One of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Kaya Wan Shrine or the Shields From Water. This shrine requires Link to use the Cryonis Rune ability to traverse through the shrine. It may seem intimidating to complete this shrine, but, in reality, this shrine is super easy. This guide will teach you how to complete the Kaya Wan Shrine and get the chests.
Link will gain Spirit Orbs for completing Shrines. The Spirit Orbs obtained can be exchanged for more Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. As there are 120 Shrines all over Hyrule, Link can get a total of 120 Spirit Orbs. You get to decide whether you want Link to have more Hearts or more Stamina.
Location
The Kaya Wan Shrine or the Shields From Water can be found just beside Wetland Stable, which can be found on the west of the Lanayru Wetlands (or east of Hyrule field just after Rebonae Bridge). The Kaya Wan Shrine is one of nine shrines in the Lanayru Tower region.
Shields From Water
Before going inside the shrine, make sure you have a bow and some arrows in hand for a few combat encounters. To complete this shrine, this is what Link must do:
- Upon entering the shrine, you will see Link is standing on a platform surrounded by water. In front of him is a wide waterfall. To cross this area, press the up directional button, select the Crynos Rune ability, press L and aim on the water. The goal here is to use the ice blocks to cross the waters so make sure Link can reach the ice blocks you create by jumping or jumping and gliding. Press A to create an ice block that’s a good distance away from Link, jump on the ice block and climb up. Do this one or more times until you are near the waterfall.
- Once you are near the waterfall, Aim the Cryonis Rune as near to the top of the waterfall as possible and create a horizontal ice block. Climb up the ice block then climb up the platform.
- Go forward on the path and you will see a Guardian Scout on a platform surrounded by water. Kill the Guardian Scout by firing an arrow preferably right on its eye.
- On the right side of the platform where the Guardian Scout once stood, you’ll see a chest that is partially submerged underwater. Use the Cryonis Rune ability to create an ice block near the platform Link is standing on and the chest and go up the ice block. Then, aim the Cryonis Rune ability directly below the chest and activate it to raise the chest out of the water. After that, jump and glide to the created ice block and open the chest to claim an Ancient Core.
- Next, create two or three ice blocks to cross the water and on to the next elevated platform.
- Continue on the path and you will see a hallway with flowing water and, in the distance, there are two guardian scouts on the left and on the right. There is also a raft that goes with the flow of the water and spawns again when the latter raft falls to the edge. You can use the raft to cross the water but this would be challenging. An easier way is using ice blocks to cross the water so you can control your pace. Create and climb up your first ice block and kill the Guardian Scouts by firing arrows at them.
- As you continue to cross the water with ice blocks, you will see there is a vertical gate on the left side of the hallway. When you are near it, aim the Cryonis Rune ability directly below the gate and activate Cryonis to raise the gate. Jump and glide to the entrance of the gate and inside you will see a chest. Open the chest to claim a Knight’s Broadsword.
- After that, go up the ice block that raised the gate and go to the outer part and create two to four ice blocks to continue on the path. Your last ice block should be just on the edge of the waterfall.
- From the last ice block you will see the monk and the altar in the distance just slightly below. Link can reach it by jumping and gliding towards it.
- After landing on the platform with the altar, continue on and talk to the monk and claim your Spirit Orb.
As mentioned above, the Kaya Wan Shrine or the Shields From Water is one of the nine shrines in the Lanayru Tower region. The other shrines are the Rucco Maag Shrine or the Five Flames, Sheh Rata Shrine or the Speed of Light, Soh Kofi Shrine or A Minor Test of Strength, Dagah Keek Shrine or Dagah Keek’s Blessing, Ne’ez Yohma Shrine or the Pushing Power, Daka Tuss Shrine or the Sunken Scoop, Shai Yota Shrine or Shai Yota’s Blessing, and the Kah Mael Shrine or the Drop and Rise.