Unlocking Breath of the Wild‘s Secret Final Shrine
Complete all 120 basement puzzle rooms scattered across Hyrule, and you‘ll gain access to one last surprise challenge – the enigmatic Forgotten Temple shrine tucked away in Tanagar Canyon. This aptly named locale offers the ultimate reward for your monumental feat of endurance and dedication in seeking out every last shrine.
A Mystical bonus Shrine Holds One Final Gift
The Forgotten Temple shrine itself provides one last satisfying spirit orb to add to your stockpile. But it‘s not just the extra currency that makes it special. Descending into the ancient shrine reveals more of the mystical lore surrounding the forgotten temple above ground.
Glowing architecture and eerie ambient music hint that this place was once of great importance. Statues of seven monks in a circle and a giant glowing spear capture your curiosity. Signs remind Link of a ritual performed here long ago, now lost to the ages.
After missing out on the forgotten temple backstory your first time through, discovering this shrine gives closure on another buried piece of Hyrule‘s history. It‘s the cherry on top after an arduous shrine-hunting journey.
Why Gift This Surprise Shrine?
But why include this extra shrine at all? Surely most players barely finishing the original 120 wouldn‘t take the time to complete every last one without some incentive. I believe a few key factors motivated Nintendo here:
Rewarding Perseverance – By design, nearly half the shrines in BOTW are hidden behind obscure side quests or in remote corners of the map. Finding the last few can be a slog. The Forgotten Temple shrine offers a light at the end of the tunnel – a surprise 121st snrine for those who never gave up.
Providing Closure – The 120th shrine you complete likely won‘t be anything special. It‘s just another checkbox marked. The secret shrine gives your journey an exclamation point – one last match to strike before closing this chapter of your adventure.
Gateway to 100% – Hardcore fans use shrine completion percentage as a benchmark for progress to the coveted 100% completion rating. The extra shrine serves to nudge obsessive players ever closer to their goal of fully "beating" the game.
Lore Discovery – Though subtle in its storytelling, Breath of the Wild‘s history reveals itself through exploration of forgotten locales like the temple. Providing incentives for players to uncover these narrative breadcrumbs satisfies fans thirsty for lore.
No doubt the secret shrine serves practical purposes too, like adding replayability value for a game light on end-game content after Ganon‘s defeat. But most importantly, it acts as a ribbon tied neatly on top Link‘s grand odyssey across Hyrule and one last piece of motivation to seek out adventure over the next horizon.
The Journey to Conquer All Shrines
Just how grand an odyssey are we talking? Completing all 120+ shrines pushes most players‘ playtime well past the 100 hour mark. By my own estimate from online polls, first-time players clock in around 130 hours in their playthrough. Veterans shave that down to 100 even.
Why does full shrine completion represent such a massive time investment? A few key reasons:
Sheer Number of Puzzles – Between combat, blessing, treasure, and puzzle shrines, that‘s at least 120 unique basement rooms to locate and solve unique puzzles for. Some can take less than a minute, but plenty will trap players for hours.
Hidden Locales – Only 42/120 shrines can be spotted from Shiekah towers. The rest are squirreled away in caves, canyon passes, and remote mountain tops. You‘ll cover every inch of the map finding them all.
Challenge Variety – Beyond puzzles, shrines offer platforming challenges, mazes, combat trials, mini-games, and overworld quests. Players need persistence and mastery of all mechanics to beat them.
Here‘s a rough breakdown of the minimum gameplay areas needed to complete all shrines:
| Gameplay Area | Hours Estimate |
|---|---|
| Main Story | 25-30 |
| 4 Divine Beasts | 16-20 |
| Side Quests | 15-20 |
| Shrine Quests | 25-30 |
| Discovering All Shrines | 30-40 |
| Completing All Shrines | 40-60 |
| Total Estimate | ~150-200 |
As you can see, the shrines alone can represent 50+ hours. Their puzzle complexity scales up drastically by the end too, presenting a ultimate test in patience and lateral thinking.
Marching Onward to 100%
But let‘s say you‘ve etched your name into the history books and joined the elite few who have conquered all shrines. Is 100% completion next? What else stands between you and total mastery of BOTW?
| Goal | Criteria | % Of Players* |
|---|---|---|
| All Shrines | Complete all 121 shrines | 4% |
| All Locations Discovered | Reveal full map + all named locations | 11% |
| Hyrule Compendium | Photograph every enemy/animal | 5% |
| All Key Items Found | Retrieve iconic gear like clothing/skins | 17% |
| All Side Quests Found | Finish every hidden side story mission | 9% |
| Defeated All Enemies | Kill one of every enemy variety | 6% |
| Master Sword Upgrades | Fully power up the Blade of Evil‘s Bane | 4% |
| All Memories Collected | Locate all story flashback scenes | 11% |
| Total Completionist Playthrough | Beat Ganon on Master Mode + all goals above | <1% |
* Per completion estimates in online polls of BOTW players
As you can see, even after the credits roll there‘s a long road ahead for completionists. And with the hotly anticipated sequel Breath of the Wild 2 slated for 2023, there‘s never been more reason to revisit the original and wrap up unfinished business in Hyrule.
Will you be the one to etch your name in the history books and fully conquer BOTW – secret shrine included? Legends await any brave enough to try!
