 20. The Lantern is empty after the monkey scene. Refill it from your bottle of oil by assigning both the Lantern and the bottle to item buttons, or scoop oil from Trill’s pot with a bottle or the empty Lantern and drop your payment in the box beside him. Coro also refills the Lantern or a bottle for 20 Rupees. Trill pecks at you until you pay, so leave at least one Rupee.

Link pouring lantern oil from a bottle into the Lantern in the red-lit camp
Trill, the bird shopkeeper, perched on his stand beside the camp shop
Link at Trill's pot of oil with a Scoop prompt and an empty bottle on the ground

The Golden Wolf: Ending Blow

Run up the path to a golden wolf standing in your way. It leaps at you and warps you to a white arena outside Hyrule Castle, where it takes the shape of the Hero’s Shade. This encounter is required and cannot be skipped. Hit the practice enemy until it falls, then Z-target it and press A while it is on the ground to perform the Ending Blow, a leaping finisher. This is the first of the seven Hidden Skills; the Hidden Skills page lists the other six and the Howling Stones that call the wolves.

Golden wolf sitting on the dark path ahead of Link
Hero's Shade standing in the white arena outside Hyrule Castle
Hidden Skill: Ending Blow banner as Link faces the Hero's Shade
Link finishing a stunned Shade with the Ending Blow prompt above it

Burn the web and enter the temple

You return to the path. Continue north, past the two Bokoblins, to the web-covered door of the Forest Temple. Equip the Lantern, burn the web and step inside; put the Lantern away afterward to save oil. The Forest Temple walkthrough starts here.

Link walking the dark stone path toward the web-covered door
Link facing the web across the Forest Temple entrance
Lantern flame burning through the web across the Forest Temple door

Faron Woods collectibles to come back for

Heart Piece in the swamp cave (if you missed it)

The first Heart Piece in Faron Woods (#2) is in the cave on the north-east side of the swamp, the same cave that held the small key on your first pass, beside the gate you unlocked. At the back are two unlit torches. Light both with the Lantern and a larger chest appears on the ledge above the small one. It holds a Piece of Heart. If you missed it, return with the Lantern and clear the fog as the monkey did; the Heart Pieces page tracks all 45.

Link standing between two lit torches in the Faron Woods cave with two treasure chests beside him
The You got the small key message over Link as he holds the key up in the Faron Woods cave
Link holding up a Piece of Heart beside an opened chest with the item message fully shown

Later returns

Three more rewards here need items you do not have yet. Poe Soul (#26): at night, as Wolf Link with the Master Sword, follow Midna’s jump markers across the fog to the round clearing where the Poe hovers (see the Poe Souls page). Heart Piece (#3) and a Sky Character: north-west of Coro’s house a boulder blocks the path; blow it up with a bomb (or the Ball and Chain) and lift the Owl Statue behind it with the Dominion Rod, which is described on the Owl Statues page. The Helm Splitter Howling Stone, at the north end of these woods, is also a later errand.

Wolf Link with Midna crossing the stony ground at the edge of the purple fog in Faron Woods
Wolf Link jumping between tree trunks in the fog of Faron Woods
The Poe soul message over Wolf Link and Midna after the fight in the Faron clearing

Chapter checklist

TypeNameWhere
Tear of Light Tear of LightTears 1 and 2Path north of Faron Spring, near the first Twilit Deku Baba
Tear of Light Tear of LightTears 3 and 4Inside Coro’s house, via the second-floor window
Tear of Light Tear of LightTear 5Dig under the locked gate at the fork
Tear of Light Tear of LightTear 6Wall insect in North Faron Woods
Tear of Light Tear of LightTears 7 and 8Centre of the swamp, after the Midna jumps
Tear of Light Tear of LightTears 9 and 10Buried insects at the end of the jump path
Tear of Light Tear of LightTears 11 and 12Steps below the Forest Temple, with the monkey
UpgradeHero’s Clothes, Ordon Sword, Ordon ShieldGiven by Faron when the Vessel is full
ChestPurple Rupee Purple Rupee (50)Link’s basement, Ordon, needs the Lantern
Key itemSmall Key Small key (temple gate)Coro, Faron Woods
Bottle BottleBottle 2 with lantern oil (100 Rupees)Coro’s house, Faron Woods
Hidden Skill Hidden SkillEnding BlowGolden Wolf on the path to the Forest Temple
Heart PieceSwamp cave chestCave in the north-east of the North Faron swamp, light two torches (if missed earlier)
LaterPoe Soul, South Faron Heart Piece, Sky CharacterReturn at night and with the Dominion Rod

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